Tag: John J Frady

My Gift To You: Christmas Eve Sermon Outline

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Have a Merry Christmas everyone. Here’s my gift to the world this Christmas. Here are the general notes from last night’s Christmas Eve Sermon. May God bless us, everyone.

The band (or individual instrument) plays Silent Night instrumentally as the campus pastor steps up to speak

Pastor Josef Mohr had a problem. It was December 23rd and the church organist, Franz Gruber, had told him earlier in the day that the church organ had broken pipes, making the instrument inoperable until extensive repairs could be made. In Obendorf, Austria in 1818, it was unheard of to have a Christmas Eve service without organ music.

Not knowing what to do, Pastor Mohr took a walk through the snow, enjoying the majestic silence of the evening. As he walked, he remembered a poem he had written two years earlier about the night when Jesus was born. The next day Mohr took the poem to Franz Gruber, who set the poem to music.

That evening, the small Oberndorf congregation heard Gruber and Mohr sing a duet of their brand new Christmas carol, Silent Night. If they had known how famous the song would become, they would have been grateful for those broken pipes. God took what was broken and made something beautiful.

Let’s sing the first verse of that song:

Silent night, Holy night, All Is Calm, All Is Bright,

Round Yon Virgin, Mother and Child

Holy Infant, So Tender and Mild

Sleep in Heavenly Peace,

Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

(instrumental music continues)

Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Many of us have sung this part of this Christmas carol for years. It is nice to think about the Baby Jesus sleeping peacefully. However, before His birth, it actually wasn’t so peaceful for Mary and Joseph. We don’t know everything that happened on the night that Jesus was born, but we do know what the Bible tells us in Luke chapter two:

(Campus Pastor reads Luke 2:1-14)

“At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.  That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Let’s sing together again.–

Silent night, Holy night, Son of God, Love’s Pure Light

Radiant Beams From Thy Holy Face,

With the Dawn of Redeeming Grace,

Jesus, Lord at Thy Birth,

Jesus, Lord at Thy Birth.

(music continues)

Jesus was Lord at His birth. We know this because of the words in John chapter one. Speaking of Jesus, John wrote:  “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2)

Jesus, being God, lowered Himself to become one of us. The angel who appeared to Mary even said He would be called Emmanuel, which means, “God with us.”

Why would Jesus lower Himself to be born as a human? It’s a question that’s been asked for thousands of years.

With the exception of Jesus, everyone who has ever lived has sinned in some way. The Bible says that “We all fall short of short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23)

What does this all mean? Is there any hope for us at all?

The first part of Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death…” When someone works at a job, after a predetermined point of time, they receive their wages, or payment, for what they’ve done. Therefore, we know that the wages we receive for our sin is death, or eternal separation from God.

Doesn’t look good for us, does it?

However, in the second part of Romans 6:23, we see that “the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As we sang earlier, Jesus was Lord at His birth. But He didn’t stay a baby. He grew up; lived a totally sinless life; and gave Himself as a perfect sacrifice for us. In other words, He took our punishment for us.

We learn from 1 John 1:9 that “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

Because of our sin, we’re all broken, but Jesus is the Restorer of everything that is broken. _____ years ago, I realized my own brokenness. I realized my own need for Jesus.

(Share in 3 minutes how you came to Christ)

Tonight, you may realize your own brokenness, but you have the opportunity to make things right with God this evening. God can take your broken life and create something beautiful.

(Lead the people through a salvation prayer and having them indicate their decision on their communication cards)

If you prayed that prayer with me and you meant it, this Jesus, who was Lord at His birth and who died on the cross for you, is now your Lord and Savior. He is able to turn your broken life around. He’s the whole reason we’re here tonight. Christmas is all about celebrating His birthday. Let’s remember this as we sing the third verse of Silent Night.

Silent night, Holy night, Shepherds Quake at the Sight,

Glories Stream From Heaven Above,

Heavenly Hosts Sing Hallelujah!

Christ the Savior is Born!

Christ the Savior is Born!

