LEFC Guide to Worship at Home
Palm Sunday :: April 5, 2020
$ Introduction
$ Home Worship Guide
$ More Links to Helpful Resources
Introduction
Dear Church Family,
This Sunday begins what
Christians often call “Holy Week,” and being separated from each other this
particular week as a family of families will be especially difficult for us. We
rightfully lament this loss of togetherness but also know that we have not
ultimately lost anything because all things are ours in Christ and His mercies
are new every
single day (1 Cor 3:21-23, Lamentations 3:22-23).
We have prepared another 10 step
Guide to Worship at Home for you to use in family worship, and I have recorded
a corresponding video message and posted it on YouTube and Facebook. We’re also
planning another Family Fellowship Meeting on Zoom,
and you are invited! Please let us
know if you need any help getting connected.
When we get together on Zoom,
I’m going to ask everyone (especially the children!) to share 1 thing that you
are missing right now and 1 thing for which you are thankful. We will “rejoice
with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).
For Worship in Unity this week,
I have chosen the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism. Originally
published in Germany in 1563 as a part of the Protestant Reformation, the
answer to the Heidelberg’s first question is especially beautiful, profoundly
biblical, and deeply comforting. The modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn
Getty have recently created a new worship song “Christ
Our Hope in Life and Death” inspired by this historic creedal
statement. I have worded the translation into the first person plural so that
we declare it together as a community of faith with the communion of the
saints.
We are working on special plans
for celebrating Resurrection Sunday next week. If you have suggestions for
simple ways to enhance our worship and celebrate our Risen Lord, please us
know.
What time are you going to
gather your household this weekend to worship the Lord Jesus Christ?
In His Grip,
- Pastor Matt
P.S. Parents, you can download the Kids Worship Bulletin for this week and print it
out for your children. And make sure you
sing! Your kids are learning how to worship by watching you.
Home Worship Guide
1. Call to Worship
This is “Palm Sunday.” Have
someone read the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry in John 12:12-16.
**Option: Families with younger
children could make palm branches crafts to wave as part of family
worship, especially during the songs.
Have someone pray and ask God to
bless your time of worship at home.
2. Worship in Singing
As a household sing “Hosanna” by
Carl Tuttle (1985).
**Option: Older families
especially could instead/also sing “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”
3. Worship in Unity
Answer together the first
question of the Heidelberg Catechism:
Q. What
is our only comfort in life and death?
A. That
we are not our own
but belong
with body and soul
both in
life and in death
to our
faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for
all our sins
with his
precious blood,
and has
set us free
from all
the power of the devil.
He also preserves us
in such a way
that
without the will of our heavenly Father
not a hair
can fall from our heads;
indeed,
all things must work together
for our
salvation.
Therefore, by his Holy
Spirit
he also
assures us
of eternal
life
and makes
us heartily willing and ready
from now
to live for him.
**Option: Listen to the new song
by Keith and Kristyn Getty based upon this catechism question: “Christ
Our Hope in Life and Death.”
4. Worship in Lament and Thanksgiving
The Bible tells us there is both
“a time to weep and a time to laugh” (Ecclessiastes 3:4).
Have each family member share at
least 1 good thing that they miss right now and 1 thing they are really
thankful for this week.
Remind each other that the
Lord’s mercies are new every morning.
**Option: Get ready to share
your lament and thanksgiving with the church family fellowship meeting on Zoom
at 11am. Pastor Matt will be asking the kids especially to share their one
thing they are missing and one thing for which they are thankful.
5. Worship in Bible Memorization
As a family recite our “Hide the
Word” verse for this Spring: Matthew
28:18-20.
“Then Jesus came to them and
said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.”
**Option: Write this out on a
whiteboard, chalkboard or big piece of paper. Erase or cover key words and try
to say it without them. Try to do more missing words each week.
6. Worship in Prayer
Take prayer requests and pray
for each other.
Read the prayer guide together
and pray for the rest of the church family and the requests listed.
7. Worship in the Word
Watch or read Pastor Matt’s
short message: “Surely He Was the Son of God!”
Some families (especially with
teens) will want to watch the message on their own and then have a Bible study
and discussion together during this time.
8. Worship in Singing
Sing “Hallelujah, What aSavior!” (Philip Bliss, 1875)
9. Worship All Week
Have someone pray a prayer of
commissioning for your family as you end this time of gathered worship and face
a week of new opportunities and new challenges to serve the Lord, the church,
and the world in His Name.
10. Participate in LEFC Family Fellowship Meeting on Zoom.
Many of us are meeting through
video-conference online this Sunday at 11:00am:
More Links to Helpful Resources:
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