Worship Night | May 14, 2024

• Music

  Curated by Kevin Borst
  Elevation Worship - Praise
  Brooke Ligertwood - Bless God
  Passion - I've Witnessed It
  Hillsong United - Good Grace
  Bethel Music - You're Gonna Be Ok Worship Circle - Open the Eyes of My Heart
  Maverick City Music - Jireh
  Hillsong Worship - King Of Kings

• Liturgy

  Reflective Prayer
  Written by Yelena Pakhomova

  In chapter 2 of the Book of Acts, we find one of the earliest pictures of a worshipping Christian community: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings and to fellowship, to breaking of bread and to prayer.”

  They were filled with awe at the work of God in and around them.
  They shared their resources with the ones in need.
  They praised God and welcomed everyone who joined the community.

  For those early gatherings, worshipping together became a great levelling place, where people from different walks of life learnt to treat each other with dignity and as recipients of the same grace.

  Later in Paul’s letters, we continue to see this emphasis on the interconnectedness and interdependence of a worshipping community.

  Paul pleads with his churches:

  Bear one another’s burdens
  Serve one another
  Care for one another
  Be kind to one another
  Be of the same mind
  Love one another
  Build one another up

  Reminding those early communities that worship is a way of life and that they need each other for their journey of faith. No one becomes Christ-like on their own.

  So whenever worship happens in a community of Christ-followers, it re-centers us in two ways.

  First, we turn toward the divine.

  The fragmented pieces of our lives have space to be recollected—we gather to be reminded once again of the divine presence that is always with us.

  And second, we turn toward one another.

  We centre our hearts on the love of God in our lives.
  And we learn to welcome and love others just as we are loved and welcomed.
  All that enables us to become people of hope who can see ourselves and the world through the eyes of Christ.

  In a moment, we will spend some time in prayer and reflection.
  And in our prayer, we will make space for three things.
  

  First, we will ground our worship in gratitude, allowing prayer to rise in us in response to God’s grace in our lives.

  Then we will take a moment for intersession, which is another way to say that we care.

  We will pray on behalf of those who may not have it in them to come to God in prayer and worship at the moment.

  And then we will finish by centring our hearts on hope.

  For each part, we will have a reflection question to guide your prayer.

  Let us pray:

  [Gratitude]

  Loving God,
  Sometimes in the frantic rush of our lives,
  we forget that you are as close to us as our breath.
  So we take a deep breath now.
  We inhale and exhale, feeling our chest rise and fall.
  We settle our bodies in our seats, and we settle into this place.
  The place where we are connected and called into communion.

  As we anchor our prayer in gratitude,
  we are reminded that gratitude has layers.
  Gratitude finds us in sweet moments and quick interactions,
  But it can also be a steady current that supports and shapes our life.
  And sometimes it is as small as a sigh of relief - Thank you, God.
  And that is enough because it reminds us that
  You are good, and Your mercy endures forever.

  As we take a moment for a prayer of gratitude,
  I invite you now to
  Identify one or two things that you are deeply thankful for.
  And reflect on this question:
  How is this gratitude shaping your perspective and nurturing your soul?

  [Intercession]

  Loving God,
  One of your saints once said that there are times
  when the Christ in the word of a brother or sister
  is stronger than the Christ in our own hearts.
  When our hearts are uncertain,
  we need someone whose heart is sure.

  We have all been there,
  we have all needed someone
  to have faith when ours was struggling.

  So right now, God, we hold before you
  those who are weary, angry, and confused,
  for whom life is very hard,
  who have difficult decisions to make,
  those who are grieving,
  those whose hopes did not come through,
  those who feel disappointed and alone.
  May your grace and our love surround them.

  As we take a moment to pray on behalf of others,
  I invite you to
  Name people who do not have it in them to pray and to worship right now.
  And bless them with these simple words:
  Lord, circle (name),
  keep light near and darkness afar.

  [Hope]

  Loving God,
  Science tells us that hope can rewire our brain,
  that it is a healing and empowering force.
  Our faith tradition teaches us that as followers of Christ –
  We are called to be people of hope,
  A worshipping community invited to join God in the healing of all things. Yet, often, in our hearts, discouragement can drown the quiet voice of hope.

  So as we pray and reflect right now,
  We ask for your life-giving Spirit to meet us
  in places of fear, disillusionment and hopelessness
  And to attune our hearts to hope,
  which is, after all, another path to worship.

  As we take a moment to listen to the Spirit,
  I invite you to
  Name where in your life you need hope right now.
  And to pray through this question:
  In what one specific way is God inviting me to practice hope?

  God, in your goodness and mercy, hear our prayers.
  In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we pray.
  Amen.

  ———

  Prayer of Call and Response
  
  One of the oldest traditional forms of prayer in Christianity is a prayer of call and response. It reflects the dynamic nature of our relationship with the divine. And it is a form of a tangible collective expression of faith.

  For our responsive prayer today, I invite you to think about the idea of blessing. A worshipping community is a community empowered to bless.

  John O’Donohue, an Irish poet and theologian, writes this about blessing.

  “What is a blessing? A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal, and strengthen. The beauty of blessing is its belief that it can affect what unfolds. When we bless someone, we awaken the future, we call some of the divine wholenesses upon a person now.”

  Our prayer of call and response today comes from two sources: the Sermon on the Mount and the prayer attributed to Francis of Assisi.

  The first draws us into God’s vision of wholeness, and the second invites us to practice blessing.

  I invite you to read the sections marked “ALL”

  Let us pray:

  One: Blessed are the poor,
  All: For theirs is the kingdom of God.

  One: Blessed are the hungry,
  All: For they shall be filled.

  One: Blessed are the meek,
  All: For they shall inherit the earth.

  One: Blessed are the pure in heart,
  All: For they shall see God.

  One: Blessed are those who mourn,
  All: For they shall be comforted.

  One: Blessed are the merciful,
  All: For they shall be shown mercy.

  One: Blessed are the peacemakers,
  All: For they are the children of God.

  One: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness and justice,
  All: For great is their reward.

  ALL:

  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
  Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
  where there is injury, pardon;
  where there is doubt, faith;
  where there is despair, hope;
  where there is darkness, light;
  where there is sadness, joy.

  O divine master,
  grant that I may not so much seek
  to be consoled, as to console,
  to be understood, as to understand,
  to be loved, as to love.
  For it is in giving that we receive;
  it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
  it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
  Amen.