Abel Deffinbaugh

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Digital Liturgy June 21.png

Introduction

While our option to gather at Madison Elementary on Sundays has been stopped for the time being, our mission as a church remains the same: we are a community of disciples who are being formed into the image of Jesus for the sake of the world.

Today we would like to lead you through a guided liturgy that will become our new normal for the next season of our church life together. In addition to being united in the gospel and relationships (which aren’t going away), another layer of connection can be found in our common practice and habits. By studying the same Bible passages, singing the same songs and repeating the same prayers, we are reminded of our connection that goes far beyond a common meeting space. Be creative and look for ways to incorporate children and adults of all ages who are in the room as readers and participants.

We hope that as you walk through this, you will be encouraged by God to place your hope in Him and to continue to seize the chances to be and make disciples wherever you are.

REALITY Kids Materials

Each week, our regular Reality Kids curriculum which includes age specific videos, lessons and activities is posted on Realm for you and your children to use. You can find all the information and links on Realm - HERE

Once you are done with the lesson, enjoy the video and activity with Kailyn below.

Gather Together

Reality Family, this morning as we worship, we look to Jesus and are reminded of His goodness and grace to us. Let’s hear and declare this truth in Colossians 1 that encourages us to see Christ for who He is, our King of Kings.

Call to Worship

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15-20)

Sing Together

“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!”  (Psalm 105:1-3, ESV)

Singing together is a gift that allows us to both rehearse what is true and to express the cry of our soul in a unique way. Feel free to either sing along with the following playlist or have someone in the room lead you on an instrument or a cappella.

“Welcome to the Place of Level Ground”
”O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing”
“Just As I Am”

PRAY TOGETHER

“God’s love has been poured into our hearts

through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The proof of God’s amazing love is this:

While we were sinners Christ died for us.

Because we have faith in him,

we dare to approach God in confidence.” (Rom. 5:5, 8; Heb. 4:16)

Corporate Confession & Assurance

We pray and confess in confidence that our Lord God will not refuse or cast out those who come trusting in the complete work and grace of Jesus Christ.  We recognize that our glorious God acts first. It is by acknowledging His gracious forgiveness that we are moved to repentance and confession.

Corporate Prayer of Confession:

All:  

We want to serve you in this world,

be the ones through whom

many will be drawn to the Light,

show your love where there

is a need for love to be shown,

be your touch where there

are broken lives to be made whole,

speak your word in faith

against those who deny your power;

and yet we confess

we hesitate to speak your name,

are daily tempted

to listen to this world’s voice.

So we come again

to your feet, and in faith proclaim

‘Thanks be to God, who forgives us

through Jesus Christ our Lord!’

Assurance of Pardon:
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  (1 John 3:1, 3; NASB)

LEARN TOGETHER

Discussion Q’s

  • What’s your “one thing?” How would other people answer that about you?

  • Who are your examples? Who are you looking to? Listening to? Watching?

  • What kind of example are you? To your co-workers? Neighbors? Family?

CELEBRATE & REMEMBER TOGETHER

If you have the means to celebrate communion together, please do so - remembering the broken body and shed blood of Jesus for you.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”  (John 6:35, ESV)

ADVENTURE TOGETHER

In this next section, begin to dream together: what does it look like for you to be the church this week where God has placed you? What does that look like on your block, your street, at your work, in your family and with your friendships?

We would love to hear your ideas and suggestions on how you can be the Body of Christ in this new and unprecedented time. Feel free to share your ideas by emailing the staff or by posting on Realm.

Benediction - Prayer of Sending

“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5, ESV)

 Giving

Our giving at Reality is primarily an act of worship- a response to the generosity of Jesus towards us.

Prayer Requests/Needs

If you would like someone to pray for you or you need help with a need, please contact:
admin@realityolympia.com

If you are new to the Reality community and want more information to get connected:

"All Things for Good" - Romans 8:28-30 (Catch the Wind)

Welcome to a new season in the life of our church and our world. While we are currently working on a plan to allow for embodied community to continue in the weeks ahead, today we will simply rely on technology to facilitate our shared experience. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What are you calling good? How would you fill in the following: 
Underneath my calling _____ good, is a love of what? But today I want to rejoice in Christ as my great ________. And I want to confess where I haven't been.

2. In light of what is really good (being conformed to the image of Jesus), how does that change the way you engage suffering? Or the way you comfort those who are?

3. Where are you celebrating good- in your life, in other people's lives, in the world? What needs to be named?

Corporate Confession  and Assurance:
Gracious God, we confess that we have longed too much for the comforts of this world. We have loved the gifts more than the giver. In your mercy, help us to see that all the things we pine for are shadows, but you are substance; that they are quicksands, but you are mountain; that they are shifting, but you are anchor. We plead your forgiveness on the merits of Jesus Christ. Accept his worthiness for our unworthiness, his sinlessness for our transgressions, his fullness for our emptiness, his glory for our shame, his righteousness for our dead works, his death for our life. We pray in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Hear the good news: The story of Jesus is proof that God’s faithfulness to us doesn’t hinge on our perfection, our performance, or our consistency. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and wash away all of our unrighteousness. Friends, believe and declare the good news of the gospel– In Christ Jesus we are forgiven! Amen!

