Welcome to Our Gathering of EChurch@Wartburg
Enhanced Rainbow by Barb Ver Sluis
This post is dedicated to Barbara at Emmanuel Baptist Church, who is retiring after serving as Wade Burleson's assistant for 20 years! We met Barbara last December when we visited, and she is a wonderful Christian woman.
Blessings to you and your loved ones, Barbara!
Here is our order of worship
A Prayer of Confession by Peter Marshall Link
Copyright © 2012 Beth McLendon of Inspirational – Prayers.com
Forgive us, Lord . . . for the things we have done that make us feel uncomfortable in Your presence.
All the front that we polish so carefully for men to see does not deceive You.
For you know every thought that has left its shadow on our memory.
You have marked every motive that curdled something sweet within us.
We acknowledge–with bitterness and true repentance–that cross and selfish thoughts have entered our minds;
we acknowledge that we have permitted our minds to wander through unclean and forbidden ways;
we have toyed with that which we knew was not for us; we have desired that which we should not have.
We acknowledge that often we have deceived ourselves where our plain duty lay.
We confess before You that our ears are often deaf to the whisper of Thy call,
our eyes often blind to the signs of your guidance,
Make us willing to be changed, even though it requires surgery of the soul and the therapy of discipline.
Make our hearts warm and soft, that we may receive now the blessing of Your forgiveness,
the benediction of Your "Depart in peace . . and sin no more."
Amen
A Labor Day Prayer Link
Father God,
I thank you for this Labor Day holiday.
I thank you for this time when I can choose to get added rest, or added fun, or added time to catch up on necessary chores.
Lord, this is also a great day for reflection.
This is a day to thank you for the many gifts and talents that you have given me to serve you and serve others.
Lord, you have equipped me, you have prepared me, and you will enable me to make great contributions to this world. Enlarge my vision of your awesome plan for my life.
I thank you for your heavenly guidance. I
celebrate the revelation, motivation, and determination that will take me to the next step in my destiny.
Bless my work and my career for your glory. Enlarge my opportunities.
Enable me to be prosperous as I dedicate myself to giving my best to the work assignments you have given me.
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen
If you are new to EChurch, please click on this link for an explanation
Scripture Reading: Psalm 78:1-8 (NASB Bible Gateway)
Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
For He established a testimony in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers
That they should teach them to their children,
That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and tell them to their children,
That they should put their confidence in God
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments,
And not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Wade Burleson dialogs with Pastor Andy, who works with the youth at Emmanuel, about Project Connect
A Lutheran Prayer for Courage Link
Lord God,
you have called your servants
to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden,
through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with good courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand is leading us
and your love supporting us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Thank you for spending your precious time worshipping the Lord.
Dee and Deb: I have read articles where bragging about your church or saying anything in high praise is considered gosh and wrong. I disagree. Paul spoke of people who helped him in his ministry and praised them highly.
I want to once again sing such praises to Emmanuel and the people there. I have said before that I was raised in the church. Independent Fundamentalist Baptist, and although it was not all bad, there are some good memories, there are also some bad. Like some on this blog, it was very strict, full of rules and my faith was eroded as I could not live up to the added rules to the Law. I couldn’t even live up to the Law. End times teaching put fear in my life that did not end for many years after.
Emmanuel people prayed for me, counseled me, and as I had my mind renewed with these sermons you are now listening to, I learned about a personal relationship with Christ. I learned of God’s love for me as a Christian. I learned that as we read scripture for ourselves, studying what the Bible really says, it all points to Christ. Not performance. The people of Emmanuel showed me in action. I will say that this is one of the most healthy churches I have ever had the privilege to be a member of for 20 almost 21 years. It would take me writing a book to tell all the ways God has enabled Emmanuel to bring back physical, mental and spiritual health back into my life. I could go on, but have probably written too much. Needless to say,where I struggled in my faith, I now have confidence in Christ Jesus. In His love for me even when I mess up, which I know will come as a surprise, but I still do mess up. 🙂 I now let Christ pick me up, dust me off and he says “My child, my child why are you striving?”(Keith Green).
Debbie K,
Your congregation is truly blessed, and they are a blessing.
Can you imagine how the SBC would be thriving if more Southern Baptist churches functioned like Emmanuel?
Deb,
The SBC needs more Debbies, Dees and Wandas around and all our churches would prosper! Seriously, all of you are a blessing to everyone who has the privilege of calling you friends.
Wade,
I am proud of what is happening at Emmanuel Enid. May God continue to bless the congregation there. Again, thanks for allowing us to feature your sermons to encourage the TWW ‘family’.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Barbara particularly enjoys the music of Casting Crowns. I don’t know what would make me think that.
Miguel,
Actually, I’m the one who enjoys the music of Casting Crowns. Those songs seemed to go well with this week’s message. We’ll change it up more in upcoming posts.
Any suggestions for songs / hymns?
I hate to be so fickle, ’cause I really dig what y’all doing ’round here, but their music is killing me. I think I developed an allergic reaction to Casting Crowns the second I heard their name (before I heard the music) and I can’t get rid of it. Seriously, as an adult male, I can not in good conscience sing about being a flower. I just can’t, there’s still a shred of dignity left somewhere in the bottom of my cynical heart. And on most days, I can’t really tell the difference between them and Mercy Me and Third Day (barring Mac’s distinctive voice, of course).
On a more serious note, the only 2 cents I can give you is that if you are planning music for worship, pick music from more than one century. I love the prayers you include every week, especially when you link to them. I’m discovering some useful resources there!