Liturgy 11-27-2016

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, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

Here at the beginning, the Story cycles back.

Faithful God, You are the One Who makes all things new

out of the chaos
of our present age
make us new

Renew us in hope, 

That we may be a people
Driven by love and not fear,
Who know that you
Have not abandoned us

God of promise, 

Come into our darkness
and leave Light enough to see

Amen.

Advent Intro

Today, we find ourselves in the first week of Advent.  If that’s a new term for you, Advent is the season leading up to Christmas where we enter into a drama of sorts.  We unstick ourselves in time, stepping back a couple thousand years, in order to allow ourselves to receive the Gift that God is bringing on Christmas as though we don’t already know what we are celebrating at the end of December.  It is a season of waiting on God, of looking back on the way that God has been faithful to God’s people, and trusting that God will continue to be faithful to us.  

Now, we also stand as particular people in a particular time and place, who can look back a couple of thousand years and know exactly what we are celebrating at the end of December—people who stand in the midst of a story where we have seen just how far God is willing to go to set things right—yet who also know that things are still very broken.  As these people, we too look forward, trusting that God will continue to be faithful to us.

Holding both of these identities, we are preparing ourselves to receive a light in this darkness, and to learn what this light has to teach us about who God is and how God relates to the world.

Of this season, N.T. Wright says:

“For many, Christianity is just a beautiful dream.  It’s a world in which everyday reality goes a bit blurred.  It’s nostalgic, cozy, and comforting.  But real Christianity isn’t like that at all.  Take Christmas, for instance: a season of nostalgia, of carols and candles and firelight and happy children.  But that misses the point completely.  Christmas is not a reminder that the world is really quite a nice old place.  It reminds us that the world is a shockingly bad old place, where wickedness flourishes unchecked, where children are murdered, where civilized countries make a lot of money by selling weapons to uncivilized ones so they can blow each other apart.  Christmas is God lighting a candle; and you don’t light a candle in a room that’s already full of sunlight.  You light a candle in a room that’s so murky that the candle, when lit, reveals just how bad things really are.  The light shines in the darkness, says St John, and the darkness has not overcome it. Christmas, then, is not a dream, a moment of escapism.  Christmas is the reality, which shows up the rest of ‘reality.’”  

With this in mind, we might think of Advent as taking time to look around to see how dark the world is, and how very badly it needs a Light.

Hope Candle Liturgy

We are reminded in this season of Advent that we live by Hope.  Hope in the coming of the Messiah.  Hope that God will bring Light into our present darkness.  Hope that those pinned in by anxiety will find rest.  Hope that those who feel worthless will find their true Value.  Hope that the poor, the homeless, and the refugee, will be given the mercy and justice of God.  And hope that Love will cast out every fear.

For now, we wait, trusting that God is faithful and redeeming all things.  We declare our Hope in lighting the first advent candle.

[Light the Hope candle]

Hear God’s promise of hope from Isaiah 2:2-4: 

In days to come
   the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
   and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it. 
   Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
   to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
   and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 
He shall judge between the nations,
   and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
   and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
   neither shall they learn war any more.

Scripture

Matthew 24:36-44

No one knows the hour or the day, not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. As it was at the time of Noah, so it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. In the days before the flood, people were busy making lives for themselves: they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, making plans and having children and growing old, until the day Noah entered the ark. Those people had no idea what was coming; they knew nothing about the floods until the floods were upon them, sweeping them all away. That is how it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. 

Two men will be plowing a field: one will be taken, and the other will be left in the field. Two women will be somewhere grinding at a mill: one will be taken, and the other will be left at the mill. So keep watch. You don’t know when your Lord will come. But you should know this: If the owner of a house had known his house was about to be broken into, he would have stayed up all night, vigilantly. He would have kept watch, and he would have thwarted the thief. So you must be ready because you know the Son of Man will come, but you can’t know precisely when.

Prayer

This week's prayer was written by Kim Stübben:

God, 

Together we hope. As we find ourselves in the darkness of thoughts, the darkness of feelings, the darkness of circumstances, and the darkness we have yet to encounter, help us to hope – to find hope – for the light that illumines. 

As we try to light our own way, as we feel around for the light switch, the candle, the lamp, the matches… help us see that this light is yours and not ours. Help us see in the darkness the glimmer of hope, to hear the voice of hope, to feel the heartbeat of hope, help us to heal by hope.

Lord, as we grasp for peace when we begin to see what lies in the darkness, help us to see the hope found in you and the hope found in each other. 

Amen. 

