STRETCHING OUR FAITH METROPOLITAN INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH Sunday, January 28, 2018 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY PREPARATION The pastor s entrance and the beginning of the musical prelude are the calls to silent, personal preparation for the worship of God. THE GATHERING We are standing on Holy ground, And I know that there are angels all around. Let us praise Jesus now, We are standing in God s presence on Holy Ground. LITANY Leader: If your ear strains for the Word of the Lord and yet is afraid of the sound of God s voice, People: Have no fear, for the Lord God will speak from the mouth of a prophet. Leader: If your eye longs for the sight of the Lord and yet cannot bear to behold God s presence, People: Have no fear, for the Lord God will appear in the form of a neighbor. Leader: God has sent to us a prophet: People: Let us hear the Word, and burn like a bush that is not consumed! Leader: God has lent to us a neighbor: People: Let us see the Word, and shine like a lamp that cannot be hidden!
OPENING HYMN How Firm a Foundation 1. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word! What more can He say than to you He hath said to you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled? 2. Fear not, I am with thee O be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I will still give thee aid; I ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my gracious, omnipotent hand. 3. When thru the deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow; for I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. 4. When thru fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; the flame shall not hurt thee I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. 5. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes; that soul, tho all hell should endeavor to shake, I ll never no, never no, never forsake! WELCOME Visitors standing If you are here for the first time, we are delighted that you came. If you are dropping in for a second or third visit, we are glad you found something you were looking for. We hope you will be challenged by our worship and that you will come back again. If you are looking for a faith community, we would welcome you as a part of our church family. When you are officially welcomed as a visitor, you will receive a Visitor s Information Card. Please fill it out, and return it to the Pastor, or place it in the offering plate. WELCOME! CONCERNS OF CHURCH AND CITY Billye Sanders OFFERTORY For all things come from you, and of your own we have given you. 1 Chronicles 29:14 Your tithes and gifts help us: Pay the mortgage, utilities, maintenance, and security for the Metropolitan Meeting House; Provide free pastoral counseling services to members of our congregation; Fund the First Response Center programs, serving over 700 people living with HIV/AIDS, and other at-risk persons; Pay for the personnel and operating costs of our ministries; Provide educational materials/resources to assist in our community s spiritual growth and development; Maintain meeting space for ministries, including Girl Scouts, recovery/support groups, and events; Fund our annual Anniversary and Homecoming celebrations; Give emergency assistance to members of the congregation and community through our benevolence fund. Every gift of your time, talent, and treasure makes a vital difference in the life and ministries of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church. Thank You! DOXOLOGY Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise God all creatures here below, Praise God above ye heavenly host; Creator, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. CELEBRATION IN SONG The Voices of Metropolitan Reginald Green, Minister of Music
THE WORD PROCLAMATION Mark1:21-28 CHORAL RESPONSE Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, For the living of these days, For the living of these days. PREPARATORY PERIOD OUR CALLING Metropolitan Interdenominational Church is a community of believers inclusive of all and alienating to none, leading the way to spiritual growth by sharing God s love with the world. THE MESSAGE THE SENIOR SERVANT BRING IT ON! They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him! And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. Mark 1:21-28 SERMON NOTES
RESPONSE Please do not leave the sanctuary or in any other manner create a distraction during the invitational period. This is a moment of unparalleled importance. The Voices of Metropolitan MOMENTS OF REFLECTION INVITATION TO LIFE IN CHRIST This church will welcome into its membership any persons who love and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and who promise to live according to His laws of Love, recognizing all people as brothers and sisters for whom He gave His life. THE LORD S SUPPER Communion Prayer We do not presume to come to this, Thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in Thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs from under Thy table. But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to partake of this sacrament of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, that we may walk in newness of life and grow to reflect Thy Spirit in all things forevermore, Amen. (We will eat and drink together after all have been served.) FELLOWSHIP CIRCLE We ve come too far to turn back now; By the grace of God we re gonna make it somehow. Nobody knows the trouble we ve seen; We ve come too far to turn back now. [T]he religious man may recognize that all the world is made up of raw materials which stand in immediate candidacy for the realization of the kingdom, the rule of God. This is a very farreaching insight with profound radical implications. The idea is inherent in the suggestion to Peter in The Acts of the Apostles that nothing that God made should be regarded as unclean. If God is the Creator of life in its totality, then all things are in candidacy