MIDWEEK LITURGY GRACE CHURCH SEATTLE ______This liturgy is a basic template to help provide Christ-centered structure to our lives in the light of the disruption caused by COVID-19. By God’s grace, the upending of our daily routines allows us to recreate a new rhythm, a new liturgy to help guide our lives toward love of God and neighbor during this time. Out of this present chaos, God will bring order by His Spirit. This structure is merely a suggested format, please use and adapt accordingly.
MORNING PRAYER: The Rest That Still Stands “ And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2)
“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. (Hebrews 4:1)
* If in a group of two or more, choose a leader to read the plain text while everyone reads the bolded text. ______
In the beginning, God established the Universe in six days and on seventh, He rested,
God declared the Universe Very Good Wisdom rejoiced in the finished work, The angels shouted for joy And we are commanded to joyfully enter His rest.
Lord of the Sabbath As we embark on this new day, We long to share in your Promised Rest That extends from the Seventh Day to this very hour.
In faith, Free us from anxious labor Deliver us from stressful interactions. In keeping with your Sabbath, Give us that same satisfaction in our labors, Rescue us from boredom, Empty distraction, And the fear that tempts us To save ourselves by our own hand.
May we see the exquisite diamond That is your Rest Which enables us to abide In peace, service, and forgiveness By Christ’s Glorious Name, Amen.
Worship & Praise: Choose a song to sing together, or listen to. Example: “Abide With Me”, “When I Enter Your Rest”, “Be Still My Soul”
ABIDE WITH ME
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; guide and stay can be? The darkness deepens; Through cloud and sunshine, Lord with me abide. abide with me. When other helpers, fail and comforts flee, I fear no foe, Help of the helpless, abide with me. with Thee at hand to bless Ills have no weight, Thou on my head, tears lose their bitterness in early youth didst smile; Where is thy sting death? And, though rebellious, Where grave thy victory? and perverse meanwhile, I triumph still, abide with me. Thou hast not left me, though I oft left Thee, Hold Thou Thy cross, On to the close Lord, abide with me. before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, I need Thy presence, and point me to the skies. every passing hour. Heaven's morning breaks, and What but Thy grace, earth's vain shadows flee; can foil the tempter's power? In life, in death, Lord, abide with me. Who, like Thyself, my
WHEN I ENTER YOUR REST
Early in the morning i'll seek your face, I find my life in the fullness of your joy, Every stress and anxiety It is gone, When i enter your rest When i enter your rest I find my life in you, When i enter your rest, My peace is complete, When i enter your rest, Oh my faith is refreshed When i enter your rest, I am surrounded by the power of your love.
Scripture Reading: Leviticus 23:3; 25: 1-12, 17
3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.”
25 The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5 You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. 6 The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, 7 and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.
8 “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.
17 You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lordyour God.
Discuss as a group/family or think about this passage individually. Take time to read the passage twice. Provide paper and coloring supplies for children (or adults!) to illustrate whatever strikes them from the morning passage.
NOONDAY PRAYER: Striving For That Finished Rest “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)
“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”. (Hebrews 4:11)
* If in a group of two or more, choose a leader to read the plain text while everyone reads the bolded text. ______
As we continue on into our day, It has not taken long to see That we are in a wilderness Where we are forced to fight against Worry Grumbling Hoarding of provisions And frustrated efforts To save ourselves
God, forgive our complaining! Pardon our hardness of heart As we travel in this barren wilderness! We acknowledge our unbelief And wonder Is too late To recover the life and vitality We had when we first started this day?
(Take a moment of silence)
As Christ’s heart beats in Heaven above, The promise of rest still stands! For those who look to Him In hope and faith It is not too late.
On the Cross, You said, “It is Finished” The rest is secured By Your Body And Your Blood You forgive our unbelief, And welcome us into A New Sabbath!
Where our amends has been lacking Christ’s sacrifice finishes the work.
Where our good deeds only go so far, Christ’s sacrifice is never found wanting.
While we acknowledge our sacrificial love is incomplete Christ’s sacrifice sanctifies and fulfills our efforts By His finished work on the Cross. Amen!
