10:30am Worship - CCA Savannah (2/8/2025)

Good morning everyone.

>> All right.

Welcome to worship.

Uh this is a special Sunday for several

reasons on your order of worship. You'll

see a couple of those. The fifth Sunday

of Epiphany as we continue in the season

of Epiphany and and draw close really to

Ash Wednesday. That's a week from

Wednesday and to Lent. And today is also

World Missions Sunday. It's a Sunday

that every year the Anglican Church in

North America recognizes to really

emphasize our call to world missions to

make disciples of all nations. And the

world includes right outside our front

door on the streets of Savannah all the

way to across the world where some will

be going to Uganda this summer. And so

our prayers, our readings, and Father

Brian's sermon will emphasize

world missions, including our prayers of

the people and our post communion prayer

will also emphasize world missions. And

I mean, it's just a blessing that God

designed that World Mission Sunday

coincides with our Founders Day. Uh this

church was founded in 1733 along with

the founding of Georgia. And so as we

celebrate that heritage and as we praise

God for all of those who founded the

church who have sustained it and are

here today as we continue our mission

and we will celebrate this with an

oyster roast and not just oysters but

we'll have fried chicken and all kinds

of food over at the Whitfield Center

after this service. So, if you didn't

know, join us over at the Whitfield

Center and you can participate and

partake of a lot of food as we celebrate

how good God is and how he's brought us

together in the body of Christ. And we

thank God for the sun and we can pray

that it warms up just a little bit more.

So, let's come before the Lord and

prepare our hearts and minds to worship

and to offer ourselves to him that he

might minister to us today.

Father, we thank you that we come into

your presence and are welcomed through

Jesus Christ and are in the presence of

your Holy Spirit.

We ask for your help to worship you in

spirit and truth. We ask for your help

to offer ourselves to you completely,

body, soul, and spirit. and as a church

that you might work in us your good

purpose including sanctifying us and

transforming us into the image of

Christ. Lord come manifest your glory

among us today

the glory of Christ in whose name we

pray. Amen.

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>> Heat. Heat.

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>> Heat. [music]

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[singing]

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[singing]

Yeah. [music]

Heat.

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Sales [music]

[singing] Jesus glory.

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Yeah. [music and singing]

Heat.

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Oh

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my god. [music]

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Heat. Heat. [singing]

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>> [singing]

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>> I will make you as a light for the

nations

that my salvation may reach to the end

of the earth.

>> Let us pray together the collect for

purity.

Almighty God, to you all hearts are

open, all desires known, and from you no

secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of

our hearts by the inspiration of your

Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love

you and worthily magnify your holy name

through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord

your God with all your heart, with all

your soul, and with all your mind. This

is the first and great commandment, and

a second is like it. You shall love your

neighbor as yourself." On these two

commandments depend all the law and the

prophets.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

>> Christ have mercy upon us.

>> Lord, have mercy upon us.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Glory to God.

[singing]

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>> Glor

[singing]

[music]

to the world.

[music]

Lord God, [singing]

Almighty [music]

God and Father,

we [singing] worship you. We give you

thanks.

>> [music]

>> We praise you for [singing] your glory.

Glory [music] to God in [singing] the

highest

and peace.

[music]

Glory

in the highest. [singing]

[music]

Lord Jesus Christ, [singing and music]

son of the father,

lamb of God, [singing]

you take [music] away the sin of the

world, have mercy [music and singing]

on us.

You are seated [singing] at the right

hand of the father. [music]

Receive

our [singing]

pray.

For you [music] alone are the holy one.

You [music and singing] alone are the

Lord.

[music] You alone [singing] are the most

high.

Jesus Christ with the Holy [singing]

Spirit [music]

in the glory [singing]

of God the Father. Oh, [music]

[music]

[music] God.

[singing]

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Glory. [music]

[singing]

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>> The Lord be with you.

>> And with your spirit.

>> Let us pray.

Almighty God, through the outpouring of

your Holy Spirit, you revealed the way

of eternal life to every race and

nation. Pour out this gift a new that by

the preaching of the gospel, your

salvation may reach to the ends of the

earth. through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you in the

unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,

forever and ever. Amen. Please be seated

for the reading of God's word.

A reading from 2 Kings

2 Kings 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8, chapter 22, beginning with

verse 8.

And Hilkaya the high priest said to

Chaffon the secretary,

"I have found the book of the law in the

house of the Lord." And Khilkaya gave

the book to Chaffon and he read it. And

Chaffon the secretary came to the king

and reported to the king, "Your servants

have emptied out the money that was

found in the house and have delivered it

unto the hand of the workmen who have

the oversight of the house of the Lord."

Then Chaffon the secretary told the

king, "Kilkaya [snorts]

the priest has given me a book." And

Chiffon read it before the king. When

the king heard the words of the book of

the law, he tore his clothes.

