Been attending Emmaus for a while and want to learn more? Brand new to Emmaus and want to discover what our ministry is all about? The Discovery Class is for you! During this informational class on Monday, April 26th, 7:00-8:30pm, you’ll learn all about the ministry, history, and core values of Emmaus Road Church and have an opportunity to decide if you’d like to join Emmaus Road in membership.

The post Discovery Class appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

We are excited to announce that our Ekidz classrooms will be opening back up on the following dates. COVID protocols will be in place to help keep children and volunteers healthy as our kids re-enter the classroom. Here is the schedule for opening:

May 2nd – Pioneers (Nursery)

May 16th – Explorers (Pre-K)

May 30th – Path-Venturers (Combined Elementary)  

EKIDZ VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

If you are interested in helping in any of our Ekidz classrooms, please contact Pastor Grace.

NEW CLASSROOM LOCATIONS!
See video below…..

The post Ekidz Re-Opening appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

Suffering, disaster, injustice are all common to the human experience, but these things disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.

This lament is an invitation to recognize this reality. To admit out loud when we are less affected by an event because of our wealth, access to health care, or color of our skin. Then, to see and know the invitation that God gives the Church to participate in caring for vulnerable communities.

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The post Lamentations (Series) Part 4 appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

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.

The Lord is making a new covenant with the people of God.
Here in this place, Christ writes the law of love on our hearts.
We are children of the living God.
Together, let us worship the Lord of Love!

MUSIC: REJOICE

CCLI #7004663 | Dustin Kensrue and Stuart Townend © 2013
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

MUSIC: GREAT IS OUR GOD

CCLI #6291530 | Eric J. Marshall © 2011
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

CORPORATE PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.
(BCP, Lent 5)

MUSIC: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

CCLI #5196100 | Thomas Obediah Chisholm
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

Lamentations: The Fourth Poem
Lamentations 4:2-9 (NLT)

Intro
The fourth poem of Lamentations makes comparisons between the way things were in the past and the way things are now in the siege.
-Children used to play in the streets and laugh
together, but now they are left to beg for food.
-The wealthy used to eat fancy meals, only to find themselves scavenging for food along the ground.

-The leaders of the city we once filled with splendor, but now are dirty, ragged, and unrecognizable.
Chapter four takes a deeper dive into lament.

Three Observations

1. The need for lament continues for as long as injustice and sin continue. Life doesn’t always resolve the way we want or hope.
   
   While life is not a formula of predictable outcomes, we can rest in the hope of redemption. Lament IS NOT the loss of hope, but an expression of it! Just as the conditions for suffering persist, so does our lament. This DOES NOT mean we live overwhelmed by sadness or despair. Rather, it means that a full-bodied faith is honest and willing to engage in the hard realities of life.
   
2. The most revered are only human.
   
   Look at vss. 7-8, “Our princes once glowed with health brighter than snow, whiter than milk. Their faces were as ruddy as rubies, their appearance like fine jewels. 8 But now their faces are blacker than soot. No one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin sticks to their bones; it is as dry and hard as wood.
   
   Celebrity is the term we’ve used to describe people we revere as more valuable. The Latin root of our word “celebrity” means “honored.” We honor those with the most. Those with the most often have the most because of their beauty. Or their political power.
   
   Lamentations chapter four challenges the celebrity impulse by pointing out suffering and injustice is no respecter of celebrity or power or beauty or platform. There is this universality to the human experience.
   
   This is why the incarnation of God is so important. God held the highest privilege and honor and let that go to enter the human experience. The Creator God became unrecognizable. He entered into the injustice, sin, and brokenness in order to redeem it. May we see Lamentations four, not just as a critique of celebrity (and the ways celebrity has entered the church), but as a reminder of what God has done in Christ.
   
3. The innocent suffer the most.
   Verses 3-4 describe the toll that the siege took on the children of Jerusalem. This points us to an important truth: It is the most vulnerable who suffer the most in a broken world.
   
   Suffering, disaster, injustice are all common to the human experience, but these things disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.
   
   This lament is an invitation to recognize this reality. To admit out loud when we are less affected by an event because of our wealth, access to health care, or color of our skin. Then, to see and know the invitation that God gives the Church to participate in caring for vulnerable communities.

