Emmaus City Liturgy – Celebrating Jesus and Being Part of His Story
For previous liturgies, click on the links below:
These posts will feature the themes, verses, hymns and songs (audio and lyrics), and prayers we enjoy together each Sabbath gathering. Key notes from the sermons will also be included.
Curious to know more? Want to spend some time with us? Don't hesitate. Contact us and come join us. In the meantime, enjoy the readings and listening to the songs below.
WORSHIP THROUGH QUIET, PRAYER, AND SONG
Moment of Reflection
Prayer of Welcome and The Lord’s Prayer
From Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13
From Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father in heaven,
May Your name be kept holy.
May Your Kingdom come.
May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
And forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those
who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from evil
(For Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.)
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from evil
(For Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.)
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Glory to Thee my God this night
For all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, O keep me King of kings
Under the shadow of Thy wings.
Lord, let my soul forever share
The bliss of Thy paternal care.
‘Tis heav’n on earth, ‘tis heav’n above
To see Thy face and sing Thy love.
Amen, amen. (x4)
Praise Him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Glory to Thee my God this night
For all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, O keep me King of kings
Under the shadow of Thy wings.
Lord, let my soul forever share
The bliss of Thy paternal care.
‘Tis heav’n on earth, ‘tis heav’n above
To see Thy face and sing Thy love.
Amen, amen. (x4)
We Have Come (Bless the Lord)
We have come to give You glory;
We have come to give You praise. (3x)
You’re welcome in this place. (3x)
Have Your way. (3x)
Have Your way. (3x)
Bless the Lord, oh my soul,
And let all that’s within me shout out! (3x)
WORSHIP THROUGH HEARING, LISTENING, AND DISCUSSING
God with Us // Covenant and Kingdom I
Creation and Fall
Creation and Fall
1) God creates, relates, and gives from the overflow of His love and glory
Then God said, “Let us make man
in our image, after our likeness. And
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created
man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female he
created them. And God blessed
them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and
subdue it, and have dominion … And God saw
everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was
evening and there was morning, the sixth day. – Genesis 1:26-28, 31
Covenant – Relationship
In Genesis, the God who creates the world sets men and women within it as the crowning touch on what he has brought into being. The creation itself is described as a marvelous home prepared for humankind, a place in which they may live and thrive and enjoy the intimate presence and companionship of the Creator Himself.
Covenant – Relationship
In Genesis, the God who creates the world sets men and women within it as the crowning touch on what he has brought into being. The creation itself is described as a marvelous home prepared for humankind, a place in which they may live and thrive and enjoy the intimate presence and companionship of the Creator Himself.
- God intended that people would bear His imprint
- People would reflect His identity and represent Him to all creation
- Humanity alone was very good to Him
Kingdom – Responsibility
By causing the creation to come into being by his word of power, God establishes it as His own vast kingdom. He is the great King over all creation, worthy to receive all glory, honor, and power in the worship of what he has created. When God creates humankind, He blesses them and speaks to them directly: ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion’. There is a personal relationship between the divine King and His human subjects. God has a particular task and invites them to participate in it with him, filling and ordering the world, which He has given them for their home.
- With God, responsibility always follows relationship
- Humans would represent Him, so they alone were tasked with governing
- They were told to work and keep the garden and to name all the creatures they were to care for
God’s desire was that when anyone looked at humanity, they would see Him. They came together with Him to care for His world and He directed how they
would rule. And this relationship and responsibility was meant to be fruitful
and multiply so that God’s glory would fill the earth.
2) We enjoyed that identity, responsibility, and freedom from Him for a period of time, but then chose to define ourselves apart from HimNow the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:1-5
- “Did God actually say … ?” – the serpent attacked God’s relationship to them (Genesis 3:1)
- “You will not surely die.” – the serpent distracted from their responsibility in caring for each other and the rest of creation (Genesis 3:4)
- “ … you will be like God …” – the serpent deceived them from understanding that they already were like God in their identity (Genesis 3:5)
Covenant – Relationship
- They sought their identity elsewhere
- They ran away and hid, and attempted to use His creation to hide themselves
- They blamed each other and creation for what happened
Where are we looking for our identity apart from the one God has graciously given us? What do we hide from others and ourselves about our flaws? What do we use or do to distract from what is going on in our lives?
