The Parish Gathering | Online House Church (November 1, 2020)
Welcome!
Throughout the Fall, we’re gathering in an alternating Sunday rhythm of all-Church gatherings and then House Church gatherings. Today is a House Church Sunday and the Online House Church is open for all to join right here. Click the button below to join at 10:30am:
Family Ministry
Join the 10:30am Online House Church
Note: These gatherings take place via Zoom. If you don’t already have one, please create a Zoom account and set up the software in advance of the gathering.
Join by Phone
Dial-in available for the 10:30am Online House Church only.
Please participate in the following liturgy, reading aloud all the parts in bold italics.
Welcome & Invitation
The Big Idea: Moving from Fear to Peace
Scripture Readings: Revelation 7:9-17
“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’
And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing,
‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour
and power and might
be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ”
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Song: Rich and Poor
Rich and poor alike,
Listen with your own hearts.
His love is for us all,
His love is for us all.
Rich and poor alike,
Listen with your own souls
Do not live in fear,
Do not live in fear.
Oh rich and poor alike,
His love is for us all.
Rich and poor, high and low,
Sick and well, this I know.
His love is for us all,
His love is for us all,
His love is for us all,
His love is for us all.
You are the life to my heart and my soul.
You are the light to the darkness around me.
You are the hope to the hopeless, the broken,
You are the only truth and the way.
Fears, Hopes, and Prayers of the People
Spiritual Practices to Move from Fear to Peace
- What practices can you adopt this week to allow God’s presence to encounter your fear?
- What practices can you adopt this week to speak peace to those around you?
Communion
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
Most merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against you
In thought, word, and deed,
By what we have done,
And by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole hearts;
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
Have mercy on us and forgive us;
That we may delight in your will,
And walk in your ways,
To the glory of your name. Amen.
And now we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died.
Christ has risen.
Christ will come again.
Prayers for those with Communion elements
Take the bread in your hand and say these words as you consume the bread:
The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven.
Take the wine into your hands and say these words as you consume the wine:
The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation.
For those without Communion elements, The Sacrament of Desire.
Now, in union, O Lord with the faithful at every altar of Your Church,
I present to You my soul and body
with the earnest prayer that I will remain united to you.
And since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
I pray that you would come to me spiritually.
I unite myself to you, and embrace you with my soul’s affection.
Let nothing separate me from you,
that I may live and die in Your love.
Amen.
Song: One Blood
O God you have made us all of one blood
And sent us your blessed Son
Proclaiming your Kingdom, justice and peace
He’s calling to everyone, the far and the near may come
Let the nations of the earth seek after you and find you
Let our neighbors see in us your love
Pour out your Spirit,
Pour out your Spirit,
Pour out your Spirit on all people
Hasten the coming,
Hasten the coming,
Hasten the coming of your Kingdom