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.

Go now, and invest your lives in the works of faith.
May you be known for generosity and compassion.
Fulfill God’s holy law by putting love into action
as eagerly for others as you would for yourselves.
And may God be your defender and provider;
May Christ Jesus dispel all that disturbs or disables you;
and may the Holy Spirit make you rich in faith and loving and merciful in action.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

The post Worship Resources for Sunday, March 21st appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

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.

Friends of God, believe this – God loves the world, we are the beloved!

May the truth of this great love story, shine through our worship today, and renew our sense of calling.

So come, with your tiredness,
your frustrations and your discouragements;
come with your doubts, your fears, and your longings;
come, to discover yet again
how Jesus reveals God’s love and mercy.

Come, in friendship to God and to each other,
and in friendship to the world,
to listen for God’s Word to us,
to offer our prayers, and to renew our calling.

Friends of God, let us worship together!

MUSIC: GREAT IS OUR GOD

CCLI #6291530 | Eric J. Marshall © 2011
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

CORPORATE PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

MUSIC: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

CCLI #5196100 | Thomas Obediah Chisholm
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

MUSIC: KING OF KINGS

CCLI #7127647 | Brooke Ligertwood, Jason Ingram, and Scott Ligertwood © 2018
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

Lamentations: The Third Poem
Lamentations 3 (NLT)

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.

Just as God’s Word was sent into the world to heal and redeem,
so God sends you into the world this day;
to be light and love, healing and hope.
Go now to be light for the world!
And may the grace and peace of God the Creator,
the Redeemer, and the Sustainer
come upon you this day
and remain with you always.
Amen.

The post Worship Resources for Sunday, March 14th appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

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.

The heavens are telling the glory of God
May our worship reflect God’s glory.
The firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
May we see each other as the handiwork of God.
Let our prayer and praise, our singing and proclamation project the love of God.
We commune with Christians around the world, with Christians throughout time.
With Christians across geography and across time,
Let us worship!

MUSIC: COME HOLY ONE

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

CORPORATE PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless until they rest in you:
Look with compassion upon the heartfelt desires of your servants,
and purify our disordered affections,
that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of Christ Jesus;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

MUSIC: O LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET ME GO

CCLI #7098754 | Susan Veira, Jonathan Veira, and George Matheson © 2017
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

MUSIC: CHRIST BE ALL AROUND ME

CCLI #7016414 | David Leonard, Jack Mooring, Leeland Mooring, and Leslie Jordan
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

Lamentations: The Second Poem
Lamentations 2:1-9 (NLT)

INTRO
We are discovering that Lamentations has a lot to teach us about what it means to be people of faith through the whole human experience.

Last week, we learned that in the first poem, the city of Jerusalem is personified as a widow. This widow attributes her suffering to her own sin while also feeling shame from that sin. We learned that the redemptive purposes of God are intended to release us from the guilt of personal sin AND rescue us from the shame of sin.

This week, we explore the second poem.

THE SECOND POEM
In the first poem, the widow saw her sin as the primary cause of suffering. In this poem, God is portrayed as angry, retributive, and clearly to blame for the suffering of Jerusalem.

How are we to understand passages in the Bible like this? Are we to take our cues about the character of God from passages like this? Are we to understand that God is actually angry and retributive? Does God punish us for sin in order to teach us a lesson? These are important interpretive questions. How do you square these passages with passages that speak of God’s love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness?

We need an interpretive center of the Bible to help us make sense of things. The Bible itself points to Jesus as that interpretive center.

Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s being.” Jesus reveals the character and nature of God to us. If that is the case (and it is), then what do passages like this show us?

This poem shows us that to express anger at God is not blasphemous or unfitting for prayer. In fact, it shows us that anger, in times of suffering, can be a sign of fidelity to God! In fact, to be angry with God and lament is to have faith that God is a God of justice and will act to make things right and bring redemption to the situation.

Let that sink in: To lament is to have faith that God will act to make things right.

The Bible is not a book that reflects perfect life and tidy doctrine. It is a book that reflects the grittiness of life.

