Worship At New Hope 24 Feb 2008

Lots of worse places to be today than the Emerald Coast. :) Today dawned beautiful and I was praying that we'd see people encounter God together. I believe we did. One of our friends' sister, who is dying from cancer pretty soon, was with us from SC. Most everyone knew her situation and I was so gratified to see people reach out to her, and so humbled to realize God had put me in place today with this Scripture.

This morning we continued the "Red Letters" series with a look at Jesus' words in Matthew 6:19-34 "First Things First" I'm going to try and embed the ppt later using a new tool I found today. Zoho.com

All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises - great opener
Lord I Lift Your Name On High - yes, we did the motions. Great warmth everytime though.
Shout To the Lord - don't sing it often, but it's like a hymn and people SING it!
In Christ Alone - rich, rich theologically
Come Just As You Are - right with the thrust of the message



As I closed I rolled in the bridge illustration which tracked very well with the passage. My prayer is that God spoke and is speaking to several people who were there.

EVENING WORSHIP FEBRUARY 24, 2008

Worship Theme: “Whole”
Please take a piece of broken pottery as we begin our worship. (The idea was to help people connect with the power of the cross in our lives and release our brokeness into its terrible beauty. We need to accept Jesus' invitation to be made whole.)

PRAYER

Video: The Gentle Healer - Michael Card

MEDITATION DURING THE VIDEO

FIRST READING
28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me— watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matt 11:28-30 (MSG)

SECOND READING

7 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. 2 Cor 4:7 (MSG)

Video: “The Simple Complexity of Easter” - from sermon spice

THIRD READING
15 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. 16 For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels— everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. 17 He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. 18 And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
He was supreme in the beginning and— leading the resurrection parade— he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. 19 So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. 20 Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe— people and things, animals and atoms— get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross. Col 1:15-20 (MSG)

SHARING
If you have something in your life that is broken, that is hurting, that needs fixed, write it on the piece of broken pottery. You might choose the smooth side or the rough side. In a minute, as the video plays, we’re going to come and place those broken pieces beside the beautiful cross. (This really, really worked well with people writing their needs on the pottery. I hope Bunny will turn it into a piece of art, but it's already a poema.)

Video: “Mighty Is the Power of the Cross” - Chris Tomlin

PRAYER BEFORE COMMUNION

PERSONAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

EACH PERSON COMES AND TAKES COMMUNION WHEN THEY ARE READY. TAKE A PIECE OF BREAD AND TAKE A CUP OF GRAPE JUICE. WHEN WE ALL HAVE THEM, WE WILL FIRST EAT THE BREAD, THEN DRINK THE JUICE.


Video: Grace Like Rain


CLOSING PRAYER

This has been a very stretching undertaking for me. There's so much less of the typical sermonic preparation in this and far more of the creative. Working to get people to drop their masks and enter into "communion" with God and with each other for this brief period of time is a real challenge. And a blessing.