Guide for Home Worship
May 17, 2020
Please note: the song and sermon audio may not be available until Saturday evening.
Printable Worship Guide
Welcome
Thank you so much for joining us! The following page will take you through the order of worship for this Sunday. To access the recorded songs and sermon, use the embedded audio players in each section.
If you are new, welcome! We also want to invite you to learn more about us. You can do so by selecting the button below.
A few tips for parents:
- Plan for your time – read through the guide and prepare the room where you are gathering
- Make your time joyful – have fun!!!
- Remember, it’s primarily about a relationship, not a task to scratch off
- Have your kids participate in age and maturity appropriate ways – reading, singing, etc.
- You are welcome to print out our Children’s Worship Bulletin here
Time of Reflection
“But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task, if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us, that when the storm is long past, the ocean is flat again.”
~John Maynard Keynes, influential English economist
“Hope is called the anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19), because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a ‘wish’ (I wish that such-and-such would take place); rather, it is that which latches on to the certainty of the promises of the future that God has made.”
~R.C. Sproul (1939-present)
“I do think that while we are in this ‘valley of tears,’ cursed with labor, hemmed round with necessities, tripped up with frustrations, doomed to perpetual plannings, puzzlings, and anxieties, certain qualities that must belong to the celestial condition have no chance to get through, can project no image of themselves, except in activities which, for us here and now, are frivolous. For surely we must suppose the life of the blessed to be an end in itself, indeed The End: to be utterly spontaneous; to be the complete reconciliation of boundless freedom with order–with the most delicately adjusted, supple, intricate, and beautiful order?
…It is only in our ‘hours-off,’ only in our moments of permitted festivity, that we find an analogy. Dance and game are frivolous, unimportant down here; for ‘down here’ is not their natural place. Here, they are a moment’s rest from the life we were place here to live. But in this world everything is upside down. That which, if it could be prolonged here, would be a truancy, is likest that which in a better country is the End of ends. Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”
~C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer
“My feelings are not God, God is God. My feelings do not define truth. God’s word defines truth. My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes—many times—my feelings are out of sync with the truth. When that happens—and it happens every day in some measure—I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather I plead with God. Purify my perceptions of your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth.”
~John Piper, pastor and author
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply:
The flame shall not hurt thee: I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”
~“How Firm a Foundation” by John Rippon (1751-1836), pastor in London
Opening Prayer
(select someone from your group to open your service in prayer)
Call to Worship
Psalm 3 (ESV)
LEADER: O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.”
PEOPLE: But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
LEADER: Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
ALL: Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people!
Songs and Liturgy
(sing as a group and/or sing along to recorded versions)
COME BEHOLD THE WONDEROUS MYSTERY
(Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, and Michael Bleecker)
Come behold the wondrous myst’ry
In the dawning of the King.
He the theme of heaven’s praises,
Robed in frail humanity.
In our longing in our darkness,
Now the light of life has come.
Look to Christ who condescended,
Took on flesh to ransom us.
Come behold the wondrous myst’ry,
He the perfect Son of Man.
In His living in His suff’ring,
Never trace nor stain of sin.
See the true and better Adam,
Come to save the hell-bound man.
Christ the great and sure fulfillment
Of the law in Him we stand.
Come behold the wondrous myst’ry,
Christ the Lord upon the tree.
In the stead of ruined sinners,
Hangs the Lamb in victory.
See the price of our redemption,
See the Father’s plan unfold.
Bringing many sons to glory,
Grace unmeasured love untold.
Come behold the wondrous myst’ry,
Slain by death the God of life.
But no grave could e’er restrain Him,
Praise the Lord; He is alive!
What a foretaste of deliv’rance,
How unwavering our hope.
Christ in power resurrected,
As we will be when He comes.
©2012 Bleeker Publishing (Admin. by Michael Bleeker) CCLI #1791178
RESPONSIVE READING: Psalm 62 (ESV)
LEADER: For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
PEOPLE: He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
LEADER: How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.
PEOPLE: For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
LEADER: On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
ALL: Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
JESUS PAID IT ALL
(Alex Nifong, Elvina M. Hall, John Thomas Grape, Kristian Stanfill, 1865)
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”
CHORUS:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone. (CHORUS)
Oh praise the One Who paid my debt,
And raised this life up from the dead.
For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb. (CHORUS)
Oh praise the One Who paid my debt,
And raised this life up from the dead.
And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
Jesus died my soul to save,
My lips shall still repeat. (CHORUS)
©2006 worshiptogether.com songs, sixstepsmusic (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI#1791178
Prayer Time
(have an open time of prayer or appoint one or two to pray)
- Pray for the racial and cultural tensions in our nation, especially in light of the trauma surrounding the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery. Pray for Ahmaud’s family, as well as for all that are struggling to feel safe and valued. Pray that all of us would grow in empathy, understanding and compassion for one another—that we might be those that experience “just mercy” and so seek to live out (Titus 3:1-8; James 3:17-18).
- Pray for wisdom for our government officials as they seek to lead us in a peaceful, just and liberty-driven manner, so that the gospel and the fruit of the gospel may flourish in our land (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
- You may know that we are in the final days of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims characterized by fasting and praying. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is one of the highest forms of Islamic worship. The last ten days, which we are currently in, are believed to be especially blessed. The 27thnight (May 19th) is “layout al-qadr,” meaning “night of power” or “night of destiny.” It marks what Muslims believe to be the night when Muhammed received his first revelation of the Qur’an. Let us pray together that during this time of spiritual intensity within the Muslim community, combined with the intensity of the COVID pandemic, that our Muslim friends would come to know the saving grace of Jesus. Let us pray for our Christian workers all across the globe as they have spiritual conversations during this time of heightened awareness of spiritual matters.
Listen to Sermon
“The Dreams of Grass”
preached by Pastor Ryan Bouton
Download
1 Peter 1:3-9, 22-25 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls…
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Sharing Time
(have everyone share one thing that struck them from the sermon)
Song
(sing as a group and/or sing along to recorded versions)
BEHOLD THE LAMB (COMMUNION HYMN)
(Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Stewart Townend)
Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away,
Slain for us, and we remember
The promise made
That all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of peace
Around the table of the King.
The body of our Savior Jesus Christ,
Torn for you, eat and remember;
The wounds that heal
The death that brings us life
Paid the price to make us one.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of love
Around the table of the King.
The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you, drink and remember.
He drained death’s cup
That all may enter in
To receive the life of God.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King.
And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
To respond, and to remember
Our call to follow
In the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth.
As we share in His suffering,
We proclaim Christ will come again!
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King.
©2007 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI License #1791178
Benediction
(The leader or individual should read this aloud relishing in the confident assertion that Christ has conquered.)
from 2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)
LEADER: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
PEOPLE: Amen!
Worshipping God through Giving
God has called us to be generous. He has entrusted this earth and all that is in it to us, but it is, ultimately, His! The Father gave what was most precious to Him, His own Son, in order to die for our sins. He has given to us abundantly beyond all that we could possibly ask or imagine! He is a benevolent and generous Giver! So, we give.
First, we want to remind you to continue your regular giving to TQC. This supports the ongoing work and ministry here in the Upper Valley and around the world through our missions support. Second, please consider giving to our Benevolence Fund, which supports local community care, both inside and outside the church. This is vitally important right now! As we see needs sprouting up around the community, we want to be positioned to extend a loving hand of support to those in need.