EXCEPTIONALISM
The language in Lamentations 2 reveals a bit about how Jerusalem saw itself. Look at vss. 1 & 3:
“…thrown down from the heights of heaven” (vs. 1)
“All the strength of Israel vanishes…” (vs. 3)

Jerusalem saw itself as exceptional. Who could blame them? They were the nation chosen by God to carry the message of hope and salvation to the world. And yet, they found themselves experiencing unimaginable loss.

The American Evangelical Church has been caught in a narrative of exceptionalism. We have come to believe that we are the standard-bearers for what it means to be Christian.

Idolizing narratives of success from our “brand” of Christianity runs the risk of considering evangelicalism over and above all other forms of Christianity.

“Non-Western expressions of Christianity can be portrayed as inferior to the successful formula for ministry put forth by many white evangelicals in mainstream Christian culture.” -Soong-Chan Rah, Prophetic Lament, pg. 96

Lament helps keep us from these attitudes of exceptionalism because it requires humility. Lament calls us into a proper view of ourselves. May we, who might think ourselves exceptional by any standard, see ourselves simply as recipients of God’s grace.

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.

Creator God—
as we go out into our community, workplaces, and homes,
may Your Spirit open our eyes anew
to the vastness and splendor of Your beauty all around us.

May we hear, and smell, and see, and touch
Your glory evident in all of Your creation.

Above all, let us see Your beauty
even in the brokenness of our brothers and sisters—
all of them, created in Your image,
and waiting to experience that redemption that comes
only through Christ Jesus our Lord.

We go now to love and serve our Lord—Amen.

The post Worship Resources for Sunday, March 7th appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

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.

God touches the world, and the world changes.
God touches us, and we are transformed.
In the brightest of day, in the deepest of night,
on mountain, in valley, everywhere.
In this time, together, we invite God to open our eyes,
to His transformation taking place in our lives, here and now.
And in this renewal, we will worship Him.

MUSIC: OH OUR LORD

CCLI #6092289 | Paul Baloche, Leslie Jordan, and David Leonard © 2011
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

MUSIC: PRAISE THE LORD YE HEAVENS

CCLI #7026992 | Eric J. Marshall © 2014
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

CORPORATE PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Almighty and merciful God, we confess that we have erred and strayed from your ways. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.

O Lord, have mercy upon us. Restore those who confess their faults, according to your promises declared to the world in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
And grant, O merciful God, that we may live a holy, just, and humble life to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

MUSIC: THE NEARNESS OF YOU

Asher Seevinck, Dave Wilton © 2014
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

Lamentations: Intro to Lament
Lamentations 1 (NLT)

INTRO
The book of Lamentations is a series of five lament poems written by an anonymous author in response to the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

During 1.5 years of warfare, suffering, and famine, the city was totally destroyed and the inhabitants taken to Babylon in exile.

The exile was, by far, the most horrific time in Israel’s history. It was nothing short of a national tragedy that meant the loss of comfort, security, and identity. In other words, Lamentations doesn’t exist in a vacuum. These poems emerge out of very real suffering.

THE VALUE OF LAMENT
Lament accomplishes at least three things:

1. Lament is form of protest: Lament lets the world (and God) know that which is not right. To lament is to name the pain, suffering, or injustice in our lives and in the lives of others.
2. Lament offers us a chance to express emotion: Lament offers us the opportunity to express anger, frustration, disappointment to God.
3. Lament offers us a chance to express confusion: Few things cause us to question the foundation of life more than suffering. When we suffer we ask questions about God’s character, God’s existence, and how the world is set up to run.

These poems show us that biblical story doesn’t ignore suffering. In addition, these emotional poems give a sacred dignity to human suffering.

THE FIRST POEM
In the first poem, the city of Jerusalem is personified as a widow (“daughter of Zion”). Personification is popular in poetry because it helps to make intangible things more tangible.

The widow is simultaneously a sinful offender and a victim of sin. This incongruity points us to an important element we don’t often consider in American evangelicalism; how victims of sin experience sin.

“Traditional theology has emphasized one-sidedly the sin of all people, while ignoring the pain of the victim. Western concepts of sin lead us to feel guilty when we do something bad, but we often do not have the language of shame when we are sinned against.”
-Soong-Chan Rah, Prophetic Lament

We have language for when we are sinful. We even have language for the redemption and forgiveness of that sin. But, we have very little language to talk about the shame we feel when we are the victims of sin. Further, we don’t have language to talk about God’s redemptive work over our shame.

