God's love for the world to which the son came to bring light and judgment.
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Planning Ideas And Resources For The Entire Church Year
Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration
Consider this:
In the Name of the God who loves the world, welcome! What do you think about as you prepare for worship, as you drive to the church building, as you enter the narthex, as you sit in the pew waiting for the corporate worship to begin? Ask the people to jot down their reflections for use later in worship.
You may continue with this litany:
Pastor:
God loved the world so much that God gave....
Ministers: We know that. Tell us something we don't know.
Pastor:
You probably know, at least intellectually, that God loved and loves that part of the world we hate and ignore.
Ministers: We know that Tell us something we don't know.
Pastor:
You may know, but you may have forgotten that God calls each of us to minister to that part of the world which we would like to keep on ignoring, which we would like to keep on hating.
Ministers: That's not a pleasant message, paStor. We're not sure that we're ready to hear it.
Pastor:
I have trouble with it myself. Yet, it's there. We celebrate God's Word, even that part of the Word we would rather not hear.
Ministers: We're with you, pastor. We get scared and confused, yet, lead us on. We need to hear more so we can do more.
The Act of Recognizing our Humanness and The Act of Receiving New Life
Suggestion:
Begin, think about what we do in the dark that we would never think about doing in the light? Think about how often we confess our sin only after getting caught, and even then, we prefer to blame the one who caught us. God invites us to bring our alienation and brokenness into the light. Identify the specific sin rather than the general sin.
Give the people several moments of silence; invite them to jot down their responses. Too often, we only think about changing if we fail to write down the specific change needed.
After several more moments of silence, play the record of Tiny Tim singing, "Fill Your Heart," or have a soloist sing it. Ask the congregation to sing the refrain.
Message with the Children of All Ages
Consider this:
Teach the children to sing "Magic Penny."
Proclamation of the Word
Consider these ideas:
Title:
"Do You Believe that God Believes in You?"
Invite someone to sing the popular song, "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You." Time Magazine, many years ago, told of a seventeen-year-old dockyard apprentice who said to his girlfriend that he loved her so much that he couldn't live without her. She didn't believe him; so he went home one day, turned on the gas, and died. He left a note which said, "She'll believe me now, but it's a hard way of proving my love, don't you think?"
That story represents quite a contrast with another story. A mother put her four-year-old son in charge of his three-month-old brother for a few minutes one evening. The four-year-old was proud of his mother's confidence in him. Nestled near his side was his fluffy collie puppy. The three of them formed quite a picture. A passer-by saw the beauty of the scene and paused, walked across to the little boy and asked, "What are you doing, sonny?" The four year old answered, "I am loving them."
Stewardship Challenge
Suggestion:
How do you share God's love with the world, both verbally and non-verbally? God calls us to share Christ's light with the world; not to share is to turn out the light on ourselves and on those whom God has called us to minister.
Consider how much of the money we give we spend on ourselves in this congregation. Present the statistic: the amount we spend on ourselves as compared with the amount we give to the mission beyond the local congregation.
Charge to the Congregation
Suggestion:
Review the reflections you made as we began worship. How many of those focused on ourselves, what we would get from worship. If we come, primarily to get something for ourselves, we are still living in the dark, we are bringing judgment on ourselves. In what ways will we channel God's love for the world to the world this coming week. For, we are nobody until somebody loves us. And it is also true that the other remains a nobody until he knows of God's love.
Planning for Your Congregation
Suggestions
Your Situation
I. Other Scriptures
Liturgist:
Psalm 137:1-6
Psalm 27:1-9 (10-14)
2 Chronicles 36:14-23
Numbers 21:4-9
Ephesians 2:4-10
II. Suggested Hymns
Coordinator:
"The Great Creator of the Worlds"
(change sexist language)
From Epistle to Diognetus, 2nd or 3rd Century
Para. by F. Bland Tucker, 1939, 1972
"We Love Your Kingdom, Lord" Timothy Dwight, 1800; alt., 1972
"Let All Together Praise Our God"
(change sexist language) Nikolaus Herman, 1560
Trans. by Arthur Tozer Russell, 1851 ; alt.
"God Is Our Strong Salvation"
from Psalm 27
Para. by James Montgomery, 1822; alt., 1972
III. Other Music Possibilities
Organist/Choir director:
Music for Preparation
"Gloria"
Mozart's Mass No. 12
Preceding the Confession
"By the Babylonian Waters" Based on Psalm 137:1-4 Ewald Bash, 1964
Response to the Assurance of Pardon
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
Robert Robinson, 1758
Response to the Proclamation
"Wondrous Love"
Christiansen
Music for Dismissal
"Song of Triumph"
Rogers
IV. Bulletin Cover
Church secretary:
V. Bulletin Symbols
VI. Miscellaneous Details (Assignments:)
Ushers
Candlelighters
Hosts/Hostesses
Banners
Flowers
Greeters
Posters
Name-tags
Others
Consider this:
In the Name of the God who loves the world, welcome! What do you think about as you prepare for worship, as you drive to the church building, as you enter the narthex, as you sit in the pew waiting for the corporate worship to begin? Ask the people to jot down their reflections for use later in worship.
