peace . love . joy

And now, with the confidence of children of God, let us pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory,
forever and ever.

Amen.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ,
redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
one with each other,
and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory,
and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit in your holy church,
all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father,
now and for ever.

Amen

Holy are You, and blessed is Your Son Jesus Christ.
By the baptism of His suffering, death and resurrection
You gave birth to Your church,
delievered us from slavery to sin and death,
and made with us a new covenant
by water and the Spirit.

On the night in which He gave Himself up for us
He took bread, gave thanks to You, broke the bread,
gave it to His disciples, and said:
"Take, eat; this is My body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."

When the supper was over, He took the cup,
gave thanks to You, gave it to His disciples, and said:
"Drink from this, all of you;
this is My blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me."

And so, in remembrance of these Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a holy and living sacrifice,
in union with Christ's offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

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

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing,
always and everywhere to give thanks to You,
Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

And so,
with your people on earth and all the company of heaven
we praise Your Name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Merciful God,
we confess that we have not loved You with our whole heart.
We have failed to be an obedient church.
We have not done Your will,
we have broken Your law,
we have rebelled against Your love,
we have not loved our neighbours,
and we have not heard the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray.
Free us for joyful obedience,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Hear the good news:
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners;
that proves God's love toward us.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

In the Name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

Glory to God.

Amen.

I've been wanting to post what is said during the Methodist Communion Service for some time now. Why? Because when we listen to the Pastor read the words, when we mumble what we're told to utter, when we listen to other people join their voices with ours, I feel there lacks a very important ingredient - comprehension.

I don't understand how we can go on like this, saying things we don't mean, saying things or doing them because that's what everyone else's doing, because that's what we're told to do. All performed without understanding the significance, the meaning. The meaning is what lifts a ritual and habit from the lower levels. It is what makes an act(s) mysterious and special and worthwhile.

Please don't think that I'd rather you not say or sing or do if you don't "get it". On the contrary, I'm urging you to think about the words coming out of your mouth as you say them. I'm urging you to think about why you're doing what you are doing.

And so I will post from today, through Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, until Easter the words that are being verbalised before and during and after Holy Communion. All this so that you may have the opportunity and the chance to read through and understand.

I don't know what comes to your mind when someone mentions Jesus' earnest prayer in the Garden of Gethsamane, Jesus being interrogated and whipped, the long road up to Golgotha, the death of Jesus Christ, and the resurrection. I don't know what comes to your mind when you read the following words & posts over the next six days. My prayer is that whatever comes to your mind will be special to you; holding a special significance for you. My prayer is that God will bless you with renewed understanding of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, just as He is blessing me with.

Directions for singing:
VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when He cometh in the clouds of heaven.
~ From John Wesley's Select Hymns, 1761 ("The United Methodist Hymnal", p. vii)

Read & digest, lovers of God.

Christ our Lord invites to His table all who love Him,
who earnestly repent of their sin
and seek to live in peace with one another.
Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and one another.

Timmy didnt understand what i meant by that last post, so here goes:

"Amen" is essentially a serious word. It isn't one of those words that you can just holler 'because you feel like it'. It isn't one of those words whose meaning shifts, or more meanings are added, like a chameleon through time and age depending on the whim and fancy of society(s).

Said at the end of a prayer, or sentence, it is like an expression. You are saying, 'yes! I understand completely what has just been said, and I endorse it!' or, 'I believe in what has been taught. I believe it to be true.' "Amen" has some serious entailments.

So before you sound off the "amen" perched at the tip of your tongue, think carefully about what you are "amen-ing" to.

The thing that strikes me most is that "amen" is one of God's names.

My God is the God of the "amen". My God's name is "amen". My God is "amen".

"Amen" means truth. No, Truth. It means the absence of lies, the absence of half-truths. In other words, everything in the Bible, being God-breathed, God-inspired, is the Truth. You can bet all your money that it is entirely true. In other words, you can rest easy at night, in the day, in times of trouble, in times of struggle, in times of peace that everything you read in the Bible is correct. You can claim its promises. You can trust that it is an accurate and reliable coffee table at which you can sit and get to know more about God. You can rely on the Word. If you really think about it, Truth is like a promise.

"Amen" means faithful. You can say with absolute certainty that everything written in the Bible happened and will come to pass. You can hold God to His promises and you know He won't disappoint. You can sing when you're joyful, cry out when you need help, sob when you feel miserable, sit with when you feel peace, and you know God is listening. Great is God's faithfulness.

God's name is "amen". The name gives you a glimpse of who God is; His character. God is Truth embodied. He cannot lie. He cannot but remain true to who He is. God is faithful. He will see through what He has promised you, us.

I want you to look into your own life and see if God is the God of the "amen".
I want you to see with your own eyes and experience with all your senses and more that God is "amen".
I want you to know God ever so intimately and personally; I don't want you to just read this and understand, or read the Bible and say 'yea, God is faithful, God is Truth.'. I want you to be able to produce evidence when people ask you 'so you say your God is faithful, your God is Truth, but can you prove that?'.
I want you to be able to tell special and unique examples such that you yourself know God to be faithful to you, to know what is meant when it is said that God is the God of Truth.

That is what I meant.

Any questions?