Hi Everyone
We hope your weekend is going well
As mentioned last Friday, there is no gathered worship service at Tawa Baptist this Sunday 22 March, due to the ban on gatherings over 100 people. We encourage you to have church at your place instead. Following is a suggested format for a ‘do it yourself’ worship service at home this Sunday 22 March. May we all be present to Christ among us.
Opening Prayer
You may like to light a candle as a reminder that Christ is present and say a prayer:
‘Loving God, we thank you for being with us always. May you be honoured in this time of worship today. And may we enjoy your closeness.’
Scripture Reading
Read aloud the following verses from Psalm 103:1-13
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbour his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
Sung Worship
Singing songs of praise to God has the power to transport us out of the hell of self-absorption and into the heaven of God’s goodness. Listen and/or sing along to the following songs – just google them on YouTube or download on Spotify. (The songs for today’s service were chosen by Ang nearly a week ago.)
- ‘All creation cries to you’ (God is great)
- ‘Nothing can separate’ (Your love never fails)
- ‘How great the chasm’ (Living Hope)
Offering
If you have children with you, explain to them that worship of God isn’t just something we do on a Sunday – it is meant to include the whole of life. Worship can involve all sorts of things. For example, singing praise to God, using our time and abilities to help people, thinking about God and most importantly obeying God, doing what he asks of us. Worship also includes giving money to the church and to people in need. We don’t do this to make ourselves feel good (although it is okay if it does make you feel good). We give money to God to remind ourselves that God is more important than money and to say thank you to God for giving us all we need for life.
Now explain to your children how you give money to God – whether by putting money in the offering bag or by internet banking. If you aren’t already giving by automatic payment you could take a few minutes now to deposit your offering in the church’s bank account: ‘Tawa Baptist Church’ – account number, 02-0552-0180302-00. (Let your children see you doing this so they learn what to do themselves.)
You might like to pray the following offering prayer (or ask a child with you to read this prayer)
‘Father God, you are good to us. You know our needs and support our life. We thank you with our words and with our wallets. In Jesus name. Amen.’
Birthdays and anniversaries
If you have had a birthday or an anniversary or something we can celebrate let us know and we’ll try to get a chocolate fish into your letterbox.
Gospel Reading
Read aloud the following verses from Mark 2:1-12…
2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Intercessory Prayer
An intercessory prayer is a prayer for others. Intercession is the act of standing in the gap for someone else, bringing them before God. Ask those with you what they feel a need to pray about. Following are some people and situations to get you started with your prayer…
- Healing for those you know are sick
- Wisdom for our world leaders at this time
- That God would bring good out of the COVID-19 situation
- Any other community or world issues that are close to your heart
More Sung Worship
Listen and/or sing along to the following songs – just google them on YouTube or download on Spotify.
- ‘When we turned away’ (He Tapu Te Ariki)
- ‘It’s your blood that cleanses me’
Sermon
You can either read the sermon notes by going to the 2020 Sermons page on this website,
Or listen to an audio recording of the sermon via the following link:
Closing Song
Listen and/or sing along to the song, ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate’ – just google it on YouTube or download on Spotify.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate
Slow to anger and rich in love
The Lord is gracious and compassionate
Slow to anger and rich in love
The Lord is good to all
He has compassion for all that He has made
As far as the east is from the west
That’s how far He has removed our transgressions from us
Praise the Lord, oh my soul
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord, oh my soul
Praise the Lord.
Benediction
A benediction is just a fancy word for blessing. When we give a benediction we are giving a blessing. To bless someone is to ask good things for their well-being. You might like to give each other the following blessing…
‘The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace. Amen.’
Tea & coffee & prayer
Normally after a Sunday morning worship service we have a chat over a cup of tea or coffee and prayer is available for those who want it. As an alternative you may like to go through the church directory and find one other person to call on the phone. Just ring to check in and see how they are getting on.
And, if you would like someone to pray for you then reply to this email with your prayer request and I can either pass it on the prayer ministry team so they can pray for you or put your request on the church prayer chain or simply pray for you myself if you don’t want others knowing.
God bless.
Tawa Baptist 