(At this point, your worship team can either go back into verse 1 or transition to the chorus of the song “He Loves Us”  by Kim Walker)

Prayer

Merry Christmas

 

 

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Seven Great Christmas Videos For Worship (including my personal favorite)

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There are a plethora of Christmas videos for worship out there, but I’ve found these seven helpful over the last couple of years. Enjoy.

Christmas In A Nutshell – http://www.danstevers.com/store/christmas_in_a_nutshell/

Dan Stevers never ceases to impress me with his ingenuity and simple messages. This video is great for a message opener, transition video, or plug for people to invite others.

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus – http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/35133/come-thou-long-expected-jesus  Creative painting changing often to keep everyone’s attention shows how all of history culminates in Jesus. Set to an interesting version of the Christmas Carol by the same title by Marcy Priest.

A New Promise – http://www.sermonspice.com/product/65069/a-new-promise – Surprisingly moving, the video from Lifeway Media uses highlights of scripture to point to the promise of Jesus’ birth.

Insta-Christmas – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGx98I_utNI – Great video from Discovery Church. A couple of years old now, but creative in how it tells the story of Jesus’ birth using ancient and modern pictures in an Instagram style. Download it for free at http://smarturl.it/instachristmasHD

The Real Night Before Christmas – https://www.ignitermedia.com/products/3740-the-real-night-before-christmas – With a classic story telling voice partnering with video of children, this Igniter Media video builds anticipation for the birth of the King of Kings.

Seek – http://www.danstevers.com/store/seek/ – Another great one from Dan Stevers. Seek reminds us through shepherds and wisemen that the Lord draws near those who draw near to Him.

And my personal favorite

The Christmas Story – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWq60oyrHVQ – The story of Christmas as told by the children of St Paul’s Church, Auckland, New Zealand. There have been many remakes of this video in the last year, but this one is my favorite, with cute costumes and original ideas.

Feel free to comment with links to your favorites. Merry Christmas.

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Non-seasonal brief service outline based on the book of John and the song “Amazing Love: You Are My King”

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Below is an outline of a brief service built around scriptures of John and the song Amazing Love (You Are My King). We did this service last night at one of our campuses and enhanced it by adding pictures from the recent Son of God movie. It’s a different thing to do before Thanksgiving, but seemed like a good reminder of our Lord’s death and resurrection at this time of year.

If you’ve done something similar in your congregation, be sure to leave a comment below. Thanks.

Amazing Love (You Are My King) Service Outline with Scriptures from John

Greeting and Explanation of Service – Explain that we have many things to be thankful for, but we should especially be thankful for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Sing – Amazing Love, You Are My King – Verse 1 (2x) and Chorus

Read – In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:1-5)

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:10-12)

Pray (music continues) – Thanking God for who He is –

Sing – Amazing Love, You Are My King Chorus

Read – Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”

When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”

The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”

When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”

Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”

When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement. It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!”

“Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!”

“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.

Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. (John 19:1-16a)

Sing: Amazing Love Verse and Chorus

Read:  So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull. There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”  (John 19:16b-19)

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit. (John 19:28-30)

Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42)

Sing: Amazing Love Bridge and Chorus

Read: Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed. (John 20:1-8)

Read: That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John 20:1-8)

Prayer: Praising God for the Resurrection and committing ourselves to go wherever Jesus would have us to go and to do whatever He would have us do.

Proclaim: So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (John 1:14)

Sing: Amazing Love Bridge and chorus two or three times

Ending Prayer

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(All Scripture taken from New Living Translation. Photos courtesy of Unsplash.com)

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I ripped my pants at the pizza buffet

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Last week, I ripped my pants at the pizza buffet.

It’s not what you think. I didn’t split my pants from overeating (although some of it was pretty good).

Instead, I ripped them on the seat cover in the booth where I was sitting. The table was so large that I had to sit down on the edge before sliding over to the middle of the seat. There were some rips in the cover and a few loose springs which poked through in the middle of my seat adjustment.

You can imagine my great surprise when I suddenly felt metal pinching my backside. I believe my exact words at the time were “Ow! ow! ow!”

