LEFC Guide to Worship
Graduation Sunday
June 7, 2020
$ From the Pastor
$ Worship Guide
$ More Links to Helpful Resources
From the Pastor
Dear Church Family,
Eleven Sundays.
The last time we gathered
together in-person for worship on our church campus was March 15, 2020. Because
of COVID-19, eleven Sundays have passed where we have all worshipped the Lord
from our homes and utilized creative technological means of encouraging Christian
fellowship and spiritual growth. For the last eleven Sundays, the church has
not stopped being the church. In fact, the scope of our outreach may have even
grown some as many people have accessed our online resources.
But it’s been too long. We all
have missed being together for the last three months. There is nothing quite
like what I call, “Church at church.” So as your pastor, I’m overjoyed that the Lord is leading us
back. Thank you for praying for this day to come!
I’m extremely grateful for the
leaders that the Lord has given to our church family. Over the last three
months, the Elders have put in many hours of unified prayer, hard thinking, and
diligent shepherding. The Facilities Team has kept the building in good
maintenance and improved the internet service. The Deaconnesses have
compassionately cared for hurting people. The Finance Team has kept the bills
current, the staff paid, and the missionaries supported. Cindy has done a deep
clean of the whole building. And Marilynn has kept all of the numerous plates
spinning away, including many new plates that we’ve never had to deal with
before.
Please keep praying for wisdom for these
leaders as there are many things to think through in the days to come including
when and how to restart other in-person ministries (On-Campus Prayer Meeting
begins again, Lord-willing, on June 17th!) or envision creative
alternatives. There is still much work to be done, but we know the Lord’s firm
and tender mercies are new every day (Lamentations 3:23).
Eleven
Sundays have passed since we were all together, but now some of us get to be
back together again. If you are a
first-wave returnee, welcome home! I’m glad you’re here on campus for the
8am or 9:30am worship gathering, and I hope you experience the grace of our
Lord Jesus as we sing, pray, and hear God’s Word together. It won’t be the same as it was, especially with all of the
extra health precautions, but I’m sure that it will be good because our Lord is
good.
One
thing that I’m certain will be difficult is that a lot of us will still be
missing one another. Some will be worshipping at a different service than
others, and many are not yet free to return to worship on campus. Church will
probably feel a lot “smaller” this week, and we’re still going to yearn for the
people we don’t see (Philippians 1:8). As your pastor, I suggest everybody pull
out your church directory on Sunday afternoon and drop a line to somebody you
are missing. We are all one church
family regardless of whether or not we are all together at the same time and
place. I’m hoping we see more and more of each other each week as new waves of
returnees come in.
Another
great place to see everyone is the Family Fellowship Meeting on Zoom (Sundays
at 11:00am). This week our missionaries at Miracle Mountain Ranch, Donnie and
Tonya Rosie, will be joining us to share about the challenges and opportunities
before MMR this summer. If all goes well, they will connect with us from the ranch barns, and we’ll get to
see some horses and/or other farm animals in the Critter Corral. The LEFC Kids
should especially enjoy that! We’re also going to recognize our graduates and
pray for one another other. I hope you can join us.
For
those at home this weekend, we have prepared another ten-step guide for your
family worship time and produced another recorded video message from the book
of Philippians. You’ll notice that the strong theme of rejoicing in the Lord
continues to surge throughout both the book and our worship plan because
unstoppable joy is exactly what we all need during these difficult days.
Over
the last eleven Sundays we have added a Worship in Unity element to our worship
times. Christians throughout church history have declared their faith together
in essential Christian doctrine through beautiful summaries of biblical
teaching often called “creeds” and “confessions.” This week we will return to
the Apostles’ Creed which we regularly sing together in songs
on Sunday mornings. This short overview of the Christian faith is
one of the earliest statements of unified Christian belief. Reciting an ancient
creed or a portion of a confession in worship may still feel a bit foreign to
you, or it may remind you of experiences you’ve had in other churches. The
point is not to just recite it lifelessly but to proclaim from the heart our
unity in the faith with the whole church throughout the world and throughout
the ages.
The
Elders have been praying about how and when to resume celebrating the Lord’s
Supper as a church family. At this time, we have chosen to wait until the whole
church can safely partake together. The biblical teaching on Communion
emphasizes church unity and waiting for each other in love (see 1 Corinthians
11:17-34). While different churches will choose to handle these things in
different ways, we believe that we should postpone our celebration until the
“all clear” is sounded and the full church can gather around the Lord’s Table
together once again.
