Sunday Morning Worship Service
February 20, 2005

Dolores Nice – this service … we’re going to have communion … and we’re going to have … (can’t hear very well, sorry).

Isn’t this a neat challis? We’ll start by lighting the candles. And this simple act of lighting the candles brings to mind a couple of things. It brings to mind that Jesus said “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst,” so we count on the light of Jesus to be present with us. It also represents I am loving God with the light, and I remember in one of the transmissions, somebody was just talking about … (inaudible)

(group murmurs about prior discussions).

Dolores: And here’s one little one that we hope will symbolically grow. Let’s just take a moment to center ourselves before we begin. (Stillness)

QUIET my soul in your silence presence, Oh God.
GENTLE my soul in your stillness and peace.
TENDER my soul in your beauty and grace.
GOD in the moment, gift of this faith.

JoAnn will do the first reading from the Urantia Book:

P.66 - §3 Sincere worship connotes the mobilization of all the powers of the human personality under the dominance of the evolving soul and subject to the divine directionization of the associated Thought Adjuster. The mind of material limitations can never become highly conscious of the real significance of true worship. Man's realization of the reality of the worship experience is chiefly determined by the developmental status of his evolving immortal soul. The spiritual growth of the soul takes place wholly independently of the intellectual self-consciousness.

P.66 - §4 The worship experience consists in the sublime attempt of the betrothed Adjuster to communicate to the divine Father the inexpressible longings and the unutterable aspirations of the human soul--the conjoint creation of the God-seeking mortal mind and the God-revealing immortal Adjuster. Worship is, therefore, the act of the material mind's assenting to the attempt of its spiritualizing self, under the guidance of the associated spirit, to communicate with God as a faith son of the Universal Father. The mortal mind consents to worship; the immortal soul craves and initiates worship; the divine Adjuster presence conducts such worship in behalf of the mortal mind and the evolving immortal soul. True worship, in the last analysis, becomes an experience realized on four cosmic levels: the intellectual, the morontial, the spiritual, and the personal--the consciousness of mind, soul, and spirit, and their unification in personality.

Piano. Orchestra. Singing:

“In moments like these, I sing out a song. I sing out a love song to Jesus. In moments like these, I lift up my hands. I lift up my hands to the Lord. (Choir) Singing I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. Singing I love you! Lord, I love you.
In moments like these, I sing out a song. I sing out a love song to Jesus. In moments like these, I lift up my hands, I lift up my hands to the Lord. Singing I love you, Lord. Singing I love you, Lord. Singing I love you! Lord, I love you. Singing I love you, Lord. Singing I love you, Lord. Singing I love you, Lord. Singing I love you, Lord, I love you.

Linda:

P.1616 - §4 True religion is the act of an individual soul in its self-conscious relations with the Creator; organized religion is man's attempt to socialize the worship of individual religionists.

P.1616 - §5 Worship--contemplation of the spiritual--must alternate with service, contact with material reality. Work should alternate with play; religion should be balanced by humor. Profound philosophy should be relieved by rhythmic poetry. The strain of living--the time tension of personality--should be relaxed by the restfulness of worship. The feelings of insecurity arising from the fear of personality isolation in the universe should be antidoted by the faith contemplation of the Father and by the attempted realization of the Supreme.

P.1616 - §6 Prayer is designed to make man less thinking but more realizing; it is not designed to increase knowledge but rather to expand insight.

P.1616 - §7 Worship is intended to anticipate the better life ahead and then to reflect these new spiritual significances back onto the life which now is. Prayer is spiritually sustaining, but worship is divinely creative.

P.1616 - §8 Worship is the technique of looking to the One for the inspiration of service to the many. Worship is the yardstick which measures the extent of the soul's detachment from the material universe and its simultaneous and secure attachment to the spiritual realities of all creation.

P.1616 - §9 Prayer is self-reminding--sublime thinking; worship is self-forgetting--superthinking. Worship is effortless attention, true and ideal soul rest, a form of restful spiritual exertion.

P.1616 - §10 Worship is the act of a part identifying itself with the Whole; the finite with the Infinite; the son with the Father; time in the act of striking step with eternity. Worship is the act of the son's personal communion with the divine Father, the assumption of refreshing, creative, fraternal, and romantic attitudes by the human soul-spirit.

Music and song:
“Jesus, I adore you. Lay my life before you. How I love you.
Jesus, I adore you. Lay my life before you. How I love you.”

Rick Voss: Establishing the Remembrance Supper.

P.1941 - §6 As they brought Jesus the third cup of wine, the "cup of blessing," he arose from the couch and, taking the cup in his hands, blessed it, saying: "Take this cup, all of you, and drink of it. This shall be the cup of my remembrance. This is the cup of the blessing of a new dispensation of grace and truth. This shall be to you the emblem of the bestowal and ministry of the divine Spirit of Truth. And I will not again drink this cup with you until I drink in new form with you in the Father's eternal kingdom."

P.1942 - §1 The apostles all sensed that something out of the ordinary was transpiring as they drank of this cup of blessing in profound reverence and perfect silence. The old Passover commemorated the emergence of their fathers from a state of racial slavery into individual freedom; now the Master was instituting a new remembrance supper as a symbol of the new dispensation wherein the enslaved individual emerges from the bondage of ceremonialism and selfishness into the spiritual joy of the brotherhood and fellowship of the liberated faith sons of the living God.

