GUIDED WORSHIP :: March 29 2020
by South End Church
ORDER OF WORSHIP
CALL TO WORSHIP
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
PSALM 119.105-112
ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERING
MARK 4.21-25
MESSAGE :: “THE VISIBLE CHURCH”
BENEDICTION
CALLED TO WORSHIP
Did you know that one of the primary reasons churches on every continent gather together is because God calls us together for worship. No matter what your week looked like, God is calling (finger pointing) YOU to celebrate, to confess sin and receive forgiveness, to reconnect with people very different than you but call you brother or sister, kinship. One pastor I deeply respect once said “every call to worship is a call into the Real World….” So the invitation this morning, in the realness and wildness of our day, is to bring your whole self to God who is calling you.
LISTEN :: Take the next few minutes and listen to this ‘virtual choir’ from Nashville TN sing a favorite hymn “It Is Well” In the midst of social distancing, there is a reminder that we are one. Sing along or listen in silence and reflection.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Pray Along With Us: Dear Lord - This morning I pray for encouragement. Encouragement for our church and for ALL people in the world as we struggle with the changes that have surrounded the corona virus pandemic. Jesus - you know these details for each of us. Please take our burden off of us and carry it for us. Please take our stress, Christ! Give us the ability to live your promise- that we may be peaceful and joyful in any and all circumstances!!!! We have died and been born again in Jesus Christ. We are new creatures. We are different than others because we are free and joyful. We are available to be a testimony to others.
Jesus please give us power to spread the hope and encouragement that comes from You!! Help us be extra strong yet super flexible in the week ahead. Lord- please cover us with Your armor. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
From Ms. Linda Shaffer, Church Member
PSALM 119:105-112
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.
I have suffered much; preserve my life, Lord, according to your word.
Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws.
Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law.
The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts.
Your statutes are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
A reading of Psalm 119:105-112 by Mr. Toussaint Anderson.
SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. Rod Hoffman, Elder Chair & Ministry Director
The Elders wanted to give a brief update of what we discussed last Saturday. The meeting was by video conference. We were all very impressed with our technological skill. We looked at our renovated website, thanks to Pastor Brice for a very well-done start to something that will continue to be developed.
We discussed more ways to keep folks in contact. Small groups and Bible studies by conference call. A virtual prayer. Lessons posted online that can be viewed at your convenience. Any suggestions you might have are welcome, but anticipate more opportunities to gather virtually in coming weeks.
We noted that Sheba and Ramesh Telore are back from India, and as of Thursday The Columbine family from West Africa. Carmen Barrientos is staying with her son in Lowell. Mindy and Kevin Green took their family on the road to Chicago where they are staying with friends for a couple of weeks. As we gather together virtually, let us pray for one another scattered across the city and country and world.
This would normally be the time of year we would make nominations for church officers. But if the Boston Marathon can be postponed and the income tax filing date can be extended, we decided that the terms of all current elders and other offices should be extended for three months - through September, 2020. Any questions, comments, or additional announcements can take place by reaching Pastor Brice and myself :: office@southendchurch.org
PASSING THE PLATE.
THANK YOU FOR GIVING
Checks can be mailed to:
South End Church :: PO Box 180740 Boston MA 02118
Mark 4.21-25
“He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a
bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
The Word of the Lord
“THE VISIBLE CHURCH”
Rev. Brice Williams, Lead Pastor
The church is meant to be a visible expression of God’s love in the world, for the world. Visible is the key word, not hidden, not buried. Christianity is not your personal religion, we join something much MUCH bigger than ourselves.
Ears to hear - How are you creating moments of solitude (even 5 or 10 minutes) where your only objective is to listen for God? He
Visibility = more. Healthy churches do more during times of crisis. More phone calls and check-ins. More prayer and fasting. More community service. More ‘one-anothering’
Christ is our lamp. He gives more grace.
Got a Reflection?
We would love to hear it!
RECEIVE THIS GOOD WORD
“Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family
of those who believe.” :: Galatians 6.9
THE PEACE OF
WILD THINGS
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
WENDELL BERRY