INVITATION
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People of God,
Although we cannot be together as our normal practice allows, we have an exciting opportunity to join together in spirit with one another and with the early church by worshiping as they worshiped: in our homes with those closest to us. We encourage you to use the following liturgy (simply translated as “the work of the people”) to worship (if not home alone) with your family, loved ones, neighbors, or anyone who may not be able to join their normal worshiping community this week. This is a guide, not a rule. You may feel free to change anything to fit your abilities as worshipers.
Much like our early church brothers and sisters:
Use the gifts available to you. Lead as skillfully as you are able. Be creative. Glorify God. Seek to be formed into the image of Christ.
In other words: Worship.
Preparation
Consider lighting a candle, incense, essential oils, or something else to signal that worship has begun and that God is present wherever and whenever you are or where two or more gather in God’s name.
GATHERING
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CALL TO WORSHIP
When we worship, we acknowledge that God is the one who calls us to himself. If there is more than one person gathered with you, choose one person in your family or group to read as ONE and another to read as ALL. These may continue as ONE and ALL throughout this time or new readers may be selected for each movement.
ONE: Praise the Lord,
who has shown us the wonders of his unfailing love;
and who, for the sake of his name,
leads us and guides us.
ALL: In you, O Lord, we put our trust.
You are our God,
and our lives are in your hands.
ONE: Lord, let the light of your face shine on us
as we celebrate together in your presence. Let us pray…
ALL: Loving God, we have gathered to meet you.
We have come to listen to you,
to seek you, to worship you.
You are the beginning of all things,
the life of all things; you knew us before we were born.
In you we become; in you we live.
Loving God, you are here and everywhere,
around us and within us; you know our inmost thoughts.
In you we hope; in you we live.
You are the source of serenity,
giving peace that is beyond our understanding.
In you we are still; in you we live.
Loving God, we live in you; we worship you.
Loving God, you live in us; we worship you. Amen.
Praise
We are always responding to God’s voice and actions in worship. Here, we respond to God’s call by remembering what God is like, what God has done for us, and what God has done throughout history.
Take a few moments and reflect on where, when, and how you saw God at work this past week.
SING!! one or more of the songs below or any song that talks about God’s goodness, greatness, love, faithfulness, etc.:
Psalm 46 (Lord of Hosts) -Shane & Shane (lyric music video)
The Lord is Good -Fred Hammond (lyric music video)
Confession
God invites us to confess the wrong that we have done so that God can remind us that we are forgiven through Christ. God also reminds us that because we have experienced forgiveness, we should also forgive others.
ONE: We know that nothing is able to separate us
from the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Let us in freedom confess the wrong we have done.
—based on Romans 8:39
ALL: Awesome and compassionate God,
you have loved us with unfailing, self-giving mercy,
but we have not loved you.
You constantly call us, but we do not listen.
You ask us to love, but we walk away from neighbors in need,
wrapped in our own concerns.
We condone evil, prejudice, warfare, and greed.
God of grace, as you come to us in mercy,
we repent in spirit and in truth,
admit our sin, and gratefully receive your forgiveness
through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness
God reminds us that we are forgiven in Christ and calls us to live as forgiven people by forgiving and loving others as we have been forgiven and loved by God.
ONE: To all who turn from sin in sorrow,
to all who turn to God in hope,
this is God’s Word of grace:
We are accepted, we are forgiven, we are loved.
This gift we have from God.
Thanks be to God.
ALL: Thanks be to God.
SING!! one or more of the songs below or any song about God’s grace and forgiveness:
Blessed Assurance -Elevation Worship (lyric music video)
Be Still My Soul / What a Friend We Have in Jesus -Selah (lyric music video)
WORD
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Prayer for Illumination
We ask God to illuminate, shed light upon, or reveal what God has to say to us today.
Speak these words together or have ONE say a line and ALL repeat line by line.
Lord God, thank you for giving us the Bible.
Thank you that through reading it
we can learn more about you
and learn to love you more.
Send your Spirit to help us understand your Word
and to help us grow.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
SERMON: Worried Sick (Philippians 4:6) -Pastor AJ
Live Video Experience at 10am: https://live.restorationphl.org
Audio Podcast: https://www.restorationphl.org/media/category/philipians-46-march-22-2020
Prayer
Spend some time praying for the world. Pray freely as you feel led or ONE may pray the following aloud:
A Prayer for Anxious Times
Gracious God, Champion of the Universe, we so often fluff ourselves up.
