CHURCH OF THE GREAT SPIRIT a.k.a. GOD's CHURCH

A Gathering Place for Spiritual Sharing and Healing

Welcome to God's Church, a universal, non-denominational, inter-faith gathering of God's children to worship God and promote spiritual healing and growth regardless of any religious affiliation or background. We use non-exclusionary language in our services and read from the Great World Scriptures of difference religious/philosophical traditions. God's Church does not ask anyone to give up their religion as there are many paths that lead to God. However, we do advocate the Law of Oneness, recognizing and accepting the holiness and interconnectedness of all life. We view all living beings as manifestations of God.

1. Prelude: "Let us worship God in God's many names and forms: Universal Intelligence or Consciousness, the Light, the Great Void or Nothingness, Yahweh, Allah, Brahma, Divine Mother, Mother Earth, etc.... or in God's many paths: Christ, Krishna, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, etc.... Let us invite in the spirits and the little creatures, as God is in all."

"God is a Spirit and They that worship must worship Spirit and Truth. God is Sat, Chitt, and Ananda (Truth, Knowledge, and Bliss)."

2. Call to Worship: "O come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before our maker-sustainer-changer, our Mother-Father God. We are the beings of God's pasture and the sheep of God's hand.

3. Invocation: "Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Mother-Father God will be your everlasting light." (Isa. 60:20)

4. Doxology: "Glory be to the Mother-Father Creator, the Daughter- Son Sustainer, and the Holy Spirit Changer as it was in the beginning, is now and ever will be world without end. Amen."

5. Dedication (Sankalpa): May the fruits of this worship service which belong to God give enlightenment to all living beings and alleviate the pain, missery, and suffering of the myriad sentient/feeling beings throughout the universe.

6. Special Messages or Service Theme: Christ Realization - When did Jesus become Christ?

7. Hymn 1 - Sing Amazing Grace

8. Offertory and Three Homages: We offer the merits of today's scripture readings to All so that they may be able to obtain the Truth.

"Homage to all the Buddhas in all the Worlds. Homage to all the Bodhisattvas in all the Worlds. Homage to the Scriptures of Great Wisdom."

8. Introductions/Readings from the Great Scriptures of the World: Passage 1: John 17:1-26

9. Pastoral Message: When did Jesus become Christ? Was it at the River Jordan? When he was Baptized by John? When he was transfigured with Moses and Elijah? On the Cross? At the Resurrection ? At his final Ascension? The Great World Scriptures suggest we are all children of God and that our purpose of embodiment on Planet Earth is to become Christ realized as Jesus did.

What does Christ realization entail anyhow? When do we become one with Christ or God as John 17 suggests? Do we need to be crucified on a cross like Christ? Do we need to redeem ourselves by repentance of sins? Do we need to pay off karmic debts in keeping with the Law of Karma? Do we need to surrender our egos to the will of God (our first death)? Do we need to wait until we lose our physical bodies in physical death (second death)?

Is it possible that we can become Christ realized (God realized) while still in our physical bodies? Can we through life experiences or through our actions become one with Christ? Does becoming one mean having the same vibration as Christ or God? Is Christ realization a state of becoming or a state of being?

The key to all these questions rests in John 17. As all the great world scriptures suggest, we already the whole (Christ/God), but need to realize it in our thoughts, speech and actions. Christ realization is a state of being one with Christ/God. Again, it is not a state of becoming, but a state of being. We need to connect with our inner guru (our inner Christ Self or Teacher). Christ became one with God (Christ realized) when he externalized his Christ Self which was well before the River Jordan, when he was doing God's work, loving, healing and teaching other human beings, helping them to awaken to their own inner Christ Self.

10. Affirmation: "I am free of attachments, expectations, and negative desires. I am Love; I am Peace; I am Joy; I am Gentleness; I am Courage; I am Creativity; I am Wisdom; I am Kindness; and I am Compassion from the Mind and Heart of God. I am a child of God. God is manifest in me."

11. Hymn 2 - Jesus Loves Me

12. Call to/for Those needing Healing: We invite you to offer the names of those who are in need of healing, to include yourselves, family, significant others, friends, members of our group and anyone else in need of healing. Let us channel healing energies to them to be used by their Higher Selves as they deem fit for their highest good (be it to stay with us or to leave this world). We will channel energy first by centering ourselves and praying. In keeping with God's will, may the fruits of our prayers be directed to those we have named and anyone else in need.

13. Silent Meditation: Let us center ourselves & focus on the God within, the inner Sadguru, the Higher Self. Realize that that God is within each of us & that we are all part of the same One. Know that we are each droplets in the Divine Ocean of God. Let us experience the Ocean. Let us be one. Let us meditate and pray to that purpose. Let us merge into the One for Eternity. Visualize it; feel it; live it; and be it.

14. Prayer and Commendation: "Our Mother-Father God, take our bodies and our minds and make them wholly yours. Let your will, not our will or desires, be done. Help us to free ourselves of attachments to people and things of this material world so that we may better love and serve you and our fellow living beings. To those who need healing at any level of their being, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically, let them receive that healing now, at this moment, and in keeping with thy will. Let those we have named this morning receive the merits of this prayer as well as the homeless, the starving, the sick, the dying, the disabled, the abused, those mourning the loss of loved ones, and the victims of aggression in all nations, the earth, and throughout the universe. Let them know and feel your mercy and love. Let peace prevail. May they be healed as we channel light, God's energy, to them.

Into thy hands, our Mother-Father God, we commend our mind, body, emotions, and spirit. We are totally yours and we submit to your will. That we may suffer no more, free us from our attachments, expectations, and negative desires. Lead us from darkness to light, from unreality to reality, from death to immortality. As your humble servants, we seek to be one with you and all living beings, now and forever. Love and guide us to that end."

"Om Kara Sat Nam Sri Wahe Guru" - One sound, essence of Truth, Mother-Father Creator of the Universe, awesome knowledge that dispels ignorance, we bow to thee.

15. Universal Seal: "HUM, OM, AUM, AMIN, AMEN"

16. Offering (Love Donation): "Hear the words of the Great Prophets and Scriptures of the World. Freely ye have received, freely give. Every person give as they are able to according to the blessings of God."

17. Offering Dedication: "All things come of thee, O Mother-Father God, and of thine own have we given thee. God has given us the right to use things in external reality or the material world while we are here, but true ownership belongs to God. Blessed be God who daily gives us benefits and leads us to our salvation, to freedom, to eternal life."

18. Announcements and Invitation to New Members: If you would like to joint our Church of the Great Spirit or merely wish to give us feedback on our worship service, we invite you to send an e-mail message to "haheinz@aol.com". Thank you. Rev. Holly A. Heinz

19. Benediction: "May you all be blessed with health, abundance, knowledge, and opportunities for spiritual growth. May the almighty omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient Mother-Father God bless and keep you."

20. Sign of Peace - Namaste!

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Created 6-4-95 by One Spirit Ministries aka God's Church , Rev. H. Heinz © Copyright , All Rights Reserved, December 26, 1995 by God's Church.  Last updated  06/15/2006.  We are an IRS approved 501(c)(3) church.  We are also affiliated with the World Federation of Practical Christianity (aka World Federation of Independent Unity Churches), Association of Inner and Interfaith Ministries, and friends with Association of Unity Churches, and other New Thought and Religious Science Churches, and other Metaphysics Ministries.