REDEEMER AT HOME
AUGUST 29, 2021
“There is some good in this world,
and it's worth fighting for.”
— J. R. R. Tolkien
Welcome
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If you are new to Redeemer or would simply like to connect more to this community, let us know below. We'd love to share more about this church and get to know you better.
Preparation
Give yourselves a few moments to settle in. Take a few deep breaths. Check-in with yourself/household: name the thoughts that are filling your mind in this moment.
Take a few more deep breaths.
Now in this call to worship be reminded of our God who makes, sustains, and holds all things together.
Call to Worship
Psalm 148:1-3, 7, 10-13
Praise the Lord from the heavens!
Praise him from the skies!
Praise him, all his angels!
Praise him, all the armies of heaven!
Praise him, sun and moon!
Praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you creatures of the ocean depths,
wild animals and all livestock,
small scurrying animals and birds,
kings of the earth and all people,
rulers and judges of the earth,
young men and women,
old men and children.
Let them all praise the name of the Lord.
For his name is very great;
his glory towers over the earth and the heavens!
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In the Bible, God invites us to worship because it is not our natural impulse to come to Him. Still He calls, reminding us of His pursuing love. May we respond out of gratitude.
Opening Prayer
Creator and renewing Lord, what a gift to know you and your redeeming work in all people, places, and things! Open our eyes to the beauty, creativity, and delight of your good work. May we wholeheartedly enjoy you and freely use our imaginations, loves, and skills to push against the kingdom of darkness and proclaim the Kingdom of God. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.
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Prayer is simply conversation with God. Our worship is filled with prayer as we seek to know and delight in our Father.
Song of Praise
Verse 1
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou, burning sun with golden beam
Thou, silver moon with softer gleam
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Verse 2
Let all things their Creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son
And praise the Spirit, Three-in-One
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Verse 3
All the redeemed washed by His blood
Come and rejoice in His great love
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Christ has defeated every sin
Cast all your burdens now on Him
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Verse 4
He shall return in pow’r to reign
Heaven and earth will join to say
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Then who shall fall on bended knee?
All creatures of our God and King
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
By St Francis of Assisi. Add. words by Jonathan Baird and Ryan Baird.
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Music at Redeemer seeks to remind us of the beauties of the Lord and express our deepest emotions: joy and praise, sadness and anger, love and gratitude, fear and hope. We sing because we believe God is the greatest hero and joy the world has ever known. He is mighty enough to receive cosmic praise, and tender enough to handle our most fragile whimpers and hurts.
Prayer of Confession
Before you begin, remember that the Father already extends his forgiveness and smiling love through Jesus. There is nothing left to earn. All that remains is to receive.
Lord of all,
you have set both your love
and your redemption on all things—
from humanity to animal life,
from plants to human culture—
not one atom in the universe
sits outside of your redeeming plan.
Forgive us for neglecting to care for
and cultivate your world well.
Forgive us for taking part in systems that injure
rather than those that bring flourishing.
Silent Confession
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with wonder and delight,
to recognize how profoundly united we are
with every creature and thing you have fashioned.
May we protect your creation
and sow beauty throughout it
that all people, places, and things
might know your tender care
and all-encompassing love.
Through Jesus alone,
Amen.
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This prayer helps us bring the most shame-filled parts of our hearts and lives to Jesus. Although God already knows everything about us, when we confess to him our wrong, we experience afresh his unending forgiveness and welcome.
Assurance of Grace
based on I Peter 2:24
Lift your heads and your hearts and receive this good news:
Jesus himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might be dead to sin, and alive to all that is good. Know that through Christ, you are forgiven.
May the God of all grace settle you in a place of belonging, give you opportunity to bring forth beauty, and enable you to bear fruit for His Kingdom. Amen.
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The assurance is a powerful reminder that God always has grace for the wayward. He never leaves us in our sin. For all who trust in Jesus, this grace is assuredly and undoubtedly yours. Sin is not powerful enough to sway God's love and grace for you.
Song of Hope
Verse 1:
Come, Lord, and tarry not
Bring the long looked for day
O, why these years of waiting here
These ages of delay?
Verse 2:
Come, for your saints still wait
Daily ascends their sigh
The Spirit and the Bride say
“Come”— Do you not hear our cry?
