An Update from Emmanuel
The video contains 3 updates from Pastor David about Emmanuel Presbyterian Church.
Call to Worship – By Laura Jean Truman
God is not waiting until we become our ideal selves to delight in us, work through us, or be present to us.
God is delighted in our growth, but our failings, weaknesses, and refusal to constantly grow do not change God’s never ending, unfailing, constant delight in us.
Counter-intuitively, when we believe this, repentance is less scary.
Repentance isn’t arbitrary punishment. It is a restoration process to make us whole, to remove barriers between us and our neighbor, and helps us reconnect to a God who has never disconnected from us. Amen.
Scripture Reading – Matthew 11:28-29 (NRSV)
28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Song –You Love All Your People by Page CXVI
Lyrics:
Father please forgive us for our inconsistent, selfish, wounded ways
Spirit keep us close to your heart, change us, make us, teach us loving grace
Cosmic Christ your glory unfolds in each body breathing mercies in
‘Cause you love all your people, Lord your mercy’s new every day
You wash all your people with your tears of peace you hold our pain
Mother keep us tender to your words of wisdom, guiding us in truth
Spirit keep us close to your breath, laying in your bosom my we rest
Cosmic Christ is now unfolding in each body mending brokenness
‘Cause you love all your people, Lord your mercy’s new every day
You wash all your people with your tears of peace you hold our pain
Scripture Reading – John 6:35
Prayer – A Disciple’s Renewal
This is an old Puritan prayer, intended to ask for renewal from Christ. It comes from a small book of Puritan prayers titled, Valley of the Vision.
O MY SAVIOUR,
Help me.
I am so slow to learn,
so prone to forget,
so weak to climb;
I am in the foothills when I should be
on the heights;
I am pained by my graceless heart,
my prayerless days,
my poverty of love,
my sloth in the heavenly race,
my sullied conscience,
my wasted hours,
my unspent opportunities.
I am blind while light shines around me:
take the scales from my eyes,
grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.
Make it my chiefest joy to study thee,
meditate on thee,
gaze on thee,
sit like Mary at thy feet,
lean like John on thy breast,
appeal like Peter to thy love,
count like Paul all things dung.
Give me increase and progress in grace
so that there may be
more decision in my character,
more vigour in my purposes,
more elevation in my life,
more fervour in my devotion,
more constancy in my zeal.
As I have a position in the world,
keep me from making the world my position;
May I never seek in the creature
what can be found only in the Creator;
Let not faith cease from seeking thee
until it vanishes into sight.
Ride forth in me, thou King of kings
and Lord of lords,
that I may live victoriously,
and in victory attain my end.
Video – Pastor David Anderson
The video contains an introduction to communion, prayer of confession, declaration of pardon, reflection, and concludes with the words of institution for the sacrament of communion.
Song – Come Thou Fount by All Sons and Daughters
Benediction
May those of us prone to wander, be reconciled with the very God that delights in us. May our reconciliation with God move us towards our neighbors, our enemies, as we take on God’s gentle heart, God’s humility, and God’s love. Amen.
Friends of Emmanuel,
Several of you have asked why I post prayers, or songs that call God “Mother” – great question! Here is a short response.
Why we can use language like Mother and Father (and beyond to describe God):
First, we know from the creation story, that Adam and Eve were both created in God’s image. So in some sense, from the very getgo, both male and female reflect the image of God. Secondly, throughout the Old Testament, Wisdom, which is part of the divine nature of God, as we see in the psalms and proverbs, is feminine in linguistic structure. In Job 38, the author compares God to an architect, an engineer, a choirmaster, a midwife, a sculptor, an explorer, a quartermaster, a gardener, a hunter, a teacher, a scientist and a chef all in one chapter! In Hosea, God is both a mother with a womb, as well as a mother bear that will protect cubs. In Isaiah, God is both a nursing mother as well as a mother that gives birth. In the New Testament, God is portrayed as a woman searching for a lost coin. In Matthew’s gospel God is described as a mother hen.
Is God Father? Yes! Is God Mother? Yes! Is God engineer, architect, midwife and gardener? Yes!
I found it profoundly powerful when I began to pray to God using different names than the ones I always default to. Also, for those of us that have had abusive fathers, or traumatic experiences in the past, some of the alternative names for God are very helpful to connect better with God.
Hope this helps!
David
Thank you for the Communion sermon, and for keeping us all connected. Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July.
I am grateful for these inspiring and engaging online services that you diligently arrange and that you (and others graciously) and thoughtfully contribute to. Thanks you (all)!
I really like your comment about the feminine aspects of God, especially your going back to Genesis noting that He created both men and women in His image. For us men, this should help us to remember our place is no more nor less in Christ than that of our sisters from the point of view of reflecting the character of God. Matt 22:30 might be seen as a promise, not disparaging marriage, but indicating that what we are will reflect a communion with God and others that transcends its earthly shadow of marriage. We are all the bride of Christ. Gal 3:28 also makes this point. I take it to mean not that God has neutered his people, but that he has given us the potential for developing the divine aspects of both men and women as appropriate to who we are and will become in Christ.