EChurch@Wartburg – 6.12.16

Welcome to a Gathering of EChurch@Wartburg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_Day_%28United_States%29#/media/File:Stony_Hill_School_3Jun09.jpgStony Hill School, in Waubeka, Wisconsin – Site of the first formal observance of Flag Day

Here is our Order of Worship

A Prayer on Flag Day link

Father, God in heaven, we give thanks on this day of celebration. We ask your mercy and blessing on the nation symbolized by these patterns of cloth.  May the colors and patterns of this flag seem to always bring to mind the purpose of the nation it represents.

May the whiteness of the stripes and stars always be bright for purity and never dim or yellow.  May the red of the shed blood never be forgotten.  May the blue of the sky and the brightness of the stars always represent the striving of our nation toward higher purposes and heavenly goals. 

It is only a symbol, Father, but let it today and always be a symbol of freedom.  May it always be flown in honor and never in shame. And may we be ever mindful of the constant conflict against freedom that surrounds us and the victory that our flag symbolizes for us in that conflict.  Guard our hearts and spirits and keep us from idolatry, but bless us in our honoring of this piece of cloth and all it represents. Amen.

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

Wade Burleson is away, and this week we are featuring a powerful message by Kevin Choate, Singles Pastor at Emmanuel Enid.  Kevin grew up in Southern California and didn't become a Christian until the age of 23.  In his bio, he says: "The Lord changed my life overnight.  My vocabulary, desires and life was different." 

Kevin worked in the oil field before entering full-time ministry in December 1986 at First Baptist, Albuquerque, New Mexico as their youth pastor.  He joined the Emmanuel Enid staff in 1988 (bio).

Scripture Reading:  James 1:22-27 (NASB Bible Gateway)

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The Lord's Prayer link

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

Benediction – Hebrews 13:20-21 link

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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