Chorus:
O, Come and make all things new
Come and make all things new
O, come and make all things new
Build up this ruined earth
Come and make all things new
Verse 3:
Come, for creation groans
Impatient of your stay
Worn out with these long years of woe
These ages of delay
Verse 4:
Come, for love waxes cold
Its steps are faint and slow
Faith now is lost in unbelief
Hope’s lamp burns dim and low
Chorus:
O, Come and make all things new
Come and make all things new
O, come and make all things new
Build up this ruined earth
Come and make all things new
Words: Horatius Bonar | Music: Clint Wells
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Music at Redeemer seeks to remind us of the beauties of the Lord and express our deepest emotions: joy and praise, sadness and anger, love and gratitude, fear and hope. We sing because we believe God is the greatest hero and joy the world has ever known. He is mighty enough to receive cosmic praise, and tender enough to handle our most fragile whimpers and hurts.
Prompted Prayer
Take a few minutes to pray aloud for our needs and those of our world, prompted by the following.
- For a heart that delights in the goodness of God's creation.
- For Redeemer Longmont to seek the good of the people, city, and place of Longmont.
- For those celebrating the birth or adoption of a child, and for those who wait and yearn for this
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We pray for ourselves, our community, and our world because God asks us to.
Prayer is simply conversation with God. Our worship is filled with prayer as we seek to know and delight in our Father.
Song of Reflection
Listen to this song that yearns for the Lord to refashion the broken things into beautiful.
Verse 1:
All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
Verse 2:
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all
Chorus:
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
Verse 3:
All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You
Chorus:
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
Bridge:
You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
Chorus:
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
By Michael & Lisa Gungor
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Music at Redeemer seeks to remind us of the beauties of the Lord and express our deepest emotions: joy and praise, sadness and anger, love and gratitude, fear and hope. We sing because we believe God is the greatest hero and joy the world has ever known. He is mighty enough to receive cosmic praise, and tender enough to handle our most fragile whimpers and hurts.
Scripture Set-up
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For centuries, Christians have gathered to hear God's word preached, explained, and applied. We believe the word of God contained in the Bible are words of life, joy, and true freedom.
Scripture
Philippians 1:27-30
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
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Since the earliest days of Christianity, followers of Jesus have read Scripture as part of their worship. We believe God meets us in His word and that we are people who need to be shaped by this encounter.
Reflection
Take an extended time to prayerfully ponder and apply this passage. If you're with others, share your responses together. Feel free to journal or draw your thoughts and emotions.
Take a moment to reflect on the “citizenship” concept. Looking through the lens of your fears, longings, frustrations, and joys, where — or with whom — does your citizenship rest? What’s the place, thing, or person that anchors your hope?
If you’re a Christian, take a couple minutes to write out or discuss the practical implications of having a “citizenship in heaven” with Christ. If you’re not a Christian, engage this question through the lens of your “anchoring hope.”
- How does your citizenship anchor you in your everyday hopes and fears?
- How does this shape your perspective of pain and suffering?
- How does this change the way you neighbor or befriend?
Spend a minute or two in prayer reflecting on your citizenship in heaven with Jesus Christ.
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For centuries, Christians have found a variety of ways to slow down and consider God and His word. Especially if this is an unfamiliar practice, we encourage you try being present in this way, asking the Holy Spirit to fill the sacred moment.
Song of Response
This final song reminds us of God's presence and purpose moving forward in and among the various work we do.
Verse 1:
Your labor is not in vain
Though the ground underneath you is cursed and stained
Your planting and reaping are never the same
But your labor is not in vain
Verse 2:
Your labor is not unknown
Though the rocks they cry out and the sea it may groan
The place of your toil may not seem like a home
But your labor is not unknown
Chorus:
I am with you, I am with you
I am with you, I am with you
For I have called you, called you by name
Your labor is not in vain
Verse 3:
The vineyards you plant will bear fruit
The fields will sing out and rejoice with the truth
For all that is old will at last be made new
The vineyards you plant will be bear fruit
Chorus:
I am with you, I am with you
I am with you, I am with you
For I have called you, called you by name
Your labor is not in vain
Verse 4:
The houses you labor to build
Will finally with laughter and joy be filled
The serpent that hurts and destroys will be killed
And all that is broken be healed
Chorus:
I am with you, I am with you
I am with you, I am with you
For I have called you, called you by name
Your labor is not in vain
By Wendell Kimbrough, Paul Zach, and Isaac Wardell
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Music at Redeemer seeks to remind us of the beauties of the Lord and express our deepest emotions: joy and praise, sadness and anger, love and gratitude, fear and hope. We sing because we believe God is the greatest hero and joy the world has ever known. He is mighty enough to receive cosmic praise, and tender enough to handle our most fragile whimpers and hurts.
Benediction
Numbers 6: 24-26
Open your ears to hear and your heart to receive these words of God's blessing:
The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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God gets the final word of our service—and it is one of grace. Receive this blessing from the mouth and heart of our Father.
Sources: ESV Bible, NLT Bible, The Message
© 2021 Redeemer Longmont