Liturgy

Friends, sisters and brothers,
welcome to this sacred place this morning.
Let us pause for a moment to be still and breathe.

Today, when we are challenged,
may we be receptive to the Spirit’s moving.

When we are humbled,
may we make room for God’s healing and grace.

When we face difficult emotions and trying situations,
may we welcome these experiences and learn from them.

When we are filled with fear, sorrow, or grief,
may we experience God’s abounding love.

This morning, dear friends, make some space to
contemplate and care for yourselves,
so that the change we experience here
may spread into our homes, workplaces, and city.

We pray In the name of God, our Creator,
Jesus, our Savior,
And the Holy Spirit, our Breath of Life.
Amen.

(Gina Bastone-Trevino)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from a reading in 1 John 4:7-16.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God;
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever
does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love
was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into
the world so that we might live through him.

10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his
Son to be the sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much,
we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given
us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent
his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.

16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God,
and God abides in them.

The Good News of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

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

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 6.21.20 – Sacred Heart

How can we move from a cognitive to a relational understanding and practice of love?

How are we invited to meekness in our attempt to love well and to receive love?

Benediction

Vox family, as we leave here today,
let us pray together in God’s
working, thanking, trusting, and enjoying.

Love is God’s meaning.
In this love, we have our beginning.
And it has no end.

It is forth-spreading,
with God’s perfect grace,
into great lengths and breadths,
heights and depths.

All is one in love.

Go forth then,
in the name of God, the Author of our lives,
Jesus, the One who makes things right,
And the Holy Spirit, who breathes with us.
Amen.

(Gina Bastone-Trevino)

Go in peace and live the church.
May you find safety and rest throughout the week.

[Photo by Sam @ Flickr]