Benediction and Sending:
"Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is in you. And the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you always." (LR Knost)

"The Parable of the Two Sons" Matthew 21:28-32 (Matthew: The Parables of the King)

This week’s sermon is more about people’s response to the Kingdom of God then about the the nature of the Kingdom itself. Jesus confronts the religious leaders who feel secure and feel like they are close to God and are better than others. They are so confident in themselves that rather than seeing their needs and the grace of the savior in front of them, they instead reject him and question his authority. So Jesus tells them about two sons who both rebel, but one repents. In this parable Jesus says what God is looking for is not more doing and is not more action, but what God is seeking is repentance. May we be people of repentance who turn from our doing and from ourselves towards the perfect Son who has perfectly obeyed in our place and has earned us our belonging.   

"The True Treasure and the True Pearl" Matthew 13:44-46 (Matthew: The Parables of the King)

In these two short parables, Jesus lays out two ideas: (1) The fact that the reign of God over our lives does not involve slight corrections or minor changes. Rather, the Kingdom of Heaven costs everything. In order for us to receive the kingdom there must be complete surrender we must “sell all that we have”. (2) Jesus is showing that He is the true treasure and He is the true pearl that is worth everything! He is of “great value” and therefore we joyfully sell all we have. But lastly we see that the only way that we can sell all that we have, the motivation behind it that enables us to do this, is that first Jesus treasured us, first Jesus sold all that he had to buy us. This is the motivation to surrender and to rejoice! 

"Jesus as Mighty God" Matthew 8:23-9:13 (Matthew: The People of the King)

In the 2nd of Matthew’s story triads, Jesus calms the sea, casts out demons, and forgives the paralytic. In each of these Jesus is doing what only the Divine can do. Even more than being a Master Teacher or a Healing Messiah, Jesus is demonstrating that He is God in the flesh. What happens when God shows up? And how do we follow Him? As Matthew will show us, God shows up in the most unlikely way- around the table with tax collectors and sinners who are called to follow Him.   

"The Power of Words" Proverbs 18:21, James 3 (Proverbs: The Way of Wisdom)

This week as we continue on in our series through the book of Proverbs, we are going to look together at the topic of our speech. In particular at the power that our words can have to destroy or to give life, but as much a Proverbs as to say about our words, Proverbs also says that our words are only the surface. There is in fact a power that lies behind the words that we speak, and it is our desire to not only see the effects that our words can have, but even more importantly to see the reason behind the words we choose, to see the motivation of our heart behind the words.  And then lastly to see the power that is greater than our words, to see Him who has come taking our words of death and pain upon himself so that we may now speak words of life.

“Humility in the Margins" 1 Peter 5:5-14 (Life in the Margins)

As we finish up the book of 1 Peter, he ends on the topic of humility, a topic which has definitely been “pushed out to the margins of our civilization” in a day and age where looking out for oneself above others is expected and almost even encouraged, in a day where anxiousness and worry looms, Peter call to us is to, “humble ourselves beneath the mighty hand of God, and to cast our anxiety upon the one who not only can change it, but who also is the one who cares for us”. Sunday we are going to explore why Peter makes humility his closing point, and how we can, “cloth ourselves in humility”. Looking forward to this!

"Live as Those Ransomed" 1 Peter 1:13-21 (Life in the Margins

We all constantly hope for something. Maybe we hope that it won’t rain, maybe we hope for this difficulty to pass, maybe we hope the lines at Costco aren’t too long, but the fact is that we all hope for something. Now as we continue on in the book of 1st Peter, Peter has been talking a lot about our hope. But he has not been talking about us hoping in Jesus, like we hope the weatherman is right. Rather the hope that we have is sure! We have complete hope – we know that God is going to do what he has promised because our hope is based on the unswerving unchanging God, and a hope like this changes how we live. So this week we will see that in this passage Peter transitions from talking about the glorious hope and salvation that we have to beginning to look at what the implications are. What we hope in changes how we live! We are made to find hope, we are made to place our hope in something, but what we hope in determines what we do with our minds, our actions, and our attitude. Where do you place your hope? Where does your mind turn when things go bad? When your mind/heart is on autopilot, where does it turn?

"Prince of Peace" Isaiah 9:6-7 (Advent 2015 - Indestructible Joy)

As we look at this last of the 4 names, we want to ask the questions: What is the peace that the Bible speaks of? And if God has promised peace – Where is it?

This week we will see that God’s promise of peace is the promise of Shalom – “The webbing together of God and man with all creation to create universal flourishing and wholeness.” And that the way to this peace, is through the prince. Who has come offering peace, but is returning soon with a sword.  

"Uncle Laban" - Genesis 31:1-55 (What is Your Name?)

Following Jacob's marriage and fourteen years of service to Laban, Jacob is thinking about returning home. But in this passage we see that all three people involved are still struggling to identify themselves. Jacob is looking to himself. Laban is looking to his possessions. And Rachel is looking to others. All are still looking for something other than God to tell them who they are. Laban may have a little Idol, but we all have a god that we are looking to and longing for to fulfill us.

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