P.1942 - §2 When they had finished drinking this new cup of remembrance, the Master took up the bread and, after giving thanks, broke it in pieces and, directing them to pass it around, said: "Take this bread of remembrance and eat it. I have told you that I am the bread of life. And this bread of life is the united life of the Father and the Son in one gift. The word of the Father, as revealed in the Son, is indeed the bread of life." When they had partaken of the bread of remembrance, the symbol of the living word of truth incarnated in the likeness of mortal flesh, they all sat down.

Virginia Kelly and Eugenia Bryan facilitated the serving of the bread and the wine.

Music:
“Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel his mighty power and his grace. I can hear the brush of angels. I see glory on each face. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
“Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can fell his mighty power and his grace. I can hear the brush of angels. I see glory on each face. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
“Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”

Dolores:
It is customary in most church services to have a time of thanksgiving after the communion, so I invite you now to voice your thanksgiving in a word or a phrase – something that you are thankful for, for this weekend or for this stage in your life, or whatever. So just feel free to call out a word or a phrase, stating your thanksgiving to our Father.

** Joy in fellowship, both human and divine.

** I’m immensely grateful for our friends, as you are.

** Spiritual contentment.

** Peace and joy.

** Mother, I am eternally thankful for the gift of sonship, thankful for these opportunities to gather with my brothers and sisters, like-minded in spirit. It is here, I feel, is my home.

** The healing power that you are and that you give.

** Grateful to be a servant in your house, and thankful for all the blessings that are going on.

** I’m thankful for the teachings of Jesus.

** For joy and fellowship, thanks to the holy presence, spiritual communion.

** Rebirth and resurrection.

** The gift of service.

** The opportunity to (inaudible)

** Thankful to the people who serve.

** Thank you, Father, for your love (inaudible)

** Thank you for all our brothers that planned the holy spheres.

** Thank for this time of leave from our work and our families to be able to sit back with Spirit.

** I can hear the sun and the surf.

** Thank you for the promise of wholeness, not only in the core of each of us, but with the planet. Thank you.

** Thank you for our healing.

** Seriousness and mirth.

** From the teachers of the I AM consciousness: In my perfection, I AM. In my wisdom, I AM. In my light, I AM. In my love, I AM. In my truth, I AM. In my balance, I AM. In all ways I AM. Always, I AM.

Dolores: Eric has a song he would like to share with us.

Eric: I’m just going to sing the chorus first and then the last verse and then the chorus again. I’ve sung it at other gatherings, and tt continues to resonate within me; I hope it does with you as well.

“Tell it from the heart,
Tell it from bottom of your soul
Tell it from the heart,
That’s all you need to know.
Let the spirit move you along
You got to lift your voice in song
And if you don’t know where to start
Tell it from the heart.

The heart has a way of holding your hand
while you speak your mind
You got a powerful Friend down deep inside
Where there’s a will there a way,
what I’m telling you is lay it right on the line
And if it is worth wanting, isn’t it worth a try?

Tell it from the heart,
Tell it from bottom of your soul
Tell it from the heart,
That’s all you need to know.
Let the spirit move you along
You got to lift your voice in song
And if you don’t know where to start
Tell it from the heart.

And if you don’t know where to start
Tell it from the heart.”

Eric: No matter which heart you have. (Laughter)

Dolores: Our last reading is taken from an adaptation of the book of Psalms, based on Psalm 139. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the Psalms, but if you are not, I strongly urge you to read them. They are most beautiful. And this one is called “God of my life.”

“Where can I run from you, from your love for me.
Why would I run from the one who loves me, so deeply?

Your knowledge of me is so deep, to really understand
You know my name, all that I truly am.
Long before I was born, you knew me.
For you are the God of my life.

It was you who fashioned me and formed me.
No matter where I journey --
In the darkness of the night or in the sunrise --
You would always be there
Guiding me and loving me.
Though I may not understand
For You are the God of my life.

For the mystery of your ways, I thank you, Lord.
Where could I run from your love for me?
Why would I run from the one who loves me so deeply?
Oh, yes, you are the God of my life.

Dolores: Our last song is going to be the prayer of St. Francis, “Lord Make me an Instrument of Your Piece” and I purposely selected that because it is not enough, like I mentioned yesterday, to read or study the Urantia Book, it is not enough to do transmissions. It is not enough to come together to worship. We also need to serve, and I think this particular prayer symbolizes so well the way that we can serve, so, “Lord Make me an Instrument” supposedly written by Francis but Assisi, but there is some question of that.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubting, let me bring your faith.

And Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is despairing, let me bring your hope.
Where there is darkness, your light.
Where there is silence, let me bring your joy.

Lord, grant that I might see not so much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
Not so much to be loved as to love another.
For it is in giving that we now receive
It is in pardoning that we are now pardoned
And it is dying that we are born again.

And Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where is hatred, let me bring your love.”

Dolores: Well, my good brothers and sisters, that concludes our memorial service. Let us go forth in love and joy to serve our God and his family.

Group: Amen.



 

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