Tag Archives: online

Extending the Nets, 20 May 2013, Senior Pastor Deb Phelps

Rescuers work in the aftermath of the May 20, 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. Photo by Nick Oxford.

Rescuers work in the aftermath of the May 20, 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. Photo by Nick Oxford.

From Senior Pastor Deb Phelps:

We continue in prayer for the people of Oklahoma whose lives were lost or torn apart in the massive tornado Monday.  As I sit here from the Oklahoma City metro area watching rescue and recovery efforts unfold on tv and internet, the news continues to be heart-wrenching. Reports seem to be of tragedy upon tragedy, especially children lost when their school was hit by the storm.

Yet at the same time we grieve the destruction and loss of life from storms in the US, we cannot ignore so many lives shattered as well this week from bombings across Iraq and Afghanistan, the ongoing war in Syria, all while the world still mourns unimaginable losses in the factory collapse in Bangladesh not quite a month ago. And that’s not to mention other stories not mentioned here and so many devastating individual tragedies that may never make it to the nightly news.

Indeed, as the internet continues to shrink the world, we are gaining closer and closer views of our brothers and sisters around the world. And as we hear their stories, their voices, we feel their pain and grieve with them.

While it is tempting to shutter our windows and minds so to be spared what can be overwhelming grief in the weight of the world upon us, we can also remember that we are made in God’s image. When we weep alongside those who weep, we understand better the mind of God–who was right there with those suffering in Moore, Oklahoma today, and with persons in Iraq, Bangladesh, Syria, and so many other places where people suffer.

We can also remember that none of us is asked to bear the weight of the world alone; that instead, God asks us to hold hands and lift and love as one people together, and in doing that, we become unimaginably strong and equipped for whatever lies ahead.

Prayer: O loving God, thank you for being with those who suffer. Thank you for enfolding them in your healing Spirit even among the fury of earth’s greatest storms. Thank you, God, for giving us the privilege of being your hands, heart and mind on this earth. Help us to be be wise, faithful, and steadfast in this duty, and in our connecting, find the peace and love that you provide, that which passes all earthly understanding.  We pray in Jesus’ name,  Amen.

You might like:  “Lord, I Just Can’t Keep from Crying,” a spiritual that is prayer of lament sung by Rev. Dr. Twana A. Harris.  Perhaps you will find this helpful in times of sorrow.

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DisciplesNet Worship #103, “Significant Insignificance,” (RSmith, 09.23.2012)

We invite you to join us for DisciplesNet worship #103, with Rev. Russ Smith preaching about what he calls Significant Insignificance.  We hope you will join us and see how he has applied his message to Jesus’ teachings in Mark 9:30-37.
Along with our message we are share many musical favorites, “Jesu, Jesu,”, “Here I Am Lord,” and “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross.” We hope you will sing or follow along as the song is played.

Our worship includes a time of communion (breaking of the bread)–for which we extend the invitation given by Jesus Christ to all who would come.  If you would like to share with us in this time at the table that passes all boundaries of place, time, and walls, then we ask that you prepare a wafer, cracker, or bread and a drink, and we ask that our blessing will extend to where you are.  If you are unable to eat or drink, use a symbolic gesture or mental symbols of joining with us.

We hope you will join us for this short time of worship (28 minutes), and will be blessed by participating. Please tell friends, family, and others you know about our online church that is here with doors that never close, walls as wide as the world, and always room at the table. Continue reading →

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DisciplesNet Worship #102, “Go in Peace” (Shaw 09.16.2012)

We scrapped our planned message at the last minute for DisciplesNet Worship #102, and developed this one to bring a sense of God’s peace to a week that has seen so much strife and fury over clashes of religious beliefs. Rev. Bob Shaw brings a short message, “Go in Peace,” using text from Micah 4:1-4.
We include many opportunities to sing along this week, with favorites, Let There Be Peace on Earth, What Does the Lord Require of You, How Great is Our God/How Great Thou Art (chorus), The Gift of Love, and In Remembrance of Me.
Our worship includes a time of communion (breaking of the bread)–for which we extend the invitation given by Jesus Christ to all who would come. If you would like to share with us in this time at the table that passes all boundaries of place, time, and walls, then we ask that you prepare a wafer, cracker, or bread and a drink, and we ask that our blessing will extend to where you are. If you are unable to eat or drink, use a symbolic gesture or mental symbols of joining with us.

We hope you will join us for this short time of worship (28 minutes), and will be blessed by participating. Please tell friends, family, and others you know about our online church that is here with doors that never close, walls as wide as the world, and always room at the table. Continue reading →

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DisciplesNet Worship # 96, “Only One Thing to Do,” Callie Smith (08.05.2012)

DisciplesNet Worship #96 contains several things special. We are honored to have Rev. Callie Smith bring an inspiring message today…you will not want to miss finding out the, “Only one thing to do.” Our opening song pairs the Gospel quartet of Southport Christian Church as they sing, Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) with a special series of stained glass windows showing key scenes from the life of Christ. These beautiful windows are in the sanctuary of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Columbia, South Carolina, USA, and are a labor of love by member Scot Hockman.

