In an apple tree I see him as the Creator and sustainer of life and flavor.
In a flower, I see him reveling in color and transformation
In a rock I see Him as timeless and unexplainable
In a meadowlark, I see him as a lover of sight and sound.
In wind I see His refreshing presence.
In a thoroughbred, I see power and purpose, speed and grace.
In a storm I see the breadth and height of wonder
In the sleeping breath of an infant I see trust and provision
In sand and waves I see the constancy and movement of His work.
In stars I see His fingers’ fearsome and infinite reach
In moon, it’s perfect circular presence, I see His love of quite nights– The kind of nights that inspire romance and cherished words spoken beneath it’s ambient beauty.
He is in all things, through all things, and beyond all things.
These sights speak words that poets cannot exceed.
A love song to the lost
They are revelation to the doubting
But most of all, in each oft ignored marvel of the divine, He whispers, “I did this for you.”
Monthly Archives: July 2013
We Welcome Jesus
Call to Worship
Reader 1: We’d like to welcome to this worship service our honored guest,
Reader 2: the matchless King, His Holy Majesty,
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Christ.
Reader 4: And Peter said, “You are Christ the Son of the Living God.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The Anointed One sent from the throne of the Father.
All: Jesus, the Lord.
Reader 2: The Lord—whose arrival was announced by a host of angels.
Reader 3: The Lord—the Master of our lives.
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: Our peace—not a state of mind, but a person. For He is Peace.
Reader 3: Oh, war-torn nations, prepare yourselves for the coming of the Prince of Peace.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: Wonderful Savior. If you have ever come to the realization of who we are and who He is and what He does, how can you doubt that Jesus’ name is Wonderful.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: Counselor—The God who listens and directs. He is light in darkness, voice in silence, and wisdom in a land of lostness.
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: The Almighty God.
Reader 2: Who could He be? The Savior who controls the land and the sea.
Reader 3: Oh, brother,
Reader 4: sister,
Reader 1: friend,
Reader 2: are you fearful, distraught, and hopeless? Look to this Undefeated Warrior whose name is Jesus. The nations and kingdoms of this terminal society are a drop in the bucket, dust on the scale in comparison to the arsenal of Almighty God. So hop on board or get out of the way. His Kingdom’s coming through!
Reader 1: His name is Mighty Jesus,
Reader 3: The everlasting Father.
Reader 4: Have you mourned at the death bed of your earthly father? See the joy of a loving Father who never dies. He lives forever.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Word of God.
Reader 2: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was Jesus. Think of the mystery. God’s power resides in the vibrating vocal chords of the believer. So speak His name.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The fourth man in the furnace, the Damascus road intercom, the stone in our sling, the wave-walking, foot-washing, life-giving, soul-cleansing Son of God.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Friend.
Reader 2: No greater love hath any man but this man named
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: The Bread.
Reader 3: We will not starve because He nourishes and sustains us.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: The Mediator.
Reader 1: The One whose holy hands stretch to the throng of mankind from the throne of God.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Physician who touched my sin-scarred soul and made me truly whole.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: The Lamb.
Reader 4: The gentle sacrifice taking our place on the alter.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The Conqueror who puts all things under His feet, who crushed the head of the enemy and who reigns on high.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Way.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: The Truth.
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: The Life.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The Answer.
Reader 3: We welcome this morning to our worship service our friend, His Majesty—
All: Jesus!
The Beggar of Legalville
Duet scene on grace and blessing
Reader 1: Once upon a time, in a town called Legalville,
Reader 2: Legalville?
Reader 1: Never heard of Legalville?
Reader 2: Nope.
Reader 1: It’s near Religion City.
Reader 2: I’m still clueless.
Reader 1: It’s really not all that important. Now where were we?
Reader 2: We were reading a story about an old crusty man who lived in Attorneyland.
Reader 1: That’s Legalville.
Reader 2: Whatever.
Reader 1: Once upon a time, there was a man in Legalville. He was a beggar who collected cans and reusable bottles. He collected them in an old grocery cart that needed a serious wheel alignment.
Reader 2: I think I used that cart last week.
Reader 1: But the story isn’t about you.
Reader 2: I hope not.
Reader 1: People would see him and shake their heads. There’s old Jed, the can man, they’d say in a pitiful tone. They would pity his existence, but they would just leave him alone, out in the sun.
Reader 2: Doesn’t exactly sound fun.
Reader 1: It wasn’t. Jed didn’t know the world was any larger than Legalville, U.S.A., until something incredible happened.
Reader 2: Good. I hate sad stories.
