Chapel of the Resurrection
Welcome to the Fall Semester and our Labor Day service. We will sing, read, mark, learn, we inwardly digest God's word together as we celebrate that we seek to be fully united with Jesus Christ. Join us today or any Sunday. If you're driving, spaces 1-28 are reserved for you.
A little about what we do.
This service has a lot of written prayers many that we pray together. A lot of the prayers are call and response. All of us are people, the celebrant leads the service and is usually ordained, the lector(s) are readers who help bring the scriptures to life. The order at its best gives us parameters that help train our hearts and connect us to those who are praying the same things around the world and through time... with this connection we wait and long, and often experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Celebrant: Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People:And blessed be his kingdom, now and for ever.
Amen.
Celebrant: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.Hebrews 4:14,16
Celebrant: Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
The Collect of the Day (prayed together)
Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Let us pray.
People: Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Lector: A reading from Jeremiah 18:1-11
Jeremiah 18:1-11 NRSV
Lector: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church
People: Thanks be to God
We will pray the psalm aloud together
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 ESV
Lector: a reading from Philemon
Philemon 1:1-21 NRSV
Lector: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church
People:Thanks be to God
Build my life (gradual)
Build my Life I will build my life upon your love it is a firm foundation
I will put my trust in you alone
And I will not be shaken
Gospel: The Holy Gospel of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ according to Luke
People: Glory to you Lord Christ
Luke 14:25-33 RSV
At the end, the gospeler shall say:
Gospeler: The gospel of the Lord
All: Praise to you Lord Christ
The Sermon: Molded and formed
Reviewing: We've been talking about rest, rest is powerful, rest is something you need to start with as well as end with, yet rest is not the end. Rest is a gift to us because we are like God starting and beginning in rest and because we are not slaves unable to stop working... we strive to enter God's rest more than good grades or other successes...
Today: We're talking about what forms us most
When we eat, we literally take what we eat and it becomes part of us... we become what we eat... yet our bodies are designed to get rid of the waste.
Spiritually, we become what we focus on, meditate on, are molded by....
If you're not doing these things intentionally, every night when you sleep your brain is making connections and cementing the thoughts and patterns of the day choosing what thoughts to keep and what ones to scrub.
We love and are formed by our families, but we also have familiar bad habits from them
We love and are formed by our studies, but often they seem to become more important than our identity in God
Walking with God has a cost, it can seem really costly when it is 'hating (Luke 14:26)' family or giving up our rights (Philemon), or realizing we're spoiled (Jeremiah 18:4) until we realize that paying the cost gets us into reworked healthier relationships.
To ponder this week:
What are two things that have been essential to who you are that God might be calling you to evaluate today?
What is one habit you'd like to change? (Tell someone about it this week help you be accountable to God and those we find easier).
As we continue, we say the following creed together calling our attention again to a fuller, larger picture of all God has done for us...
The Nicene Creed
All: We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father
Through Him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation,
He came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
He became incarnate of the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate:
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day He rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory,
to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the Giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son
He is worshipped and glorified;
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one, Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church;
we acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
We value everyone praying and have a book called the Book of Common Prayer from which this service is taken. We value prayers from the heart so feel free to pray extemporaneously or turn to page 810 in the Book of Common Prayer. We;d like everyone to lead one prayer.
Diocesan collect: Gracious and loving God, you have called us in this Diocese to a goodly community of faith. You have called us also to bring others to know and love you. Give us, heavenly Father, a special measure of your grace, that we may be obedient to your Great Commission. Assist us, O Lord, and help us, that we may do your will in all things; and especially in our efforts to bring others to the knowledge and love of you. We ask all of these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And all may exchange a sign of peace: African fraternal or traditional embrace or traditional handshake or double handclasp.
THE OFFERING
We make our offering in this community on post-it notes because God calls on us to give not just our finances but our whole selves.
“You ask what you should offer: offer yourself. For what else does the
Lord seek of you but you? Because of all earthly creatures he has made
nothing better than you, he seeks yourself from yourself, because you
have lost yourself.” St. Augustine
We will continue in our red books of common prayer on page 367 for communion.
We'll close with the blessing from Kenyan Communion:
All our troubles
We send to the cross of Christ
All our difficulties
We send to the cross of Christ
All the devil's works
We send to the cross of Christ
All our _________
We send to the cross of Christ.
All our hopes
We set on the risen Christ
Mark your calendar for Thursday September 19 at 7pm. We're having special guests visiting from Uganda. One of our Alumna is bringing friends who have been traveling around Florida sharing about Jesus in schools and churches. It would be a great night to bring your friends, especially anyone who is internationally minded.