Opening Scripture (Revelation 4)
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Song of Adoration (Holy, Holy, Holy)
Prayer of Adoration
At this point you can pause to offer your own prayer of adoration and praise to God. To help prompt you to pray a prayer of praise ask yourself one of the following questions:
What Scriptural passage about who God is can I turn into a prayer of praise? (e.g. Isaiah 40:25-31)
What character or attribute of God can I focus on and give Him praise for? (e.g. His Holiness, Compassion, Eternality, Justice, etc.)
Call to Confession (Ephesians 4:1-6)
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Reflect on the passage above and ask God to search your heart and try your thoughts and confess the ways that you have fallen short of His glory in thought, word, and deed.
Prayer of Confession
Our Heavenly Father,
You are one God in three persons, a diverse unity in whom there is neither division nor contention.
You call us also to be one body made up of many different members, with different gifts and abilities.
We confess that we often take pride in our own gifts and look down on those who lack them, while thinking little about our need for the gifts of others in the body.
We form factions and cliques that promote and support our own interests, desperately trying to attract the favor of those whom we think strong, while despising and shunning those whom we see as weak.
Father, forgive us.
Jesus, thank you for your willingness to allow your physical body to be broken to establish the unity of your spiritual body, the church. Thank you that in you we have a unity that transcends all earthly boundaries.
In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
Assurance of Grace in Christ (Ephesians 2:12-16)
Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Song of Thanksgiving (The Power of the Cross)
Message from God’s Word
Song of Response (O Great God)
Piano: Angie Smith, Violin: Chloe Smith, Vocals: Anna Smith and Ashley Jacobson
Confession of Faith (New City Catechism Q. 48)
What is the Church?
God chooses and preserves for himself a community
elected for eternal life
and united by faith,
who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together.
God sends out this community
to proclaim the gospel
and prefigure Christ’s kingdom
by the quality of their life together
and their love for one another.
Prayer for the Church and the World
Pray that God would give you clarity on your spiritual gifts and cultivate a servant’s heart in you for using your gift.
On this Mother’s Day, pray for the Mothers of our congregation that the Lord would continue to uphold them in their high and holy calling.
Pray for those in the body that have been dealing with health issues recently (e.g. Mike Sapusek, Peggy Bruce, Paul Baron, Dan Stewart)
Pray for the elders as we consider a wise approach to reopening the church.