The value of lament is to sit, if only for a while, with the reality of our sin AND the results of when we’ve been sinned against (and also how our sin has affected others).

We do this so that we can invite God’s healing work of redemption in our lives. God’s work is to release us from the guilt of sin AND rescue us from our shame.

“We are too busy patting ourselves on the back over the problem-solving abilities of the triumphant American church to cry out to God in lament. But lament cannot and must not be ignored. In the biblical world, hope does not emerge from the act of recounting our successes. It is the desperate plea for God’s intervention that arises out of lament that reveals a flickering glimpse of hope.”
-Soong-Chan Rah, Prophetic Lament

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.

Go now and celebrate wherever God’s name is honored.
When suffering comes, pray in faith.In times of joy, sing songs of praise.
Persevere in prayer and action to bring the fallen back to the truth.
And may God save you from all that would harm you;
May Christ Jesus heal you and raise you up;
and may the Holy Spirit anoint you
and give you peace with one another.We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

The post Worship Resources for Sunday, February 28th appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

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 will walk this day with you, O God, and you will walk with us,
gathering us into a community to pray for one another in all things.
We will walk this day with you, O Christ, and you will walk with us,
calling us to follow you, helping us to set aside all which holds us back.
We will walk this day with you, O Spirit, and you will walk with us,
sending us out, side by side, to serve those cast aside by the world.

MUSIC: ONLY YOU

CCLI #7026980 | Eric J. Marshall © 2014
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

CORPORATE PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing you have made,
and you forgive the sins of all who repent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we, worthily lamenting our sins,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

MUSIC: COME THOU FOUNT

CCLI #3630228 | David Crowder, Robert Robinson, and John Wyeth © 2002
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

MUSIC: GIVE US YOUR HEART

CCLI #7080403 | Ashlyn Clift, Charles Groves, Jake Richards, Lauren Wells, Mackenzie Fessler, Jordan Merritt, and Melanie Tierce
© 2016
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

Everyday Faith: Faith-Filled Prayer
James 5:13-19 (NRSV)

INTRO
James ends his letter with a call to prayer. In the previous verses, he’s just talked about how Christians should live with patience for the day when all things will be made right. This patience should lead us to a life of faith-filled prayer.

He also ends his letter with instructions on prayer because the nitty-gritty stuff of everyday faith is to be blanketed in prayer.

Suffering? Then you should pray. Happy? Sing praises! Sick? Have others prayer for your healing.

Of course, these don’t capture the fullness of the human experience, but they are representative of life.

FAITH-FILLED PRAYER
Notice the simplicity of the instruction; when you are suffering, you should pray. James doesn’t tell us how to pray. He doesn’t tell us what to pray. He just says we should pray in the midst of our suffering.

We are left to wonder what he might mean. Does he mean that prayer will help anchor us in the midst of the suffering? Does prayer help bring perspective? Does prayer help calm the stress? Does prayer move the needle in a more favorable direction? For now, we are left wondering.

If you find that you are happy, then sing praises! Prayer is not just something you do when you need help. Your praise for God’s gifts and goodness are themselves a type of prayer.

In the moments when you are sick. Have fellow Christians pray over you and anoint you with oil for healing. That prayer of faith will save the sick. And your sins will also be forgiven.

PRAYER PUTS ONE FOOT IN NEW CREATION
Any fellow skeptics out there that start to ask questions when the scripture says “the prayer of faith will save the sick?”

Does that mean if someone isn’t healed, they didn’t have enough faith? Also, why does James bring in the forgiveness of sins? Is he trying to connect illness to sinfulness as though one caused the other?

These are important questions.

James isn’t trying to be deterministic. He is not setting out a guarantee that if you pray in all the right ways, then your prayers will be answered in precisely the way you’ve prayed. That kind of interpretation just wouldn’t match the human experience.

James is making an important connection: Prayer is where the healing and forgiveness of the age to come can intersect with the illness and sin of the present age. He’s not saying one causes the other. He is giving us evidence of the power of prayer!

