Welcome to a Gathering of EChurch@Wartburg
Here Is Our Order of Worship
If you are new to EChurch, please click on this link for an explanation​
All prayers today come from the Daily Office published for the East and West Hemisphere by the Anglican Church in New Zealand
Prayer from Psalm 143:1-11
LORD, hear my prayer,
and in your faithfulness heed my supplications;
answer me in your righteousness.
Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for in your sight shall no one living be justified.
For my enemy has sought my life,
crushed me to the ground,
and made me live in dark places like those who are long dead.
My spirit fails within me;
my heart within me is desolate.
I remember the time past;
I muse upon all your deeds;
I consider the works of your hands.
I spread out my hands to you;
my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
O LORD, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me;
do not hide your face from me
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning,
for I put my trust in you;
show me the road that I must walk,
for I lift up my soul to you.
Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD,
for I flee to you for refuge.
Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God;
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Revive me, O LORD, for your Name’s sake;
for your righteousness’ sake, bring me out of trouble.
Praise to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
A Confession
God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Savior Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us all our sins through the grace of Jesus Christ,
strengthen us in all goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:14 (NASB Bible Gateway)
For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
A Prayer for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ,
you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross
that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace:
So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love,
may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you;
for the honor of your Name.
Amen.
THE PRAYERS
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever.
Amen.
That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit
in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
Amen
Benediction (Amos 5:8)
Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night;
who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth:
The Lord is his name.
Amen
The preacher is half right. What he said is right about seeking the city not made with hands. What he says by what he does – lecturing the Bible to saints who are devoting 75-85% of their giving to hire him to lecture them every week till they die and build and maintain a special facility for the saints to look at him and not Jesus every week – is not right. God wants all his saints to be preachers, not just a few. That’s why He said we are all “royal priests” who “proclaim the glories of Him who called us from darkness into light”. He wants preachers sent to every tribe and tongue. After we hire and build for weekly lectures, there is only 15 – 25% left to fund that. “Not giving up the habit of meeting” in Heb. 10:24,25 is “spurring one another on to love and good works” and “encouraging one another”. That is the opposite of Bible lecturing. “Preach the word” does not mean lecture the word by a hired expert with zero interaction, zero participation, zero corrections, zero everything else. The current church system is a false city that shuts out 75% of what God asked for. Follow the money. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Any believer can read Heb. 13 and understand it. It’s in plain english. We don’t need it exposited to understand it. We don’t need a vision of it. That’s all in Revelations for us to read and take to heart and then share it with the saints – to build them up in one another fashion, and the lost – to point them to Jesus the author and finisher, the way, the truth, and the life.
Amen, Tim.
Well said.
Wade, thanks for another encouraging and inspirational message! My “bags” are packed and I’m ready to relocate! So looking forward to it!
Deb, the “He Reigns” hymn showing all the brothers and sisters around the world worshipping reminds me that we’ll all meet in the future city someday! And btw, it doesn’t go unnoticed how you choose hymns each week that reinforce and complement the message!
Thank you all!
Thanks, Victorious! My bags are packed too! 🙂
@ Victorious:
I especially liked the way this selection of songs enforced Wade’s message. I feel led by the Holy Spirit when choosing the songs every week. To God be the glory!
My bags are packed as well. 🙂
Tim: That is the way it should be in a perfect world, but we aren’t in a perfect world…yet.
My intent is not to be argumentative, but I was brought up in a very legalistic church and family, that is still tearing our family apart. These passages were not taught as written. As a believer I read and questioned the church’s teaching at that time only to be met with opposition. It permeated my life, until I came to Emmanuel Baptist in 1991.
I am not saying Emmanuel is the only church and I’m certainly not disagreeing with you, as this is how it should be, but this teaching caused me to study scripture further and it changed my life and is still changing it.