You may continue with this litany:
Pastor:
God loved the world so much that God gave....
Ministers: We know that. Tell us something we don't know.
Pastor:
You probably know, at least intellectually, that God loved and loves that part of the world we hate and ignore.
Ministers: We know that Tell us something we don't know.
Pastor:
You may know, but you may have forgotten that God calls each of us to minister to that part of the world which we would like to keep on ignoring, which we would like to keep on hating.
Ministers: That's not a pleasant message, paStor. We're not sure that we're ready to hear it.
Pastor:
I have trouble with it myself. Yet, it's there. We celebrate God's Word, even that part of the Word we would rather not hear.
Ministers: We're with you, pastor. We get scared and confused, yet, lead us on. We need to hear more so we can do more.
The Act of Recognizing our Humanness and The Act of Receiving New Life
Suggestion:
Begin, think about what we do in the dark that we would never think about doing in the light? Think about how often we confess our sin only after getting caught, and even then, we prefer to blame the one who caught us. God invites us to bring our alienation and brokenness into the light. Identify the specific sin rather than the general sin.
Give the people several moments of silence; invite them to jot down their responses. Too often, we only think about changing if we fail to write down the specific change needed.
After several more moments of silence, play the record of Tiny Tim singing, "Fill Your Heart," or have a soloist sing it. Ask the congregation to sing the refrain.
Message with the Children of All Ages
Consider this:
Teach the children to sing "Magic Penny."
Proclamation of the Word
Consider these ideas:
Title:
"Do You Believe that God Believes in You?"
Invite someone to sing the popular song, "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You." Time Magazine, many years ago, told of a seventeen-year-old dockyard apprentice who said to his girlfriend that he loved her so much that he couldn't live without her. She didn't believe him; so he went home one day, turned on the gas, and died. He left a note which said, "She'll believe me now, but it's a hard way of proving my love, don't you think?"
That story represents quite a contrast with another story. A mother put her four-year-old son in charge of his three-month-old brother for a few minutes one evening. The four-year-old was proud of his mother's confidence in him. Nestled near his side was his fluffy collie puppy. The three of them formed quite a picture. A passer-by saw the beauty of the scene and paused, walked across to the little boy and asked, "What are you doing, sonny?" The four year old answered, "I am loving them."
Stewardship Challenge
Suggestion:
How do you share God's love with the world, both verbally and non-verbally? God calls us to share Christ's light with the world; not to share is to turn out the light on ourselves and on those whom God has called us to minister.
Consider how much of the money we give we spend on ourselves in this congregation. Present the statistic: the amount we spend on ourselves as compared with the amount we give to the mission beyond the local congregation.
Charge to the Congregation
Suggestion:
Review the reflections you made as we began worship. How many of those focused on ourselves, what we would get from worship. If we come, primarily to get something for ourselves, we are still living in the dark, we are bringing judgment on ourselves. In what ways will we channel God's love for the world to the world this coming week. For, we are nobody until somebody loves us. And it is also true that the other remains a nobody until he knows of God's love.
Planning for Your Congregation
Suggestions
Your Situation
I. Other Scriptures
Liturgist:
Psalm 137:1-6
Psalm 27:1-9 (10-14)
2 Chronicles 36:14-23
Numbers 21:4-9
Ephesians 2:4-10
II. Suggested Hymns
Coordinator:
"The Great Creator of the Worlds"
(change sexist language)
From Epistle to Diognetus, 2nd or 3rd Century
Para. by F. Bland Tucker, 1939, 1972
"We Love Your Kingdom, Lord" Timothy Dwight, 1800; alt., 1972
"Let All Together Praise Our God"
(change sexist language) Nikolaus Herman, 1560
Trans. by Arthur Tozer Russell, 1851 ; alt.
"God Is Our Strong Salvation"
from Psalm 27
Para. by James Montgomery, 1822; alt., 1972
III. Other Music Possibilities
Organist/Choir director:
Music for Preparation
"Gloria"
Mozart's Mass No. 12
Preceding the Confession
"By the Babylonian Waters" Based on Psalm 137:1-4 Ewald Bash, 1964
Response to the Assurance of Pardon
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
Robert Robinson, 1758
Response to the Proclamation
"Wondrous Love"
Christiansen
Music for Dismissal
"Song of Triumph"
Rogers
IV. Bulletin Cover
Church secretary:
V. Bulletin Symbols
VI. Miscellaneous Details (Assignments:)
Ushers
Candlelighters
Hosts/Hostesses
Banners
Flowers
Greeters
Posters
Name-tags
Others