I scooted back slightly and disconnected myself from the spring.

My wife, who had only heard me screaming and grabbing my own derriere, asked, “What’s going on? Are you ok?”

“Yes,” I replied, “This seat has just ripped my pants!”

“Oh my!” she cried loudly. “You ripped your pants? Stand up and let me see!”

The lady in the next booth, overhearing our conversation, inadvertently turned to see as well.

I dropped my head and looked at the floor, immediately seeing a small roach run across my feet. Suddenly, I lost my appetite for the food I had just selected.

I covered my uneaten food with my napkin and slowly stood to my feet, thankful that blood was not gushing down my leg and wishing my t-shirt was longer.

I was headed for the door, but my wife called our waitress over, who found the entire incident very amusing.

The manager walked over and said, “So what’s the problem?”

My wife, of course, pointed at my lower posterior.

The manager, much to my chagrin, carefully examined the rip and apologized before asking if he could pay for my pants.

I declined his offer and practically ran to our car, afraid he might have to take a picture of the damage for insurance purposes.

Needless to say, I probably won’t ever eat there again. If I do, I’m sitting in another booth and wearing industrial strength pants.

However, when my booty was safely hidden from the world in the comfort of my car, I realized that the same type thing happens in churches every week.

  • A senior adult slips on spilled coffee and breaks their hip
  • A careless driver accidentally dents the side of a visitor’s car
  • A high school senior sits on a collapsible table which, true to its name, collapses
  • A child trips on a camera cord protruding into the aisle and falls to his face, all of which is simulcast onscreen.
  • A preschooler is given snack food to which he is highly allergic.
  • A woman trips on an loose A/V cord

As church leaders, we have to help our leaders be on the lookout for accidents waiting to happen. We need to have emergency plans in place in case of the worst. And we also need to have our insurance policies in place to cover our own hind end, just as I was trying to do in the restaurant.

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The Most Common Mistake Church Sound Engineers Make

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Being a church sound engineer is sometimes a thankless job.

Most people only notice these committed members of the worship team if they’ve made a mistake (or if the system malfunctions).

And, oh, people love to point out sound mistakes and malfunctions.

They never get a break.

And they’re not about to now. (Sorry, guys)

The most common mistake, in my opinion, that church sound engineers make is only focusing on the music.

Very often, musicians receive pristine treatment while the speaker’s mic and pack receive little or no attention. In many churches (and conferences and camps), the sound engineer leaves his post when the speaker begins in order to chat with the musicians.

Worship services are often designed, from beginning to end, to lead to a common goal, which are most often communicated in the sermon. If that’s the case, isn’t it obvious that the words spoken in a worship service should be as clear as the music that is played?

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Meet Challenges Together, Celebrate With Bacon

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I looked across the kitchen and thought, “I’m not sure we’re going to pull this off.”

While on our annual staff retreat, the worship ministry team had the responsibility for cooking breakfast for the rest of staff. We had grandiose plans of preparing 72 eggs, 120 pancakes, 72 biscuits, a variety of fresh fruit, assorted yogurts, prepackaged granola bars, milk, juice, coffee, and (cue the music) 10 lbs of bacon.

We were prepared to knock it out quickly with the retreat center’s oven, stove top, microwaves, and electric griddles. Sounds reasonable, right?

However, when we arrived, there was no oven, there was no stove top, and the microwaves were broken. Our alternative equipment was a Crock Pot, two older electric griddles, and two coffee pots.

So, an hour before breakfast, we started cooking, using every outlet we could find, which worked well for about five minutes, when we threw a breaker.

Quickly, we rearranged the kitchen, borrowed a few cooking items, started cooking bacon in the dining hall, moved the coffee to the meeting room, found the breaker room, reset the breaker, and continued cooking.

We spent the next hour working as a team, taking care of issues as we found them and resetting the breaker from time to time. Right on time, our delicious meal was presented to the rest of the staff. As they enjoyed their meal, I felt a surge of satisfaction and munched a piece of bacon to celebrate.