When we pray, we stand with one foot in the world as it is; filled with sickness, sin, and trouble while the other other foot stands in God’s new creation; filled with healing, forgiveness, and hope. Prayer brings new creation to bear on creation in such a way that we can experience healing and forgiveness!

Here is another way of thinking about it; prayer is the place where heaven and earth meet.

Are you suffering? Then place one foot down in God’s new world so that you can experience peace in the midst of suffering.

Are you happy? Place a foot in heaven and join your voice with the heavenly hosts singing praises to God.

Are you sick? Then take the earthly material of oil and rub it on your body crafted from the dirt and pray for healing. God’s redemption includes our physical bodies.
Prayer is about standing in the gap and bringing more of God’s kingdom to bear on our lives. James ends his book with prayer because to live an everyday faith, we are going to need to have one foot in heaven and one foot on earth.

May you experience new life and encouragement in your prayer life today.

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.

Go now and celebrate wherever God’s name is honored.
When suffering comes, pray in faith.In times of joy, sing songs of praise.
Persevere in prayer and action to bring the fallen back to the truth.
And may God save you from all that would harm you;
May Christ Jesus heal you and raise you up;
and may the Holy Spirit anoint you
and give you peace with one another.We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

The post Worship Resources for Sunday, February 21st appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

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 can trust God.
God is like the mountain: rock solid.
God loves all people:
The poor, the disabled, the outcast, the stranger.
We can depend on God.
God feeds the hungry, heals the sick, and restores relationships.
Praise our Loving God.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

MUSIC: NONE BUT THEE

CCLI #6291877 | Eric J. Marshall and John Fellows © 2011
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

CORPORATE PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Gracious God, we draw near knowing that we often fall short of your call to love one another well.
We allow ourselves to be blinded by wealth and power.
We ignore those around us who suffer injustice, poverty, and rejection.
We tune out the cries of the poor and those on the edges of our communities.
Loving Father, please forgive us.
Help us to see your great generosity, hear your word of mercy, and feel your great love for all who need your redemptive grace.
Loving Father, please help us.
Strengthen us to reach out in service to those who are in need.
Make us aware of those in our own communities,
that we may see them as your precious children
and serve them in humility and joy.
Loving Father, please send us.
May we continue to grow in grace as we learn how to serve you in the name of the great Servant, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

MUSIC: BE THOU MY VISION

CCLI #4586883 | Allan Hall, Todd Smith, and Nicol Sponberg © 2005
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

MUSIC: CALLED ME HIGHER

CCLI #5887880 | Leslie Jordan © 2011
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

Everyday Faith: The Big Sort
James 2:1-17 (NRSV)

OUR TENDENCY TO SORT
How many of us, when enjoying our favorite candy, sort out our favorite flavors and ignore or trade the others?

While this practice of sorting and evaluation is harmless when it comes to candy, the unfortunate truth is we all have a tendency to do the same thing when it comes to people. We assess, evaluate, and size people up to establish a pecking order. Throughout history, we’ve tended to sort according to things like color, wealth, language, ability, and so on. We are so good at this sorting that it only takes seconds before the evaluation is performed unconsciously.

We tend to favor those who can benefit us and ignore those who cannot. James exposes this practice as evil.

His warning shows us this truth: The Church is to demonstrate the generous, universal love of God.

NO WORK? NO FAITH
This leads right into the next passage of scripture

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
-James 2:17 (NRSV)

Sometimes our faith is heavy on words and light on action. This is not good according to James.

Suppose you see a brother or sister that has no food or clothing and you say to them, “Stay warm and eat well” but do nothing to help. Those words may sound like a blessing, but they don’t do anything to bless.

Instead of having a faith that is heavy on words and light on action, we are to have a faith that is translated into action. That is what is going to lead us into true living and what is going to bring good into the world.

Our faith in Jesus, if functioning properly in our lives, should lead us to faith-filled action in the world.

“Our theology must fit into overalls.”
-Kenneth Grider

My hope and prayer is that our faith will translate into action; we’ll be doers of the word with a faith that is alive and brings hope, healing, and goodness into the world.

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.

Go now, and invest your lives in the works of faith.
May you be known for generosity and compassion.
Fulfill God’s holy law by putting love into action
as eagerly for others as you would for yourselves.

