Dear <<First Name>>,
It has been a big week for BAC with another significant funeral this week. We had a limit of 10 people, but we were able to live stream which helped many people including those overseas. The enclosed video notices and sermon have been recorded today with our whole church family in mind.
Remember that Jesus is our great High Priest who opens access to the heavenly throne room. We don't need a special building to meet God in worship, we meet God through his Son Jesus by faith. As God's people are isolated physically, we are united in Christ.
Whether you are alone or with others, pray through this service aloud, heartfelt, slowly and mindfully.
Your Pastor,
Wayne
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Call to Worship: (leader reads)
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Luke 19:38.
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Opening Prayer: (say together)
Almighty God and merciful Father,
we give you hearty thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all people.
We bless you for our creation and preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all, for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such a sense of all your mercies,
that our hearts may be truly thankful
and that we may praise you
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
serving you in holiness and righteousness all our days,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
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Bible Reading: Matthew 21:1-17 (read aloud)
21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them’, and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’, but you make it a den of robbers.”
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
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Discussion
Spend some time in discussion of the sermon with those near you. Why does Jesus matter now more than ever?
When you are ready, move into a time of confession of sin together below.
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Confession of Sin and Assurance of the Gospel:
The leader invites:
We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:2-3
Let us now confess our sins to almighty God.
Heavenly Father,
you have loved us with an everlasting love,
but we have broken your holy laws
and have left undone what we ought to have done.
We are sorry for our sins
and turn away from them.
For the sake of your Son who died for us,
forgive us, cleanse us and change us.
By your Holy Spirit,
enable us to live for you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The leader declares:
God desires that none should perish,
but that all should turn to Christ, and live.
In response to his call we acknowledge our sins.
God pardons those who humbly repent,
and truly believe the gospel.
Therefore we have peace with God, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our Lord Jesus Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24
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Prayers: (leader or group members pray these and any other concerns on your heart)
Great God and Heavenly Father,
Please come powerfully to our nation in these dark and difficult days.
Please slow the spread of this virus throughout our land, and please protect the vulnerable from its deadly touch. Please lay your healing hands upon those who are now infected—please restore them to health and strength.
Please comfort the families of those who have died from this disease. Please fill their hearts with your presence and gather around them friends, family and neighbours who will comfort and support in their time of loss.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the gift of modern medicine, and thank you for the passion and dedication of medical staff everywhere. Please give each one of them your wisdom in every decision they make; please protect and sustain them, and give them the strength, energy and courage they need to carry on.
Please guide the minds of our leaders in the decisions they make that will affect all our lives. Please lead them to act wisely, carefully and in the best interests of all Australians. Please shine your light on the path ahead.
Please draw close to the anxious hearts and troubled minds of those who now face great financial stress; please protect them and their families from long term economic damage and guide them day by day and step by step through this crisis.
Please give each one of us the calmness and wisdom we need to carry us, together, through the days, weeks and months ahead.
Please plant into the heart of every Australian the spirit to love our neighbours as ourselves, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus in caring for those around us—friends and strangers alike—as you draw our community together in love.
Please, loving Heavenly Father, draw especially close to those who are alone or troubled at this difficult time. Calm their troubled hearts, and move their friends, family and acquaintances to call them to encourage and support them.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that you understand our suffering for you too have suffered—you have seen your beloved Son suffer rejection, humiliation and death on the cross to rescue us from the powers of darkness.
Please bring great good out of this great evil; please remind each of us that we do not need to make the journey of life on our own, in our own strength, but that you are here, as close to us as our own breath, to fill our hearts with your love, surround us with your powerful protective arms and guide us in your path.
And we ask all these things for this country, and these people, we love in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer: (pray together)
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen
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