And the king commanded Hilkaya the

priest and Akam the son of Chafon and

Akbore the son of Micaiah and Chafon his

secretary and Assiah the king's servant,

saying, "Go inquire of the Lord for me

and for the people and for all Judah

concerning the words of the book that

has been found. For great is the wrath

of the Lord that is kindled against us

because our fathers have not obeyed the

words of this book to do according to

all that is written concerning us. So

Hilkaya the priest and Aam and Akbore

and Chafon and Aiah went to Hula the

prophetus the wife of Shalom the son of

Tikvah son of Karas keeper of the

wardrobe. Now she lived in Jerusalem in

the second quarter. And they talked to

her and she said to them, "Thus says the

Lord, the God of Israel, tell the man

who sent you to me, thus says the Lord,

behold, I will bring disaster upon this

place and upon the inhabitants all the

words of the book that the king of Judah

has read. because they have forsaken me

and have made offerings to other gods

that they might provoke me to anger and

all the works of their hands. Therefore

my wrath will be kindled against this

place and it will not be quenched.

But to the king of Judah, who sent you

to inquire of the Lord, you shall say to

him, "Thus says the Lord, the God of

Israel, regarding the words that you

have heard,

because your heart was penitent, and you

humbled yourself before the Lord, when

you heard how I spoke against this place

and against its inhabitants, that they

should become a desolation and a curse,

and you have torn your clothes and wept

before me. I also have heard you,

declares the Lord. Therefore, behold, I

will gather you to your fathers, and you

shall be gathered to your grave in

peace, and your eyes shall not see all

the disaster that I will bring upon this

place." And they brought back word to

the king.

The word of the Lord.

>> Thanks be to God.

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>> May God [music] be merciful to us

and show us [music]

and be merciful to [singing] us.

Let your [music]

father [singing]

your sing. [music]

Let the [music and singing] peoples

praise you, oh God.

Indeed, let all the [music] peoples

praise you.

Oh, [singing] let the nations rejoice

and be glad

for you shall [music]

nations upon [singing] earth.

Let the peoples praise [singing] you, oh

God.

Let all the peoples [music] praise you.

Then shall the earth bring forth the

great

and

God [singing and music] shall give us

blessing

shall [music and singing] bless us

and all the ends of the world shall

fear.

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A reading from 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

beginning with verse 16.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one

according to the flesh. Even though we

once regarded Christ according to the

flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is

a new creation. The old has passed away.

Behold, the new has come. All this is

from God who through Christ reconciled

us to himself and gave us the ministry

of reconciliation.

That is in Christ. God was reconciling

the world to himself, not counting the

trespasses against them, and entrusting

to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for

Christ. God making his appeal through

us. We implore you on behalf of Christ.

Be reconciled to God. For our sake he

made him to be sin who knew no sin that

in him we might become the righteousness

of God, working together with him. Then

we appeal to you not to receive the

grace of God in vain. For he says, "In a

favorable time I listen to you, and in a

day of salvation I have helped you.

Behold, now is the favorable time.

Behold, now is the day of salvation."

We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so

no fault may be found with our ministry.

The word of the Lord.

>> Thanks be to God.

I invite the children to come at this

time to the front of the church to be

led to little church.

And as the little ones come, let's pray

for them.

Father, we thank you for each of these

children. And we pray that Christ might

be formed in them. And even today, give

them knowledge of your will and of your

love for them, oh God. And I pray that

you fill their hearts with your love and

their minds with wisdom, knowledge, and

understanding that comes from you that

they might know you and walk in their in

your ways. And bless those who teach.

Bless those who lead them in worship

this morning in little church. Oh God,

we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let

us all stand and sing the gospel hymn

together.

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>> In [music and singing] Christ there is

Glory

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[singing]

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world.

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>> Everywhere

[singing]

there

[music]

[singing]

is a

most [music]

[singing]

high

[music and singing]

glory. His name [music]

who [singing] serves my father [music]

as a son is surely [singing]

to me

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in Christ. [singing]

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All Christy.

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>> The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

according to St. Matthew.

>> Glory to you Christ.

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the

earth. But if salt has lost its taste,

how shall it saltiness be restored? It

is no longer good for anything except to

be thrown out and trampled under

people's feet. You are the light of the

world. A city set on a hill cannot be

hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and

put it under a basket, but on a stand,

and it gives light to all in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine

before others, so that they may see your

good works and give glory to your father

who is in heaven.

Do not think that I have come to abolish

the law or the prophets. I have not come

to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

For truly I say to you, until heaven and

earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot

will pass from the law until all is

accomplished.

Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the

least of these commandments and teaches

others to do the same will be called

least in the kingdom of heaven. But but

whoever teach does them and teaches them

will be called great in the kingdom of

heaven. For I tell you, unless your

righteousness exceeds that of the

scribes and Pharisees, you will never

enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Gospel of the Lord.

>> Praise to you Christ.

>> Let us pray.

Lord, may my speech and my message not

be plausible words of human wisdom, but

a demonstration of the spirit and of

power, so that our faith may not rest in

the wisdom of men, but in the power of

the living God, Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Amen. You may be seated.

Church, did you hear what Jesus said?

You are the salt of the earth.

You

are the light of the world.

Just as salt preserves and cures meat,

we are called to cure and preserve this

world.

Just as light shines into the darkness

and scatters darkness, we are called to

shine the light of Christ into the dark

places of this world. Friends, this is

our calling. This is our mission. This

is why Christ Church was founded in

1733.

We cannot put our light under a basket.

The world desperately needs our salt and

our light.

One of my favorite early Christian texts

is the 2 century epistle to Diagnus.

It's an anonymous text written to a

fellow Christian and there the author

says Christians are the soul of the

world.

Just as the body cannot live without the

soul, so the world cannot live without

Christians. If you take Christians out

of the world, the body dies.

And so, friends, what was true in the

second century is true today. We cannot

withdraw from the world. We must give

life to the world, preserve the world,

cure the world, shine our light into the

world,

or else it will be plunged into darkness

and subjected to further decay.

We do this work of curing and

enlightening by preaching the gospel of

Jesus Christ. That's what we're here to

do. From this pulpit in our homes, in

our study of God's word, in our lives

with our neighbors and our co-workers,

we proclaim that Jesus is Lord, that

Christ has died, Christ is risen, and

Christ will come again. This message is

the world's salvation.

And we the church are called to shine

the light of the gospel before others so

that they might see our good works and

glorify our father who is in heaven.

So the key question for us this morning

is on World Mission Sunday on our

founders day, how do we stay salty and

bright?

And I think there's three answers to

that question for us this morning. We

must hold fast to God's word. We must

contextualize the gospel. And we must

proclaim and practice reconciliation.

Let's start with our reading from 2

2 Kings 22 · chapter mention

Kings chapter 22.

This friends is a cautionary tale for

the church today. It's one of the

saddest moments in the Old Testament.

King Josiah

has come to the throne. He's a young

man. In the 18th year of his reign, he

launches a project of reform and

renewal. He wants to revitalize his

nation by returning it back to the

worship of Yahweh. Judah has strayed far

from the law. They have worshiped other

gods, built other altars. And so, King

Josiah sends Chaon, his secretary, and

Hilkaya, his high priest, to the temple

to begin the renovation work. And I mean

that literally. The temple needs to be

renovated because it has fallen into

disuse.

There hasn't been sacrifices and worship

there for years.

They go into the temple and begin to

clear out cobwebs and and put things

that were on the side up straight. And

as they're doing this work,

Hilkaya the high priest and Chaon the

secretary find the book of the law

dusty off to the side on the ground

somewhere.

God's law, his very word has been

neglected.

No one has opened the book, read it and

studied it. And so they go to King

Josiah. They report to the king that the

work has begun. The servants have begun

the work of renewal. And king, we found

this book, the book of the law.

And they read it for King Josiah. And

Josiah, one of the good kings of Israel,

we see his heart. When he hears the

words of the law, he tears his clothes

in mourning and lamentation. Because now

he understands why his fathers have

failed to be faithful. Now he

understands why his nation is under

threat. It's because they have failed to

hold fast to God's word.

He laments and orders the book of the

law to be read to the peoples.

Like the church, Judah was called to be

the salt of the earth, to be the light

to the nations. But their mission was

only possible to the degree that they

held fast to God's word. Because they

had forgotten God's word, they had lost

their purpose. They'd lost their

mission. They were good for nothing

except to be thrown in the street.

And the same is true for us, friends. If

we do not hold fast to God's word, if we

don't make God's word our primary focus,

our primary occupation, to all the

exclusion of all other things, we will

lose our mission. We will lose our

saltiness. We will lose our light and

we'll be good for nothing.

As we hold fast to God's precious word,

as we wrestle with it together in

community and prayer, we see the second

need for us, the second way that we stay

salty and bright, and that's through the

work of contextualization.

As any cross-cultural missionary will

tell you, contextualization is a

faithful part of gospel witness. This

church is blessed to be connected to so

many missionaries around the world. Many

who come here and share the work that

God is doing.

Contextualization

is the work of faithfully communicating

the gospel to an uneangelized culture.

And there are two necessary steps in

contextualization. The first one is

translation.

God's word, in order for new Christians

to hold fast to it, it must be

translated into the language of the

people. This was one of the key insights

of the Protestant Reformation, the

English Reformation in particular. This

is why Protestants have so for so long,

for 500 years, emphasize the work of

Bible translation as central to mission.

