Lent in BHM | "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" by T.A. Dorsey

 

"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" Woodcut by Kreg Yingst

" ... Precious Lord, take my hand.

Lead me home, let me stand.

Lord, I am tired, 

And I am weak, and I am worn.

Through the storm, through the night,

Lead me on to the Light ... "

+ Take My Hand, Precious Lord
By Thomas A. Dorsey

(1899-1993 A.D.)

As my family gets ready to watch the American classic film, Selma, again this weekend to honor Black History Month during the month of Lent, we will be considering these questions together with anyone who joins us:

+ What caused suffering in this story?

+ Who carried the cost

for someone else?

+ What sacrificial love provided healing

for what was broken or wrong?

Why watch this film and answer these questions during Black History Month and Lent? Because

Lent is meant to be
Jesus Church's springtime,
a time when,
out of the darkness of sin's winter,
a repentant, empowered people emerges.

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s life of repentance and empowerment, as he emerged to answer the questions above, during his darkest moments, he would call up Mahalia Jackson and say,

"I need to hear 

the voice of the Lord."

And then Mahalia would begin to sing the "Father of Gospel Music," Thomas A. Dorsey's classic, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord." 

One of these dark-night-of-the-soul moments in MLK's life is captured in one of my favorite scenes in Selma (another being when MLK is in jail and his friend, Ralph Abernathy, reminds him of Jesus' words to "Look at the birds ... " in Matthew 6:26-27). If this scene deeply moves you like it does me, I encourage you to read the story below about why Dorsey wrote this song ...

"In a dark moment 

as this man called out to God in anger, 

God answered back, 

pouring into Dorsey a love song 

that would forever soothe the world."

The Story Behind, 

"Take My Hand, Precious Lord"

Thomas A. Dorsey, the son of a preacher, grew up in rural Villa Rica, Georgia, just west of Atlanta. He was raised on spirituals and hymns. Dorsey was also introduced to a cappella “sacred harp” singing, a choral four-part harmony separating treble, alto, tenor, and bass. His knowledge of these various African American musical art forms would prove inspirational when he turned to writing hymns.

The “Father of Gospel Music” started as a bluesman—“Georgia Tom”—making a name for himself as he banged away on the keyboard while Tampa Red picked guitar and sang. Their song, “It’s Tight Like That,” became a hit for the duo, selling more than 7 million copies. Then in the early 1920s, Dorsey would accompany Ma Rainey with his group, The Wild Cats Jass Band. But the spirituals called to Dorsey, and soon he formed a choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church at the request of Rev. James Smith.

Then a tragedy occurred. 

Dorsey's wife died in childbirth, 

and his newborn son died shortly after, 

leaving Dorsey devastated. 

He found solace, not in self-medication, 

but in returning to the spirituals 

that focused his heart on Christ. 

Thomas A. Dorsey described  

this moment in his own words.

After first breaking out into song

in the midst of mourning with friends,

later, sitting at his piano, 

Dorsey would compose what would become 

his most poignant and memorable song, 

“Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” 

" ... God can transform 

your pain into purpose ... 

You might be in your darkest hour right now, 

but Thomas Dorsey’s story teaches us 

to keep holding on. 

There is life after death ... "

Since its first recording by

the Heavenly Gospel Singers in 1937, 

"Precious Lord" has been published 

in 40 languages.

“Precious Lord” became a favorite hymn of Martin Luther King Jr., and he often requested that Mahalia Jackson sing it for him personally in his lowest moments, as well as at civil rights rallies and church services. It was, in fact, the last song King would request, standing with Jesse Jackson and others on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, just seconds before his assassination. Mahalia sang it at his funeral, and Aretha Franklin would sing it at Mahalia’s.

"Through the storm, 

Through the night,

Lead me on to the light

Take my hand, 

Precious Lord,

Lead me home."

During this season of Lent as we remember how the saints who came before us turned to Jesus and clung to these Gospel words sung through their darkest nights, may we also say:

"I want ‘Precious Lord.’ 

(Sing) it tonight."

Bonus Rendition:

+ BHP: Rev. Robert Jones,

"Take My Hand, Precious Lord"

When man sings a song

to God in heaven,

he sings a spiritual.

When he sings 

to earth and man,

he sings the blues.

Those tow things

kind of always go together.

