EChurch@Wartburg – 6.12.18 Wade Burleson: Now and Then, Love is Preeminent

A Call to Worship link

God of Hope,
we come into your presence this morning
with confidence that you will meet us here.
Where there is sadness, bring joy;
Where there is tiredness, bring refreshment;
Where there is despair, bring a renewed sense of hope.
Let this place be a sanctuary,
a safe haven for us,
a home for holy words and songs and prayers
as we devote ourselves to you.
We pray this 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

Prayer of Confession link

Loving and gracious God, you are so patient with us.
We run away, and you seek us.
We make foolish choices, and you teach us the better way.
We hurt you and others, and instead of hurting us back, you forgive us.
Help us, we pray; help us reveal your glory and goodness in our living,
That we will bear the imprint of Christ throughout the world. Amen.

I Corinthians 13:8-13 NIV

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues,they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known
.And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.

Benediction

I hear this at the end of every service at my church. I never tire of it. Numbers 6:24-26 NIV

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Comments

EChurch@Wartburg – 6.12.18 Wade Burleson: Now and Then, Love is Preeminent — 2 Comments

  1. Bonhoeffer may be as close to a modern day version of a first century apostle as you can get. Clapped in irons by a vicious, malicious ruler – Hitler – who had him executed only a few weeks before the end. Included in his hymn ‘By gracious powers,’ writtem in the darkest of times, is:

    O give our frightened souls the sure salvation
    for which, O Lord, you taught us to prepare.

    You can read the full text of the hymn, which is under copyright, at the link below. (Ask your music director to put it in a service soon)

    https://hymnary.org/text/by_gracious_powers_so_wonderfully_shelte