5 November: Liturgy + Set List

• ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING

  Call to Worship: Romans 12:1-3

• HOLY IS OUR GOD

• A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS

  There is a day coming when there will be an endless hallelujah, an eternal ‘praise God!’ that will come when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. That day will not be a gathering just of the local body of believers but will be the global Church - followers of Jesus from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language. Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Those brothers and sisters around the world who lose their lives and their livelihoods, their families, and communities for following Jesus. Scripture tells us that we are to remember those who are in chains as though we ourselves are in chains. And so together we are going to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world this morning - specifically those who face the most extreme and acute persecution:

Father, there is nothing that can separate us from Your love. Not tribulation or distress. Not persecution or famine. Not nakedness, danger or sword. And still, these realities are all too present for many of our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus, You know the suffering of Your Bride - because You are the man of sorrows, the one acquainted with grief, You were despised and rejected, beaten, tortured, deserted, and killed. As our brothers and sisters around the world share in Your sufferings, would You draw them near to Your glory? Would they count the loss of all things as nothing in comparison to knowing You?

Would they live in the promise of Your words in Matthew:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.”

Holy Spirit, let us not use our freedom to be free of the burden to pray, to think, to act, on behalf of our brothers and sisters around the world who are in chains for the sake of the gospel. We take a moment now to silently pray on behalf of our brothers and sisters suffering for their faith….

*A list of the 50 countries that experience acute persecution based on the 2023 World Watch List

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayers. Thank you, that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus. Amen and amen.

(Based on Romans 8:17, Romans 8:35-39, Isaiah 53:3, Philippians 3:8, Matthew 5:10-11)

Sermon: Mark 12:13-17

I think it would be a missed opportunity to encourage you to walk out those doors and pray for your leaders and not take a few moments here and now to pray for our leaders. I will read these words first so you can hear this prayer, and then I will invite you to pray these words with me:

O Lord our Governor, whose glory fills all the world:
We commend this Nation to your merciful care, that we may be guided by your providence, and dwell secure in your peace. Grant to the President of this Nation, the Governor of this State, and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do your will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them continually mindful of their calling to serve this people in reverent obedience to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Occasional Prayer, 37
For The President And All In Civil Authority Book of Common Prayer

• IS HE WORTHY

• HOLY FOREVER

Benediction

6 November: Liturgy + Set List

• CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED

  Call to Worship: Psalm 69:30-34

  We gather as a small expression of the diverse, global body of Christ. The Universal Church, made up of believers from every tribe, tongue, nation, language, and culture throughout time and history. And today is the day that has been marked out as the National Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Those brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who lose their lives and their livelihoods, lose their families, and the community, who are imprisoned and tortured for their faith. It is right and good for us as Americans to thank God for the freedoms that we have to worship and practice our faith. It is right and good for us as Americans to admit that we are quick to call many things persecution that is more like an inconvenience, more like opposition, more like a loss of power, influence, or cultural sway we may have previously enjoyed. And it is right and good for us to spend time praying for and on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are suffering for the sake of Christ. We’re going to spend some time praying to that end now, I will lead us through this prayer, and we’ll give you some time to pray silently with a list of 50 countries facing extreme persecution at this time as well. Let’s pray:

Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Father, there is nothing that can separate us from Your love. 

Not tribulation or distress.

Not persecution or famine.

Not nakedness, danger or sword. 

And still, these realities are all too present for many of our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus, you know the suffering of Your Bride - because You are the man of sorrows, the one acquainted with grief, You were despised and rejected, beaten, tortured, deserted, and killed. As our brother and sisters around the world share in Your sufferings, would You draw them near to Your glory? Would they count the loss of all things as nothing in comparison to knowing You? Would they live in the promise of Your words in Matthew:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.”

Holy Spirit, let us not use our freedom to be free of the burden to pray, to think, to act on behalf of our brothers and sisters around the world who are in chains for the sake of the gospel. We take a moment now to silently pray on behalf of our brothers and sisters suffering for their faith….

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayers. Thank you, that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus. Amen and amen.

• IS HE WORTHY

• HOLY (JESUS YOU ARE)

  Sermon:

The Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will 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.

The Lord’s Supper

• I STAND AMAZED (HOW MARVELOUS)

  Benediction: Ephesians 3:20-21

The Government and The Gathering

As you have likely seen, a well-known worship leader has been traveling the country hosting large gatherings of corporate sung worship. #letusworship has promoted and fueled this movement over social media. After varying levels and lengths of quarantine, and many churches still offering a hybrid of in-person and online gatherings, I am not surprised these events have drawn significant crowds. More than the gatherings I find two things fascinating: the reaction, and the language. The language reveals a fundamental deficiency in our understanding of worship - worship is the response of our whole lives, not just for believers but all people (I have written at length on this subject, here). Although gathering and singing are certainly significant parts of the way we express worship as the people of God, no government can keep people from worshiping - even if they desired - because worship is the default setting of every human heart. The reaction exposes a very American ideology: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and an often repeated refrain from American Evangelicals that ‘the government is taking away my freedoms…’

My desire is neither to condemn nor condone. But I think is critically important for followers of Jesus at all times (and particularly in these polarized days), to be intentional and aware of how we are being shaped and formed, and by whom. Certainly, as leaders, we are held to a high standard in the subtle and significant ways we teach, lead, and instruct the people of God in their discipleship (James 3:1).

We are all living disconnected from many of our normal rhythms, routines, and community. As followers of Christ, we are called to be a people, and not to neglect assembling together (1 Pet 2:10, Heb 10:25). Gathering as the family of God is important. But what is the purpose of our gatherings? Teaching, fellowship, sharing, and responding to God and one another. In essence - our gatherings are for the formation of our whole lives around the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Being obedient to Christ should form us to resemble Christ more than the culture. But our resistance to government restrictions appears to be forming the faithful community into the image of America more than the image of Christ and His Kingdom. As followers of Christ, we are to be marked by love, and self-denial (Jn 13:35, Lk 9:23). What would it look like for those of us who claim the name of Christ to literally forego some of our freedoms for our weaker brothers and sisters during COVID-19 (1 Cor 8)?

Are there times or situations that require acute government resistance? Of course. We look to Daniel and Esther as examples in Scripture and Martin Luther King, Jr, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer as those who sought faithfulness to God over submission to unjust laws. But Scripture also tells us that God appoints rulers, and turns their hearts like water in His hand and that no ruler has any authority if it was not given them by God (Rom 13:1, Prv 21:1, Jn 19:11).

As we have felt the ache of our inability to gather, the confusion and pain of living in the middle of a global pandemic, and the fear of the future and the government, I have often thought of our brothers and sisters in chains (Heb 13:3) around the world. Those believers who risk their lives to whisper worship songs in the quiet of the underground Church, who are disowned by their families for embracing Christ, who are beaten, tortured, jailed, starved, burned, raped, and abducted for choosing the path of discipleship to Jesus. How would those brothers and sisters view our social media campaigns and open-air gatherings? How would they instruct us, lead us, and coach us in being faithful to Jesus in the midst of their very real persecution and our fear over freedoms?

We are people who live knowing the end of the story. Regardless of present or future circumstances: Christ is on the throne. He is ruling and reigning both now and eternally. Therefore, we have nothing to fear.