Reader 1: An attorney visited his cardboard refrigerator box shack with good news.
Reader 2: Good news?
Reader 1: The best news he could hear.
Reader 2: OK?
Reader 1: Take a swing at it. What is the best news old Jed could receive?
Reader 2: That’s easy. Jed, your troubles are over! Your long lost uncle, that you never met, died last week. He left $2 million to your father. Since he passed away last year, that means the money is yours.
Reader 1: How’d you guess?
Reader 2: It’s my line. (shows his script to #1) See?
Reader 1: Right. Anyway, Jed went nuts.
Reader 2: Two million dollars, and I didn’t even have to poll the audience or phone a friend! $2 million! That’s great! I’m rich!
Reader 1: The attorney alerted the media, who immediately went to the alley where Jed lived, between First National Bank and Trust and Renaldo’s Bar and Grill.
Reader 2: The mob of cameramen and news- people knocked down the cardboard refrigerator box door,
Reader 1: exposing his sleeping bag, charcoal grill, and 13 pairs of mismatched socks.
Reader 2: Wow! This is the best day of my life! I feel like a new man,
Reader 1: Jed said as he wiped a tear from his eye, with a used paper napkin from the dumpster at the downtown McDonald’s.
Reader 2: Accountants and Wall Street investors rushed to his side to serve him.
Reader 1: Ladies suddenly found him very attractive.
Reader 2: Legalville proclaimed the day “Jed Day.” The whole town said, Jed! Move away from there!
Reader 1: (to #2) I saw that one coming a mile off.
Reader 2: I couldn’t resist.
Reader 1: The reporters called out, You just won $2 million! What are you gonna do next?
Reader 2: Just you wait,
Reader 1: Jed said, with a three-tooth grin that stretched from ear to ear. The reporters continued, You can go to Disneyland. You can eat steak! You can get dentures and (waving off the smell with his hand) deodorant.”
Reader 2: I’ve already got the whole thing planned. Do you know how long I’ve lived in this cardboard shack? Fifteen long years. Do you know how much generic dog food I’ve eaten?
Reader 1: We don’t even want to imagine, Jed.
Reader 2: This is my plan. I’m going to buy new cardboard and rebuild this old place. I’m going to eat canned brand-name dog food and Spam. Do you know how long it’s been since I had fried Spam for breakfast?
Reader 1: You can’t be serious!
Reader 2: I know. I don’t want to spend it all in one place, but I’m going for broke. I’m movin’ up in this world. I’m getting plastic plates instead of paper plates. I’m going to the grocery store, turn in that old cart, and buy the best one they have. I know they don’t usually sell them, but if I wave a few hundred thousand in front of them, they’ll probably give me a couple of those huge, family-sized ones. Do you know how many recyclable cans I could cart around in those babies?
Reader 1: Jed
Reader 2: He was a millionaire who didn’t understand.
Reader 1: He just didn’t get it.
Reader 2: He couldn’t look beyond his slum life into his new life.
Reader 1: In the following days, he was swindled out of every dollar he inherited.
Reader 2: There may be millionaire-beggars in this church,
Reader 1: content with their spiritual condition in a guilt-ridden cardboard shack on a rundown alley in Legalville.
Reader 2: We have been given a rich inheritance:
Reader 1: unfathomable spiritual blessings.
Reader 2: We are eternally royal.
Reader 1: We are not the nephew of a millionaire,
Reader 2: we are sons and daughters of the King of it all.
Reader 1: Yet the spirit of Jed is still hanging around, plodding through life, pushing a squeaky grocery cart.
Reader 2: Give “thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
Reader 1: You have been qualified for the inheritance of God.
Reader 2: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
Reader 1: So, grace recipients, let’s crawl out of our cardboard boxes of spiritual poverty.
Reader 2: Leave the dog food of the world on the shelf.
Both: We have been given eternal wealth and a chance to dine with Almighty God.
Based on Colossians 1:12-13
Wordspring Creative by Matt Tullos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.tullos.org.
As We Leave This Place
Here’s a creative way to end a worship experience.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Keep us mindful of the hungry, the downcast, and those in need.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Teach us to seek those who are lost as You sought us.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Protect our hearts when those around us reject the message.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Strengthen our homes, our families, and our faith.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Keep us ever mindful of Your coming, ever grateful of Your grace, ever thankful for Your blessings, ever seeking Your face.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: We pray, Lord, Emmanuel, You will always be with us.
Leader: Go ye, therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth.
Wordspring Creative by Matt Tullos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.tullos.org.
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