At the end of the retreat, when we were asked to share our best memory from the retreat, I said that mine was making breakfast with our team. We’re used to overcoming the odds (and the clock) in worship services, but this was a real team building exercise for us, with better results than a professional ropes course.

Working as a team through difficult situations will either tear you apart or bring you closer together. Why not use them (or even create them) to bring you closer together.

Solomon, the wise son of King David, once wrote, Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

My advice to all of us is this:

  • Do hard things together.
  • Create challenges.
  • Work together.
  • Be victorious.
  • Celebrate with bacon
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Baptism vs. the Brain-Eating Amoeba

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This summer, the campuses of the church where I serve have been emphasizing the importance of baptism. As a result, we’ve seen an overwhelming amount of people respond with a desire to be baptized. However, in order to continue our emphasis at one of our campuses, we had to go to war against a brain eating amoeba.

Recently, the residents of St. Bernard Parish have been undergoing a 60 day chlorine flush in their water system because of a dangerous amoeba found in the water. As you can probably imagine, this created a huge problem for campus pastor Patrick Eagan. How could he immerse people in water when there could possibly be a poisonous amoebe in the water? This problem was heightened by the fact that parish officials had warned St. Bernard residents not to let the water go up into their noses.

So, Pastor Patrick had to make a decision. He had scheduled baptisms for Sunday. He didn’t want to prevent people from taking their next step with Jesus, so, knowing he would have the full support of our church, he purchased 102 gallons of Kentwood water to fill his baptistery, plus a few more for coffee and public consumption.

That same Saturday evening in St. Bernard, a man came to the service and said, “I’m tired of being a Jesus Fan. I’m ready to be a Jesus Follower. Can I be baptized tonight?” He was baptized that very day in pure Kentwood water.

I’m proud to be a part of a church where creative solutions can be found to help people take the next step in their faith development.

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Brazil Nuts

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“I have a surprise for you,” said my mother as she entered my room with her hands behind her back.

“What is it?” I asked as I looked up from my bed.

I was ten years old and was taken aback. Seeing my mom in my room was unusual for me. And I didn’t understand why her hands were behind her back.

“Well,” she said, “Today at work, someone gave me something to eat and I thought of you.”

“You did?”

“Yes,” she replied, “And when you eat these, you’ll dream of other countries and distant far away lands.”

She had my full attention.

“What is it?” I asked.

She then tossed a package of Brazil nuts into my lap.

We both laughed, but that memory came to me this past week when one of our Brazilian Mission Team members offered me a Brazil nut.

“Huh,” I mumbled as I munched on the nut. “I’m actually eating a Brazil nut while in Brazil.”

Manaus, Brazil is a city of roughly two million people. Like most cities, there are wealthy people and poor people and lots of other somewhere in between.

While in Manaus, I had the opportunity to work with Pastor Edson Fernandes from the Igreja Batista Agape. Agape means Unconditional Love. Pastor Edson, his wife Neide, and the congregation of their church live up to that name very well. They show unconditional love to the people of their community and to each other.

They took a risk in welcoming us into their church. Over a week’s time, we were able to minister to the children of the community during the day, visit with many people in the city and in schools during the week, present a special dramatic presentation to a packed house, and see many children, teenagers, and adults commit their lives to Jesus Christ.

I was honored to spend several days ministering alongside them. We left them with many supplies, clothes, and other items they could use for themselves, for outreach, or for their ministry. One of our team members even purchased lots of supplies to help them begin their own food bank ministry. As we were leaving, the Pastor and his wife said to us, “We will take many of the items you have left and use them to reach out to a mission church we support. It’s 20-30 minutes by boat down the Amazon River.

Seeing the love they have for others and their willingness to share what little they have to share the love of Jesus brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. I thank God for my time with Pastor Edson and Neide Fernandes and Igreja Batista Agape. I pray I can live up to the standards of love they demonstrate in and through their church.

Thanks, Mom, for tossing me that package of Brazil Nuts so long ago and sparking my interest in the nation of Brazil. Your investment has given me great joy on this day.