With anticipation and joy,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

CN | Prayer in the Night in the Midst of the Pain & the Dark

Francis Spufford: "We don't have an argument that solves the problem of the cruel world, but we have a story." This is why, no matter what we claim to believe or disbelieve, what rises to the surface in our most vulnerable moments is inevitably the story on which we build our lives. + Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer in the Night

Christianity does not give us a concise explanation for vulnerability, loss, or pain, but it gives us a story – a real story in history. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that, "There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil (and human suffering)." 

It takes the whole story of redemptive history to shape our questions about God's presence in the darkness. There may be no tidy solution to the problem of pain, but this is not because these questions are unimportant or, in a final sense, unanswerable. If there is anything remotely approaching a Christian answer to our questions about theodicy – the logical dilemma of how God can be good and all-powerful even as horrible things regularly happen in the world, including the crisis of faith that often comes from encountering suffering – the story is the answer.

When my friend, Julie, sat in a hospital waiting room as surgeons carved her infant son's tender skin, she committed herself to deciding whether God could be trusted, regardless of the result of the surgery. She had to decide if she believed these claims that Christianity makes about God's goodness. She quit the poker game, folded her cards, and decided to trust a God who did not guarantee that bad things would not happen to her or her son. 

But this was not an arbitrary decision; not a leap in the dark. She was not simply ratcheting herself up to affirm the goodness of God in spite of contrary evidence. She did look to evidence, though not the evidence of her life, nor the tally of the total amount of good in the world versus the total amount of evil. Instead, she looked at the life of Jesus. It's on this story that she anchored her decision about whether she would trust God, without knowing what would happen next. The Church has always proclaimed that if we want to see what God is like, we look at Jesus – a man "acquainted with sorrow" (Isaiah 53:3), no stranger to grief, a peasant craftsman who knew suffering, big and small, and died as a criminal, mostly alone. Mysteriously, God does not take away our vulnerability. He enters into it. 

Jesus left a place where there is no night to enter into our darkness. He was met with blisters and indigestion, with fractured relationships and the death of friends, with an oppressive empire, the indignity of poverty, and the terror of violence. One night He sweat blood, asking the Father to spare Him from agony, weeping in the lonely darkness while His friends fell asleep. He said, "Not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42), and soon afterward He was tortured to death.

God did not keep bad things from happening to God Himself. To look to Jesus is to know that our Creator has felt pain, has known trouble, and is well-acquainted with sorrow. But our hope in suffering is not merely to gaze on the biography of an ancient man frozen in the pages of the Bible. The story of the Gospel is not a mere mantra or a relic of history. It is alive and ongoing. The work of Jesus continues, even now, in our everyday lives. So in hardship we do not look to Jesus solely as one who has been there before, once upon a time in a distant past. We find He is here with us, in the present tense. He participates in our suffering, even as – mysteriously – in our suffering we participate in the fullness of Christ's life. 

But we cannot embrace the Christian story or Christ's ongoing presence in our lives by an act of sheer will or an exercise in cognition. Our hope in sorrow is not something we carry around as a brute fact or, worse, a pat answer. I do not come to trust the Christian story in the same way I trust that Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes or that bread is made of yeast and flour. 

The story we live by is one that we somehow enter into – we discover our own small lives and stories in the larger story of God and His Church. We do that through the practices and prayers we receive from those who have gone before us. We take up and learn the craft of faith that allows us to know an actual, surprising, frustrating, and relentlessly merciful God. In the present tense. 

Years ago, during a vacation in New Hampshire, my husband, Jonathan, and I climbed Mount Washington, which is notorious for erratic weather. It can change from sunny and warm to snowing in a few hours. The wind is so strong that it once held the record for the fastest wind gust on earth ... So the good people of New Hampshire have made cairns along the trail: massive, towering rock structures that plot the course. When the fog descends and the weather is dangerous, hikers can make it to shelter at the bottom of the mountain or at the top by walking from cairn to cairn in the white out.

In times of deep darkness, the cairns that have kept me in the way and story of Jesus were the prayers and practices of His Church. When I could not pray, the Church said, "Here are prayers." When I could not believe, the Church said, "Come to the table and be fed." When I could not worship, the Church sang over me the language of faith. Inherited ways of prayer and worship – liturgical practices – are a way that the ancient Church built cairns for us, to help us endure this mystery, to keep us on this path of faith, to guide us home.