We must be able to read and understand

God's word in our own language so we can

hold fast to it.

But that's just the first step.

After we translate God's word, we must

also inculturate it. The gospel must be

explained in a way that the culture we

are seeking to reach can understand.

And this work is hard work. This is good

work but very challenging work.

I love the example of the great British

missionary Hudson Taylor 19th century

mission to uh missionary to mainland

China. He felt called to the Chinese

people but at that time there was not a

New Testament in the Chinese language.

And so he studied and he learned and he

went to China and he was one of the key

translators of the Bible into Chinese.

And then once he did that work, he

continued the work of inculturation.

He adopted Chinese dress and Chinese

customs which was very rare for a

British person at that time. All to

reach the Chinese people. And his

mission was very fruitful.

But this work of contextualization,

it's not just for overseas missionaries.

It's for us today. Because whether you

know it or not, we are living in a

cross-cultural environment.

Many of our friends and neighbors

outside this church live in a completely

different world than we do. We may share

the same language, but it's a very

different culture.

We friends need to do the hard work in

our own day of contextualization so that

we can reach out to our friends and

neighbors with the gospel of Jesus

Christ. This is especially important if

we want to reach the next generation for

Christ. We need to learn how to speak to

the needs and the concerns of every

particular time and place.

If you study the history of Christian

mission, I hope you do. Maybe you've

taken the AIM course Anglicans and

Mission that's put out by the new wines

missionary network. It's been taught

here. um you'll see that there is there

are two equal and opposite errors that

Christians have a tendency to fall into

as they do this important work of

contextualization and we have to be

aware of these errors today as we seek

to reach the world around us. The first

error is the error of domination

when Christian mission becomes

imperialistic conquest of other peoples.

When we dominate, we try to force people

to change to make them more like us. A

great example of this, of course, was

the Roman Catholic mission effort in the

New World led by the Franciscans where

many native peoples were forcibly

baptized on threat of death.

That's not faithful contextualization.

That's domination.

But there's an equal and opposite error,

and that's the error of assimilation.

When Christian mission becomes adopting

and conforming to the culture around us,

when we assimilate, we change ourselves,

our convictions, our values in order to

become more like the world.

That's the mission strategy of mainline

Christianity.

That's what the Episcopal Church is

continuing to do. And our church

rightfully took a stand against that

kind of assim assimilation.

But both domination and assimilation,

both these errors are not faithful

gospel witness. Both of these are not

faithful contextualization. They are not

salt and light.

Churches that dominate others and

assimilate others, they're good for

nothing except for being thrown in the

street, trampled underfoot.

If we want to be salty and bright today,

first we must hold fast to God's world.

And as we hold fast to his word and

wrestle with it together in prayer, we

contextualize the gospel, neither

dominating nor assimilating. Only then

will we be able to fulfill our mission

to speak to the felt needs of our

neighbors.

Craig and I are missionaries. I don't

know if you think about us that way, but

we are. That's what we're here to do.

We're here to be missionaries in this

culture. and you are too. You're part of

that mission here in Savannah.

And as I've been thinking about the work

of mission, as I've been reading God's

word and seeking to faithfully

contextualize,

I think there's one essential aspect of

the gospel that our world desperately

needs to hear, and that's the ministry

of reconciliation.

We hear it in our reading from uh St.

Paul 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Let me

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

read it again. Try to figure out what

the key word is here for St. Paul.

All this is from God [clears throat] who

through Christ reconciled us to himself

and gave us the ministry of

reconciliation.

That is in Christ. God was reconciling

the world to himself, not counting their

trespasses against them and entrusting

to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for

Christ. God making his appeal through

us. We implore you on behalf of Christ,

be reconciled to God.

Friends, reconciliation

is at the very heart of the gospel. We

sinners who were far off from God have

been brought near by the blood of

Christ.

God has done the work to reconcile us to

himself.

And now Christ has given us that very

same work, the ministry of

reconciliation.

We are called to do for others what God

has done for us. to reconcile with every

tribe, every tongue, every language,

with our enemies,

so that they might be reconciled to God.

In our polarized world where dividing is

easy, where conflict is normal, where

the hatred of enemies is praised, there

is perhaps nothing more countercultural

than proclaiming and practicing

reconciliation.

And that is what our world desperately

needs to hear from the church.

Reconciliation

respects the differences of others and

seeks to unite where there is division.

Reconciliation seeks common ground and

shows hospitality.

Reconciliation requires us to speak the

truth in love.

And we must do this work of

reconciliation the way Christ has

reconciled us with great humility. As

Paul writes in Philippians 2,

Christ emptied himself. He considered

equality with God not a thing to be

grasped. He gave himself humbly for us.