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The Absolute Best Worship Style

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Almost everyone has an opinion about worship style. Interestingly enough, most people do not refer to (or even care about) biblical worship, but comment more about music style, sermon methodology, tradition (or the absence thereof), and permissible clergy (and laity) clothing.

When Isaiah saw the Lord in Isaiah 6, he experienced the greatness of God, realized the extent of his own sinfulness, and witnessed his sin being atoned for. However, the end result of his worship experience was Isaiah saying, “Here am I, send me.” God wants our ultimate worship. He formed us after Himself so we could experience His presence and accomplish His purposes. When we realize who He is and all He has done for us, our only reasonable response to Him is worship.

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 12:1, shared these words: Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God; this is your spiritual worship.

Fully surrendered worship of all that we are for all that He is.

That is the absolute best worship style.

Related Posts: 

I Am Greater Than You 

Leading People Into God’s Presence Is Not Enough

Night of Worship Outline based on Isaiah 6:1-9

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Night of Worship Outline Based on Isaiah 6:1-9

Sometimes people ask me how we put together an outline for a night of worship. For Celebration Church, we often base it around a scripture or a theme and then pray about what needs to be included. On these nights, the worship leaders and scripture readers have the freedom expand on what is written and said. Here is our concept outline from last night’s service before it was entered into planning center. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Night of Worship and Prayer Based on Isaiah 6:1-9

Opening 4 Song Praise Set – 20

Freedom (Bethel) 

We Believe

Holy Spirit, You Are Welcome Here

You Make Me Brave

Welcome and Explanation of Service/Optional Offering – 2-3

Adoration Section

Scripture Reading – It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending Him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.  –  Isaiah 6:1-4 NLT

  • Prayer acknowledging the Holiness of God – 2
  • Revelation Song – 5

Confession and Thanksgiving Section

Scripture Reading – Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” – Isaiah 6:5 NLT – 1

  • Lead time of corporate confessional prayer – 4
  • How Can It Be? Song with lyric video.  Example –

    – 5

Scripture Reading – Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said,”See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” – Isaiah 6:6-7 NLT – 1

Story – In 1860, a lady named Susan Warner became friends with a Christian teacher and learned of a sick boy who was in serious condition. She was so concerned for the boy that she asked her sister Anna to write a song that would bring comfort to him. The song did bring a smile to his face and continues to bring smiles and comfort to children and adults alike today. But more than the comfort and smiles, it reminds us of the assurance that Jesus, God the Son, loves us so much that He gave His life for us to cleanse us of our sin. – 1

  • Jesus Love Me – Hymn acoustic Verse 1 and Chorus 2x (last time a cappella) – 2

Scripture Reading – Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” And He said, “Yes, go…”  –  Isaiah 6:8-9a – 1

In committing ourselves to go and follow the Lord, we must be willing to do whatever He wants for us to do. That includes going to the ends of the earth and walking across the street from our house. It includes giving to advance the kingdom of God. And it includes being willing to pray for the nations and our neighbors. Tonight, we’re going to have that type of prayer.

Supplication

Campus Pastor or representative to lead people through the following times of prayer.

  • Praying for the Nations – Ask people to pray for the nations of the world. Direct them to choose a particular nation and pray for God to work there – 3
  • Praying for our Neighbors – Direct people to pray for the needs of those in their oikos. – 4
  • Personal Prayer – Direct people to take time praying for themselves. – 4
  • Pastoral Prayer – Directs people to lift their hands in the air as you pray over their needs. – 2

Prayer Song – Here’s My Heart, Lord – 5 – 

Repeat Scripture Reading – Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” And He said, “Yes, go…”  –  Isaiah 6:8-9a – 1

Spoken – In submitting ourselves to go, we must be willing to go wherever He leads us. As we prepare to leave this evening, we must remember that we are His ambassadors sent into a lost and dying world to share the good news that Jesus loves us so very much…
Closing Song – Upbeat – 5 (Suggested Song – Live With Abandon, Newsboys)

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