Following is a suggested format for a ‘do it yourself’ worship service at home this Sunday 16 August.
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.’
Sung Worship
Singing songs of praise to God lifts our minds out of the ruts we sometimes get ourselves into and helps to restore our perspective. 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 Ewan nearly a week ago.)
♫ Bless the Lord O my soul (10,000 reasons)
♫ Come, now is the time to worship
Intercessory Prayer
This week’s prayer was prepared by Kim. You may want to take turns reading lines of the prayer out loud or nominate someone with you to lead the prayer…
Lord, it is difficult to know where to begin. The news hasn’t been great for a while now. We feel overwhelmed at times by the onslaught of gloom and doom…
Wars, political unrest, violence, injustice, inequity, leaders abusing their power, floods,
explosions, earthquakes, droughts, pandemics, refugees struggling to find homes, destruction of rainforests, large scale poaching of endangered animals, greedy developers and corporations, misuse of public funds, the spread of dangerous religious and political ideologies, climate change and its impact on our lives. The list is long…no wonder our spirits are exhausted!
Closer in, some of us have lost jobs or loved ones, face economic hardship, are experiencing sickness, struggle to balance competing responsibilities and pressures. Weddings have been put on hold, funerals delayed, trips cancelled…there is much uncertainty.
Lord…Jesus, Saviour, Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, we come to you
for you alone can help us. We come to you with our struggles, our fears, our doubt, our worries and concerns and needs…
Restore us, bring your healing and peace, renew hope and joy, forgive us and strengthen us to do your will, help us to live wisely, to act justly, to be kind to one another, to be good stewards of all of your creation, to be generous people…
In particular we pray for-
[Name those you are aware of who especially need God’s help at this time]
Those in our community who are especially vulnerable to Covid-for protection and safe-keeping.
We come to you Lord, for you alone can make us whole.
May love and not fear guide our choices and decisions.
May your kingdom come
May your will be done
In us and through us
Amen
Gospel Reading
Read aloud the following verses from Matthew 4:18-20…
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee,he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,”Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
More Sung Worship
Listen and/or sing along to the following songs – just google them on YouTube or download on Spotify.
♫ Brother, sister let me serve you (The servant song)
♫ Beautiful Lord (The Potter’s hand)
♫ As the deer pants for the water
Prayer
Gracious God, open our hearts and minds to receive your word. Give us wisdom and courage to obey you. Through Jesus we pray.
Sermon
You can either read the sermon notes on this website or listen to an audio recording of the sermon via the following link:
Closing Song
♫ Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks
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.’
Tawa Baptist 