Emmaus City Liturgy – Celebrating Jesus and Being Part of His Story
For previous liturgies, click on the links below:
- Sunday, March 9, 2014 – Covenant & Kingdom Intro
- Sunday, March 16, 2014 – Covenant & Kingdom I: Creation and Fall
- Sunday, March 23, 2014 – Person of Peace (Special)
- Sunday, March 30, 2014 – Covenant & Kingdom II: Sin's Destruction and God's Justice
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.
This Sunday, April 6, was unique in that the service was with Sacred Journey Church in Providence, Rhode Island. You can listen to the audio or watch the video at this link:
This Sunday, April 6, was unique in that the service was with Sacred Journey Church in Providence, Rhode Island. You can listen to the audio or watch the video at this link:
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 PRAYER, PSALM, AND SONGS
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Praise Him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Prayer of Invocation
Father, our rock and our refuge,
Father, our rock and our refuge,
Our strong fortress of salvation,
You are immovable and unchanging.
You are faithful and unwavering.
Almighty Father, You alone are our God.
From You we came in the beginning
And to You we will return in the end.
Receive us Father, in the name of Your Son.
It is in Him we come to you,
In His offering up of His Spirit,
That Holy Spirit that is both His and Yours.
In Christ sacrifice alone, we come to You.
We put ourselves into Your hands.
Both our worship and our work is Yours;
To You be all service, all labor, all praise and proclamation,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
One God, forever and ever.
Amen.
You are immovable and unchanging.
You are faithful and unwavering.
Almighty Father, You alone are our God.
From You we came in the beginning
And to You we will return in the end.
Receive us Father, in the name of Your Son.
It is in Him we come to you,
In His offering up of His Spirit,
That Holy Spirit that is both His and Yours.
In Christ sacrifice alone, we come to You.
We put ourselves into Your hands.
Both our worship and our work is Yours;
To You be all service, all labor, all praise and proclamation,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
One God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Psalm 149:1-5
2 2
1 Praise
the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
His praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let
Israel be glad in his Maker;
Let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise His name with dancing,
making melody to Him with tambourine and lyre!
making melody to Him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He adorns the humble with salvation.
He adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
The Lord’s Prayer
From Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
(For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.)
From Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
(For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.)
Take the World, But Give Me Jesus
By Ascend the Hill (original by Fanny Crosby)
1879 A.D.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
All its joys are but a name;
For His love abideth ever,
Through eternal years the same.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Sweetest comfort of my soul;
With my Savior watching over me,
I can sing though billows roll.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Let me view His constant smile;
Then throughout this life's long journey
He will lead me all the while.
So take the world, but give me Jesus.
In His cross my trust shall be,
Till, with clearer, brighter vision,
Face to face my Lord I see!
So take the world, but give me Jesus. (4x)
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above! (Repeat 2x)
So take the world, but give me Jesus! (2x)
Take the world, but give me Jesus. (4x)
Beautiful Scandalous Night
By Robbie Seay Band (original by The Choir)
2002 A.D.
By Ascend the Hill (original by Fanny Crosby)
1879 A.D.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
All its joys are but a name;
For His love abideth ever,
Through eternal years the same.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Sweetest comfort of my soul;
With my Savior watching over me,
I can sing though billows roll.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Let me view His constant smile;
Then throughout this life's long journey
He will lead me all the while.
So take the world, but give me Jesus.
In His cross my trust shall be,
Till, with clearer, brighter vision,
Face to face my Lord I see!
So take the world, but give me Jesus. (4x)
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above! (Repeat 2x)
So take the world, but give me Jesus! (2x)
Take the world, but give me Jesus. (4x)
Beautiful Scandalous Night
By Robbie Seay Band (original by The Choir)
2002 A.D.
Verse 1
Go on up to the mountain of mercy,
To the crimson perpetual tide.
Kneel down on the shore,
Be thirsty no more.
Go under and be purified.
Verse 2
Follow Christ to the holy mountain,
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall.
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all.
Chorus
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree,
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night.
Verse 3
On the hillside, you will be delivered,
At the foot of the cross justified.
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side.
(Repeat Chorus)
Go on up to the mountain of mercy,
To the crimson perpetual tide.
