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​
A Prayer of Ambrose (c 339-97) link
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore thee,
a heart to delight in thee,
to follow and to enjoy thee,
for Christ’s sake.
In Jesus name,
Amen
A prayer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Link
O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for me…
Restore me to liberty,
And enable me to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.
Amen
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:13 (NASB Bible Gateway)
So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
Prayer of St. Benedict link
O gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
and a life to proclaim you;
through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.
Wonderful!
Thanks, Rick! This text and Hebrews 13:14 (next week) have really moved my soul.
Thank you for this message, it really resonated with my wife and me.
Wade, this sermon resulted in so many thoughts I couldn’t post them all, but I’d like to mention a few.
My ears perked up when you said, “The teaching of scripture is simple…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” I’ve never found that truth simple. In fact I’ve struggled with it for years. Knowing that the life was in the blood made it seem cruel to me. But today during your sermon, I think I got a little light shed on that principle that runs through scripture.
You’ve often reminded us that the OT was a shadow of things to come in the NT. So does the blood (life) requirement foreshadow the death of Jesus and that being the “ultimate” sacrifice that one can do for another? A small comparison I thought of was women and men in the military who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of others. So when Jesus shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, it was the ultimate sacrifice one could give. That brought this verse to mind: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Is that your understanding of the reason for the blood?
Regarding going outside the camp…it’s one thing to go out willingly and another to be permanently forced out by brothers and sisters who sent you out to bear your guilt and shame. There was a time I resented being sent out. But lo and behold…I found there was a whole community of believers out there and we have beautiful fellowship together. And we are able to easily minister to those outside because it’s where we dwell. Praise the Lord! It’s there I found true freedom!
I love that prisoners are coming to your church and that they are comfortable and feel love from all who attend. That blesses my heart.
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough, but I’m so grateful for E-Church as I’ve said many times. Thank you all for hosting it!
Kevin,
Thank you. And thanks for being a part of E-Church.
Victorious,
I’m not sure the principle could have been said any better than what you have written. Your thoughts are encouraging and powerful.
Rick and Kevin,
We're so glad you're here. We are blessed to be able to feature Wade's sermons every week. He has helped me tremendously!
I loved the story about Chuck. That was a great illustration of going outside the camp. Christianity as it should be!
Thanks, Deb. We are between churches right now (having been functionally excommunicated from one that we had been members of for ~20 years–long story, we asked too many questions). E-Church has been balm for us. We appreciate, in addition to WB's sermons, the historical prayers and the choice of music. There are not adequate words to express our (my wife shares my feelings) gratefulness to the Wartburg Watch family, and especially for the two lovely ladies that express their hearts for those Jesus loves here.
Rick
@ Deb:
@ Rick:
I am so grateful that EChurch is an encouragement to you in your walk with Christ.
I remember so well when Dee and I traveled to Enid, Oklahoma (December 2011) and attended Emmanuel Enid's Refuge service (contemporary church service) with Wade's wife. We were watching the sermon on the screen at the same time Wade was delivering the sermon live in the traditional service (in another part of the church). After the service, Wade came over and I told him that those outside of his church (like us) really need to hear his messages.
About two months went by, and Dee called me with her incredible idea about EChurch. We immediately contacted Wade, and in very short order we began our EChurch series of posts.
My husband sometimes asks me how many people are participating in EChurch. There's no way for us to know because we don't get that many comments under our EChurch posts. I will be sure to share your comment with him.
Rick,
At some point, I would love to hear yours and your wife’s story. It will remain private if you desire. Otherwise, it will give me some wisdom and possibly the two of you some catharsis to write out the story.
Thanks for participating in E-Church.
Wanda,
I do not share with you and Dee a number of emails that are sent privately to me from those who watch E-Church at Wartburg. Like you, I do not know how many view E-Church, but even if it were just Rick and his wife (and Victorious and TW in this stream of comments), it would be worth it to me. Of course, you two are the ones who put in all the effort. Thank you for your ministry. I have said before, and will say it again. There may come a time when you would like to feature another teacher/pastor.
The thing I admire Wartburg for in regards to E-Church is that you are doing something positive and constructive in terms of building the kingdom of God. Those who criticize Wartburg for confronting abuses in the church publicly, believing it is fundamentally destructive to the Kingdom (a view I do not hold), are obviously paying little attention to the Sunday posts which are solely for the purpose of edification, encouragement and building the Kingdom. Well done.
Wade,
As long as your church keeps uploading your sermons to Vimeo, we'll keep featuring them here. Your messages are such a blessing to me personally.
I'm already looking forward to your next series which I believe is on the Book of Luke.
Wade, thank you–you have offered us such a gift. Is there a way that I could send you our story in a more direct, discrete way than posting it here. This has been a near 3-year process that has just recently come to an end; I don’t feel I am able to self-censor in a way that I would feel comfortable putting my raw thoughts out for public consumption just yet, if that makes sense. We feel, in a sense, like we are in the shadows…
It is not for lack of trust of those who read here–simply our need for a safe boundry as we process this out.
@ Wade Burleson:
@ Rick:
If you will click on the link at the top of the post about being new to EChurch, you can scroll down and find Wade's phone number. I'd recommend giving him a call. I'm sure he'd love to talk with you confidentially. Blessings!
Rick,
Also, I can recommend you write it out (eventually I would like it written) and send it to wwburleson@gmail.com.