Starting
Sunday afternoon, we will be asking everyone who is ready to reserve
a household seating section for next Sunday, June 14th.
This helps us to ensure that we have enough of everything ready for both
services, especially spaced seating. Please pray for us as we prepare this week
to gather once again in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I
hope we don’t have to forego eleven Sundays ever again.
It’s a joy to be your pastor. Whether at home or on campus this
weekend, let’s make sure that every single one of us in this precious church
family worships the Lord Jesus Christ.
In His
Grip,
-
Pastor Matt
P.S.
Keep singing as you go! “There’s within my heart a melody–Jesus whispers sweet
and low, ‘Fear not, I am with thee–peace, be still,’ in all of life’s ebb and
flow. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus–sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps
me singing as I go.”
Home Worship Guide
1. Welcome to Worship
Read Psalm 117 with gratefulness
for God’s faithfulness as your family gathers to worship.
**Option: Parents might want to
tell their children more about Psalm 117. It is the shortest in the Psalter
(Book of Psalms). It has only 16 words in the Hebrew in just 2 brief verses. At
the same time, Psalm 117 says a great deal, singing to all of the nations of
the world about the greatness of the LORD.
Families with young children may
want to have the kids shout, “Hallelujah!” after a parent reads Psalm 117 as
that is the Hebrew translated “Praise the LORD” in verse 2.
Have someone pray and ask God to
bless your time of worship at home.
2. Worship in Singing
**Option. Families with older
adults might also or instead enjoy singing “He Keeps Me Singing” by Luther
Bridgers (1910).
**Option. Families with younger
children might want to repeat the song that has our Hide the Word verse in it:
“Rejoice in the Lord Always.”
Parents might plan to do this short song for several weeks because repetition
helps us to learn something well. Don’t forget that it is also a canon your
family can sing “in the round.”
3. Worship in Unity
As a household, recite together
the Apostles’ Creed:
“We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus
Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by
the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin
Mary,
suffered under Pontius
Pilate,
was crucified, died,
and was buried;
he descended to the
dead.
On the third day he
rose again;
he ascended into
heaven,
he is seated at the
right hand of the Father,
and he will come to
judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy
Spirit,
the holy Christian
Church,
the communion of
saints,
the forgiveness of
sins,
the resurrection of
the body,
and the life
everlasting. Amen.”
4. Worship in Lament
and Thanksgiving
When the people of Israel returned from the exile and built
the foundation of a new temple, they praised God with a loud shout (see Ezra 3). At the same
time many of the older leaders who remembered the older grander temple wept
aloud. Both responses were good and right for that moment.
As some of our church family worship on campus while others
remain at home, we both rejoice and lament. As a family, give thanks for those
who were ready to return and pray for all of the families who still needed to
stay home.
Discuss other things your family has experienced this week,
both joyful and sorrowful.
**Option. Have someone pray a prayer of lament that we are
not all partaking of the Lord’s Supper together again today.
5. Worship in Bible
Memory
Recite our current “Hide the Word” memory verses,
Philippians 4:4-5.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
**Option: Look ahead at verse 6. Is your family ready to add
it in?
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 message: “With Great Joy”
Facebook Video
Read on Pastor Matt’s Blog
[The message will be available
online by Sunday morning.]
Some families may want to
watch/read the message on their own and then have a Bible study and discussion
together during this time.
Application Questions for Personal Reflection and Family
Discussion:
1. Am I like Timothy?
2. Am I like Epaphroditus?
3. Do I welcome and honor leaders
like Timothy and Epaphroditus?
8. Worship in Singing
Sing “Amazing
Grace”
by John Newton (1779).
**Option: Some families,
especially those with young children may want to sing, “Jesus
Christ is the Same” from Hebrews 13:8. No matter what else changes
in our world, we can count on Jesus to be unchanging.
**Option: Some families,
especially those with young children who really enjoy repetition, may want to
continue to sing “Jesus, Strong and Kind” by CityAlight (2019)
each week.
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 -
11am on Sunday.
Many of us are meeting through
video-conference online this Sunday at 11:00am:
- See one another’s faces and hear
each other’s voices.
- Listen to announcements of
church family news.
- Interact with our missionaries
at Miracle Mountain Ranch, Donnie & Tanya Rosie.
- Kids, the Rosies are going to
join us from the barns at MMR. We might get to see horses and other farm
animals!
- Pray for one another live and
online.
More Links to Helpful Resources
0 comments:
Post a Comment