 

Theodicy is in no way "solved" for me. It is not in fact solvable in the here and now. In many ways I am still wandering in the fog. But I have found cairns to follow, and they have guided many others in the midst of this crazy and unpredictable weather.

*As Flannery O'Connor wrote, theodicy is not "a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be endured." ... (the mystery is) an acknowledgement that the world crackles with possibility because it is steeped in the shocking and unpredictable presence of God.

+ The content above is an excerpt from Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep by Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren focused on the Scriptures and prayers of compline.

Bonus: Here is a recent song to complement the content above:

The Story I'll Tell

Maverick City Music, 2020 A.D.

The hour is dark and it’s hard to see

What You are doing here in the ruins,

And where this will lead ...

Oh, but I know that down through the years,

I’ll look on this moment, see Your hand on it,

And know You were here ...

And I’ll testify of the battles You’ve won,

How You were my portion when there wasn’t enough.

I'll sing a song of the seas that we crossed,

The waters You parted, the waves that I walked ...

Oh, my God did not fail! Oh, it’s the story I’ll tell!

Oh, I know it is well! Oh, it's the story I’ll tell!

Believing gets hard when options are few,

When I can't see how You're moving

I know that You're proving You're the God that comes through!

Oh, but I know that over the years,

I’ll look back on this moment and see Your hand on it

And know You were here ... (Pre-Chorus + Chorus)

All that is left is highest praises,

So sing hallelujah to the Rock of Ages ... (Chorus)

Next post: CN | Godspeed: The Path to Being Known, to Answering "Where are you?" with "Here I Am"

Here are links to previous City Notes books: A Meal with Jesus; The Art of Neighboring; A Praying Life; Encounters with Jesus; One Thousand Gifts; The Rest of God; Everyday Church; Letters to a Birmingham Jail; Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith; The Pursuing God; Yawning at Tigers; Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal; The Eternal Current; Learning to Speak God; Tattoos on the Heart; Drop the Stones; He Speaks in the Silence; A Beautiful Disaster; Glorious Weakness; Discovering the Freedom of Limitations; Bread for the Resistance; Gentle & Lowly; Ready or Not; Facing the Fear Question; The Path to Being Known

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

Pentecost Continued FB Live Introduction, Prayer & Message | I Can't Breathe + We Need the 2nd Wind

" ... Maybe what Jesus is saying to us ... is that we need a second wind. God knew that He would have to grant us supernatural empowerment. If you have the first wind (of animation) without receiving the second wind (the Spirit's resurrecting and empowering breath of life), then the air of oppression will be too thin for you to survive. ... " + Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates

Introduction + Prayer | Think (Educate), See (Advocate), Be (Incarnate)

Pentecost Continued Message | I Can't Breathe + We Need the Second Wind of the Spirit by Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates

Sermon Scriptures | Genesis 2:7; John 20:22; Acts 2:1-4

Introduction Song | Keedron Bryant - I Just Wanna Live (Live Performance)

Introduction Album Recommendation | Talented 10th by Sho Baraka

Introduction Film Recommendation | Just Mercy (Free in June)

In accordance with state and national authorities, we are looking to return to the front lawn of the Fusion Center at 30 Tyler Prentice Road on Saturday, July 11. More details to come. In the meantime, we are still gathering every Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST via Emmaus City Church Facebook Live. The liturgy with links to songs will be posted Saturday morning on our Facebook page beforehand. We would love for you to join with us! Also, you can contact us at info@emmauscitychurch.com.

Call to Worship from Psalm 33:5, 89:14, 103:6

The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the His unfailing love. … Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne; faithful love and truth go before Him. … The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Pentecost Continued Prayer for Justice and Healing | A Call to Prayer + A Cry of Hymns & Songs for Justice & Healing

Prayers of Confession + Assurance | Based on Ephesians 2:12-14

Lord Jesus, each of us in our sin have tried to live without You and each other, foreign to Your promises to bless all nations into Your family. Forgive us for forgetting and rebelling. But now in You, our Christ and Savior, together, we are brought near by Your blood because You are our peace. Jesus, You tore down the dividing wall of hostility in Your flesh on the cross. Tear down our hostility in our hearts and in our nation again.

Let Justice Roll

Sojourn Worship, 2015 A.D.

