Visit us at https://linktr.ee/lordshipchurch
Connect with us and receive a special welcome from Pastor Jeff: http://thelordshipchurch.org/connect
Be a part of our online community in our private Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/lordshipchurch
Support our Ministries: https://thelordshipchurch.org/donate
*About our Worship*
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” - 2 Corinthians 5.17 (NRSV)
What does it mean to be a “new creation?” After this past year of everything breaking down, we all are yearning for renewal - of our minds, our bodies, our spirits, our communities. But are we willing to pursue it? How is our own personal renewal connected to the renewal of others in our communities, and in the world itself? How can we help God birth this “new creation” in our world? By “tending it” like a gardener tends their garden. Tending means to lean in the direction of something. To “attend” to something is to nurture it, grow it, build it, pay attention to it. So, as we move towards the other side of this pandemic, we will attend to this new creation God in Christ is calling us to build.
Tending to a new creation may involve the expansion of our ideas of family. In our Gospel for today, Jesus confirms that kinship in God’s kingdom can go beyond bloodlines. We can re-create family in so many ways, whether we grew up with a family of origin that offered us support or not. Who are our families? All those who seek to live the love and justice of Jesus!
*Credits and Permissions:*
-Worship series design idea © 2012 by Dr. Marcia McFee and the Worship Design Studio. Adapted in 2021 by the Rev. Jeff Lukens and used with permission as a part of our subscription. www.worshipdesignstudio.com
-“More Light,” lyrics and music by Christopher Grundy, arr. by Paul Vasile. Used with permission. www.christophergrundy.com.
-Scripture quotations marked (CEB) come from the Common English Bible, copyright © 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
-Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
-Printing & Streaming Music license from OneLicense.net. License # 731003-A