Kneel down on the shore,
Be thirsty no more.
Go under and be purified.
Verse 2
Follow Christ to the holy mountain,
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall.
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all.
Chorus
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree,
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night.
Verse 3
On the hillside, you will be delivered,
At the foot of the cross justified.
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side.
(Repeat Chorus)
WORSHIP THROUGH HEARING, LISTENING, AND DISCUSSING
God with Us // Covenant and Kingdom III
Sin's Construction vs. God's Cultivation
Scripture Reading
Notes
We are coming to the conclusion of the
three terrible episodes of human fallenness in Genesis 3-11:
- The falling away from trusting God of Adam and Eve in the Garden
- The sinfully destructive generation that began with Cain and concluded with the flood
- And the sinfully constructive generation of Babel
With Babel, we see humanity
not learning from the previous stories of the their ancestors attempts to determine their own destiny. But instead of violently attacking each other, they are now working to force God to bless them for their
endeavors. And they are doing it all in one spot in direct contrast to what God has commanded humanity to do from the beginning:
"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth ... " (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 7)
They didn't trust God at His Word. And they didn't honor God at His Word. They trusted and honored their own inclinations to be divine in one location, rather than being God's image bearers throughout the earth. They wanted to build something for themselves.
But what were they building? And in reflection, what are we building just like them?
1) What are we building? Means to lessen our vulnerability.
Covenant | Relationship // Finding our identity from who God is and who He has promised we will be with Him so that we live from our identity rather than for our identity
How did the serpent tempt the woman in Genesis 3:4? When you don't listen to God, "You will not surely die." Eat what you want. Do what you want. You determine your consequences.
So the people at Babel said to one another, "Come, let us make ... " But no one is asking what God wants. No one is considering His words. In fact, they use and abuse the words He said when He created humanity in Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, 'Let us make ... " They are creating their own means of protection.
God intended that people would bear His imprint across the world, that they would reflect His identity and represent Him to all creation. Humans alone were declared "very good". But they chose to stay in the garden and let the serpent determine for them that that they needed in order to reflect themselves apart from God. And now they are choosing again to construct their own plans.
What are our means of protection? What do we build to make our lives feel safe? How do we ignore God's call on us to go, and instead demand that He bless our efforts to be secure financially and relationally?
2) What are we building? Means to increase our authority.
Kingdom | Responsibility // Continuing in the authority God has given humanity to care for each other and the world around us in light of how He continues to care for and discipline us
In Genesis 11:4 when " ... they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth ... ” is an echo of the desire to determine how the world should be ruled like in Genesis 3:5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
The people building the tower in Babel don't even hide their disobedience. The name of the game in their world isn't to be fruitful and multiply, but to be so busy building their own construction so that they don't obey God and won't be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.
Where are we ruling our time? Where are we ruling in our relationships? How are we trying not to live by faith and wisdom, but instead live by safety and reason. God is merciful in breaking down the walls around our prescribed notions of how life should go when we are kings and queens in our domain. And God is merciful when He doesn't let our plans succeed. Despite our lofty constructed plans, God in His grace "came down" (vs. 5) to show us what a fruitful life really looks like. He did this with the people at Babel. And His ultimate example is when He came down as Jesus and flipped upside down our kingdoms and the way we thought authority was supposed to work in the world.
3) Instead of asking, "What are we building?", God wants us to be asking, "Where are we going and who are we blessing?"
"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth ... " (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 7)
Genesis 11:8 says, "So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city."
We are meant to be a sent people who follow the God who so graciously comes to us even in our disobedience. And we don't have to obey to form our identity; we obey from knowing our identity in Him. We are blessed by Him, and are called to bless others.
Jesus is the builder. He promised He will build His church. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. We can be vulnerable with Him because His desire is to be reconciled to us. We can gladly serve Him and give up our authority in honor of Him because He first came to serve us and shows us how to wield servant authority.
He's the God who has come down. We didn't have to build our way to Him. We can go out into this wild world in His name because He's even more dangerous. But He's also good.
Will we listen to His command to "Go, make disciples of all nations"? It's not a safe plan, but it's a good plan. It's a plan that helps you answer, "Where are you going and who are you blessing?"
