We encourage you to read and reflect on these scriptures, songs, notes, and prayers as we look forward to our time of worship together this coming Sunday.

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Please print this guide or have it handy in digital format for use during the service.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Please join in on the bolded lines.

We are called to love the Lord our God:
with all our heart and soul.
We are called to love the Lord our God:
with all our mind and strength.
We are called to love the Lord our God,
And we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Come, let us love our God and share God’s love with one another in this time of worship!

MUSIC: COME HOLY ONE

CCLI #6291516 | Eric J. Marshall © 2011
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

CONFESSIONAL PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Holy and merciful God,
in Your presence we confess
our sinfulness, our shortcomings,
and our offenses against You.
You alone know how often we have sinned
in wandering from Your ways,
in wasting Your gifts,
in forgetting Your love.

Have mercy on us, O Lord,
for we are ashamed and sorry
for all we have done to displease You.

Forgive our sins,
and help us to live in Your light
and walk in Your ways,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

You are invited to hold your hands out, palm-up as we receive His grace.

Our God is a God of grace and mercy and love; know that our sins have been forgiven. May we be strengthened in all goodness. Since we have been raised with Christ, let us seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Thanks be to God; Amen.
(inspired by Colossians 3:1)

All: Thanks be to God

MUSIC: THIS WILD EARTH

CCLI #7098568 | Eric J. Marshall © 2017
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

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Fruit of the Spirit: Peace

PEACE HAS MANY LAYERS
Many of us tend to think about peace as the absence of conflict. In the scriptures, however, peace has many layers of meaning that, when taken together, speak of wholeness.

PEACE IS THE RIGHTING OF WRONGS
The Gospels of Mark and Luke both tell the story of a woman who was sick and had an internal hemorrhage for twelve years. The woman touched Jesus’ robe and was healed. Jesus stopped, acknowledged her faith and pronounced peace over her life. (Mark 5:34/Luke 8:48)

The core concept of peace is making whole that which is complex and has many parts. This is certainly true of the human body which has many complex parts that are all connected to one another. Jesus brought peace to this woman by making her body whole again. Not only that, her illness caused her to be cast out of the city, so she was without community or fellowship.

This lack of peace in the woman’s life was no fault of her own. She didn’t “deserve” this. It’s just how things were, and Jesus steps into that brokenness and offers wholeness.

In this way, peace is the righting of wrongs.

PEACE IS UNION WITH GOD THROUGH FORGIVENESS OF SIN

(Luke 7:36-50)

Peace is finding union with God through the forgiveness of sin. In the same way that our bodies can be fractured and broken because of disease or injury, so our souls are fractured because of sin. 

The Pharisees were happy to point out the sin of the woman and condemn her based on that sin. Aren’t we like Pharisees! The Church would do well to take a break from pointing out the sin of others and admit our own sin and repent.

Our world operates according to revenge and consequences. This is not how God operates. God offers us forgiveness.

Forgiveness is when you no longer allow the offense to define the relationship. God does not relate to us on the basis of sin; God relates to us on the basis of forgiveness.

Peace is healing our sin-fractured hearts through the gift of forgiveness.

PEACE IS A KEY MARKER OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Our vision of the kingdom of God is sometimes too narrow. We mistakenly envision the kingdom of God is found when we baptize national values as Christian values. We assume that the kingdom of God uses the same methods and tactics as a nation that has been called Christian. We envision that the kingdom of God is lived out by following the laws of our particular country or the rules of our particular group. These notions of the kingdom of God are too small.

The kingdom of God is found in righteousness (the word righteousness is deeply connected to the word justice – it means being set right.), peace (making whole or complete that which was broken), and joy (having gratitude for the gift of life and all that I have received) – and these things have no national boundaries. These things have no organizational boundary.

Paul was speaking to the Church in Rome as they tried to work out what it meant to be Christian inside of an empire. He essentially says, “Be sensitive to your beloved in the faith so that you don’t cause them to stumble, but don’t get too caught up in the rules for the kingdom of God is not found in a list of what you can and can’t do, it’s found in righteousness (justice), peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

PEACE IS THE WORK OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

When we embody the ways of peace, we bear the family resemblance of God.

Discernment: Since we are in a political season, let’s just think about this politically. Do the politicians and policies I support demonstrate peace (in the fullness of the word)?
Introspection: How much is my life bearing the family resemblance of God?

TABLE

Prepare the elements of “bread” and “wine” for use as we gather around The Lord’s Table. These can be any items convenient around the home that symbolize these for you. 

CONFESSION OF THE MYSTERY OF FAITH

Christ has died.
Christ is risen. 
Christ will come again.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

As we pray together, we invite you to share your own requests and testimonies with us this week. If you have a request you can share it live in our video stream chat, or you may email us at emmausroadfc@gmail.com

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father in heaven,
        hallowed be your Name,
        your kingdom come,
        your will be done,
        on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins
        as we forgive those
        who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, 
        and deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, 
        and the power,
        and the glory for ever and ever.
Amen.

BENEDICTION

You are invited to hold your hands out, palm-up as we receive this benediction.

Remember this, the Lord our God is the one and only Lord. Therefore go out into the world and love the Lord our
God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love others as you love yourself.

And may God give you justice and freedom; may Christ Jesus set you free in love; and may the Holy Spirit go where
you go and protect you on your way.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord. In the name of Christ. Amen.