The mission of reconciliation that the

church is called to is only necessary if

we follow in the way of Jesus, the way

of crucififor suffering.

We cannot be proud of this work thinking

of ourselves better than others as if we

are going to save others. We must be

humble seeking only to be faithful to

the truth of the gospel. A gospel that

has saved us and that can save everyone

around us.

I believe friends that if we keep the

doctrine of reconciliation central to

our proclamation and our practice, our

witness in this dark world will be salty

and bright. It will be beautiful and

attractive.

People will see

another way of being human, a way that

looks like Jesus.

And if we focus on reconciliation,

we will avoid both of those errors of

contextualization. We'll avoid

dominating others and assimilating to

others.

But if we miss the fact, hear me

clearly, the gospel of Jesus Christ is

about the reconciliation of all things

and all peoples.

If we miss this fact, we will lose our

saltiness and our light.

Let me close then by touching on a major

threat to our gospel mission of

reconciliation.

And that's the threat of the Antichrist.

It's not what you think it is. I know

when I said that word Antichrist, a lot

of you went straight to the end times,

the rapture, the beasts, 666, right?

That's not what I mean. In fact, that's

not really what the Bible means.

The main place where this phrase

Antichrist occurs is in the letters of

John. 1 John 2 18-22 and then in 1 John

1 John 4:3

4:3

and John means something very specific

by it. In fact, if we focus on the

esqueological left behind stuff, we miss

this key insight that's central to the

New Testament.

John is warning us against those things

that appear Christian, that appear

Christlike,

but in truth are actually opposed to

Christ and his kingdom.

They are wolves in sheep's clothing.

They appear to be speaking truth, but in

fact they only care about lies. They are

literally antirist. That's what the

phrase means.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:14,

2 Corinthians 11:14

Satan disguises himself as an angel of

light.

This is tricky, friends, because you

know it' be much easier if the evil in

this world presented itself very clearly

so you could see it. Oh, there's the

evil. Right? That's how Hollywood does

good and evil, right? You got the good

guy, the bad guy. It's very clean.

Satan is way smarter than Hollywood,

guys.

Satan knows the easiest way to deceive

Christians, is to sell them on

something, an ideology, a political

movement, a leader that appears

Christian but is actually against the

kingdom of God. And friends, there are

many antichrists around us today.

How do you know?

Let me give you a test.

One of the best ways to test whether

something or someone is Antichrist is to

ask, does this idea, movement, or person

foster the ministry of reconciliation

or do they foster something else?

That's what Jesus is here for.

That's what the gospel message is.

That's what we read in holy scripture.

God has reconciled us to himself and has

given us the ministry of reconciliation.

Someone is saying something different

than that. It's not Jesus.

Our world desperately needs a salty and

bright church. A church who holds fast

to God's word. who faithfully

contextualizes without domination,

without assimilation, who proclaims and

practices the good news of

reconciliation.

This is what we were founded to be. And

only by God's grace can we continue to

be salty and bright.

So, Christ Church Anglican, as we

celebrate our founding, as we celebrate

World Mission Sunday with some salty

oysters,

may God strengthen our mission and

witness today

and keep us salty and bright.

In the name of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I invite you to stand and to declare

your faith with the words of the Nyine

Creed.

We believe in one God, the Father, the

Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of

all that is visible and invisible. We

believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the

only begotten Son of God, eternally

begotten of the Father, God from God,

light from light, true God from true

God, begotten not made, of one being

with the Father. Through him all things

were made. For us and for our salvation,

he came down from heaven, was incarnate

from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary

and was made man. For our sake, he was

crucified under Pontious Pilot.

>> He suffered death and was buried.

>> On the third day, he rose again in

accordance with the scriptures.

>> He ascended into heaven and is seated at

the right hand of the father. He will

come again in glory to judge the living

and the dead, and his kingdom will have

no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord, the giver of life, who

proceeds from the Father and Son, who

with the Father and Son is worshiped and

glorified, who has spoken through the

prophets. We believe in one holy,

Catholic, and apostolic church. We

acknowledge one baptism for the

forgiveness of sins. We look for the

resurrection of the dead and the life of

the world to come.

>> Amen.

Our prayers of the people today is a

special litany for World Mission Day.

You can find the prayers of the people

on page eight of the order of service.

Let us pray to the Lord our God for the

growth of God's kingdom throughout the

world. We pray to you oh God.

>> Lord our pray

>> for the ministry of the holy church of

God to make disciples of all nations.

We pray to you oh God. Lord here our

pray

>> for all baptized Christians that they

may discern their vocation to spread the

gospel at all times and in all places

that he might give people

something

We pray to you, oh God.

>> Lord our pray

>> for all those who have not yet heard or

believed in the gospel and those who may

have the opportunity to declare it to

them.

We pray to you, oh God. Lord here our

pray

>> for all those whose ministry it is to

respond to human need and suffering and

for all who preach the gospel and teach

the truth.

situation where Christians are being

protectless.

>> We pray to you, oh God. Lord here our

pray

>> for an increase in evangelism and

ministries of mercy in our local

community and abroad that all people may

come to know and enjoy your blessings

and see the

We pray to you, oh God.

>> Lord, here our prayer

>> for greater awareness and advocacy on

behalf of the persecuted churches.

We pray to you, oh God. Lord here our

pray

>> for all people driven from their homes

by war, violence and natural disaster

and for the nations who receive them

that you may provide, protect and care

for them.

those that are hungry and those who need

>> we pray to you oh God

>> Lord here our pray

>> for the poor the hungry and the

oppressed people of the world and all

who suffer for the sake of the gospel

We pray to you, oh God.

>> Lord, here our pray

>> for the sick and infirm and those who

minister to them.

We pray to you oh God.

>> Lord here our pray

>> for all who have died in the hope of the

resurrection and those whose faith is

known to you alone.

>> We pray to you oh God.

>> Lord hear our pray.

>> For yours is the majesty. O father son

and holy spirit. Yours is the kingdom

and the power and the glory now and

forever. Amen.

>> Let us now humbly confess our sins to

Almighty God, kneeling as you are able.

Let us pray together. Most merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against

you in thought, word, and deed.

>> By what we have done and by what we have

left undone, we have not loved you with

our whole heart. We have not loved our

neighbors as ourselves. We are truly

sorry. We humbly repent. For the sake of

your son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us

and forgive us that we may delight in

your will and walk in your ways to the

glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly father, who

in his great mercy has promised

forgiveness of sins to all those who

sincerely repent and with true faith

turn to him, have mercy upon you, pardon

and deliver you from all your sins,

confirm and strengthen you in all

goodness, and bring you to everlasting

life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. And hear the word of God to all

who truly turn to him. Come to me all

who labor and are heavy laden and I will

give you rest. God so loved the world

that he gave his only begotten son that

whoever believes in him should not

perish but have eternal life. The saying

is trustworthy and deserving of full

acceptance that Christ Jesus came into

the world to save sinners. If anyone

sins, we have an advocate with the

father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He

is the propitiation for our sins and not

for ours only but also for the sins of

the whole world. Please stand.

The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be

with you always.

>> With your spirit.

>> Please greet one another with signs of

peace. Good job again.

>> [bell]

>> I hope that I hope that you will all

join us after this service at the

Whitfield Center for our annual oyster

roast. And there will also be lots of

fried chicken and other food. if you

don't want to indulge in oysters, but

there should be plenty of those, too.

And this is in celebration for our

annual Founders Day event. And the

Woodfield Center is just a block that

way. Uh there'll be a crowd going that

way. And we thank God for the sunshine

and keep praying that it warms up just a

bit. I want to encourage you to review

and take your orders of worship with

you. You'll see on pages 22 and 23 there

are some announcements.

Uh a very important announcement is that

next week is our annual parish meeting.

So next Sunday, a week from today, we'll

have one service at 9:00. It will be

similar to this service. So at 9:00 and

then that will be followed by our annual

meeting at 10:30. And if you're like me,

you hear the word meeting and you think,

"Oh, a meeting. Do I have to go? Well, I

do have to go. And

that's okay because it's an exciting

meeting. It's a gathering. It's a time

of testimony where we share how God has

moved in our church during the last year

and also our vision for the upcoming

year. We will we will hear testimonies

of from several different people and it

is about mission like Father Brian said.

And there is also an important election

that will occur at that meeting. So on

page 23, you'll see that we have four

wonderful nominees for our new vest

members for the upcoming term. And we

have two open vest positions. So two of

these four will become vest members. And

it doesn't all the four of them would be

great, but I'm sure at this time in this

season there's it's better for two of

them than others. So all members of the

church, we will invite you to vote on

your two vest members. And so be

prayerfully discerning how God is

calling you to vote. If you're unsure if

you are a member, come see me and we'll

determine that. If you know that you're

not a member but are interested and want

to become a member at the beginning of

the annual meeting next week, we'll be

receiving new members. So, come talk to

me as well. If you are a member and want

to vote but can't be here, we do have

proxy forms so that you can designate

someone else to vote on your behalf and

tell tell them how you want to vote and

actually fill that out. So, come see me

or Valerie for that.

And believe it or not, a week from

Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. So also be

praying about Lent as we approach that.

And we'll have an exhortation for uh

encouraging you to take some maybe some

steps in how you approach Lent this

year. And I mean the upcoming weeks are

really exciting for us, especially with

the emphasis on mission. Uh today on

octo on February 18th on Wednesday the

new wine skkins Anglican missionary

network's partners will be meeting here

about 45 people designated to mission on

Wednesday and Thursday evening and then

on Thursday evening and Friday and all

day Saturday the 19th through the 21st

we will have our rehydrate conference.