Forgive us Lord, for passing by when children cry for bread.
Forbid it Lord, that justice lies in tatters, cold and dead.
Outside these walls run desperate streets
Where greed is law and life is cheap.
We bar the doors, refuse to see, or hear the words You said:

Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll! (Repeat)

Convict us Lord, we dance and laugh ignoring those who weep.
Correct us Lord, our golden calf has lulled our hearts to sleep.
The gap between the rich and poor
Grows ever wider, shore to shore.
There’s racial hate, religious war and wolves among the sheep. (Chorus)

Indwell us Lord, and purify our hands to work for You.
Enlist us Lord, to serve nearby and ʻcross the waters, too.
Your image-bearers on the earth
Will never know how much theyʼre worth
Unless we love and help them first and show the way to You! (Chorus)

Spirit Break Out

Kim Walker Smith, 2015 A.D.

Our Father, all of Heaven roars Your name
Sing louder, let this place erupt with praise
Can you hear it? The sound of Heaven touching earth, 

The sound of Heaven touching earth!

Spirit break out, break our walls down! 

Spirit break out, Heaven come down! 

King Jesus, You're the name w e're lifting high, 

Your glory shaking up the earth and sky. 

Revival, we want to see Your Kingdom here; 

We want to see Your Kingdom here!

Your Spirit

Tasha Cobbs Leonard, 2017 A.D.

Not by might, not by power,
By Your Spirit, God,
Send Your Spirit, God. (Repeat) 

You are the fire, we are the temple. 

You are the voice, we are Your song.
You are our God, we are Your people.
You are the light, we stand in awe ...
We stand in awe of You,
We stand in awe of You! (Chorus)

You called us out, out of the darkness
Into Your love, into Your light.
Grace upon grace, beauty for ashes,
You come to us, we come alive.
We stand in awe of You,
We stand in awe of You! (Chorus 2x)

Breathe, come and breathe on us!
Spirit, breathe, come and breathe on us!

Give Us Your Heart

People & Songs, 2017 A.D.

Your eyes are on the lowly though others look away.
Your feet run to the broken, Your hands are quick to save.
Make us like You, Lord.

You walk with the forgotten and offer them a home,
Adopting the unwanted and calling them Your own.
Make us like You, Lord!

O give us Your heart, O give us Your heart!
Let the light of heaven shine as we step into the dark!
O give us Your heart, O give us Your heart!
All to see the Kingdom come and death depart,
O give us Your heart! O give us Your heart!
(Repeat 2nd Verse + Chorus)

Let justice flow like a river in the desert,
Let the nations know that You will reign forever
As the Earth beholds the glory of the Savior,
Let justice flow! (Repeat + Chorus)

O give us Your heart, O give us Your heart!
Let the light of heaven shine as we step into the dark!
O give us Your heart, O give us Your heart!
Let the light of heaven shine as we step into the dark!
O give us Your heart, O give us Your heart!
All to see Your Kingdom come and death depart,
O give us Your heart! O give us Your heart! 

Pass the Peace | In the Story of God, Jesus declared, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you" (John 14:26) during humanity's darkest, most tragic weekend of His death. And then after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, defeating evil and death, He said, "Peace be with you ... Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:21-22). Somehow, with Jesus, peace is possible even in our darkest moments. During this time, we desire to share with each other peace that passes understanding, empowered by the Spirit of Christ.

The peace of the Lord by always with you.

And also with you.

+ Eucharist | The Beauty and Power of Communion with Jesus and All Who Come Hungry and Thirsty

Benediction from Ephesians 2:18-22

Through Jesus we all have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then go into the world as witnesses, fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household together, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as our cornerstone. In Him the whole building of us being put together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him we are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit to go into all the world to share the Gospel, this ministry of reconciliation. The grace and peace of Christ be with you always in the Spirit.

