Welcome!

We're glad you joined us for ToGather.church, a home guide for you to worship alone or to share with your friends, family, home group, or house church. (What is ToGather.church?)

Our theme today comes from Jesus' Golden Rule shared in Matthew 7:12. Today we celebrate Jesus' power to break the cycle of our destructive behaviors, harsh treatment of others, and ugly words we utter in response to the hurtful actions of others. Jesus has taught us and shown us how we are to live with people in our messy world.

We don't have to remain stuck in a cycle of hurt, retaliation, and bitterness. We can live differently in our relationships and refuse to respond with pettiness and selfishness. Jesus gave us his Golden Rule to show us a better way!

The Lord gave his life to redeem us. He is worthy of our praise and our lives. So, let's join the voices of heaven and declare that Jesus is worthy:

In a loud voice [the angles] were saying:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12)

Let's continue our praise using the song "Build My Life" with Pat Barrett and Cory Asbury as we commit to build our lives on Jesus' loving example and his words of truth:

We don't have to remain stuck in a cycle of hurt, retaliation, and bitterness.

Welcome to the Table of the Lord:

As we join Jesus at his table of grace, let's remember his amazing love as we sing "Jesus Messiah," led by the Zoe Group:

Today, Doug Peters leads us in our Communion Reflection. Let his words of joining Jesus at the table touch your heart as we remember all that Jesus has done to give us confidence in our future:

We do not have to be slaves to fear during this trying time. Let's declare that truth as we sing, "No Longer Slaves" led by Jonathan David and Melissa Helser:

Central Message:

Our message today focuses on the Golden Rule of Jesus in Matthew 7:12. We have chosen to build our lives on Jesus, so the Golden Rule is a fundamental principle we use in our relationships with others. Jesus lived by this principle and by the two greatest commandments (to love God and love others, Matthew 22:36-39; Deuteronomy 6:5), and we have chosen to follow the example of our Savior. Phil reminds us that we are to practice these principles with all people in whatever situations we face.

The beauty of the Golden Rule is that we don't have to guess what is the right way to treat people: We treat them with love as we would hope to be treated, regardless of the circumstances:

We don't have to respond to people who mistreat us with ugliness and retaliation. We are not bound to our past failures, mistakes, and sins. We are part of Jesus' triumphant people for whom God has the power to break all the chains of spiritual bondage, past hurts, present addictions, and fears about the future. Let's join Tasha Cobb and declare that in Jesus, we have the power to "Break Every Chain"!

Our Closing Blessing:

Despite the brokenness of our world, and regardless of the problems life throws at us, our journey with Christ has a happy ending. There is nothing, in heaven or on earth or from hell's destructive fury, that can take the truth of this hopeful promise from us. Lisa Ware reminds us of our glorious future with Jesus in today's blessing:

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:

Amen! Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever.
Amen!
(Revelation 7:9-12)

Let's close with an upbeat song of confident joy, "Chain Breaker," led by Zach Williams:

Go in the peace of the Holy Spirit, the love of God, and the confidence in your future that only our Waymaker, Jesus, gives! Until next week, God bless you and yours in Jesus.