Welcome and Opening Prayer
Good morning and welcome everyone. Happy Mothers’ Day to all you mums.
You may like to light a candle as a reminder that Christ is present.
From Psalm 139: “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me… For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I know that full well… How precious to me are your thoughts, O God, how vast the sum of them; were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake I am still with you.”
Sung Worship
Most of today’s songs were chosen by Geraldine.
Listen and/or sing along to the following songs – on YouTube or Spotify.
- Build My Life (Worthy of every song we could ever sing)
- My God is So Big, So Strong, and So Mighty
Pray: ‘Creator God, you are the ground of our being. Nothing is too difficult for you. Fill us with awe and wonder at your wisdom and goodness during this service of worship and throughout the week to come. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.’
Reading – Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
May the Lord bless the reading of his word.
General Offering
As you make your offering sing…
- ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus’ (on YouTube or Spotify)
Pray: Thank you loving God for cherishing us. Amen.
Intercessory Prayer
The following prayer was prepared by Geraldine.
[Note – to aid us in our prayers today, we will use our hands to help us, putting them into positions that will help us to engage our bodies with our prayers, and allowing our minds to focus. The directions are in square brackets]
Let us pray.
Praying hands – [put your hands together in the traditional position of prayer – that is, with your palms together and your hands pointing upwards]
We come before you, Everlasting God, to pray and to listen. We stop our activities and quiet our minds. We bring You our prayers, gratitude, and concerns. We remember Your promise to be near us, to listen to us, to care for us.
Loving God, we thank you for our mothers and those who act or acted like mothers for us – those who do or did nurture us, care for us, protect us, and guide us along good paths. Please give those women faith, inner strength, hope and wisdom, to share and to enjoy. We thank you for their selflessness and love, which reflects in some small way the immense love and sacrifice You have provided all of us.
Wounded hands – [put the index finger (pointing finger) into the centre of your other palm, like a nail went through Jesus’ hand on the cross]
Jesus’ hand was pierced as he was crucified. He was wounded to restore our relationship with God. He suffered to bring reconciliation and justice to the world.
Lord we bring to you now situations and places where reconciliation, justice and wholeness are needed, in our own lives, our relationships, in our communities and in the world
[Pause here to silently pray, or to offer spoken prayers]
Open hands – [hold your hands open in front of you and facing upwards]
We pray for those who have lost their mother or mother-figures. Please comfort them and give them joy in remembering the good memories. We pray also for those who have recently lost other family members and close friends, and pray they might know Your never-ending presence and comfort in their journey through grief.
Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, you know that we all have needs, physical, spiritual, and emotional. We pray for those who now find themselves with financial worries, unsure how they will feed or care for their families. We pray for those who have health problems, including COVID 19, but also other illnesses and injuries that prevent them from enjoying a full life. There are also those who are crushed by anxiety or despairing about the future. Please bring your healing and hope, and gentle presence.
Holding hands – [either hold your hands together, or hold hands with those in your bubble]
Lord Jesus, you embodied God’s compassion. You met with the suffering and the mourning, and offered Your healing, comfort and love. Help us to be Your hands to serve those around us or far away, whether they are known or unknown to us. Give us your love and care for all people and for creation.
Lord, we also pray you will help us acknowledge that we too are in need and broken. Forgive us, and help us to let others, including You, serve and love us too.
Please strengthen our bonds as families and friends and a church community, as we help each other through these times and the future to come.
And lastly, we thank you, O Loving God, of Your promise in Psalm 121, that You will watch over our coming and going both now and forevermore.
Amen.
More Sung Worship
Listen and/or sing along to the following songs on YouTube or download on Spotify
- Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation
- Holy Spirit welcome (Wairua Tapu)
Sermon
You can either read the sermon notes or, listen to an audio recording of the sermon via the following link:
Song – Oceans
Listen and/or sing along to ‘Oceans’. Google the song on YouTube or Spotify.
Benediction / Blessing
Proclaim 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.’
Tawa Baptist 