Next post: FB Live Weekend Message | If God Is for Us: Walking the Romans Road w/ Jesus Together

To connect with us, please contact info@emmauscitychurch.com

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

Pentecost FB Live Video Lament, Liturgy, and Message | Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Pentecost Weekend Lament for Ahmaud, Breonna & George

We cry out together, "How long, O Lord?!" ... How long, Lord? Will You forget us forever? How long will You hide Your face from us? How long will we store up anxious concerns within ourselves, agony in our minds every day? How long will our enemies dominate us? Consider us and answer, Lord our God. Restore brightness to our eyes; otherwise, we will sleep in death. Our enemy will say, “I have triumphed over them,” and our foes will rejoice because we are shaken. But we have trusted in Your faithful love; our hearts will rejoice in Your deliverance. We will sing to the Lord because He has treated us generously. ... After this, I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams and your young men will see visions." + Psalm 13; Joel 2:28

Pentecost Lament and Message Video + Audio | Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit 

+ Reconciliation: The Latin word for eyelash is cilia. If you were so close to someone as to have your eyelashes with theirs, you’d be con–cilia. And if you were once that close, but had segregated or lived life apart, and then returned again, you would be re-con-cilia—you would be reconciled. In the beginning, human beings shared a great closeness with God. But we separated ourselves from God by our pride and grasping at power instead of receiving His love and life; we withdrew from that closeness and we gasped from loss of His life-giving love and breath … but God wanted to breathe into us the Spirit's breath of life and desired for us to be able to look Him in the eye again. So He came among us as one of us, fully divine and fully human in all things with us but sin—He had … eyelashes. Jesus came to us in our separation caused by our sinful segregation from Him, poor in spirit, afflicted, enslaved, abused, oppressed and oppressors, and stood eye-to-eye with us and said: “Your sins are forgiven.” And by His Cross, as a man He hung eyelash-to-eyelash with God and us on our behalf and said, “Father, forgive them,” and God responded, “Yes, it is accomplished.” Through Jesus, by His blood and His Spirit, God demonstrates His love and “has reconciled us to Himself,” even when we were His enemies, into a new humanity of the bloodline of Christ where we get to be His family of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation (see Romans 5:6-11).

Sermon Scriptures | Acts 2:32-41

In accordance with state and national authorities, we are looking to return to the front lawn of the Fusion Center at 30 Tyler Prentice Road on Saturday, July 11. More details to come. In the meantime, we are still gathering every Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST via Emmaus City Church Facebook Live. The liturgy with links to songs will be posted Saturday morning on our Facebook page beforehand. We would love for you to join with us! Also, you can contact us at info@emmauscitychurch.com.

Call to Worship | Joel 2:28

Pentecost Lament for Ahmaud, Breonna, and George | 

We sit before You today, oh Lord, hearts broken, eyes weeping, heads spinning. People made in Your image have been killed, including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. People turned on them in violence and now we are turning to You in prayer. We stand with the Arbery, Taylor, and Floyd families and the African American community. We collapse with all those still weeping on the streets and in their homes. We kneel to bear the burdens in Jesus’ name. 

We cry out to You, oh Lord. The violence in our streets continues to break out from our dark hearts. The hatred in our cities has crept into our stubborn minds. The brokenness in our lives has broken out into the lives of others once again. We also pray for our enemies and those who join with the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy. We pray we will not react and respond with the deceiver and prince of the power of the air. We pray we will move with the Prince of peace and King of kings. We cry out to You! May Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We cry out for peace in Jesus’ name. 

We pray to You today, oh Lord: We pray to the God of all Comfort to comfort those in their mourning. We pray that You would bestow on them a crown of beauty in the ashes. We pray that You would give them the oil of joy in their mourning. We pray that You would give them a garment of praise that protects them against a spirit of despair. We pray for their comfort in Jesus’ name. 

We declare together, oh Lord: We will continue to stand and cry and weep with those who weep. We will continue to make a place of peace for even the enemies. We will continue to open our doors and our hearts to those who enter them. We will continue to seek to forgive as we have been forgiven. We will continue to love in Jesus’ name. You taught us that love overcomes evil with good and covers a multitude of sins. We will continue to ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind who helps us receive and give Your perfect love that drives out fear.

Prayers of Confession + Assurance | Based on Joel 2:12-13

Fall Afresh

Jeremy Riddle, 2011 A.D.

Awaken my soul, come awake to hunger, to seek, to thirst.
Awaken first love, come awake and do as You did at first.

Spirit of the living God, come fall afresh on me,
Come wake me from my sleep.
Blow through the caverns of my soul,
Pour in me to overflow, to overflow.

Awaken my soul, come awake
To worship with all your strength. (Chorus)

Come and fill this place, let Your glory now invade! 

Spirit, come and fill this place,
Let Your glory now invade! (Chorus)

King of Kings

Hillsong Music, 2019 A.D.