And may God be your defender and provider;
May Christ Jesus dispel all that disturbs or disables you;
and may the Holy Spirit make you rich in faith and loving and merciful in action.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

The post Worship Resources for Sunday, February 14th appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.

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.

Our God communes among his people.
He dwells in our midst.
Listen and hear him speak.
Our hearts long for his word.
We wait upon the Lord
so that we may renew our strength.
God is our help and our support.
His spirit moves among us
to lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days.
With joyful hearts we sing God’s praise.
With rejoicing we call upon Him.
The Lord is our hope and our salvation.

MUSIC: PRAISE THE LORD YE HEAVENS

CCLI #7026992 | Eric J. Marshall © 2011
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

CORPORATE PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Almighty and merciful God, we confess that we have erred and strayed from your ways.
We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done;
and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.

O Lord, have mercy upon us.
Restore those who confess their faults,
according to your promises declared to the world in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
And grant, O merciful God, that we may live a holy, just, and humble life to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

MUSIC: TREMBLE

CCLI #7065049 | Andres Figueroa, Hank Bentley, Mariah McManus, and Mia Fieldes © 2016
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

MUSIC: HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING

CCLI #4524869 | Mary Lynn Lightfoot and Robert Lowry © 2005
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

Everyday Faith: Money
James 1:9-11 (NLT)

INTRO
Money. Whether you have a lot or a little, it’s easy to obsess over money.

The Bible has some important wisdom to teach us about money. Here is just a short sampling:
-Prov. 22:7 says, “The borrower is slave to the lender…”-Malachi 3:10 tells us to “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.”.
-Mark 12:41-44 calls us to generosity through the story of a widow who gave two small coins, which was nearly all she had.

These are important things we need to learn about money, but there is a deeper, more foundational thing to consider. What is the Christian’s relationship to money supposed to be?

James shares harsh words for those who are rich in 1:9-11, but who are these words for? What does it mean to be rich?

WEALTH CAN (AND DOES) FADE
James uses the metaphor of flowers hat bloom beautifully, but quickly wither and fall. This word picture is an echo of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” -Isaiah 40:8 (NLT)

Money, like flowers in a field, can be beautiful, attractive, and attention-grabbing. If we aren’t careful, though, we’ll come to believe that the flowers are all that matter! We’ll think that the most important thing is having a field of flowers. We’ll work hard to keep the flowers continually blooming.

That’s great. But, when is someone considered rich? At what point do you cross from being poor to rich? Is there is safe middle-class? How is that defined? Who decides? Wealth appears to be relative (with exception to the multi-billionaires that we can safely say are rich and the ultra poor who we can safely say don’t have enough). However, a huge portion of the population doesn’t live in those extremes. This makes it difficult to discern who falls into the category of the biblically rich.

THE RICH MINDSET
Think about rich less in terms of an account balance and more in terms of a mindset. Rich is a mindset of self-dependence.

Here’s the thing. The more money you have, the easier it is to adopt a rich mindset. In a very real sense, our mindset is connected to the balance of our accounts. 

We who are rich by global standards must fight like crazy to make sure our primary pursuit is not for more riches, but for the treasure of a transformed life and character.

A self-dependent mindset is antithetical to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is about our connection to others, creation, and God. This is why James (and the other biblical authors) have such harsh words for the rich. Be totally self-dependent and your life will fade as quickly as the bloom of a flower.

Generosity is a good antidote to richness. You can have plenty, but when you are connected to the fact that you have plenty and are generous with what you have, it can help keep you from a rich mindset.

Christians in the USA, it isn’t inherently wrong or sinful to have plenty, but it is imperative that you fight against the mindset of richness.

So, what should the Christian’s relationship be toward money? Recognize money is part of life, but not the source of life.

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.

Go now, and trust in God’s mercy for your strength.
Proclaim the good news wherever God calls you,
and do not set yourselves apart from others,
but be all things to all people for the sake of the gospel.

And may God give you the strength and freedom of an eagle.
May Christ be the bread that nourishes and renews you.
And may the Holy Spirit be the rising wind beneath your wings.

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

The post Worship Resources for Sunday, February 7th appeared first on Emmaus Road Church.