Guide for Home Worship
June 14, 2020
The following page will take you through the order of worship for this Sunday. To access the recorded songs and sermon, use the embedded audio players in each section.
Please note: the song and sermon audio may not be available until Saturday evening.
Printable Worship Guide
Printable Children’s Bulletin
Time of Reflection
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”
~Bruce Lee (1940-1973), actor, director and martial artist
“I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him.”
~Ravi Zacharias (1946-2020), author and Christian apologist
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
~John Bunyan (1628-1688), preacher and author of Pilgrim’s Progress
“Peace in the Bible is not a negative, the absence of hostilities, but rather a positive that includes everything necessary for human flourishing. It is a holistic word. Peace comes when our physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs are met.”
~Glenn Sunshine, history professor and author
Christ’s love towards us, and not our love towards Christ, is the true ground of expectation, and true foundation of hope.
~J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), Anglican bishop
“Do not look to your hope, but to Christ, the source of your hope.”
~C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), famed London preacher
“Christian hope rests upon the fact not that evil can be ignored, or that it will simply fade away, but that it has been judged at the cross.”
~David F. Wells, theologian, professor and author
“[K]now, at the end of the day, following Jesus is not necessarily designed to be safe. Safety is a natural desire but it can keep us from being like Jesus in the midst of an unsafe world.”
~The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon
“…the church is not a human society of people united by their natural affinities but the Body of Christ, in which all members, however different, (and He rejoices in their differences and by no means wishes to iron them out) must share the common life, complementing and helping one another precisely by their differences.”
~C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), writer and Oxford professor
Introduction
(please listen to the introduction before proceeding with the rest of the order of worship)
Opening Prayer
(select someone from your group to open your service in prayer)
Call to Worship
Psalm 145:1-13 (ESV)
LEADER: I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
PEOPLE: Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
LEADER: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
PEOPLE: One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
LEADER: On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
PEOPLE: They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
LEADER: They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
PEOPLE: The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
LEADER: The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
PEOPLE: All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
LEADER: They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
ALL: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Songs and Liturgy
(sing as a group and/or sing along to recorded versions)
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION
(John Rippon, Joseph Funk, 1787)
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame will not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose.
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
PUBLIC DOMAIN
RESPONSIVE READING:
Psalm 63 (ESV)
LEADER: 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.
PEOPLE: So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
LEADER: Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
PEOPLE: So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
LEADER: My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
PEOPLE: My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
LEADER: But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
ALL: But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
THERE IS A FOUNTAIN
(William Cowper, 1772)
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains:
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away:
Wash all my sins away,
Wash all my sins away;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved, to sin no more:
Be saved, to sin no more,
Be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more.
E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die:
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Sharing
(as a lead into the Prayer Time, as a group share how you are feeling and what you are learning; below are suggested questions)
- Share with one another your reactions to the national events of the past week.
- Share with one another what you have been learning from Scripture in light of these events.
Prayer Time
(You may have an open time of prayer or simply pray aloud the prayer below, or you may do a combination of the two)
A Prayer of Lament
A Prayer for Racial Reconciliation – distributed by Crossway, June 2020O Lord, how long will your church be divided along racial lines? How long will the lingering effects of animosity, injustice, and pride mark your blessed bride? How long, O Lord, will my white brothers and sisters not understand the pain in those whose experience is different than ours? How long, O Lord, will my minority brothers and sisters struggle with distrust and feel ostracized?
God, grant us the heart to weep with those who weep. Give us empathy and understanding. Create trust where there is pain. Make your church the united bride you want her to be.
These divisions of mistrust and historical bias run deep, O God. Without you, nothing will ever change. In our pain and our weariness, we express our hope that Jesus can change our hearts and unite the church. We believe the gospel is greater than our divisions. And we long for the day when the world will take note of how we love each other. So, help us to meet each other in this prayerful journey. We come to learn to lament. Hear us as we weep together, that we might walk together.
In the name of Jesus, our King. Amen.
Listen to Sermon
“A Faith that Works in Prayer”
preached by Abrm McQuarters
Download Audio or Download Video
James 5:13-20 (ESV)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Confession of Faith
The Apostles’ Creed (circa 5th Century)
LEADER: Christian, what do you believe?
CONGREGATION: I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell*.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
the holy catholic** church; the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
Amen.
*i.e. suffered under the judgment of God for His people
**i.e. “universal”
Sharing Time
(have everyone share one thing that struck them from the sermon)
Song
(sing as a group and/or sing along to recorded versions)
HE WILL HOLD ME FAST
(Ada Ruth Habershon, 1906, Matthew Merker)
When I fear my faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail,
He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold
Through life’s fearful path;
For my love is often cold;
He must hold me fast.
CHORUS:
He will hold me fast,
He will hold me fast,
For my Savior loves me so,
He will hold me fast.
Those He saves are His delight,
Christ will hold me fast;
Precious in His holy sight,
He will hold me fast.
He’ll not let my soul be lost;
His promises shall last;
Bought by Him at such a cost,
He will hold me fast.
(CHORUS)
For my life He bled and died,
Christ will hold me fast;
Justice has been satisfied;
He will hold me fast.
Raised with Him to endless life,
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight,
When he comes at last.
(CHORUS)
©2013 Getty Music Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) CCLI #1791178
Closing Prayer
(select someone to close your time in prayer)