We'll have three Anglican bishops here

to speak to the conference and

everyone's welcome to register and

attend that. And then on the Sunday of

that conference, the 22nd after our

service where we have the bishop from

Brazil,

a dasis in Brazil will be preaching to

us. We'll have the ordination of our

deacon and former summer intern Drew to

the priesthood. So, Bishop Alex and Jod

will be here for that. And then the

following Monday and Tuesday, another

organization's board will be meeting.

That's Soma, Sharing of Ministries

Abroad. Another mission organization

will be meeting here. So, lots of

activity for mission. And also, I'll

close with reminding you we have two

missions happening this summer. One to

Uganda and one to Lamb Institute in

Honduras. This is we're approaching like

the last week where if you think that

you want to go to either of those, if

Honduras, talk to me. If Uganda, talk to

Jason or Louise Mel.

Otherwise, forever hold your peace until

next summer. As we approach the offering

in the Lord's table, I want to read from

Paul's letter to the Philippians where

he encourages the Philippians in their

giving toward mission. He writes in

chapter 4:14,

"It was kind of you to share in my

trouble. And you Philippians yourselves

know that in the beginning of the

gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church

entered into partnership with me in

giving and receiving except you only.

Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help

for my needs once and again. Not that I

seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that

increases to your credit.

I have received full payment and more. I

am well supplied, having received the

gift Epapraditis

sent from you, a fragrant offering, a

sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to

God. And in response to receiving those

gifts for his mission, Paul says, "And

my God will supply every need of yours

according to his riches and glory in

Christ Jesus." So give as God leads you

to his mission here at our church and to

other missionary organizations. For God

promises to credit your account and to

provide for you according to his riches

and glory as well as bearing fruit for

the recipient to which you give. Amen.

into all the world

and preach the [singing] gospel to every

creatur. [music]

each other.

Go into all the world

and preach the gospel to every creature.

[singing]

>> [music]

>> Go [music] ye into all the world.

Preach [music] the goel to the goel to

every [music] creature every

[music]

[singing]

[music]

world

and preach [singing] the gospel. Gospel

to every creature. [music]

Every creatur

[music]

[singing]

all [singing] the world.

>> [music]

>> Please stand.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the

power and the glory and the victory and

the majesty. For everything in heaven

and on earth is yours. Yours is the

kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as

head above all. All things come from

you, O Lord.

>> The Lord be with you.

>> And with your spirit.

>> Lift up your hearts.

>> We lift them up to the Lord.

>> Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give you thanks and

praise.

>> It is right, our duty and our joy always

and everywhere to give thanks to you,

Father Almighty, creator of heaven and

earth, through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who took on our mortal flesh to reveal

his glory, that he might bring us out of

darkness and into his own glorious

light. Therefore, we praise you, joining

our voices with angels and archangels,

and with all the company of heaven, who

forever sing this hymn to proclaim the

glory of your name.

Holy, [music] holy, holy [singing]

Lord God

and

heaven and earth [singing]

are full [music] of your glory.

[music]

Blessed [singing]

is he who comes in the name the name of

[music and singing] the Lord.

[singing]

[music]

I invite you to kneel as you're able.

Holy and gracious Father, in your

infinite love, you made us for yourself.

When we had sinned against you and

become subject to evil and death, you in

your mercy sent your only son, Jesus

Christ, into the world for our

salvation. By the Holy Spirit and the

Virgin Mary, he became flesh and dwelt

among us. In obedience to your will, he

stretched out his arms upon the cross

and offered himself once for all that by

his suffering and death, we might be

saved. By his resurrection, he broke the

bonds of death, trampling hell and Satan

under his feet. As our great high

priest, he ascended to your right hand

in glory that we might come with

confidence before the throne of grace.

On the night he was betrayed, our Lord

Jesus Christ took bread and when he had

given thanks, he broke it and gave it to

his disciples, saying, "Take, eat. This

is my body which is given for you. Do

this in remembrance of me."

Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the

cup and when he had given thanks, he

gave it to them, saying, "Drink this all

of you, for this is my blood of the new

covenant, which is shed for you and for

many for the forgiveness of sins.

Whenever you drink it, do this in

remembrance of me.

Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of

faith.