In the darkness, we were waiting without hope, without light,
Till from heaven You came running. There was mercy in Your eyes

To fulfill the law and prophets, to a virgin came the Word,
From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the dirt.

Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit, three-in-one,

God of glory, majesty, praise forever to the King of kings!

To reveal the Kingdom coming, and to reconcile the lost,
T o redeem the whole creation, You did not despise the cross.
For even in Y our suffering, You saw to the other side.
Knowing this was our salvation, Jesus, for our sake, You died. (Chorus)

And the morning that You rose, all of heaven held its breath
Till that stone was moved for good, for the Lamb had conquered death. 

And the dead rose from their tombs, and the angels stood in awe,
For the souls of all who’d come to the Father are restored. ...
And the Church of Christ was born, then the Spirit lit the flame!
Now this Gospel Truth of old shall not kneel, shall not faint!
By His blood and in His Name, in His freedom, I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ who has resurrected me! (Chorus)

Spirit Break Out

Kim Walker Smith, 2015 A.D.

Our Father, all of Heaven roars Your name
Sing louder, let this place erupt with praise
Can you hear it? The sound of Heaven touching earth, 

The sound of Heaven touching earth!

Spirit break out, break our walls down! 

Spirit break out, Heaven come down!

King Jesus, You're the name w e're lifting high, 

Your glory shaking up the earth and sky. 

Revival, we want to see Your Kingdom here; 

We want to see Your Kingdom here!

Your Spirit

Tasha Cobbs Leonard, 2017 A.D.

Not by might, not by power,
By Your Spirit, God,
Send Your Spirit, God. (Repeat)

You are the fire, we are the temple. 

You are the voice, we are Your song.
You are our God, we are Your people.
You are the light, we stand in awe ...
We stand in awe of You,
We stand in awe of You! (Chorus)

You called us out, out of the darkness
Into Your love, into Your light.
Grace upon grace, beauty for ashes,
You come to us, we come alive.
We stand in awe of You,
We stand in awe of You! (Chorus 2x)

Breathe, come and breathe on us!
Spirit, breathe, come and breathe on us!

Pass the Peace | In the Story of God, Jesus declared, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you" (John 14:26) during humanity's darkest, most tragic weekend of His death. And then after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, defeating evil and death, He said, "Peace be with you ... Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:21-22). Somehow, with Jesus, peace is possible even in our darkest moments. During this time, we desire to share with each other peace that passes understanding, empowered by the Spirit of Christ.

The peace of the Lord by always with you.

And also with you.

+ Eucharist | The Beauty and Power of Communion with Jesus and All Who Come Hungry and Thirsty

Benediction from 2 Corinthians 13:14

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Next post: Pentecost Continued FB Live Introduction, Prayer & Message | I Can't Breathe + We Need the 2nd Wind

To connect with us, please contact info@emmauscitychurch.com

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

Pentecost Weekend Lament for Ahmaud, Breonna, & George

A Pentecost 2020 Weekend Lament for the Murders of Ahmaud Arbery (February 23), Breonna Taylor (March 13), and George Floyd (May 25), along with preparing for the 5-Year Anniversary Loss of 9 African American People Made in the Image of God from Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, for the 4-Year Anniversary Loss of 49 LGBTQI+ People Made in the Image of God from the Pulse Nightclub on Sunday, June 12, 2016, and for the 3-Year Anniversary Acquittal of the Officer Who Killed Philando Castile on Friday, June 16, 2017  

We cry out together, "How long, O Lord?!"  

How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me? Consider me and answer, Lord my God. Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death. My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,” and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously. 

+ Psalm 13 

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Show us how You are treating and will treat our sisters and brothers in communities of color with faithful love, deliverance, and generous just mercy today.

Many continue to express the grief and anger necessary, and I continue to bow my head with them, nod, and groan in the Spirit ... again and again and again ... Here were some of my own words on Mother's Day weekend just a few weeks ago ...

