God Loves Justice
Shelter in Place
Rejoice
Dustin Kensrue CCLI 20455650
VERSE 1
Come and stand before your Maker
Full of wonder, full of fear
Come behold His power and glory
Yet with confidence draw near
For the one who holds the heavens
And commands the stars above
Is the God who bends to bless us
With an unrelenting love
CHORUS 1
Rejoice, come and lift your hands and
Raise your voice, He is worthy of our praise
Rejoice, sing of mercies of your King
And with trembling, rejoice
VERSE 2
We are children of the promise
The beloved of the Lord
Won with everlasting kindness
Bought with sacrificial blood
Bringing reconciliation
To a world that longs to know
The affections of a Father
Who will never let them go
VERSE 3
All our sickness, all our sorrows
Jesus carried up the hill
He has walked this path before us
He is walking with us still
Turning tragedy to triumph
Turning agony to praise
There is blessing in the battle
So take heart and stand amazed
CHORUS 2
Rejoice, when you cry to Him
He hears Your voice,
He will wipe away your tears,
Rejoice, in the midst of suffering
He will help you sing
There Is A Fountain
William Cowper CCLI 20455650
VERSE 1
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains
VERSE 2
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more
Be saved to sin no more,
Be saved to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more
VERSE 3
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there have I, though vile as he
Washed all my sins away
Washed all my sins away
Washed all my sins away
And there have I, though vile as he
Washed all my sins away
VERSE 4
E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die
Creed
A Liturgy for Pentecost
Reader: The Scripture in John 20:19-23
When it was evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Leader: After his resurrection, Jesus stayed with the disciples for 40 days. He instructed them to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father—the gift of the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost, just days after Jesus’ ascension, the disciples were gathered together in one place, waiting, as Jesus had told them to, when the Holy Spirit came upon them. The Holy Spirit is given to enliven, empower, and enable the church to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to carry out its mission and ministry in the world.
It is by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the disciples are able to find new life—freedom from the old life and the ability to live according to the Kingdom that Christ brought into our midst. The Holy Spirit brings us together as one people, helps us to understand what God is doing in the world, and empowers us to participate in God’s work by proclaiming the Good News of the gospel in word and deed.
Now as we, along with the first disciples, ask again what this means for our life today and everyday, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we find the answers we seek. The Spirit helps us reorient to the new reality of God’s Kingdom, where death no longer holds dominion, and we are no longer held captive to sin. The Spirit helps us to see division, yet find unity; we are able to see death, yet find new life; we are able to see sin and brokenness, yet find forgiveness; we are able to see need, yet find fulfillment.
Please join me now in the call and response. After I say the Leader portion, please recite the People portion.
Leader: To all who are spiritually weary and seek rest,
People: the Holy Spirit is given.
Leader: To all who mourn and long for comfort,
People: the Holy Spirit is given.
Leader: To all who struggle and desire victory,
People: the Holy Spirit is given.
Leader: To all who sin and need a Savior,
People: the Holy Spirit is given.
Leader: To all who are strangers and want fellowship,
People: the Holy Spirit is given.
Leader: To all who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
People: the Holy Spirit is given.
Leader: and to all who will come, the church opens wide her doors
and offers welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
People: In the power of the Holy Spirit, let us worship God.
Leader: We know that through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been given new life. Therefore, it is with confidence that we approach the throne of grace.
People: O Lord our God, have mercy on us. You have united us in diverse community, yet we allow our misunderstanding of one another to bring division and exclusion.
You have given us gifts and resources for the good of all people, yet we hoard our gifts for our own comfort and success while ignoring the needs of others.
You have filled us with the power of your Holy Spirit, yet we continue to lead timid lives, relying only on our own efforts.
You have shown your majesty in our midst, yet we fail to proclaim your transforming work and the hope that we have in you.
Leader: Now hear the good news!
“You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
It is this very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, then also heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.”
Know that through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, God forgives you and strengthens you to live a renewed life.
People: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! May He show us how to live through the preaching of his word.
Leader: Let us now hear the word preached.
Sermon
“God Loves Justice”
1. God’s loves justice and hates injustice.
“Western views of justice are primarily focused on how things should be done—laws, rules, and what should happen when laws are broken. In Hebrew thought, justice is focused on what life should be like. Justice in the Hebrew world was concerned not just with laws, but with enhancing all human life, especially the social world.” (Jessica Nicholas, God Loves Justice)
Exodus 22:21-22, "You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. "You shall not afflict any widow or orphan."
Exodus 23:6, “You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute."
Leviticus 19:15, ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.'
Deuteronomy 24:17, "You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge."
Proverbs 21:3, To do righteousness and justice Is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice.
Proverbs 17:15, He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
Psalm 12:5, “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”
Isaiah 1:17, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.
Isaiah 10:1-2, Woe to those who enact evil statutes, And to those who constantly record unjust decisions, So as to deprive the needy of justice, And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil, And that they may plunder the orphans.
Amos 8:4, Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land.
Lamentations 3:35-36, To deprive a man of justice in the presence of the Most High, to defraud a man in his lawsuit-- Of these things the Lord does not approve.
Jeremiah 6:13, “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest. Everyone deals falsely.
2. How Jesus shows the way.
Luke 10:27, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”
“We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that. By depicting a Samaritan helping a Jew, Jesus could not have found a more forceful way to say that anyone at all in need - regardless of race, politics, class, and religion - is your neighbor. Not everyone is your brother or sister in faith, but everyone is your neighbor, and you must love your neighbor.” (Timothy Keller, Generous Justice)
“When will we learn that human beings are of infinite value because they have been created in the image of God, and that it is a blasphemy to treat them as if they were less than this?” (Desmond Tutu)
Closing Song
Oh! Great Is Our God
Brian Eichelberger CCLI 20455650
VERSE 1
Oh great is our God,
So we should worship greatly
No song is too loud,
No orchestra too stately
To hail the majesty of our king
So lift your voices sing
VERSE 2
Oh great is our God,
So let our songs be endless
So awesome his ways,
How could we comprehend them?
So we will make it known to our kids
And we will sing about the gracious gifts you give
CHORUS
We will sing your praise and pour forth your fame
We will bless your name, let everyone give thanks,
Because our God is great
VERSE 3
Oh great is our God and we cannot contain it
We sing from our souls affected by his greatness
His mercy covers all that he's made
Showing his glory and his grace