What is Love? The Message not the Song | Bear With Me pt. 2
Zoom Link for The Sunday Liturgy | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89752784023
The Call to Worship
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Amen.
Brave Space by Micky Scott Bey Jones
Together we will create brave space
Because there is no such thing as a “safe space”
We exist in the real world
We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds.
In this space
We seek to turn down the volume of the outside world,
We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere,
We call each other to more truth and love
We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow.
We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know.
We will not be perfect.
This space will not be perfect.
It will not always be what we wish it to be
But
It will be our brave space together,
And, we will work on it side by side.
Scripture Reading
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Set me as a seal over your heart;
wear me as an emblem on your arm
For love is as strong as death,
and jealousy is as relentless as the grave.
Love flares up like a blazing fire, a very ardent flame.
7 No amount of water can quench love;
a raging flood cannot drown it out.
If a person tried to exchange all of his wealth for love,
then he would be surely rejected.
The Message
Conversation Series | Bear With Me, Exploring Big Ideas About God
Theological terms can help us understand God better, and other times they only serve to confuse. The words we have come to associate with God in our tradition can be confusing. In this series we will explore four big ideas about God.
Message | What is Love? The Message not the Song
This week Marisa Mizunaka explores the idea of an all-loving God.
The Eucharist Litany (portions of this litany were written by Naomi Lippett)
Reader: This is Christ's table
The table of communion and relationship, where through the work of Christ and the power the Holy Spirit as we feast together on this single loaf and single cup, we are brought into union with the Triune God.
All: This is Christ's table
Reader: The table of shared human life, where no one is excluded and no one unwelcome, where unity is found in difference, where the other is embraced and seen.
All: This is Christ's table
Reader: The table of mystery, where this food nourishes more than just our physical hunger.
All: This is Christ's table
Reader: The table of thanksgiving and joy, where we lift up our lives in response to God's outrageous goodness.
All: This is Christ's table
Reader: The table of remembrance, which on the night He was betrayed, in the company of friends, he took bread and broke it saying, this is my body given for you, eat this in remembrance of me. He then took the cup of wine, and gave thanks saying this is my blood of the new covenant. Drink this in remembrance of me.
Remembering, therefore, this command of the Saviour, and all that came to pass, we pray:
All: Come Holy Spirit and transform these gifts into the means of grace that we need in this moment.
Reader: The gifts of god for the people of God.
Run to Christ's table.
All: “We consume the broken body of Christ
becoming the broken body of Christ
present in a broken world.”
Formational Learning
What stood out to you from the liturgy? Were there any points of curiosity, clarity, confusion, conviction, or conflict that emerged as we walked through liturgy together?
(Head)
For God to be all-loving, God had to stop playing the game of love. So what happens when love becomes an all-encompassing practice instead of an exchange?
(Heart)
Growth and change usually come with resistance. At the end of the message, Marisa asks us some questions that would move us in the direction of growth if we answered them honestly. What resistance do you feel when you imagine yourself having to be loving in an all-encompassing nontransactional way?
What kind of external struggles have you encountered when moving from transactional love, or love as a game, to a more all-encompassing love as a practice?
(Hands)
What does it mean to stop playing the game of love, and what is possible when you do?
Announcements
We have a Slow-Cooker Spirituality group that meets online at 9:30am PST every Thursday. This coming week we will be sitting in the story of Jonah.
Using the Head, Heart, Hands questions, spend some time reflecting on the passage and writing down what emerges for you.
(Head) What do I think about what I read?
(Heart) What do I feel as I am reflecting?
(Hands) What do I do to respond?
One of the ways we invest in the future of FōS is through tithes and offering, generous giving. You can give online at www.fos.church/partner. Make sure to follow the instructions.
Our Benediction
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.*
*Claiborne, Shane. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
