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Preparation for worship
Songs: Ask yourself and the people who will be worshipping with you (kids included), “What are some of the songs we sing at church that bring us joy?” Play them on Spotify, sing them acapella, or create your own instrumental arrangement.
Bible: You will need a Bible to read from the scriptures. You can use this doc or your phone as well…but I’d recommend using an actual Bible
You can decide who will lead the different movements of this gathering. It would be great for every person to have a part.
Gathering
Gathering Words
In the Bible, in Matthew 18:20, the scripture says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” We believe that the church is not a building. The church is made up of people. So, we have gathered here in our living room to be the church. We will worship God together. We trust that God is here with us.
Reading of the Psalm (you may want to read this aloud together)
Psalm 95:1-7
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Songs of Praise
Sing two songs that focus on praising and adoring God
You might want to look at this list for some ideas.
Prayer of Preparation
Loving God,
We worship you and praise you for you are good. We are gathered together to hear from you today. We ask you to speak through the reading of scripture, through the songs we sing, and through our prayers. Open our ears now as we hear your word.
We pray this in the name of Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Listening
Reading
Let’s hear the word of God from the book of Exodus. It says in Exodus 17:1-7,
The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Telling
Let’s tell the story that we just heard. How did the story begin? What happened next? (go around the circle and tell the story again)
Application
What did we learn about people in this story?
What did we learn about God in this story?
Is there something we should remember for this coming week from what we heard from the scriptures?
Responding
Song of Response
Sing a song about God’s faithfulness or provision.
You might want to look at this list for some ideas.
Prayers of the People
Prayers are conversations with God. We are going to speak our prayers now. What are some of the things we should pray for?
(allow time for people to name the things that come to mind…some ideas may include prayers for those with corona virus, for medical and relief workers, for leaders, for our family, for our neighbors, for those who don’t have everything they need.)
At the end of this time of prayer, close with the following:
Powerful God, we believe that you hear us when we pray and that you are with us all the time. We offer our prayers to you and pray the prayer you taught us to pray saying,
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
Sending
Bless us as we go out from here. Guide us in the days ahead; make our ways safe and our time together joyful. Prosper the work of our hands. Give us patience and endurance in our work. May we be united in your love. May the gifts we use and share be signs of your love to all people.
To you, O God, be glory and honor through your Son, Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, in your church and in the world, now and forever.
Amen.
Living Room Liturgist 