At and just after our time of communion today we are excited for you to join us in a special prayer of commission for a chalice and paten sent from DisciplesNet Church to members of our DisciplesNet family who have been following us now close to two years. The chalice and paten was sent and received with joy to our friends there—giving us such a humble feeling at the ways God allows us to pass the chalice.

We hope you will join us for our worship, just under 30 minutes, and that it will in some way speak to you of God.
Continue reading →

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DisciplesNet Worship # 87, “Nicodemus at Night,” (Shaw 6.03.2012)

Welcome to DisciplesNet Worship. This week’s worship brings together Isaiah’s exciting vision of being in the presence the most holy God, with Jesus’ words with the Pharisee, Nicodemus, who came to talk with Jesus in the secret of night.  Rev. Bob Shaw blends these two messages into a call toward change in our lives that comes as God calls us. Accompanying our message are our congregational singers singing “Holy, Holy, Holy and Here I Am, Lord,” and Phoebe Spier singing Santo, Santo, Santo during our time of communion.

We hope you will join us for this short time of worship (30 minutes), and will be blessed by participating. Please tell friends, family, and others you know about our online church that is here with doors that never close, walls as wide as the world, and always room at the table.

If you would like to chat with one of our pastors, please email us at pastor@disciplesnet.org.

Instead of a call to offering within our worship video, we invite you to join others who made our presence on the internet highway with a sense of God’s call to give to help support this ministry. We continue to grow steadily and have so many exciting projects planned to connect with people who have been connected from the church.
If you would like to be part of making this ministry possible through giving of a gift, this can be done by going to our website disciplesnet.org and going through Pay Pal or credit cards, by writing to our physical PO Box at:
DisciplesNet Church
PO Box 17935
Indianapolis, IN 46217

or emailing us at giving@disciplesnet.org

God bless you, and thank you for joining us!
———————
Participating in Today’s Worship:
Message: Bob Shaw
Pastor’s Prayer: Deb Phelps
Communion: Russ Smith,
Communion Prayer: Deb Phelps
Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8 (CEV) Russ Smith
John 3:1-17 (NRSV) Susan McNeely

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DisciplesNet Worship # 26, Maundy Thursday, Spaulding (4.21.11 repeat)

Our DisciplesNet worship video #26 was created for Maundy Thursday worship of Holy Week in 2011.  Maundy Thursday was named in Christian tradition for ‘mandatum novum,’ Latin for “new commandment,” which is at the heart of the last moments Jesus spent with his disciples, and his commandment that his disciples love one another.

In that tradition, our worship uses some of the symbolic acts of that last night, including washing of the feet, and breaking of the bread.  Richard Propes’ leads the washing of the feet, symbolic of servant leadership, from his Church of the Brethren background.  Bob Shaw brings the words from the table. In watching the scenes from our worship, we invite those watching online to imagine servant leadership from within your own context.

An extra special gift on this video is the inspiring message, “In That Moment,” by Janet Spaulding, her first for DisciplesNet.
We hope you will feel blessed by your time spent with us in this Maundy Thursday service, and go away with a sense of Jesus’ presence in this special moment together.

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The Parade

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:1  We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.

 

 

Christmas and Easter give a chance in the Christian year to raise up the story of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection. However, as a confusing array of jolly, red-clad men, elves, snowpersons, reindeer, bears, bunnies, sweets, and eggs parade through our observances, it is easy to find oneself on the other side of the holiday wondering how our attention got so drawn away.

It seems that too often the Jesus who should be at the center of things keeps getting jostled farther and farther to the back of the parade line.  At this rate, it seems only a matter of time until Jesus is completely missing from the parade.  The only thing worse would be for him to go on missing and no one notice….or care.

Ash Wednesday opens the season of Lent, a time when observers do make a point to care.  A longstanding ritual in some Christian traditions, Lent stretches the 40 days (excluding Sundays) from Ash Wednesday to Easter. During this time persons take part in times of reflection, penitence, repentance and prayer.  Many will fast or deprive themselves of luxuries or comforts, showing their personal sorrow at sin and shortcomings before God.

The use of ashes to show remorse goes back to the Hebrew people (Jonah 3:6 and Matthew 11:21).  As early as the 2nd century, the ashes are seen being used by early Christians. “From dust you came and to dust you shall return” (from Genesis 3:19) is a gentle reminder often heard as the sign of the cross is drawn, or imposed, in ashes upon one’s forehead.

Yet even as this time of serious contemplation nears, the day before Ash Wednesday is sometimes wildly celebrated in yet another parade, Fat Tuesday (in French, Mardi gras). Here people stock up on all the “good stuff” before the time of fasting.

There is nothing wrong with a parade in itself.  But this season, these 40 days leading up to Easter, we are invite you to look as the parade route splits off and revelers go on ahead.  If you look closely enough you can see that other route: a small dusty path.  This is no parade.  Here are the persistent footsteps of a lonely figure bearing the weight of the world upon his shoulders. And his face is set toward Jerusalem.  We are called to notice. We are called to care.

Prayer:  God of grace, be with us as we come now, seeking to shed the distractions that separate us from seeing and knowing the One who carries the weight of the world for us.  Forgive us of our sins that separate us from fellowship with you and your people.  Help us ever grow more like the people you call us to be.  We pray in the holy name of Jesus, Amen.  


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