Call to Worship

 

Is there any encouragement in Christ?

 

Yes, Christ makes us experience complete joy.

 

Is there any consolation of love?

 

Yes, God loves us without limits.

 

Is there any fellowship of the Spirit?

 

Yes, the Spirit makes us one.

 

Jesus, give us your mind empty of conceit.

 

God, remove the borders from our love.

 

Spirit, as Jesus prayed, make us one as you are one.

 

People of God, He is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

 

Our dear God, hear our prayer, we want to be your image to all.

 

Song – O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me

Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of your love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Thy glorious rest above

Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus
‘Tis a heaven of heavens to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to thee

Oh, the deep, deep love of jesus
Spread his praise from shore to shore
How he loveth, ever loveth,
Changeth never, nevermore

 

Prayer

 

Read/meditate on this verse, then pray either singly or corporately the prayer that follows:

 

 

The Kingdom is now, and there is no separation.

 

Consider your greatest worry and place them in the passage along with Paul’s list. For example, you may make affirmations such as:

 

• Cancer [or other illnesses] will not separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• Unemployment will not separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• Bereavement will not separate me from the love of God

• … will not separate me from the love of God

• …will not separate me from the love of God

 

Dear Father, faithful God,

 

Fill my heart with the deep conviction that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love which you have for me in Christ Jesus.

 

Amen. Let it be so for me! Fill me with the joy and peace of so believing! I praise your holy name and the name of Jesus through the Spirit for your precious empowering promises! Thank you, Father, thank you.

 

In the name of Jesus and by his authority I come, asking for the confirmation of the faith I have expressed here. Fill me with it and let me walk according to your purposes. Amen.

 

Scripture Reading

 

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:1-11 NAU)

 

Song – The Love of God

 

George Beverly Shea was best known as the soloist for the Billy Graham crusades. Also a prolific recording artist and composer, Shea recorded more than 70 albums of sacred music. At age 23 he wrote the music to one of his best-known solos, “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” to words by Mrs. Rhea H. Miller. The poem had been left on the family piano by Shea’s mother, and after reading the words he sat at the piano and composed the tune. Shea was the recipient of ten grammy nominations. This was recorded in 2012, some months before he passed away in 2013.

 

 

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;

Chorus
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song. [Refrain]

 

Meditation – Jessica Hall and Steve Bagdanov

The following questions framed our conversation around Philippians 2:1-11. Our premise was that the kingdom of God is a present reality that we strive to increase and make known. It isn’t something we need to wait for, but something we need to live into. Philippians is a sort of citizenship document for the members of the Kingdom, exemplified by the life and attitude of Jesus. We recommend asking these questions yourselves before watching our conversation. Feel free then to engage with us in the comments below, we would love to hear your perspectives on the unconventional kingdom of God.

1. What does being “one” with someone else look like? How do you experience one-ness with someone different than you? How have you experienced union in your life and relationships?

2. In the Kingdom of God… what led Jesus to side with the poor and the marginalized? (Can we glean that God is passionate about justice?)

3. What are the characteristics of this unconventional kingdom?

4. What does a life grounded in the Spirit, centered in union with God look like? (What did it look like for Jesus? For us?)

5. What deepens our union with God?

6. How did people respond to this alternative kingdom Jesus presented?

 

 

Song

Falling is easy
Staying in love is hard
Hard to be honest
And keep your heart open
To be who we truly are
Without the excuses
Without the facade
There’s no pretending
Here in Your love

Oh Lord, set me free

I’m finally seeing
You were here all along
Your love wasn’t absent
No, it doesn’t come or go
The image I’ve had
Is starting to fail
You’re patient with me
Lifting the veil

I let out the sails of my heart
Here I am, here You are

 

Benediction

From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.
(Phil. 4:8-9 CEB)

 

Missions Minute

 

I recently interviewed Rachel Van Gent about the Esther School and her current status. Here is the interview.