Kingdom – Responsibility
- They chose to prove themselves and attempt to be great on their own
- They chose not to subdue the serpent, but to let him subdue God's words of identity and responsibility for them
- They surrendered their capacity to rule over creation and instead creation would rule them
In these ways, when we ignore God's relationship with us and our responsibility to love Him, love others and care for the world, we fall under the influence of the one who hates God, hates His creation, and hates the ones who bear His image. We invite the suffering and sickness into our lives because we listen to the one who wanted no relationship with God and never again wanted to be directed by God. When we do this, we give the Deceiver momentary authority to seemingly throw things in disarray.
3) God comes to us with His broken heart and unbroken promise for us so that we can be restored through His promised One
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” … And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. – Genesis 3:15, 21
- “Where are you?” – He still wants to be near us (Genesis 3:9)
- “Who told you that you were naked?” – He still wants to clothe us with His identity (Genesis 3:11)
- “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” – He still desires to give us His life even after we chose death (Genesis 3:11)
- “What is this that you have done? ... I will put enmity ... between your offspring and her offspring, he shall bruise your head ... And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them” – Even in His justice that required the consequences of our choices, He still plans to do something for us to redeem us, give us victory, and cover us in His mercy (Genesis 3:13, 15)
In the Old Testament, to remove someone’s clothes could signify their disinheritance; God’s provision of clothes for Adam and Eve is a sign to them that He has not given up on His purpose for them. They are still to bear His image in this world. They are still to ‘inherit the earth’. And One who is meek and strong is coming to crush what the serpent began. He will empower us by His Spirit to be fruitful and multiply so that we can listen to God our Father and obey Him. He is the Messiah, Christ in us, our hope of glory.
Here in the first three chapters of the Bible we already begin to see the depths of God's Covenant love and the scope of His Kingdom power. Another “Adam” is promised to restore what the first Adam could not do. He would be the true and better Adam who would pass the test in the garden – His garden, a much tougher garden – and whose perfect relationship with the Father and completed responsibility for the Kingdom is now freely given and applied to us.
WORSHIP THROUGH CONFESSION AND COMMUNION
Prayer of Confession
Communion
(Read Emmaus City's Purpose and Prayers for Communion)
Prayer of Confession
Communion
(Read Emmaus City's Purpose and Prayers for Communion)
WORSHIP THROUGH REJOICING
Have mercy on me, oh God,
According to Your unfailing love.
According to Your great compassion,
Blot out my transgressions. (2x)
Would you create in me a clean heart, oh God?
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation. (2x)
According to Your unfailing love.
According to Your great compassion,
Blot out my transgressions. (2x)
Would you create in me a clean heart, oh God?
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation. (2x)
The sacrifices of our God
Are a broken and a contrite heart.
Against You and You alone have I sinned. (2x)
(Repeat Chorus 2x)
Wash me white as snow
And I will be made whole. (4x)
(Repeat Chorus 2x)
I could run away
But You would never
leave.
You would always stay
Right by my side. (2x)
You’re right by my side. (4x)
And I need you, I need you
Every step of the way. (2x)
You would always stay
Right by my side. (2x)
You’re right by my side. (4x)
And I need you, I need you
Every step of the way. (2x)
Lord,You Are Good
By Israel Houghton and New Breed
2012 A.D.
Lord, You are Good
And Your mercy endureth forever. (2x)
And Your mercy endureth forever. (2x)
People from every nation and tongue
From generation to generation
We worship You!
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
We worship You for who You are. (2x)
You are good all the time,
All the time, You are good. (4x)
From generation to generation
We worship You!
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
We worship You for who You are. (2x)
You are good all the time,
All the time, You are good. (4x)
WORSHIP THROUGH SENDING
Prayer of Mission
Apostles’ Creed
390 A.D.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended to the dead.
The third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit
The holy catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Prayer of Mission
Apostles’ Creed
390 A.D.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended to the dead.
The third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit
The holy catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Benediction
Lorica: Prayer of Protection
By St. Patrick
433 A.D.
Christ be with you, Christ within you.
Christ behind you, Christ before you.
Christ beside you, Christ to win you.
Christ to comfort and restore you.
Christ beneath you, Christ above you.
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger.
Christ in hearts of all that love you.
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Bind unto yourself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of your salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Lorica: Prayer of Protection
By St. Patrick
433 A.D.
Christ be with you, Christ within you.
Christ behind you, Christ before you.
Christ beside you, Christ to win you.
Christ to comfort and restore you.
Christ beneath you, Christ above you.
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger.
Christ in hearts of all that love you.
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Bind unto yourself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of your salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Next liturgy post: Sunday, March 23, 2014 – Person of Peace (Special)
– Sully
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