Worship and Praise: Choose a song to sing or listen to that points to our need for grace, or reality of our present struggle. Example: “Psalm 46” or “Jesus, Your Blood”
PSALM 46
God is our refuge, [Chorus] our strength and our shield, There is a river an ever present help. who’s streams will make glad We will not fear the city of our most High King. though the earth gives way, God is within her, and she will not fail, and mountains crash into the sea. he helps her at break of the day. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Nations in uproar, men’s kingdoms, they fall; Come, let us see he speaks and the earth melts away. what the Lord, he has done; The worst we imagine, the ruins he brings to the earth. the strongest of storms; He makes wars to cease our fortress, it will still remain. to the ends of the earth; he shatters the bow and the spear.
[Chorus]
JESUS, YOUR BLOOD
Pierced for my transgressions Jesus, Wounded for my sins Your blood has made my hands clean This man of sorrows So I will not hide my face from You came to take my place King over creation You have won the victory Slain for my salvation You have paid the cost Unspeakable love, abounding grace While I was still in sin You died for me
Now I am coming to this holy place Carrying my sorrows I am drawing near to seek Your face Lifting off my shame Bearing all my sin to set me free
I will ascend the hill of the Lord ‘Cause You have rescued me
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 4:1-13 4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,
“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”
6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Before, during, or after lunch, read aloud this passage twice individually or as a group/family. Take some time to reflect. Allow children and youth to reflect on it by way of coloring or sketching. To further the meditation, find a video that connects with the theme or passage to reinforce your meditation.
A Good Suggestion: Sabbath by the Bible Project
EVENING PRAYER: The Rest We Look Forward To “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.” (Hebrews 4:8)
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21: 3-4)
* If in a group of two or more, choose a leader to read the plain text while everyone reads the bolded text. ______
Father, we have come to the end of our day. Thank you for the grace you have given to abide in your Rest to come to you and find peace in troubling times.
Help us, O Lord to rejoice! In the coming, fully realized Sabbath!
Help us, O Lord to rejoice! Trusting in your work, not our own!
Help us, O Lord to rejoice! Retiring at the end of the day, resting in your Hands!
Help us, O Lord to rejoice! To make every effort we can To trust in Your Promises’ And to vigilantly look for For a greater rest Than this world can provide. Hasten your return, Jesus, Your New Sabbath on this very Earth. Amen!
Worship & Praise: Find a song to sing together, or listen to. Example: “We Are Not Overcome”, or “Greatly to Be Praised”
WE ARE NOT OVERCOME
Flesh will fail and bones will break [Chorus] thieves will steal, the earth will shake Because of His great Love Night will fall, the light will fade We are not overcome The Lord will give and take away Because of His great Love We are not overcome Put no trust in the earth in the sod you stand upon Have no fear for your life Flowers fade into dust Turn your cheek, turn your cheek The Lord will make a place for us Bear the yoke of love and death The Lord will give all life and breath
[Chorus]
GREATLY TO BE PRAISED
Sing to the Lord a new song Let every tongue proclaim His praise Lift up His name with joyful praise Boast in the resurrection Sing of His sweet salvation In Jesus Christ who rules and reigns Morning to night and day to day [Chorus] Lift up your voice and thank Him Our God provides our every need Creation joins to praise Him Worship the God of mercy (Our God is great, our God is great) Who gave His life to set us free The sinner found salvation (Our God is great, our God is great) [Chorus] The church of Christ proclaims it Our God is greatly to be praised (Our God is great, our God is great) Nothing in all the earth His kingdom shouts and sings it compares to Him (Our God is great, our God is great) The God of glory and of grace Our God is great, Our God is great [Chorus] Shout the God of triumph Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-8 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Before, during, after dinner, read aloud this passage twice. Take some time to reflect. Additionally, a stimulating exercise is to grab random items from around the house, and to place them in a large bag or box. After reading the text, have each member of the group grab a random item for themselves. With their item, beckon everyone to use their imagination to say how this item is representative of their understanding of the passage, or their present thoughts or feelings.
Closing Prayer: Nunc Dimittis
Save us, Lord, while we are awake; protect us while we sleep; that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace. You have fulfilled your promise. My own eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples. A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness; the glory of your people Israel.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.