Society Of Friends i-church

5 yrs

Who are we?
Lets say what we are not.
We are not about organized, ritualized, industrialized religion. We do not post every Sunday at 11 am. We may not post for weeks. We may post every day.
We say what we are led to say, when we are led to say it. This reflects the values of the Society of Friends.
We do have a mission. We are here to educate believers. It’s a school of sorts.
We will challenge your beliefs. Why?
We want to force you to actually think about what you believe, and more importantly, why you believe it.
You may disagree with some of what you read. GOOD. This forces you to think, to sort out your own reasons for belief. The point is to learn.
The apostle Paul has cautioned us to ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling’. This speaks to our growth as believers, an refers to our changing views as we mature spiritually. It is also a warning. There are limits, and exceeding those limits may place you on the wrong path.
So, ‘study, to find yourself approved’.

https://sofichurch.wordpress.com/

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George Washington’s Sunday Prayer
O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly, that my prayers are become my sin and stand in need of pardon.

Washington praying at Valley Forge
I have heard thy holy word, but with such deadness of spirit that I have been an unprofitable and forgetful hearer, so that, O Lord, tho’ I have done thy work, yet it hath been so negligently that I may rather expect a curse than a blessing from thee.

But, O God, who art rich in mercy and plenteous in redemption, mark not, I beseech thee, what I have done amiss; remember that I am but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences & ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute obedience of thy dear Son, that those sacrifices which I have offered may be accepted by thee, in and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the cross for me; for his sake, ease me of the burden of my sins, and give me grace that by the call of the Gospel I may rise from the slumber of sin into the newness of life.

Let me live according to those holy rules which thou hast this day prescribed in thy holy word; and by thy holy word, make me to know what is acceptable in thy sight, and therein to delight, open the eyes of my understanding, and help me thoroughly to examine myself concerning my knowledge, faith and repentance; increase my faith, and direct me to the true object Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life, bless O Lord, all the people of this land, from the highest to the lowest, particularly those whom thou has appointed to rule over us in church & state. continue thy goodness to me this week to come.

These weak petitions I humbly implore thee to hear accept and answer for the sake of thy Dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

from The Prayer Journal of George Washington (verbatim)

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The use of "amen" has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns and an expression of strong agreement. The liturgical use of the word in apostolic times is attested by the passage from 1 Corinthians cited above, and Justin Martyr (c. 15 describes the congregation as responding "amen" to the benediction after the celebration of the Eucharist. Its introduction into the baptismal formula (in the Eastern Orthodox Church it is pronounced after the name of each person of the Trinity) was probably later.
In Isaiah 65:16, the authorized version has "the God of truth" ("the God of amen" in Hebrew). Jesus often used amen to put emphasis to his own words (translated: "verily" or "truly". In John's Gospel, it is repeated, "Verily, verily" (or "Truly, truly". Amen is also used in oaths (Numbers 5:22; Deuteronomy 27:15–26; Nehemiah 5:13; 8:6; 1 Chronicles 16:36) and is further found at the end of the prayer of primitive churches (1 Corinthians 14:16).
In some Christian churches, the "amen corner" or "amen section" is any subset of the congregation likely to call out "Amen!" in response to points in a preacher's sermon. Metaphorically, the term can refer to any group of heartfelt traditionalists or supporters of an authority figure.
Amen is also used in standard, international French, but in Cajun French Ainsi soit-il ("so be it" is used instead.
Amen is used at the end of the Lord's Prayer, which is also called the Our Father or the Pater Noster.
The usage of Amen, meaning "so be it", as found in the early scriptures of the Bible is a word of Hebrew origin. (all quoted from Wikipedia)…

It is time we stopped “automatically” saying “amen” at the end of our prayers, since to most of us, it is a meaningless word, used only as a “stop point” indicating we are finished speaking.

Based on the meaning and intent, I would rephrase the English to be “Make it so!”, much like the famous captain Picard of the Star Trek genre.
It is, after all, an AFFIRMATION.
We are ending our petition to God by affirming that this is what we are saying.
That this is what we mean.
It is a plea for action, not simply a sign of agreement.
Affirmation is action on a belief.
This is the very essence of prayer.
Faith, and belief.
Mountain movers.

Make it so.

Rev Hog
June 2019

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This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice, and be glad in it.

5 yrs

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