Setlist 11-27-2016

This week was the first Sunday of Advent, and our songs were gathered around the theme of Hope.  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:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Rescue is Coming by David Crowder* Band

Hope (There Will Come A Light) by ubcmusic

Anthem by Leonard Cohen

Hope by Jameson McGregor

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. 

O Come, O Come Emmanuel: This song contrasts mourning/longing and hope especially well.  We sang it to begin out time together by locating ourselves both with the people of God before the birth of Christ and with the whole of the people of God in our own time.  

Rescue is Coming: We sang this song to proclaim the same desperate hope that we established in the first song.  Though we may be able to look around and see how dark the world is, we are awaiting the coming of a Light.  The "rescue" we talk about in this song is not one of escapism--it's one of an in-breaking that delivers us from the brokenness of creation, not creation itself.

Hope (There Will Come A Light): This song was written specifically for advent at ubc.  It focuses on the hope of the coming of the Light, but hones in on what that means for the darkness around us--namely, the inauguration of its progressive demise. This song, as well as the rest of our original advent songs are available for free download here.

Anthem: Leonard Cohen had a way of capturing the essence of vulnerability and existential longing.  This song is about hope, perseverance, brokenness, and beauty, all of which are prominent themes of advent.  The hope we carry toward Christmas is a wounded one, and that makes it all the more meaningful.

Hope: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Hope then: This song voices the hope we have in Christ, the fire in the darkness.  In this image that comes into the world through John 1, we find the most fundamental summation of the Christian story--God set a light in the darkness that the darkness did not overcome.  Fire is more real than the darkness, such that there is no amount of darkness that can overcome the light of the fire. 

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 11-20-2016

This week was Christ the King Sunday, and our songs were gathered with this theme 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:

Revelation Song by Jennie Lee Riddle

Death In His Grave by John Mark McMillan

Because He Lives by Bill and Gloria Gaither

Hope by Jameson McGregor

Crown Him With Many Crowns

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. 

Revelation Song: We sang this song to begin our time together with a focused and straight-forward moment of singing about God's grandeur and particularity.  In thinking about Christ as King, we are met with a picture of power and majesty that is distinctly different than we might imagine out of our own cultural expectations--this almighty King abandoned His station to dwell among the disenfranchised and to champion the cause of the nobodies, and is well-imaged as a slaughtered lamb.  In this, we find wonder, mystery, and hope.

Death in His Grave: This song traces the story of Christ, underscoring that Christ's kingship is directly linked to his death--his complete self-emptying--and his resurrection.

Because He Lives: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Because He Lives then: We sang this song to proclaim that our daily hope in the face of uncertainty is located in the risen Christ. 

Hope: This song voices the hope we have in Christ, the fire in the darkness.  In this image that comes into the world through John 1, we find the most fundamental summation of the Christian story--God set a light in the darkness that the darkness did not overcome.  Fire is more real than the darkness, such that there is no amount of darkness that can overcome the light of the fire. 

Crown Him With Many Crowns: This song well-captures the kind of King that Jesus is: the slaughtered Lamb who receives unmatched and unmatchable praise, who has known intimately the worst of our suffering and conquered it, whose tools of war are peace and love, and to whom all other crowns belong, that we might all find rest and belonging.

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 11-13-2016

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, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

Maker, as You set about making new heavens and a new earth,

why not re-make all of us as well?

Maker, if You’re not done making, 

Renovate our hearts
Leaving love where there is fear
And empathy where there is loathing.

Re-calibrate our eyes to see people as You do,

And weave your Spirit through our spines
So we can stand beyond our breaking

Amen.

Scripture

Isaiah 65:17-25

For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.

I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days, 
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.

They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord--
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox; 
but the serpent-- its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Luke 21:5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."

They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, `I am he!' and, `The time is near!' Do not go after them.

"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls."

Prayer

This weeks' prayers came from An Iona Prayerbook.  The first is uncredited, and the second is credited to Eddie Askew:

Healer of Galilee,
you come, again and again,
to permeate
our human condition;
to take upon yourself
all that hurts us.
And again today
you accompany us
when our bodies are racked with pain,
when our minds are in confusion,
when our self-esteem is lost,
when our failures overwhelm,
when our faith falters,
when our relationships break down,
when in our loneliness we move
beyond tears

Lord Christ,
you are the still centre of every storm.
In you is calm,
whatever the wind outside.
In you is reassurance,
however high the waves.
In you is strength,
however contrary the tide.