for the achievement of the high and holy end. This is not to say that evil has no meaning, but it is to say that, once the evilness is removed, resolved, uprooted, then the total character is thoroughly altered. The religious man who takes this position is never afraid of life, nor does he shrink from vicissitudes. He seeks at every point the emergence of the will and the mind of God from within himself and within the stuff of life itself. What is revealed in life is one with that which transcends life. (From Concerning Disciplines of the Spirit, in For The Inward Journey, pp. 42-43) HOWARD THURMAN CORE VALUES Our core values define the framework within which we live out the ideals of Our Calling based upon the word of God as reflected in Jesus Christ. Loving, Giving, Serving, Inclusive, Reconciling, Fellowship, Liberating LOVING: Worshiping, Comforting, Caring GIVING: Sharing, Supporting, Volunteering SERVING: Helping, Ministering, Providing INCLUSIVE: Embracing, Welcoming, Accepting RECONCILING: Forgiving, Restoring, Affirming FELLOWSHIP: Celebrating, Belonging, Participating LIBERATING: Teaching, Nurturing, Advocating METROPOLITAN INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH Location: 2128 11 th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37208 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 280779, Nashville, TN 37228 Phone: (615) 72METRO (726-3876) ~ Fax: (615) 259-9210 ~ website: www.micwhosoever.org Rev. Edwin C. Sanders, II, Senior Servant; Rev. John Cross, Senior Pastoral Assistant Pastoral Staff: Rev. Marcella Lockhart, Rev. Clifford Smith, Rev. Christopher Davis, Rev. Terry Terrell, Rev. Regina McCrary, Rev. Neely Williams, Rev. Stephanie Thompson, Rev. Cherie Booker, Rev. Christopher Goodwin
STRETCHING OUR FAITH METROPOLITAN INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH Sunday, January 28, 2018 4 th Sunday After the Epiphany Metropolitan Interdenominational Church is a community of believers inclusive of all and alienating to none, leading the way to spiritual growth by sharing God s love with the world. MODERN DAY DEMONS MODERN DAY DEMONS are not very different from the demons of times past. From Genesis to Revelation the business of spiritual warfare is addressed repeatedly in the biblical text. Whether the enemy is greed, oppression, sexism, racism, prejudice, bigotry, stigma, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia, anti-semitism, sexual objectification, fear, violence, scapegoating, lying, stealing, cheating, slandering, gossiping and classism, just to mention a few, humankind has had to deal with the presence of unclean spirits. However, Jesus makes it clear in Mark 1:21-28 exactly what we have to do to deal with such forces. We must exercise the authority of God s love, and call it out. The voice of the church, as the body of Christ, is critical in our modern day reality to address the negative forces that are raging in our midst. Until we assume our proper and vital role as the advocates of justice, peace, nonviolence, mercy, humility, liberation, equality, inclusiveness, fairness and unconditional love, we will not be able to rid ourselves of our MODERN DAY DEMONS. (Modified from 01/29/2012) --Senior Servant
UPCOMING EVENTS MIDWEEK FELLOWSHIP: Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. Dinner by Circle 3: Bible Study 7:00 8:00, Classes for Adults and Children Financial Freedom/Entrepreneurship Seminar Series Please join us Saturdays, 9-11:00 a.m. at the First Response Center, 1219 9 th Ave N, Nashville 37208 Sunday, January 28, 2018 ~ Ecclesiastical Council Meeting following worship Saturday, February 3, 2018, 5:00-7:30 p.m. ~ Black History Program Sunday, February 4, 2018 ~ 37 th Church Anniversary refreshments following worship Sunday, February 18, 2018 ~ Choir Sunday Sunday, February 25, 2018 ~ Founders Day ~ brunch served after worship United Way Employee Giving Campaign: Please designate #3255 to support the First Response Center. For the United Federal Campaign, Write In Metropolitan Interdenominational Church First Response Center. Support Metropolitan while you shop: Enroll in the Kroger Community Rewards Program: Login to Kroger.com, enroll your Kroger Plus card, select Community Rewards, and select Metropolitan Interdenominational Church FRC; it s that easy! When shopping online, register your support for Metropolitan Interdenominational Church FRC with Smile.Amazon and always shop through the Smile.Amazon site. Opportunity Now: Youth Employment Initiative Visit: https://app-opportunitynow.workbay.net Friday evening Dancercise, 7p.m. // Voices of Metropolitan Rehearsal, Saturday 12 2p.m. Saturday Worship, 6 7 p.m.; The Voices of Metropolitan appear January 13 th Centering Prayer, Sundays 8:30-8:50 a.m.; Wednesdays 6:40-7:00 p.m. ~ Giving Summary ~ Date Offering Budgeted Offering Actual Offering (Un)Realized Summary 2017 Year End $305,710.00 $294,948.21 ($10,761.79) January 7, 2018 $5,770.00 $5,835.80 $65.80 January 14, 2018 $5,770.00 $3,182.38 ($2,587.62) January 21, 2018 $5,770.00 $5,165.15 ($604.85) January, 2018 $17,310.00 $14,183.33 ($3,126.67) 2018 Year to Date $17,310.00 $14,183.33 ($3,126.67) ~ Midweek Fellowship Meal Schedule ~ February 7 Circle 4 February 28 Circle 7 February 14 Circle 5 March 7 Circle 1 February 21 Circle 6 March 14 Circle 2 ~ Sick, Shut In, and Recovering Members ~ Alma Bumpers 3100 Richmond Hill Drive; Nashville, TN 37207 No visitors, please. 615-227-2826 Leon McKinley Corder 1902 Elliott Avenue; Nashville, TN 37204-2004 Send prayers. No visitors, please. Evelyn Martin 3253 Spears Road; Nashville, TN 37207 615-227-0095 Connie Ryans 1703 Pecan Street; Nashville, TN 37208 615-310-7855 Emmilye Wilson-Walton P.O. Box 78795; Nashville, TN 37207 615-262-9375 BIBLE READINGS Read Pray Sacrifice January 29-February 4, 2018 5th Sunday After the Epiphany Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147:1-11, 20c 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39