Liturgy

Breath of Life, wake us up.
Open our eyes to you, and
pull us out of the darkness.

We feel our bodies shake against the discomfort.
Birth is painful, and waking up feels like reliving
the cold push into this world.

Hold us fast, hold us close, pull us through.
We yearn to hear your voice. We long for the
familiar touch of your hand, and we cry out
for understanding.

We can not go back. We can not fall asleep
once we have woken up, we can not unlearn
what we have learned, and we can not
un-see what we have seen.

Here and now, there is stillness.
Here and now you are real,
not an imaginary friend.

Here and now, we can release the pain
we have been holding onto, and breathe
in you, Breathe of Life.

God, who is life, God, who is love,
God, who is one, we pray to you,
our God in community,
Holy in One.
Amen.

(Naomi Jackson)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the reading of John 14:8-17.

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Good News of Christ. Praise be to you, O Christ!

The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 6.9.19 – The Gift of Presence

How can you practice becoming more aware of God’s presence in your life today?

What does it mean for you to embody God’s Spirit and be a gift of presence to others?

Benediction

Go live fully. Live and be reminded
of the God who lived fully among us:
Christ, God and Man.

Go laugh, go play, go sing, go and dance.
Feel invited into the rhythm of life, and ask
others to join in. Stretch into yourself, feel the
vibrations of God’s Spirit. Join into the dance that
has been going on before and will continue after us.

And when you can not push through, fall on the waves of God’s grace.
Remember that we have an Advocate and Guide who will never leave us.
The peace of the Lord is always with you, now and to the end of the age.

Leave in the name of
God the Father,
Christ the Son,
and Holy Spirit, the Rhythm of Life.
Amen.

(Naomi Jackson)

Go in peace and live the church.
See you throughout the week.

[Photo by Adam_Marshall @ Flickr]