immersion worship service
|
|
Immersion: Sermon Series
Wednesdays beginning at 6:15pm
October 26 - November 16, 2011
During this series we will be taking Sunday's message of Extravagant Generosity and showing ways of putting them into action in our own lives.
|
|
immersion
Going Deeper in the
Worship, Community, and Mission of God
"immersion" is a new worship experience at Lindenwald United Methodist Church beginning on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 6:30 pm. This service is open to all people and will be held in the Sanctuary. This service will be independently programmed from Sunday morning worship services. There are three goals of the immersion service.
1. To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
2. To live, teach, and follow Mark 12:28-32
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which commandment is the first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength." The second is this, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' then the scribe said to him, 'You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that "he is one, and besides him there is no other."
3. To allow people to go deeper in their Christian faith through the worship, community, and mission of God. By going deeper in our faith, God will return to the central focus of our everyday lives and will no longer be captured and placed in a box, in a building, or be "that thing we do on Sunday." We do not want to be a place that people will just go to church, but will live out their faith in all that they do.
|
The first component of immersion . . . worship.
Psalm 150 tells us: “Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! “(NRSV)
This is one of the inspirations for the design team as we continue to pray over what type of worship God is leading us to develop. The worship will be open to all people who want to come and praise the Lord. The goal is to have a variety of praise music in different styles along with opportunities of drama, liturgical dance, prayer, testimony, and a variety of other worship and praise opportunities. The hope is to provide a worship time where all people will be able to come and have the opportunity to go deeper in their worship and praise of the Lord. So continue to look for more information about this new worship service in the coming weeks.
|
The second component, is community.
In reading Acts 2:43-44 we can see that since the beginnings of the church believers gathered together in community. “Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds* to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home* and ate their food with glad and generous* hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (NRSV)
These early believers gathered together and had a true understanding of how the community would function and fellowship together. While this community was together to care and learn from one another, they understood the broader meaning of Christian fellowship was not just for those within the group, but fellowship to all mankind. Christian fellowship is an action word. And within the Christian community it becomes the means that we are able to carry out the God-given mission of the church to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,” (Matt. 28:19). We must be in community and relationship with all people if we are going to accomplish this mission.
It is a goal of the immersion service to help teach and move out into the wider community and be in fellowship with all our neighbors for glory of God! I want to personally invite each one of you come and be in fellowship in this new service and the wider community.
|
|
