Liturgy 6-25-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

Living God, we have come hoping
to learn how to love you

and how to love
one another as you do

as we devote our attention
to you in this hour

form us more fully in the way of Christ

that we may learn to be
the presence of Christ in the world

and hold up our ordinary
lives like torches in the dark

amen.

Scripture

Genesis 21:8-21

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son.

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.”

So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.”

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

 “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Prayer

This week's prayer is from An Iona Prayer Book, and is attributed to an anonymous guest at the abbey. (p. 28)

Lord of the excluded,
Open our ears to those we would prefer not to hear,
Open our lives to those we would prefer not to know,
Open our hearts to those we would prefer not to love,
and so open our eyes to see
where we exclude You.

Setlist 6-25-2017

This was the third Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, you can find an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

SMS [Shine] by David Crowder* Band

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy by Jameson McGregor (adapted from F. Faber)

Inbreaking by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Just A Closer Walk With Thee: We began with this song to give voice to one of the primary reasons we gather together every week--to be more fully formed in the way of Christ.  We might think about two outcomes of this.  First, to be more fully formed in the way of Christ results in living a life that is itself an act of worship.  Second, to be more fully formed in the way of Christ pushes us toward our calling of being the presence of Christ in the world.

SMS [Shine]: One way to think of this song is as a petition for God to revive the hope of Christ in our lives so that we can hold this light up like torches in the world.  This is by some measure what we are focusing on during ordinary time as we take up ubc's core value of missional living more deliberately for the next few months.  

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy: This song is a reminder to ourselves that God's mercy toward us is greater than we might deem reasonable.  And it is also a reminder to ourselves that God's mercy toward those we would rather not have it is just as unreasonably wide.

Inbreaking: This song is a petition for the Slaughtered Lamb to teach us how to be Kingdom people and for the Spirit to resurrect what is dead in us.

Rise Up: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Rise Up then: This song is both a plea for God to rise to the defense of the trampled people in the world and a challenge to ourselves as the Body of Christ to be active in defending those whom God defends.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

Liturgy 6-18-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship
the Living God

with our words
our thoughts
our attention

in the hope that our words,
our thoughts, and our attention,

would be shaped to mirror
those of Jesus

by the Spirit who dwells among us

who is making us a part
of God’s work in the world

Amen

Scripture

Exodus 19:2-8a

The Israelites had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Romans 5:1-8:

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Prayer

This week's Father's Day Prayer was adapted from a prayer on a blog called Ordinary Time, which I believe was adapted from a Father's Day mediation that was written by Kirk Loadman-Copeland

Holy God, whom we call Father, we give you thanks for the people who have been fathers to us, and we pray for all sorts and conditions of fathers.

For fathers who have striven to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children.

For fathers who, lacking a good model, have worked to become a good father.

For fathers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support.

For fathers who have been wounded by the neglect and hostility of their children.

For fathers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children's lives.

For fathers who, as stepfathers, freely chose the obligation of fatherhood and earned their stepchildren's love and respect.

For fathers who have lost a child to death, and continue to hold the child in their heart.

For those who are about to become fathers for the first time.

For those men who have no children, but offer fatherhood to whomever might need it.

For those men who have "fathered" us in their role as mentors and guides.

And for those fathers who have died, but live on in our memory and in the communion of your Saints, whose love continues to nurture us.

For all of these, we give you thanks.

In the midst of the complexity of emotions that surround days like this, we ask that you would hold our joy and pain together and use us to care for one another.

We ask this of You who are both father and mother to us all, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Setlist 6-18-2017

This was the second Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Come Thou Fount

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Breathe for Me by Jameson McGregor

Holy, Holy, Holy

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Come Thou Fount:  We began with this song to confess that we gathered to worship with the hope that the Spirit would form our community more fully into the way of Christ, and to remind ourselves that looking back on who God has been for us is an excellent indicator of who God will be for us in the future.

Wandering: This song is a confession that we have a tendency to make our ideas about God into an idol that can be harnessed and manipulated for our own purposes, and a proclamation that God is somehow able to work in the midst of that.

Rise Up: This song is both a plea for God to rise to the defense of the trampled people in the world and a challenge to ourselves as the Body of Christ to be active in defending those whom God defends.

Breathe for Me: This song is about transformation in the midst of despair.  For any number of reasons, we might find ourselves worn thin by life, and this song offers language for petitioning the Spirit to breathe life into what is dead in us.

Holy, Holy, Holy:  We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Holy, Holy, Holy then: Since it was Trinity Sunday, this seemed like a good song to begin our time together.  It's a confession of, and implicit surrender to, God's Otherness--a way of saying that God is beyond our comprehension.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

Setlist 6-11-2017

This was the first Sunday after Pentecost, which is Trinity Sunday.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Holy, Holy, Holy

All Creatures of Our God and King

Noise by Jameson McGregor

Wild One by Jameson McGregor

Fall Afresh by Jeremy Riddle

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Holy, Holy, Holy:  Since it was Trinity Sunday, this seemed like a good song to begin our time together.  It's a confession of, and implicit surrender to, God's Otherness--a way of saying that God is beyond our comprehension.

All Creatures of Our God and King: This song imagines all of creation, ourselves included, singing out in praise of the Creator.  To sing this song is to at least pay lip service to our interconnectedness with the rest of creation, and also to ascribe a dignity and worth to the earth, animals, plants, stars, etc., that we often only afford humans (and sometimes, worse, just the humans that are like us).  In light of Trinity Sunday, we might consider this song to acknowledge the unity of the loving community of the Trinity being painted across all of creation.

Noise: This song traces the vast difference between God and humanity, and also narrates God's transgressing of that difference in the Incarnation.  It explores how God's triunity both accounts for this difference and bridges the gap.

Wild One: This song is about God's always being beyond our full comprehension, and always being able to smash through the idols we make of who we expect God to be.

Fall Afresh: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Fall Afresh then: We sang this song to step into the Pentecost story by confessing a desire for the Spirit to indwell our community and set us on the way of Christ.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

Setlist 6-4-2017

This week was Pentecost Sunday.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Fall Afresh by Jeremy Riddle

Lifted/Lifting by Jameson McGregor

Pulse by Jameson McGregor

Burn It Down by Jameson McGregor

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Fall Afresh: We sang this song to step into the Pentecost story by confessing a desire for the Spirit to indwell our community and set us on the way of Christ.

Lifted/Lifting: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Lifted/Lifting then: This song is about the continual coming-to-understand of the Christian faith.  Any idea that we grasp about who God is can only serve as a placeholder for a deeper understanding of God as we are further renovated into the presence of Christ on earth.

Pulse: This song talks about the Spirit of Life indwelling all of creation, and raises a plea that God would reconnect our hearts to this Spirit.  Wrapped up in this plea is a desire to be transformed into people who work alongside the Spirit in spreading the work of Christ's redemption throughout the world.

Burn It Down: This song is a petition for the Spirit to use the people of God to tear down systems of oppression.

Wayward Ones: We sing this song every time we take communion to remind ourselves of a couple of things.  First, we are a broken people--though we are seeking to become more like Jesus, we often fail at this.  Second, Christ has given Himself for us despite our brokenness.  We take communion to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, even though we did not, and do not, deserve it.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM