We come to the end of the “More ” Course - “Inspiring a spiritual hunger for God” There is no fitting ending than to look at Him whom the bible speaks of as being the “Alpha and Omega” The beginning and the end, The introduction and the conclusion of all thoughts about God. We can have everything else but if we do not have a relationship with Jesus we have nothing. We can know about him and still not have him in our hearts or lives. He is the one whom the scriptures point to, the one who in the book of Revelation that all heaven worships. He is the one who the apostles point to. He is the one who the early church follows – He is “THE WAY” and the early church are known as followers of “THE WAY” He is the one the old testament looks to. The prophets promise him and all others are but a pale shadow compared to him.
Colossians 1:15 -20 ”The Supremacy of the Son of God”
5 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Commentary: “Supremacy” The greek word prōteuō in Colossians 1:18 is translated “Supremacy” in the NIV and “Pre – eminence” in the KJV. means – Superior, “HOLD THE FIRST PLACE” The words get lost in the translation my own interpretation of the word is “Surpassing Supremacy” – 1. SURPASSING-Exceptional in bulging amount; exceeding all others – “Abundant with” 2. SUPREMACY - The excellence or condition of superior power or authority; the highest, the greatest for infinity.
The apostle Paul wants us to put as many brush strokes on the canvas of the supremacy of Christ as we can. We are going to pray before watching a video by John Piper on “The Supremacy of Jesus Christ” I’m going to pray that God by his Holy Spirit would open our eyes to the magnitude and awesomeness of Jesus. After we watch the Dvd we are not going to have much of a discussion afterwards except to say “wow”………We are however going to have communion together as we come to the end of this current series.
DVD:
John Piper – “The Supremacy of Jesus Christ“ (Taken from a sermon he preached at the “PASSION” conference at Atlanta in 2012.) John Piper - "Seeing and Savouring the Supremacy of Jesus Christ above all things"
DVD: Jesus Culture - “This is Amazing Grace”
Open Communion:“The Open Welcome”
“The Open Welcome” liturgy is a declaration and a prayer of approach that describe our God’s Garage community when we come to the Lord's table. They are a description of the value that Jesus places on us and the wonder that we see in Jesus.
Where ever we come from,
Whatever we have done,
However we think of ourselves,
the body that was broken:
the hands that touched the untouchable,
healed the hurting and did no violence;
the feet that got dusty along city streets
and at the lake’s shore;
Where ever we come from,
Whatever we have done,
However we think of ourselves,
the arms that welcomed the stranger
and embraced the outcast;
the legs that entered homes and synagogues
and danced at celebrations;
the eyes that blazed against injustice,
knew how to cry
and saw the potential in everyone;
the belly that shared table with unexpected people
and shook with laughter;
the lips that wove stories and painted pictures
of a new community and a better world.
Where ever we come from,
Whatever we have done,
However we think of ourselves,
This blessèd son of God,
This humble son of man,
This King of glory and Prince of peace,
This wounded, broken, abused, rejected one,
This great I am, -This Immanuel God with us.
This one who lived, who died and was raised again;
This one who is coming again.
Whoever we are,
Where ever we come from,
Whatever we have done,
However we think of ourselves,
We gather at His table for he makes us welcome
Distributing the Bread and Wine
Prayer:
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