Aren’t we the only creatures who compose masterpieces of music and art? Don’t we govern ourselves, enrich ourselves, promote ourselves? Can’t we dunk basketballs, bat baseballs, spike volleyballs? Aren’t some of us masters of comic irony? Other creatures don’t practice rocket science. We do.
And yet. Here we are, frightened by a thing so small it can’t be seen under most microscopes. It’s not even an animal or a plant. It’s a virus, a mere parasite, dependent on our own living cells to replicate. And yet it has shuttered our schools, cancelled our flights, and emptied our churches. It has consumed the attention of our leading scientists, wrenched our politics out of shape, dominated our conversations, and scared the daylights out of us.
We don’t want to get sick. And we don’t want to die.
We are afraid, O God. Afraid of a microorganism. Afraid of each other.
Great and quiet source of peace, quiet our fears. We are wary, uncertain, strung tight. Quiet our fears. We have no idea what the future will bring, but we do know you will be in our future to hold us there. We cannot quiet ourselves, O God. We cannot comfort ourselves, cannot heal ourselves, cannot help ourselves. All we can do is wash our hands and keep our distance. Our rocket science is no good to us for this threat.
O God, great and quiet source of peace, quiet us, your anxious ones, and let us cling for comfort to your suffering Son, Jesus Christ. Gather us under his wings. Remind us that he suffers with us, but he’s also the great physician. In him, let us not be afraid. Please, let us not be afraid.
Amen.
TABLE
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The Lord’s Supper / Communion
Here God feeds us with heavenly food which is a taste and a sign of God's kingdom. Much like any family meal, this meal is special not because it is rare, but because it is common. Everytime we celebrate communion we get a glimpse of God’s kingdom.
Consider moving to the kitchen or to the dining table.
Prepare your feast by gathering the following:
Bread: If you don’t have bread use crackers, or rice cakes, or leftover pancakes from breakfast...get creative! Anything that is nourishing will do!
Juice: If you don’t have grape juice use orange juice, or any other juice you have available. Milk will also do (consider adding a bit of honey to remind yourself of God’s Promised Land of milk & honey). Get creative...any sensible drink will do...even water!
Before you celebrate and eat together, pray this prayer:
ONE: Thank you God, for creating the world, for creating us in your image, and for showing your love for us by sending Jesus to save us.
ALL: Thank you God, for our Savior, Jesus Christ who died for us, rose from the grave, and who is coming again.
ONE: Send your Holy Spirit to make Jesus real to us in this meal and to connect us with Christians who have lived before us and who will live after us.
Words of Institution
Remembering Jesus’ instructions at the Last Supper before his crucifixion.
ONE: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
—based on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NIV
Break the bread (or a cracker, etc.)
Each worshiper may serve another simply saying “This is for you.”
Worshipers may respond with “Thanks be to God” or “And also for you”.
Take your time as you serve and receive.
Consider the joy of resurrection and Christ’s presence with you.
Dwell in the joyful and confident hope of Christ’s return.
Listen to this song while you celebrate or as a reflection after. Feel free to sing along with the (familiar) refrain or just listen and reflect.
Communion Song -Fred Hammond & RFC (here)
SENDING
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We do not worship for ourselves alone, but for the sake of the world. God gathers us, speaks to us, and feeds us so that we might be formed into people who look and act like Jesus in our everyday lives.
Closing Prayer
ONE: Let us never grow weary of doing what is right!
ALL: We will go to seek justice for all of God’s children.
ONE: Let us not grow weary of leading others to the kingdom!
ALL: We will go to follow Jesus’ example of gathering all into grace.
ONE: Let us not grow weary of speaking of hope and peace.
ALL: We will go to sow the Spirit’s seed of life and hope.
(inspired by Galatians 6 and Luke 10)
SING!! one of the songs below or any song that gives God thanks and invites us to proclaim the Good News to the world:
Surrounded (Fight My Battles) -Michael W. Smith (lyric music video)
Everlasting God -William Murphy (lyric music video)
BENEDICTION
May the Lord Bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord look on you with favor,
and give you peace.
If you lit a candle at the beginning of your time, extinguish it now to signal the end of worship.
As the smoke rises, consider that the light that was just in one place at one time is now in all places at all times.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
