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.

Come, let’s praise God together!
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!

Let’s tell stories of God’s power and majesty, His mighty acts throughout history:
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!

Let’s remember the compassion He has shown toward us; His mercy and unfailing love, generation after generation:
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!

Let’s pass these stories along to our children and grandchildren, so that they, too, may come to know and love our God.
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!

MUSIC: OH OUR LORD

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

CONFESSIONAL PRAYER

Please join in on the bolded lines.

Oh God, our gracious heavenly Father,
we thank Thee for the inspiration of Jesus the Christ.
And grant that we will love Thee with all of our hearts, souls, and minds, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, even our enemy neighbors.
And we ask Thee, oh God, in these days of emotional tension, when the problems of the world are gigantic in extent and chaotic in detail,
to be with us in our going out and our coming in,
in our rising up and in our lying down,
in our moments of joy and in our moments of sorrow.
Amen.
(From Thou, Dear God by Martin Luther King, Jr.)

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

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

All who respond to God’s call to repentance
are embraced in His generous kindness and mercy.
From the first time we ever called out His name,
To this time of prayer before God and one another,
Until the day when our strength is failing,
God’s gracious forgiveness is ours,
through Jesus Christ, our savior.

All: Thanks be to God

MUSIC: INSTRUMENTS OF PEACE

Leslie Jordan ©2020
Performed by Emmaus Road Worship Team

WORD

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Fruit of the Spirit: Love

Galatians 5:22-23 (NRSV)

INTRO
In a nation deeply divided, what we need now more than ever is the clear evidence of God’s Spirit in our lives.

As Christians, how do we go about the process of discernment? How can we know truth when sides are so convinced they are correct? How are we to act in the midst of such division?
At the risk of sounding too simplistic….we look at the fruit.

Jesus says: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.
(Matthew 7:15-16a)

Over the next several weeks, we are going to explore the fruit of the Spirit that are listed in Galatians 5.

We are doing this first to help us with discernment and introspection.

“FRUIT” NOT “WORKS”
Notice that the scriptures don’t call these characteristics “works” or “acts” of righteousness.

They are fruit of the Spirit. In other words, these aren’t things we strive for, they are things that blossom in us.

The fruit of the Spirit is the character of God made manifest in the believer!


LOVE
Paul begins with love because all of the other fruit are expressions of this core characteristic.

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
(Galatians 5:6b)

Paul was teaching this truth in a context where Jewish & Gentile believers were deeply divided over what it meant to follow Christ.

He essentially says as you argue and debate over what it means to work out your faith, the way to actually work out your faith is to love.

In other words, the WAY we argue and debate is probably more important than WHAT we are debating!

Truth is perfect, but our understanding of truth is not.

Christians often say, “I want my life to be so different that people notice.” What we mean is that we want our faith to be visible to other people.

Your faith is made visible by the way you love.

CHRISTOS COLLECTIVE
As a faith community, we believe in the power of the arts to speak truth, inspire our hearts, and shape the world.

During this series, we are partnering with Christos Collective. Christos Collective is a collection of Christian artists seeking to reclaim God’s voice in art to transform and renew minds. This partnership is made possible by Melissa Pape, a member of our congregation and Christos Collective.

A few years ago, they had nine artists work collectively on nine works of art, each representing a fruit of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23.

Look at the painting on love. Notice the flame in the middle that represents the Spirit. People of all different color, language, and nation are connected to one another, through the Spirit.

What a wonderful picture of this passage of scripture! Love is the fruit of the Spirit of which all the others are an expression. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Let’s cultivate this in one another.

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

THANKSGIVING: We’ll give thanks this week in a call and response format based on Psalm 136.

We give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

We give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.

We give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.

who by his word made the heavens,
His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.

who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

He remembers us in our human condition
His love endures forever.

and frees us from sin and death.
His love endures forever.

We give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

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 out from here as workers in God’s upside-down kingdom,
where the last are first and the first are last,
Where needs are met in miraculous ways,
and there is grace enough for all!
And may the blessing of God,
the love of Jesus Christ,
and the presence of the Holy Spirit surround you and sustain you in the coming days.
Amen.