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. How long, Lord?! Not again. Mourning with all our beloved sisters and brothers of color, especially with the mothers on this Mother's Day weekend who have already shed so many tears and suffered excruciating loss, who are crying out, "Why?!" again. " ... Let justice roll like a river, like a river let it roll (to the pavement where the blood of Ahmaud Arbery cries out from the concrete) ... " I encourage you to listen and sing "Rose Petals" with all those who are grieving over the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and longing for justice ... " ... I'm asking you to look at all these roses with petals on the ground, they call this one Ahmaud Arbery. ... "  And as a question and a cry for justice, sing "How Much Longer?" alongside the beloved Ike Ndolo and Common Hymnal to complement "Rose Petals" as a cry through the tears.

And here are still more words this week (also see video Pre-Pentecost Devotional: God Sends Help and Keedron Bryant's powerful, "I Just Wanna Live") in light of the news of George Floyd being killed ... 

With the release of the recording of the George Floyd murder this week, May 2020 has unleashed a string of awful videos of brutal injustices against people of color that will forever be seared in our minds and hearts. In the shock and suffering, may the Spirit of God use the searing to light a growing flame of justice in action as we lament with our sisters and brothers as well as lay down our lives so that they know they are not and will never be alone in this fight.

There never seems to be enough words and actions to stop this. God, help us! So we are going to lament again with this updated call to worship – based on the One Church Liturgy created five years ago for the tragedy involving Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church, and now offered anew for the families and communities who are wailing this month in light of Ahmaud Arbery's, Breonna Taylor's, and George Floyd's murders (was also utilized in previous years to lament with the families and communities impacted by the Pulse Nightclub massacre four years ago and the families and communities impacted by the acquittal of the officer who killed Philando Castile three years ago).

A Call to Worship and Lament for Recognizing the Murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd

[One]

We stand before You today, oh Lord

Hearts broken, eyes weeping, heads spinning.

People made in Your image have been killed, 

including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.

People turned on them in violence

And now we are turning to You in prayer.

[All]

We stand with the Arbery, Taylor, and Floyd families and the

African American community.

We collapse with all those still weeping on the streets and in their homes.

We kneel to bear the burdens in Jesus’ name.

[One]

We cry out to You, oh Lord.

The violence in our streets continues to break out from our dark hearts.

The hatred in our cities has crept into our stubborn minds.

The brokenness in our lives has broken out into the lives of others once again.

We also pray for our enemies and those who join with the enemy 

to steal, kill, and destroy.

We pray we will not react and respond with the deceiver 

and prince of the power of the air.

We pray we will move with the Prince of peace and King of kings.

[All]

We cry out to You!

May Your Kingdom come,

May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We cry out for peace in Jesus’ name.

[One]

We pray to You today, oh Lord:

We pray to the God of all Comfort to comfort those in their mourning.

We pray that You would bestow on them a crown of beauty in the ashes.

We pray that You would give them the oil of joy in their mourning.

We pray that You would give them a garment of praise that protects them against a spirit of despair.

[All]

We pray for their comfort in Jesus’ name.

[One]

We declare together, oh Lord:

We will continue to stand and cry and weep with those who weep.

We will continue to make a place of peace for even the enemies.

We will continue to open our doors and our hearts to those who enter them.

We will continue to seek to forgive as we have been forgiven.

We will continue to love in Jesus’ name because You taught us that love overcomes evil with good and covers a multitude of sins.

[All]

We declare our love through one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one Church. 

We declare you do not grieve alone today.

Arise, Lord! Lift Up Your Just and Righteous Hand for the Afflicted

Arise, Lord! Lift up Your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
But You, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
You consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
You encourage them, and You listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

+ Psalm 10:12-15, 17-18

Let Justice Roll + Sojourn Worship

2015 A.D.

Forgive us Lord, for passing by 

When children cry for bread.
Forbid it Lord, that justice lie 

In tatters, cold and dead.
Outside these walls run desperate streets 

Where greed is law and life is cheap.
We bar the doors, refuse to see, 

Or hear the words You said:

Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll!
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll!

Convict us Lord, we dance and laugh 

Ignoring those who weep.
Correct us Lord, our golden calf 

Has lulled our hearts to sleep.
The gap between the rich and poor 

Grows ever wider, shore to shore.
There’s racial hate, religious war 

And wolves among the sheep. 

(Chorus)

Indwell us Lord, and purify 

Our hands to work for You.
Enlist us Lord, to serve nearby 

And ʻcross the waters, too.
Your image-bearers on the earth 

Will never know how much theyʼre worth
Unless we love and help them first 

And show the way to You!