[music]

>> [singing]

[music]

>> We celebrate the memorial of our

redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice

of praise and thanksgiving. We offer you

these gifts. Sanctify them by your word

and holy spirit to be for your people

the body and blood of your son Jesus

Christ. sanctify us also that we may

worthily receive this holy sacrament and

be made one body with him that he may

dwell in us and we in him in the

fullness of time. Put all things under

the subjection of your Christ and bring

us with all your saints into the joy of

your heavenly kingdom where we shall see

our Lord face to face. All this we ask

through your son Jesus Christ. By him

and with him and in him in the unity of

the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is

yours now, almighty father, now and

forever. Amen. And now, as our savior

Christ has taught us, we are bold to

pray. Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done on earth as it is in

heaven. Give us this day our daily

bread. And forgive us our trespasses as

we forgive those who trespass against

us. And lead us not into temptation, but

deliver us from evil. For thine is the

kingdom, the power, and the glory

forever and ever. Amen.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> There.

[music]

>> Let us pray together. We do not presume

to come to this your table, oh merciful

Lord, trusting in our own righteousness,

but in your abundant and great mercies.

We are not worthy so much as to gather

up the crumbs under your table. But you

are the same Lord whose character is

always to have mercy. Grant us therefore

gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of

your dear son Jesus Christ and to drink

his blood that our souls may be

>> and our souls washed through his most

precious blood that we may ever more

dwell in him.

He in us. Amen.

[music and singing]

>> Have mercy [music]

on [singing] us.

Jesus [music]

all s

[music]

[singing]

Jesus redeemer of [music] the world.

Grant [singing] us

your peace.

[music]

Behold the lamb of God. Behold him who

takes away the sin of the world. Blessed

are those who are invited to the

marriage supper of the lamb.

This is the Lord's table. All baptized

believers are invited to come to receive

the body and blood of Christ by kneeling

or standing at the railings. All others

are invited to come and receive a

blessing by crossing your arms over your

chest.

Let's

focus.

>> [music]

>> Lift up your hands

[music] gates. Be lifted up

and the king of holy shall come

[singing] in.

Lift up your heads, [music]

holy gates. Be lifted up. [singing]

And the king of glory

shall [music] come in.

Hosana [music and singing] to the son to

the son of David. Hosana son of David.

[music]

Hosana to the son to [singing] the son

of David. Hosana [music]

son.

Blessed is he [singing] who comes in the

name who comes in the [music] name of

the Lord.

Blessed is he [singing] who comes in the

name who comes in the [music] name of

the Lord.

[music]

Who is the king of glory? [music]

Who is the king of glory?

Who is the [music] king of [singing]

glory?

Is the lord the lord

strong and [singing] mightyana

[music]

to the son to the son of David. Hosana

[music and singing] son of David son.

Hosana to the son to [singing] the son

of David. Hosana [music] sonana David.

Blessed is he who comes in the [music]

name who comes [singing] in the name of

the Lord.

Blessed is he [music and singing] who

comes in the name who comes in the name

of the Lord. [music]

Who is the king of glory?

Who is the king? [music]

Who is the king?

Is the lord [music and singing] of host.

He is the king of glory.

[music]

Glory.

What happened?

>> [music]

[music]

>> Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

[music]

>> Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat.

Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Heat. Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Heat. Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Heat. Heat. [music]

[music]

>> [music]

>> Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music] Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

[music] Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music] Oh,

[music]

[singing]

heat, [music]

[music]

heat.

Heat. [music]

[singing]

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat

[music]

up

here.

[music]

Amen.

[music]

Amen. [applause]

Our

postcomunion prayer today for world

mission is a prayer for those who do not

yet know Jesus that they would come to

faith that many more would be going to

see the king along with us. So let us

pray together on page 21.

Are there any who have not yet received

the bread of life and the cup of

salvation?

Two billion Muslims have never been

invited to the Lord's table. 1 billion

Hindus have never been invited to the

Lord's table. 270 million Buddhists have

never been invited to the Lord's table.

80 million deaf people have never been

invited to the Lord's table.

280 million tribal people have never

been invited to the Lord's table.

150 million Chinese never been invited

to the Lord's table.

18 million Sikhs have never been invited

to the Lord's table. 10.5 million Jews

have never been invited to the Lord's

table. 7,125

unreached people groups have no church

to invite them to the Lord's table. Who

will go share the good news that the

banquet is prepared for everyone?

We will go by our prayers, our

offerings, our lives. We will go. Amen.

Receive the blessing of God. The peace

of God which surpasses all

understanding. Keep your hearts and

minds in the knowledge and love of God

and of his son Jesus Christ our Lord.

And the blessing of God Almighty, the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be

among you and remain with you always.

Amen. There we go.

[music]

Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat. [music]

[music]

>> [music]

>> Heat

up here.

[music]

Heat up [music]

[singing]

here. [music]

[singing]

[music]

Oh,

[music]

[music] heat,

[music] heat. Oh,

[music]

heat,

[music]

heat. [music]

Yeah.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

[singing]

[music]

Yeah.

[music] Heat.

[music]

Oh,

[music]

[singing]

[music]

let us go forth in the name of Christ.

Allelujah. Allelujah.

>> Thanks be to God. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.