Making the Theological Understandable
Not was. Not will be. Not past only. Not future only.
Already. Here. Now. He is exalted forever.
What does it mean to you that God is already exalted, has been exalted all along, and will be beheld as exalted for all eternity? How can you exalt Him in your heart today?
Chapel Worship Guide for Sunday 9 AM—May 19, 2013
The Nemmers Family Chapel at Advocate Condell
Prelude –Nathan LeMahieu, Campus Pastor at Christ Church Highland Park
Welcome—Barbara Shafer, Christ Church Highland Park
Worship in Song: Holy, Holy, Holy (Hymn 1)
Scripture Reading (Old Testament):
Joel 2:28-29 English Standard Version (ESV)
28 [a] “And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Prayer
Scripture Reading (New Testament):
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Message: “The God of Love: Pouring out the Holy Spirit” by Nathan LeMahieu Campus Pastor, Christ Church Highland Park
The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. AMEN.
Songs of Response:
Holy Spirit, Rain Down
You’ve Been Good
Benediction—Barbara Shafer
In John 14:1 we read, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
What do we do when confronted with things that worry us, concern us, or make us afraid? Do we dwell upon the very things that bring fear, or do we take our troubles to the One who is greater than any trouble? Do we automatically grab the quickest, smartest, most technologically advanced option or do we evaluate things with an undergirding of faith in God?
While I know that Angelina Jolie is receiving much public acclaim for raising awareness about alternatives for women who MAY get breast cancer someday and for her courage in pursuing a solution to it, it’s important to reassure the many women and men out there who have elected not to be pre-emptive in that way that their stories are every bit as valid.
She wrote her story. I am a cancer survivor and I have written mine differently. If you’ve written yours differently, too, here’s my little shout out to you. Write your story of courage and faith in God with a personal flourish that flows uniquely from your hand.
Arguably, it is just as courageous–if not more so–to face a diagnosis with an unshakable trust in God. In an age of increasingly successful treatment options for every conceivable illness, heroes of the operating room can be a dime a dozen.
The Courageous Heroes of Faith are of great worth in the eyes of God.
Do you thirst for Him?
God observes the plight of the most helpless among us and He will arise! He will defend those who are least able to help themselves! While we do not understand the mysterious workings of God and how He will accomplish this, we can be assured that He will set everything right in the end.
What a reassurance to know that when we seek Him, He will never forsake us. We should endeavor to know Him, to trust Him, and to seek Him in all things and at all times.
A refuge. A place of security and safety. A haven where your adversaries can’t find you and can’t get at you. A solid house that your troubles can’t topple.
The persecuted church is probably more aware of the need for this than those of us in comfortable and complacent congregations. Yet, it’s the persecuted church that has the greater understanding of what it means to call the LORD our refuge, our stronghold.
Could you say that if everything fell apart around you that you would still know God as your refuge and that you could trust Him with your eternal well-being?
Chapel Worship Guide for Sunday 9 AM—May 12, 2013
The Nemmers Family Chapel at Advocate Condell
Prelude —LeAnn Malecha (piano) and choral ensemble from First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville
Welcome—Barbara Shafer, Christ Church Highland Park
Worship in Song:
Scripture Reading (Old Testament):
Jeremiah 31:2 This is what the LORD says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel.” 3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. 4 I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Worship in song:
Prayer
Scripture Reading (New Testament):
1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Message: by Bill Slater, Bill Slater Ministries and Christ Church Lake Forest
Song of Response:
Benediction—Bill Slater
When is the last time you sang praises to God? I mean really singing with all the passion you could muster…?
Are they just words on a screen or in a hymnal? Or are they words swelling with thanksgiving, rising up from within your heart? Rejoice in Him! He is the Most High God.
A wholehearted praise notices everything! The Lord has blessed us so abundantly and all the little things combine together to reflect God’s wonderful works.
The color of the sky. The flowers. The birds. Butterflies. Creatures of all types. A baby’s smile and giggle. The tender arms of a mother and the strong arms of a father. The twinkle in the eyes of laughter or in the stars in the sky. The grandeur of the mountains and the peaceful ripples on a lake.
Each and every one is worth telling as among His wonderful works.