(Chorus) 

[One] 

The Lord is like a father to His children,
    Tender and compassionate to those who fear Him.

For He knows how weak we are;
    He remembers we are only dust.

Our days on earth are like grass;
    Like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

The wind blows, and we are gone—
    As though we had never been here.

But the love of the Lord remains forever
    with those who fear Him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children

Of those who are faithful to His covenant,
    Of those who obey His commandments! 

The Lord has made the heavens His throne;

    from there He rules over everything. 

[All] 

Let all that we are praise the Lord;
    With our whole hearts, we will praise His holy name.

Let all that we are praise the Lord;
    May we never forget the good things He does for us.

He forgives all our sins
    And heals all our diseases.

He redeems us from death
    And crowns us with love and tender mercies.

He fills our lives with good things.
    Our youth is renewed like the eagle’s! 

The Lord gives righteousness
    And justice to all who are treated unfairly.

+ Psalm 103:13-19; 1-6 

[One] 

We thank You that You are Immanuel – God with us.

Be with all those who are mourning.

Continue to be our Father of compassion we all desperately need. 

Continue to be the King of salvation we all desperately need.

Continue to be the Holy Comforter we all desperately need. 

Redeem us. Renew us. Refine us.

Save us and make us holy like You, full of grace and truth.

God, help us. God, forgive us.

Come, King Jesus, come.

Amen.

The Kingdom Is Yours + Common Hymnal

2017 A.D.

Blessed are the ones who do not bury
All the broken pieces of their heart.
Blessed are the tears of all the weary
Pouring like a sky of falling stars.

Blessed are the wounded ones in mourning,
Brave enough to show the Lord their scars.
Blessed are the hurts that are not hidden,
Open to the healing touch of God.

The Kingdom is Yours, the Kingdom is yours,
Hold on a little more, this is not the end.
Hope is in the Lord, keep your eyes on Him.

Blessed are the ones who walk in kindness
Even in the face of great abuse.
Blessed are the deeds that go unnoticed,
Serving with unguarded gratitude.

Blessed are the ones who fight for justice,
Longing for the coming day of peace.
Blessed is the soul that thirsts for righteousness,
Welcoming the last, the lost, the least. (Chorus)

Blessed are the ones who suffer violence
And still have strength to love their enemies.
Blessed is the faith of those who persevere.
Though they fall, they'll never know defeat.

Helpful articles to remember what happened years ago: 

Charleston, South Carolina

CNN: Charleston, South Carolina Shooting Updates and Photos

 TGC: Clementa C. Pinckney (1973-2015), Pastor of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. in Charleston

News.Mic: These are the 9 Men and Women Tragically Murdered in Charleston 
WSJ: A Bow to Charleston
AP: Songs, Prayer Accompany 1st Service at Church Since Shooting
WM: Vigil for Charleston Shooting Victims at Belmont AME Zion Church in Worcester, MA

Orlando, Florida

NYT: Orlando Police Detail Battle to End Massacre at Gay Nightclub
OS: Orlando nighclub shooting: Read about the victims
OS: The sermon on Pulse you didn't hear at church
TM: Can We Still Weep Together After Orlando

Minneapolis, Minnesota

CNN: Officer who shot Philando Castile found not guilty on all counts
WP: Gun owners are outraged by the Philando Castile case. The NRA is silent.
LAT: With anguish and disbelief, Trevor Noah reflects on the Philando Castile verdict

P.S. For my more conservative Caucasian sisters and brothers, if you want to hear preaching truth to power from an African American brother with a historical, political, and spiritual, i.e. holistic, call to the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Jesus, set aside 22+ minutes of time to listen to Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III's sermon "The Cross and the Lynching Tree: A Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery" and prepare to be confronted, comforted, and conflicted in ways that will help you pray, return to the Bible and our nation's history, and consider how the family of God among people of color are looking to Jesus right now. You may disagree with and feel disrupted by some of what he says, but instead of reacting at first, sit with the sermon and ask the Spirit to help you discern what parts of the sermon you may need to receive in this moment in our nation's history. Rev. Dr. Moss III's book, Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair, is also a brief, profound read that asks the question, "Can preaching recover a Blues sensibility and dare speak with authority in the midst of tragedy?" while challenging preachers to preach with a "Blue Note sensibility," which speaks directly to the tragedies faced by our congregants without falling into despair.

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

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