City Of Light Anglican Churchaurora, Illinois

Is it true that there is a God who made us? Or is it true that the world has just happened to happen? Is there something meaningful out there outside of ourselves that we can be a part of, or do we have to find and manufacture meaning ourselves?

Eternal God, you have promised your salvation to all peoples, and have given us a vision of a great multitude around your throne, from all nations and tribes and languages: Help us to bring this vision into our time and place; banish from us all prejudices and false presumptions; and enable us to hear and to speak new words of hope and praise; through Jesus Christ, the living Word. Amen.

On most Sundays I tend to sit in the very, ‘way’ back of the room and that gives me a pretty unique perspective week in and week out. It’s a beautiful picture of the church, of this home that we have here at city of light. From the joyful celebrations to our brokenness and our hurts, but to also see the healing and restoration that God brings to us and to our church family here in this home He has given us.

In Acts 10, we see that God opens the doors of his household to every household and all nations.

It was in that painful season that I realized I belonged within the community of City of Light. It was then that I recognized that God had been weaving me into the family tapestry. At the first worship night at the the Parish house this fall, I remember listening to everyone singing and thinking “This is my family.”

Kings and princes fall to their knees Lay their incense, spices and gold at his feet For his temple humble home Bid him welcome in your own The Christ, the Christ, we behold him The Christ, the Christ, angels extol him Robed in our shame, crowned with our sorrows he reigns Do you not perceive him? He stands at the door Will you not receive him? Oil and wine he will pour You who hunger come and taste You who slumber come awake The Christ, the Christ, we behold him The Christ, the Christ, angels extol him Robed in our shame, crowned with our sorrows he reigns (Crowned with our sorrows you reign) You who hunger, come and taste Find forgiveness in his gaze credits released January 6, 2019 written by David Yeager produced and mixed by John Pudar David Yeager: guitar, violin, vocals John Featheringham: piano, organ John Pudar: guitar, bass, percussion license all rights reserved Find more of David's music at https://davidyeagerband.bandcamp.com/music

God builds his household through our households. As he blesses us, he blesses others through us. As he is present to us, he is present through us. As he shines his light to our hearts, he shines his light to others hearts. Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live here with the gift of your love; and grant that they may manifest your love [to each other and] to all whose lives they touch. May they grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen them; and preserve them in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and forever. Let’s begin this year by offering our households to him to shine his light through us as he shines his light to us.

The Bible says in the gospel of John that God became a person and moved into the neighborhood. God became our neighbor. And then we kicked him out. At Christmas, we remember that even though we didn’t want Jesus to be our neighbor, he always wants to be our neighbor. He was rejected by us as our neighbor so that we would never have to be rejected by him as his neighbor.

Luke 1:39 - 55 John, Elizabeth, and Mary all respond with joy and celebration that God's promises are coming true. Mary's song receives God's promises not just generally, but personally. God's promises turn our minds from the regrets of the past and they lift our eyes from the constraints of the presents to set our hearts on the hope of the future that is determined not by our circumstances but by the love of God.

God is with us, God delights in us, God sings over us. Zephaniah 3:14-20 Psalm 85 Luke 3:7-18

God has given us an incredible promise, that he will come again to wipe away every tear and right every wrong. In the middle of that improbable promise it seems impossible. But we can hope in God’s future promise because he kept his promise in the past. We believe in the second coming because of the first. He made his promise for you. He will keep it for you. We can be children of the promise.

Lesson - Zechariah 14:4-9 (NVI) Psalm - Psalm 50:1-6 (NIV) Gospel - Luke 21:25-36 (NIV) Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

“The greatest healing we will ever experience is called “resurrection.” after our bodies die, Jesus will heal us from death, our bodies will come alive, we will never die again.” —Father Trevor McMaken

Shame comes to hide and divide but Jesus comes to find and dignify. Shame wants to separate us from God but God wants to separate us from shame. Shame sets in early, but it's not the way it was supposed to be and it's not the way it will be. In the Garden (Genesis 3) God comes to find Adam and Eve hiding in their shame. At the well (John 4) Jesus comes to find the woman hiding in her shame. God comes to us in our shame to show us that he knows everything about us and still loves us.

Philippians 4:4-9 Psalm 46 John 14:18-27 How do we invite Jesus to be with us in our anxiety?

In Revelation 7 we see a picture of the church from every people group and language made whole. On All Saints Sunday we celebrate that we are united with the saints through the world and throughout history. Art by Laura James

The foundational healing is receiving forgiveness for our sin and being freed from our past by the grace of God. God's grace also gives us the strength to forgive others who have sinned against us and bring us freedom from their sin.

What is your name? Who decides who you are? Our cultures send us messages about who gets to name us and how we find an identity. In Romans 6, the Apostle Paul reminds us who we are and how we became who we are. We find a new name in the Father, Son, and Spirit. You can find freedom from of any old false names others have given you, and names you’ve tried to give yourself, so that you can receive a new true name from the Lord.

Hebrews 12:1-3, 12-13, 22-24 (NIV) Psalm 27 (NIV) Mark 10:46-52 (NVI) We long for wholeness. Our world is not whole. We are not whole. In a world of despair, we set our hope for wholeness on Jesus, who has come to make us whole. The journey to wholeness is a process, has cycles, but doesn't go in circles. It is a journey upwards and a journey downwards — an ascension and an excavation. In the journey downwards we dig deeply into the sin and the pain that it has caused to allow Jesus to bring his healing. In the journey upwards, we keep our eyes fixed on the wholeness that Jesus promises to bring. Wherever you are in your healing journey, in the digging down and rising up, in the pain of the excavation and in the joy of the ascension, God is there. If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.—Psalm 139 In his hand are the caverns of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him —Psalm 95

We live in a broken world, in broken families, in broken systems. But what if there’s a better way, a way of hope instead of despair? When we become children of God, Jesus takes us on a journey of healing that points to who he’s created us to be and who he’s making us to be. Join us for this seven-week series as we journey toward wholeness. Sundays, 10am, Hill Elementary. 10/14 The Journey Toward Wholeness — Father Trevor McMaken 10/21 Hope for Who I Am — Father Trevor McMaken 10/28 Hope for Our Past — Father Brett Crull 11/4 Hope for the Lonely (All Saints) — Father Trevor McMaken 11/11 Hope for the Ashamed — Pastor Bonnie McMaken 11/18 Hope for the Anxious— Father Trevor McMaken 11/25 Hope for Our Bodies (Family Service) — Father Trevor McMaken http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/events/whole