AWAKENED HEARTS OF WORSHIP: Invocation. The world tempts us to follow after our human desires and to pursue selfish goals. Our hearts are tempted to be conformed to the patterns of this world. God has given us the gift of worship so that when we gather together in His name, we find ourselves in His presence. He reorients our hearts to become awakened to His transformative power, grace, and love. Worship is not a good work that we accomplish to please our Lord, it is a tangible encounter with the Divine that reshapes our lives and refocuses our hearts!
Sunday, November 23rd: Benediction. The final time. What comes to mind when you hear that phrase? Maybe the last conversation you had with a loved one. The final game of your favorite team’s playoff run. The last speech, talk, or sermon from a respected leader. Today marks Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday in the church year and a time to remember the rule of the King of Kings as we wait for his return. This is also the final theme in our worship series as we end where the services of God’s people have ended for thousands of years, with the benediction. A final blessing to send us on our way to live, to reflect, to wait for the consummation of all things.
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
Sunday, November 16th: Lord’s Supper. The power of the Word of God changes everything. Many of us eat different breads and drink fruits of the vine regularly, so what makes the Lord’s Supper special and set apart? We learn today it is the Word of God. The very words of Jesus himself. At his saying “this is my body” at his words “shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” the meal is changed. It becomes a sacrament, a source of forgiveness, and a source of life. A meal Jesus gives to his followers to have and be changed by until he returns to earth. We are gathered together by our Savior to receive a precious gift of grace, his very body and blood. Come to the table of the Lord.
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
Weekly Awakening: TBA
Sunday, November 9th – Prayer. Prayer is a chance to communicate with God himself. But what exactly is prayer, and how do we pray? Prayer has been a part of the lives of God’s people since the beginning, and yet the disciples of Jesus asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus set aside times to pray, modeled prayer, and taught us what and how to pray. Today, we will spend time in prayer, as we do each week, and are encouraged to do so every day.
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
Weekly Awakening: What are you willing to risk in prayer this week?
Sunday, November 2nd – Creed. A creed is a set of beliefs that shape the way you live. A statement that guides your life. The creeds we have as Christians do not stand alone as thoughts that a group of people came up with in some ancient meeting. Our creeds show the basis of our faith and are summaries derived directly from the living and active Word of God given to us by the Holy Spirit. Creeds are a beautiful part of our worship service and a chance for us to speak the truth together and prepare ourselves to tell these truths to the world. Today, together as the people of God, we proclaim, “I believe.”.
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
Weekly Awakening: How do you witness to what you believe?
Sunday, October 26th – Proclamation. There are a few moments in human history that change everything. One of those is the Reformation. The Reformation placed God back in the center of the church. Our scripture passages today remind us that the treasure of God’s Word is worth more than everything we have, and we praise God that it comes to us for free and accomplishes His purpose. This Word of God is the fuel and source for our entire lives.
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
Weekly Awakening: How will you add more of God’s Word into your life?
Sunday, October 19th – Response: Practice makes perfect. We’ve heard that phrase in so many different aspects of life, but the reverse is actually true in worship. Perfection makes us practice. Only God makes perfect. In response to the perfection that God has given us, we practice lifting our eyes to see the world from a divine perspective. We give our praise to Him. We give our offering to those around Him, because as God so graciously blesses us with salvation He removes our reservations.
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
Weekly Awakening: What new song have you sung lately?
Sunday, October 12th – Confession & Absolution: Amazon has the second largest revenue stream of any company in the world. And they are the only company in the top 10 that is less than 50 years old. How? We want the good stuff to come to meet us where we are. At the beginning of our worship that’s what God does. We enter his presence, he enters ours, and meets us in the mess we are in. We are so far from his Holiness, but God meets us at the door with all our unholiness, and forgives us.
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
- Psalm 51
- 1 John 1:5 – 2:6
- John 20:19-23
- Generations Deuteronomy 13:4
Weekly Awakening: Share a time when God’s forgiveness changed your life.
Sunday, October 5th – How do you begin? You begin your day by waking up. You begin a race at the sound of the gun. You begin a football game at the kickoff. And you begin a world in the name of the Trinity. It’s just the way you begin. There really is no other option. We see this in the story of Scripture by the Trinity’s presence at creation. Then again as Jesus commands us to recreate lives into a new world through that same name in Baptism. So what else should we begin in the name of the Trinity?
Use the following scripture to prepare for worship:
Weekly Awakening: Why do you come to worship?