Call to Worship
Click on the title above listen and recite along with the cantor. Do it a couple of times until you are comfortable and the words begin to resonate in your heart
Opening Prayer
Our Father and Mother in Heaven, on earth and within us.
You are one
Praise Your holy name.
Yahweh and Shekinah
You are one
Praise Your holy name
Yeshua and Holy Spirit
You are one
Praise Your holy name.
Jehovah and Sophia
You are one
Praise Your holy name
Our Creator, our Sustainer, our Parent, our Provider, Our Nurturer, Our Strength, Our Wisdom
You are one.
We are one with you and one in you.
Praise your holy name.
Scripture Reading
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
Hebrews 11:1-28
Message
Today's message is a call to return to our roots. I want to take this time to reaffirm the basics of what we believe as Essene followers of Yeshua ha'mashiach, the Nazarean. That is why we began our scripture reading today with the original command from God to the children of Israel. The command for ancient Israel is the same command we are given today as the children of God. We are to love the Lord with all of our hearts, and soul and strength. Yeshua taught us that this is the first and greatest commandment. This is the most fundamental tenant of our beliefs. God is love...pure love. When we come to God in love, we give back in kind what our Mother and Father gave to us. When we mirror God's love, it becomes amplified in our hearts and lives. We show it to others in our words and actions and it becomes even more intense and focused like the light of the sun in a mirror. When God is in us, the light of God will shine through us, pierce the darkness of this world and guide others to the Way.
We do not do this by merely memorizing scripture or following rules. That tactic would only succeed in making us rigid and legalistic. Strict adherence to rules binds and restricts. Real love is never restrictive. Love is freeing. The religious rule book types were the Pharisees of Yeshua's time. The Pharisees are still around today in other forms. We see them in many of the fundamentalist Christian sects and in the orthodox Jewish sects of our day. They advocate strict unflinching adherence to the law. They know all the right words but often have neglected having the right heart.
Yeshua offered a better Way. God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved. Yeshua said to the sinner "I do not accuse thee, go and sin no more."
So how do we follow the Way of Yeshua? The secret is to keep the law but write it upon our hearts. The heart speaks the language of love. It tempers the law with God's grace and spirit. Love knows no boundaries. Love is infinite and sees beyond.
In our scripture reading of Hebrews chapter 11, we traced the lineage of Essene masters from Abel to Moses. We read of people who listened to their hearts and stepped out in faith. They didn't follow the "rule books" They bucked the system, went against the norm of their societies, against tradition, even at times against natural law. Why? Because they had faith in their hearts. That faith acted like a tuner that filtered out the noise of how things SHOULD be and amplified the truth of God in their hearts. Then what made them more extraordinary is they acted on what they heard. Some hesitated a little...some made mistakes along the way...after all, they were human. But in the midst and in spite of their human frailties, they acted upon what they believed. Now their lives have been preserved in scripture as examples, as glimpses of God's work on earth.
That is our purpose on this planet....to be glimpses of God. We were made in the image and likeness of God. It was our divine birthright to be a piece of the infinite. Ever wonder why their are so many names for God and Goddess? There is only one God. Why do we need more than one name for the Male and Feminine Divine? Well, it is because God's love has so many facets. There should be even more names for God and Goddess because Divine Love is so all encompassing. In fact there ARE more names for our God and Goddess. He is named Tim and She is named Vivian. He is Joe and Josh and Mike and Jesse. She is Jennifer and Shirley... I could go on forever. Look within you. The Father is there. The Mother is there. Yeshua is there. We have been each given a spark of the Divine. The faces of God are as numerous as the faces of each person on the planet. And it is God's Divine will that each one of those faces be manifested in this world.
When we smother or obscure that light within us, we do God and this creation injustice. We do not allow the fullness of God to be manifested. We delay the Kingdom of God on Earth. Our purpose as Essenes is to live a life that is beyond the natural. God's spirit within us should constantly be creating supernatural events...little miracles...in our life that makes this world more like heaven. We are to nourish the Divine spark within us. Faith is the fuel. The Essene lifestyle is meant to be the fresh wind that fans the flame and a clean heart, clean mind and clean soul is our perfect altar for the Divine flame. Through out the ages that has always been the formula for miracles in God's chosen people.
Celebratory Hymn
Click on site above and sing along with the lyrics. Renew your commitment to love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul and showing that love by following the Way.
Discussion of the Message
Those of you who are participating with us on line, can take this time to quietly reflect on the message. If you have comments or questions that come to your mind, you are welcome to write them in the comments section below.
Closing Prayer
Our Father and Mother in Heaven, around us and within us
Thank you for all the ways you have shown Your love to us through the ages.
Thank you for Your guidance in the Way.
Now let us show Your love to others
and guide them to You.
In the name of Yeshua,
Amen
Closing Meditation
Click on the title below and speak the names of God as they come on the screen. Contemplate the all encompassing facets of our one God.
Closing Hymn
Click on the title below. Sing along with Hymn. Open your heart and allow our Holy Spirit Mother to fan the flame of divine presence within you. Invite the Mother and Father to dwell in your heart. Take them with you as you leave. Share them with the world this week.
