Home Worship for March 15, 2020
Pastor Greg Comments: We are living in an anxious time for many people. The economy seems unsteady. A disease we do not fully understand and cannot see is making inroads in our nation. It feels like everything can change in a day or two. Life can feel a little out of control for many of us. We worry for our health. We worry for parents, friends and children. We wonder what tomorrow may bring. This worship service is designed for you to gather with your family or a few friends in order to worship God and also remember his care and provision.
The liturgy has some prayers and scripture for you to read, a time to watch a short video teaching based on our text for this week, and some guided prayer time for you, your family, or group of friends.
Welcome and Call to Worship
We gather to worship in a time of change and some anxiety because we know our help is in the name of the Lord who made the heavens and the earth. (Psalm 124:8)
The writer of Psalm 95 invites us to worship God this morning with these words:
O Come, let us worship and bow down, our kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. (Psalm 95:6-7)
Praise to God
(You may want to sing along with the sings at the links below, play your own music on instruments in your home, or ask people to share their praises and thanks to God from this past week.)
Prayer of Confession
(We all sin at times. We all fall short of the call of God to love not only our neighbors, but even our enemies. The following prayer can be used to give us all space to confess our sins to God.)
Almighty God, you love us, but we have not loved you. You call, but we have not listened. We walk away from neighbors in need, wrapped in our own concerns. We condone evil, prejudice, warfare, and greed. (SILENCE) God of grace, help us to admit our sin, so that as you come to us in mercy, we may repent, turn to you, and receive forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Believe this good news and live in its peace.(John 3:16-17)
Sermon
Watch the Short Video Above
(After the video, you may want to read Matthew 6:25-34 again. It follows below:)
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Discussion
What are you worried about? How can we trust God with that worry?
Where do you see injustice in our world? What can you do to help?
Family Prayer
(You may want to ask for prayer requests to include in your prayer, or you can simply read the prayer below.)
God of ages, in your sight nations rise and fall, and pass through peril. Now when many in our nation are troubled and scared, be near us to save and deliver us. My our leaders be led by your wisdom; may they search your will and see it clearly.
We pray today for our city and our neighborhood. Protect our community from illness, and we pray especially from protection today from Covid-19. Be with those who are already ill, especially those who battling cancer or with weak immune systems or trouble breathing. Take away the fear and anxiety of our children that they might trust in the care of the adults in their lives. Guard the health of our older neighbors who are particularly prone to this illness. And, be with all the doctors and nurses and healthcare workers in our hospitals as they prepare to care for the who are sick.
In this time of fear, help us to love our neighbors as you love us. Help us to reach out and care for them, encouraging them, and offering support to those who are afraid or ill. Help us to live in the confidence of your care and trusting in you to be with us.
We pray this in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray, saying:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against.
Save us from the time of trial,
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever, amen.
Closing Song
Benediction
May God be gracious to you and bless you
and make his face shine on you—
so that His ways may be known on earth,
His salvation among all nations. Amen.