Setlist 11-13-2016

This was the twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs around the theme of hope.  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:

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

There by Jameson McGregor

Because He Lives by Bill and Gloria Gaither

Wild One by Jameson McGregor

Chariot by Page France

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. 

Wandering: We sang this song to begin our time together proclaiming that God is not in the habit of abandoning us--even when we deserve it most.  God's faithfulness to us is thankfully not conditional upon our own faithfulness to God.  Because of this, we can have hope that God is continually working toward reconciliation with us, and in this we can stake our hope.

There: This song is about the fact that God transcends every source of anxiety that we encounter in life, which means the threats we feel around us do not have the same effect on God.  Though God enters into our suffering with us, God is not chained to it.  And in drawing nearer to God, we find a refuge that will deliver us as well.

Because He Lives: We sang this song to proclaim that our daily hope in the face of uncertainty is located in the risen Christ. 

Wild One: This song is about our propensity to create idols out of ideas--the idea of safety, the idea of prosperity, a particular idea of who God is--and the way in which these idols shatter when they come into contact with God.

Chariot: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs. This is what we said about Chariot then: This song paints a vivid picture of an apocalyptic wedding feast where the varied and broken stories that make up human history are woven into a decidedly untragic ending.  As we think about the communion of the saints and our Christ-centered interconnectivity, it is fitting to begin by imagining the moment in which this interconnectivity is no longer veiled.

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 11-6-2016

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, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

We have gathered seeking rest in the midst of our journey

Broken people
following broken footsteps
on a long and shifting road

In our rest, we seek to know and be known by Our God

To be dwell in God’s story
And to be found there

And in our being known, we seek to be changed

To be formed by the Spirit
Into people who are more like Jesus.

Amen

Scripture

Psalm 145:1-5, 18-22

I will exalt you, O God my King, 
and bless your Name for ever and ever.
Every day will I bless you
and praise your Name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; 
there is no end to his greatness.

One generation shall praise your works to another
and shall declare your power.
I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty
and all your marvelous works.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and loving in all his works.

The Lord is near to those who call upon him, 
to all who call upon him faithfully.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; 
he hears their cry and helps them.
The Lord preserves all those who love him, 
but he destroys all the wicked.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; 
let all flesh bless his holy Name for ever and ever.

Luke 6:20-31

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:

"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
"Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
"Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.

"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
"Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
"Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

Prayer (this week it's a poem)

This week, we read a sonnet by Malcolm Guite called "The gathered glories":

Though Satan breaks our dark glass into shards
Each shard still shines with Christ’s reflected light,
It glances from the eyes, kindles the words
Of all his unknown saints. The dark is bright
With quiet lives and steady lights undimmed,
The witness of the ones we shunned and shamed.
Plain in our sight and far beyond our seeing
He weaves them with us in the web of being
They stand beside us even as we grieve,
The lone and left behind whom no one claimed,
Unnumbered multitudes, he lifts above
The shadow of the gibbet and the grave,
To triumph where all saints are known and named;
The gathered glories of His wounded love.

Setlist 11-6-2016

This was the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs around the theme of communion of saints.  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:

Chariot by Page France

Heart Won't Stop by John Mark McMillan

Pulse by Jameson McGregor

When the Saints by Jameson McGregor (adaptation)

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. 

Chariot: This song paints a vivid picture of an apocalyptic wedding feast where the varied and broken stories that make up human history are woven into a decidedly untragic ending.  As we think about the communion of the saints and our Christ-centered interconnectivity, it is fitting to begin by imagining the moment in which this interconnectivity is no longer veiled.

Heart Won't Stop: To think more deliberately about Christ-centered interconnectivity we talked about, we sang this song to single out the connective tissue in this relationship: the love of God.  In this love, we find an unmatched relentless pursuit that cannot be severed, even by death.  It is this death discarding love that allows us to cling to the hope that we are connected to one another through Christ beyond time and space.

Pulse: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Pulse then: This song is a prayer that God would reconnect us to the Pulse of the Spirit in creation, and that we would learn to base our love for one another in our mutual status as creatures of God.  There is no person for whom this does not apply, and, though it is at times seemingly impossibly difficult, we do not get a pass on our call to love everyone.

When the Saints: This song was requested by David Wilhite, our guest preacher this week.  He asked me if I had a rendition of it, and I did not.  After listening through about 30 versions, I realized that I was ill-equipped to do the song any of those ways, so I made my own.  In that process, I became acquainted with the sense of longing that drives this song--an awareness that the journey of faith is one where we follow in the footsteps of people who have died, seeking to be drawn further in to a story about resurrection and redemption, cutting against the brokenness that we find in the world around us.

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