August 23, 2020
We’re in week two of three for this year’s “Mission” series, Following Jesus in the Wilderness. Every Fall we take time to revisit and recenter around the mission of our church: we exist to make disciples of Jesus for the glory of God and the joy of all people. In step with our ongoing Matthew series, this mini-series addresses the tension and “waiting” of the wilderness.
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday:
Read, pray, and sing through the service:
Don’t use Spotify? Click the song title below to see song on YouTube.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 63:1–4:
O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory. Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands.
Doxology (Louis Bourgeois, Thomas Ken) / Better (Joseph Pat Barrett, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin)
Lord I Need You (Carson, Maher, Nockels, Reeves, Stanfill) / The Medicine (Dee Wilson)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
Lord, we are like sheep, and we get lost.
We forget the needs of our neighbors and do not love You above all else.
We need a Savior, so we long for Jesus.
Come, fill our lives, Jesus. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 John 4:14–16
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
PASSING THE PEACE
(Click to Read)
When we’ve met as a large group on Sundays, we’ve always had a time of greeting one another after singing. Many churches call this time “passing the peace.” In some church traditions, one person will say to another, “The peace of Christ be with you” to which the other person responds, “And also with you.”
While potentially unfamiliar for some, we felt that “passing the peace” during greeting times at home could be a powerful act in this age marked by very little external peace. In Isaiah 9, Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace. He wants His kingdom to be marked by this very peace! We want to “pass” to one another this peace that only Jesus can give, especially at a time like this.
It might feel a bit cheesy, but we encourage you to actually pray the peace of God over each other during our times. We encourage you to look into each other’s eyes as you say, “The peace of Christ be with you!” and have others respond with, “And also with you.” Be open-hearted to Jesus, asking Him to fill you with His peace.
SERMON & COMMUNION
New Wine (Brooke Ligertwood) / Sometimes By Step (Step by Step) (David (Beaker) Strasser, Rich Mullins)