Gold Avenue Church At Home Worship Liturgy 01.31.21

A Note before you begin:

This service was prayerfully planned and coordinated with worship planner Marissa Walters in conjunction with the pastors.

Our prayer is that this liturgy helps us to create cultures of worship in our homes or wherever we utilize them. May the Lord bless you as you enter into his presence and give him praise. May we each be met, blessed, challenged, and encouraged to grow as disciples and disciple makers of Jesus Christ.

Call to Worship:

The Call to Worship serves to focus our attention on the living God who is present with us; it calls us to position ourselves as those who are ready to worship and ready to receive from our Lord.

Read the following out loud as you fix your eyes on Jesus:

From Psalm 30:4-5

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Pray for the Lord to fill you, your household, and your home with His presence and His peace. Fix your eyes and the focus of your heart on Him.

Worshiping in Song:

He is Exalted

The Lord’s Greeting:

The Lord’s Greeting serves to remind us that we are in the presence of the living God. It makes space for him to greet us as our loving heavenly father who rules and reigns as the King over all and who is present with us as our loving heavenly father!

Fix your eyes on him as you read the following out loud:

From 2 John 1:3

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

Greeting One Another:

It might feel a little odd doing this at home, but take time to say these words to greet each other, as you shake hands, hug or elbow bump.

Consider sending a greeting text message to a church family member.

“The Lord be with you!”

and in response:

“and also with you!”

And if you’re alone:

“The Lord is with me!”

As it is in Heaven

Enough

Baptism of Rhys Davis Blake

This week Rhys Davis Blake, son of Neil and Annah Blake and brother of Eden Blake, was baptized.

In baptism God seals the promises He gave when he made his covenant with us, calling us and our children to put our trust for life and death in Christ our Savior, deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him in obedience and love. God graciously includes our children in his covenant, and all his promises are for them as well as us (Gen. 17:7; Acts 2:39). Jesus himself embraced little children and blessed them (Mark 10:16), and the apostle Paul said that children of believers are holy (1 Cor. 7:14). So, just as children of the old covenant received the sign of circumcision, our children are given the sign of baptism. We are therefore always to teach our little ones that they have been set apart by baptism as God’s own children.

As a church family, we have a responsibility to play our part in raising Rhys to know and love the Lord.

Though we cannot affirm this promise together in person, take a moment to consider the following question and to respond to the Lord:

“Do you, the people of the Lord, promise to receive Rhys in love, pray for him, help instruct him in the faith, encourage, and sustain him as part of the body of Christ?

In the presence of the Lord, respond by saying: “I/we do, God helping us!”

If you’d like to send a note to the Blake family, you can do so at: annah.m.blake@gmail.com

Testimony/Family Prayer Time:

How has the Lord been at work this week? Consider sharing your story with those around you or writing it down. Give glory to the Lord for the good work that He has done!

Take a few minutes to pray for the Blake family, our church family, neighborhood, and the world as the Lord leads.

Consider asking a church family member how you can be in prayer for them or inviting a church family member to pray for you.

Regular Offering:

Support ministry at Gold Avenue Church by giving to the general fund (Click the picture for more giving options):

Text: send amount (number only, no extra symbols) to (616) 319-2259 and follow prompts to give securely
Give online at https://goldavenuechurch.breezechms.com/give/online or give through PayPal here.
Mail a check payable to Gold Avenue Church at 49 Gold Avenue NW Grand Rapids, MI 4950

Song of Preparation

The Song of Preparation serves to prepare our hearts to receive the Word of the Lord. Continue to fix your eyes on Jesus and surrender your attention and heart to him as we transition and prepare to enter into His Word.

Be Unto Your Name

The Preaching of the Word:

Our current sermon series is written in connection to and alongside a helpful tool that we have developed called the Gospel Tool. Disciple Groups at Gold Avenue Church are working through lessons that are based upon the Gospel Tool, and we want to make this resource available to every listener. Click here to check out the Gospel Tool, the Visual Gospel overview, statements, & scriptures.

This week Pastor Gina will be drawing from the 5th paragraph of the Gospel Tool:

5. Rejection & Betrayal of Relationship & Role

Yet, with reckless abandon, our first parents cast off God’s loving rule, plunging the world into rebellion and inviting darkness to reign. As we’ve followed in their footsteps, no corner of the world has been spared from the devastating effects of human crookedness.

Access the audio of the sermon here: Sermon Audio Recording

Song of Response:

The song of response gives opportunity to consider, apply, and respond what we’ve just heard from the Word. If you need to and are able, take a few minutes to process what you’ve just heard and how the Lord may be inviting you to respond. Sing in response as you feel led.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

The Lord’s Blessing:

The Lord’s Blessing serves to make space for us the Lord to bless us to continue to walk in faithful obedience and to grow up into maturity.