Blessings to you, the readers of this page, in Jesus Christ our Lord. May He guide you and protect you always.

Worship Service At Internet Church Of Christ
For Week Of Sunday, May 13, 2007

Featuring "Mary, The Spiritual Mother Of Us All"

To see our previous worship services, please click => http://www.loveallpeople.org/recentworshipservices.html

Everything here is in the Public Domain, free for all people to use without restriction, except verses from the Revised Standard Version Bible (RSV), which are copyrighted and used by permission.

Image: Mary, the spiritual mother of us all.- http://www.favoritereadings.com/mary.jpg
Source: http://www.catholicactionresourcecenter.com/guadalupeprayer.htm

ORDER OF WORSHIP: 

Image: Mary, the spiritual mother of us all. 

Welcome
Opening Song - "Happy Mothers Day To You" - words, MIDI music, MP3 audio
Invocation
The Lord's Prayer - with MP3 audio
Declaration Of Faith: The Apostles' Creed - with MP3 audio

Scriptures and Teachings - "Mary, The Spiritual Mother Of Us All."

Prayer For You - "To Use The Power Of Your Spoken Words"
Holy Communion
How To Find A Real, Live Church
Closing Hymn - "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" -
    words and MIDI music
Benediction
   

Welcome

Hello Beloved,

If you have the Holy Spirit of Jesus abiding within you, then you are able to endure all trials, blessed with the peace which surpasses all understanding. If not, you remain deprived of the many blessings the Lord has waiting for you. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour, you have the opportunity to do that right now by clicking => HERE! - http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/jesusdirect.html

Blessings to you in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Opening Song

"Happy Mothers Day To You" - MIDI Music, MP3 Audio, And Lyrics
Mothers Day Song, Written in 2006 - Public Domain

MIDI music file available at http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/happymd.mid
MP3 at http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/happymothersdaytoyou.mp3 - FREE! Public Domain

Music, lyrics, arrangement, MIDI sequence, and MP3 audio clip by Rev. Bill McGinnis, 2006. Public Domain.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO YOU

Happy Mothers Day to you,
For everything you do;
From the morning to night,
You make everything right.
Happy Mothers Day to you!

In memory of Christine H. McGinnis

More music like this at our website => Christmusic.ws

Invocation

             O Lord, we come together in Your name,
             And as You promised, we know You are here.

             AND SO WE WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS,
             AND PRAY THAT YOU FIND PLEASURE HERE WITH US,
             AS WE, YOUR LOVING CHILDREN WORSHIP YOU.

             We now invite You to reveal Yourself,
             And share with us Your presence, openly,

             FOR YOU ARE EVERYTHING THAT WE DESIRE,
             AND EVERYTHING WE HAVE, WE GIVE TO YOU.

             In Jesus' holy name we pray, Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

To play, click or double-click below


MP3 audio file at http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/lordsprayer.mp3
Free, Public Domain.

The Lord, Himself, taught us to pray like this . . .

                     The Lord's Prayer 
   

          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, and the power, and the glory,
            for ever and ever. Amen.

                      Source: Book Of Common Prayer, based on
                              Matthew 6:9-13    


          

Declaration Of Faith

The Apostles Creed

To play, click or double-click below


MP3 audio file at http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/apostlescreed.mp3
Free, Public Domain.

  This historic affirmation of faith comes to us from the early 
centuries of the Christian church.

  
      I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
      Maker of heaven and earth:
      And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
      Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit;
      Born of the virgin Mary,
      Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      Was crucified, dead, and buried;
      He descended into hell;
      The third day he rose again from the dead;
      He ascended into heaven
      And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
      From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
      I believe in the Holy Spirit;
      The holy catholic church;     *
      The communion of saints;
      The forgiveness of sins;
      The resurrection of the body;
      And the life everlasting.

                             Amen.
      

                * Note: "catholic church" here means the entire body of
                  believers in Christ, not just one particular church.

Scriptures And Teachings

Mary, The Spiritual Mother Of Us All
A wonderful gift from God for all who will accept her.

As a non-Catholic, I have never been part of any church organization which paid much attention to Mary, mother of Jesus, other than to recognize that she was a very special young woman chosen by God to be mother of Jesus Christ, as described below in the Bible:

Luke 1:26-38 (RSV)

[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of 
Galilee named Nazareth, 
[27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house 
of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 
[28] And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with 
you!" 
[29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her 
mind what sort of greeting this might be. 
[30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have 
found favor with God. 
[31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you 
shall call his name Jesus. 
[32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
[33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there will be no end."
[34] And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no 
husband?" 
[35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called holy,
the Son of God.
[36] And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also 
conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called 
barren. 
[37] For with God nothing will be impossible." 
[38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to 
me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. 

Source: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/

In the past, I had usually felt that "veneration of Mary" was some kind of Catholic mistake, similar to the other mistakes which I believed had crept into the Catholic Church and had led to the Protestant Reformation. It would never have crossed my mind to seek comfort from Mary, much less to pray to her for anything.

Therefore, in recent years I have been surprised to find myself being more and more drawn to a spiritual entity which is extremely warm and loving and pleasing and desirable; and I now recognize that this spiritual entity is the Virgin Mary.

So what do I do in this situation? How can I reconcile these strong subjective feelings toward Mary with my other Bible-based religious beliefs, which have never even recognized Mary as anything more than a special human woman? The following paragraphs present the chain of beliefs which lead me to recognize and accept the Virgin Mary as a wonderful gift from God for all people who will accept her.

1. ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN GOD - The Lord God Almighty is absolute sovereign God over all things whatsoever. He created the heavens and the earth: everything whatsoever that exists. He has power over all things. He gives whatever He chooses to whomever He pleases. Nothing exists or occurs without His permission. This one Bible verse briefly expresses these ideas: "Who has given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine." - God speaking in Job 41:11 (RSV). For more on this subject please see http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/pearl-absolutesovereigngod.html

2. THE TRINITY - God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) are all the same one thing: The Lord God Almighty, Creator of the Universe. The shamrock neatly illustrates the idea of the Trinity -- that in the same one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. -- "God in three persons, blessed Trinity." This one Bible verse briefly expresses this idea: "I and the Father are one." - Jesus speaking in John 10:30 (RSV). For more on this subject please see http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/pearl-thetrinity.html

3. THE BIBLE IS GODS MOST IMPORTANT EXPRESSION TO MANKIND, BUT IT IS NOT HIS FINAL EXPRESSION. The Bible provides "truth sufficient for all good works," but God also intends for Christian writers to continuously be producing "new treasures," as the Holy Spirit leads them. Therefore it is possible that God wants us now to have Mary as a loving spiritual companion, even though He did not reveal this explicitly in the Bible. For more on these subjects, please see http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/pearl-truthsufficient.html and http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/pearl-christianwriting.html

4. OUR MYSTICAL UNION WITH CHRIST is the state in which the believer is "in Christ" and Christ is "in the believer." This is what Jesus means when He says, "In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." (John 14:20) and "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5) For more on this subject, please see http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/pearl-ourmysticalunionwithchrist.html

Our mystical union with Christ may also establish a mystical union with each other, so that all believers -- both alive on earth and passed on in heaven -- may have the ability to communicate and interact with each other on a spiritual level. This ability could permit us to communicate with and interact with the spirit of Mary and other saints.

6. WHEN JESUS GAVE MARY TO JOHN AS JOHN'S MOTHER, HE ALSO GAVE MARY TO US AS OUR SPIRITUAL MOTHER. From the cross, Jesus established the mother-child spiritual relationship between his disciple John and Mary, the biological mother of Jesus, using these words . . .

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. - John 19:26-27 (RSV)

I believe that as Jesus did this, He simultaneously gave Mary to all of His other disciples, as their spiritual mother. This now includes us today.

More coming soon, Lord willing.

Prayer For You

To Use The Power Of Your Spoken Words

NOTE:  When you read this prayer, try to imagine hearing my voice as I
       speak it to you.  In this way, the prayer is reactivated, and it 
       the same as if I were actually praying for you at that moment. 
       (Just like television prayers are reactivated when you watch 
       them, although the videotape may have been shot years before.)
 
              

               "To Use The Power Of Your Spoken Words"

               You may not know this, but you have a power,
               A special little gift you got from God,
               To greatly make or break somebody's day,
               By what you tell them when they need to hear.
               For people are receptive to your thoughts,
               And ready to believe the things you say.
                 *             *             *
               The Lord wants you to use this power well,
               And if you do, He then will give you more,
               Because you used it as He did intend.
                 *             *             *
               So start today to use this power well,
               And once again, this rule you can apply:
               "Give unto others as you would receive."
               If they are feeling lonely, be a friend;
               If they have suffered loss, then give them gain;
               If they are in temptation, give them strength.
               Your words will cost you nothing but your time,
               Yet you are building treasure with the Lord.
               And when you need it most, He will repay.
                *              *             *
               In Jesus' name I pray these things, Amen.



                   by William E. McGinnis, Public Domain

More like this at http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/prayerindex.html

Holy Communion

A ceremony for Holy Communion is available to you HERE! - http://patriot.net/~bmcgin/pearl-holycommunion.html

If you are alone, you will needed to be both "Leader" and "Assembly," as described in the ceremony.

Closing Hymn

"When I Survey The Wondrous Cross"

This is considered by many people to be the greatest hymn in the English language. The poem is by Isaac Watts, and the music is the hymn tune HAMBURG, by Lowell Mason, based on the First Gregorian Chant. MIDI sequence by Bill McGinnis, attempting to present the original Lowell Mason arrangement.

To play, click or double-click below

MIDI music file at http://www.patriot.net/users/bmcgin/surveyb.mid

WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS - by Isaac Watts, 1707 
                                      Public Domain


              When I survey the wondrous cross
              On which the Prince of Glory died,
              My richest gain I count but loss,
              And pour contempt on all my pride.

              Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
              Save in the death of Christ, my God;
              All the vain things that charm me most,
              I sacrifice them to His blood.

              See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
              Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
              Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
              Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

              His dying crimson, like a robe,
              Spreads o'er His body on the tree;
              Then I am dead to all the globe,
              And all the globe is dead to me.

              Were the whole realm of nature mine,
              That were a present far too small;
              Love so amazing, so divine,
              Demands my soul, my life, my all.

                                 Amen.
             


NOTES: Please don't let the unfamiliar phrasing cause you to miss the
power of this hymn. It is well worth spending the time to get the
meaning clearly.  This poem has been called the "greatest hymn ever
written in the English language." Isaac Watts revolutionized
public worship in his time, and this is his crowning achievement.

Similarly, the music is also superb, perhaps the most perfect
hymn music ever written. Based on a  Gregorian
chant, perfectly arranged for four-part choral singing. Lowell Mason 
considered this to be perhaps his most important musical contribution.
In my opinion, this is the arrangement which most perfectly captures
what Lowell Mason was hearing when he worked on this song.

Benediction

    _____________________________________________________________
       
      "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in
       all ways. The Lord be with you all." (2 Thessalonians 3:16 RSV)
         _____________________________________________________________

Blessings to you in Jesus Christ our Lord.

This worship service is now complete.

   
          Rev. Bill McGinnis

               Pastor - InternetChurchOfChrist.org      
               Director - LoveAllPeople.org

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