But what were they building? And in reflection, what are we building just like them?
1) What are we building? Means to lessen our vulnerability.
Covenant | Relationship // Finding our identity from who God is and who He has promised we will be with Him so that we live from our identity rather than for our identity
How did the serpent tempt the woman in Genesis 3:4? When you don't listen to God, "You will not surely die." Eat what you want. Do what you want. You determine your consequences.
So the people at Babel said to one another, "Come, let us make ... " But no one is asking what God wants. No one is considering His words. In fact, they use and abuse the words He said when He created humanity in Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, 'Let us make ... " They are creating their own means of protection.
God intended that people would bear His imprint across the world, that they would reflect His identity and represent Him to all creation. Humans alone were declared "very good". But they chose to stay in the garden and let the serpent determine for them that that they needed in order to reflect themselves apart from God. And now they are choosing again to construct their own plans.
What are our means of protection? What do we build to make our lives feel safe? How do we ignore God's call on us to go, and instead demand that He bless our efforts to be secure financially and relationally?
“For the storyteller, ‘the name ‘Babel/Babylon’ does not mean ‘gate of god,’ as the Babylonians held, but ‘confusion,’ and it evokes the similar sounding words ‘folly’ and ‘flood.’ Far from being the last word in human culture in relation to our greatness, it is the ultimate symbol of man’s failure when he attempts to go it alone in defiance of his creator.” – Gordon Wenham, Commentary on Genesis 1-15
2) What are we building? Means to increase our authority.
Kingdom | Responsibility // Continuing in the authority God has given humanity to care for each other and the world around us in light of how He continues to care for and discipline us
In Genesis 11:4 when " ... they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth ... ” is an echo of the desire to determine how the world should be ruled like in Genesis 3:5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
The people building the tower in Babel don't even hide their disobedience. The name of the game in their world isn't to be fruitful and multiply, but to be so busy building their own construction so that they don't obey God and won't be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.
"Though God has commanded humankind to spread out ever the whole earth, this group in Mesopotamia has chosen rather to establish for themselves a secure center from which to control their own environment and protect themselves. Instead of a God-given unity and identity, they seek a false, autonomous collectivism and a reputation of their own devising. ... By building this tower they arrogantly challenge God to come down and bless their endeavor. ... Babel stands as a monument to the personal human desire to build our own kingdom apart from God.” – Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, The Drama of Scripture
Where are we ruling our time? Where are we ruling in our relationships? How are we trying not to live by faith and wisdom, but instead live by safety and reason. God is merciful in breaking down the walls around our prescribed notions of how life should go when we are kings and queens in our domain. And God is merciful when He doesn't let our plans succeed. Despite our lofty constructed plans, God in His grace "came down" (vs. 5) to show us what a fruitful life really looks like. He did this with the people at Babel. And His ultimate example is when He came down as Jesus and flipped upside down our kingdoms and the way we thought authority was supposed to work in the world.
3) Instead of asking, "What are we building?", God wants us to be asking, "Where are we going and who are we blessing?"
"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth ... " (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 7)
Genesis 11:8 says, "So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city."
We are meant to be a sent people who follow the God who so graciously comes to us even in our disobedience. And we don't have to obey to form our identity; we obey from knowing our identity in Him. We are blessed by Him, and are called to bless others.
Jesus is the builder. He promised He will build His church. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. We can be vulnerable with Him because His desire is to be reconciled to us. We can gladly serve Him and give up our authority in honor of Him because He first came to serve us and shows us how to wield servant authority.
He's the God who has come down. We didn't have to build our way to Him. We can go out into this wild world in His name because He's even more dangerous. But He's also good.
Will we listen to His command to "Go, make disciples of all nations"? It's not a safe plan, but it's a good plan. It's a plan that helps you answer, "Where are you going and who are you blessing?"
WORSHIP THROUGH CONFESSION AND COMMUNION
Prayer of Confession
Communion
(Read Emmaus City's Purpose and Prayers for Communion)
(Read Emmaus City's Purpose and Prayers for Communion)
WORSHIP THROUGH SENDING
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 Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into the spirit world.
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 there 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.
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 Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into the spirit world.
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 there 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
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Numbers 6:24-26
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