Lord Have mercy…
On the lost in foreign lands
On the hopeless needing helping hands
On the broken- desolation’s child
On the unwed mother’s lonely mile
On the blind who stumble in the dark
On the ones who miss the mark
On the hungry, void of bread
mourners ’round their loved one’s bed
On secret shame, remaining still
On those embattled for Your will.
On an outcast soul’s despair
When broken hallelujahs fill the air
Amidst the wreckage, You are there
May we be angels unaware.
Call to Worship
Reader 1: We’d like to welcome to this worship service our honored guest,
Reader 2: the matchless King, His Holy Majesty,
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Christ.
Reader 4: And Peter said, “You are Christ the Son of the Living God.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The Anointed One sent from the throne of the Father.
All: Jesus, the Lord.
Reader 2: The Lord—whose arrival was announced by a host of angels.
Reader 3: The Lord—the Master of our lives.
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: Our peace—not a state of mind, but a person. For He is Peace.
Reader 3: Oh, war-torn nations, prepare yourselves for the coming of the Prince of Peace.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: Wonderful Savior. If you have ever come to the realization of who we are and who He is and what He does, how can you doubt that Jesus’ name is Wonderful.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: Counselor—The God who listens and directs. He is light in darkness, voice in silence, and wisdom in a land of lostness.
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: The Almighty God.
Reader 2: Who could He be? The Savior who controls the land and the sea.
Reader 3: Oh, brother,
Reader 4: sister,
Reader 1: friend,
Reader 2: are you fearful, distraught, and hopeless? Look to this Undefeated Warrior whose name is Jesus. The nations and kingdoms of this terminal society are a drop in the bucket, dust on the scale in comparison to the arsenal of Almighty God. So hop on board or get out of the way. His Kingdom’s coming through!
Reader 1: His name is Mighty Jesus,
Reader 3: The everlasting Father.
Reader 4: Have you mourned at the death bed of your earthly father? See the joy of a loving Father who never dies. He lives forever.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Word of God.
Reader 2: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was Jesus. Think of the mystery. God’s power resides in the vibrating vocal chords of the believer. So speak His name.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The fourth man in the furnace, the Damascus road intercom, the stone in our sling, the wave-walking, foot-washing, life-giving, soul-cleansing Son of God.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Friend.
Reader 2: No greater love hath any man but this man named
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: The Bread.
Reader 3: We will not starve because He nourishes and sustains us.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: The Mediator.
Reader 1: The One whose holy hands stretch to the throng of mankind from the throne of God.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Physician who touched my sin-scarred soul and made me truly whole.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: The Lamb.
Reader 4: The gentle sacrifice taking our place on the alter.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The Conqueror who puts all things under His feet, who crushed the head of the enemy and who reigns on high.
All: Jesus!
Reader 3: The Way.
All: Jesus!
Reader 2: The Truth.
All: Jesus!
Reader 4: The Life.
All: Jesus!
Reader 1: The Answer.
Reader 3: We welcome this morning to our worship service our friend, His Majesty—
All: Jesus!
Here’s a creative way to end a worship experience.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Keep us mindful of the hungry, the downcast, and those in need.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Teach us to seek those who are lost as You sought us.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Protect our hearts when those around us reject the message.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Strengthen our homes, our families, and our faith.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: Keep us ever mindful of Your coming, ever grateful of Your grace, ever thankful for Your blessings, ever seeking Your face.
Leader: As we leave this place . . .
Congregation: We pray, Lord, Emmanuel, You will always be with us.
Leader: Go ye, therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth.
Wordspring Creative by Matt Tullos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.tullos.org.
When He cried out in the garden in the cool of the evening, He was worthy.
When He flung a rainbow across a waterlogged world, He was worthy.
When He whispered in the ear of an old, old man and said, “It’s a boy,” He was worthy.
When He walked with a young songwriter/shepherd and heard “surely goodness and mercy” for the first time ever, He was worthy.
When He spoke through mules and on walls and in furnaces, He was worthy.
And when He, through unequaled grace, stepped into flesh and became like us, He was worthy.
When He spit in mud to open eyes,
When He loosed the captives, When He turned over the tables in the temple,
When He calmed the torrent, When He stooped to reconcile,
When He fed the masses,
When He washed the calloused, When He touched the untouchables
When He (wonder of all wonders—this precious truth!) open-handedly stretched out His arms on an old Judean beam (could it be?) and bore the anger, sin, rebellion, pride, and idolatry of us all, He was worthy.
He was worthy when He breathed His last.
He was worthy when the Roman seal was plastered on that borrowed tomb.
He was worthy when no one believed anymore.
And when the grave could hold Him no more, When He felt the vibration of His own creation,
When the veil was shredded, and when the accuser was silenced, ransoming the souls of a multitude of millions in one weekend, HE WAS WORTHY! And when I look at who I am, and then realize who He is, I can’t help proclaiming,
“You are worthy. You are worthy. You are worthy.”
So now two words that should always unite us, and despite style, taste, or reason, should never divide us—
Let’s worship!
(Adapted from Matthew 7)
Narrator: Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad the way which leads to destruction . . .
Actor 1: Hey, it’s open. Wow!! This is great!
Narrator: . . . and many enter through it.
Actor 1: Come on, guys; there’s plenty of room in this party! (He/she walks through the imaginary gate and then mimes being destroyed.) Hey! Wait a minute . . . this isn’t what I expected. AUGH!!
Actor 2: (He/she mimes squeezing through an imaginary gate, straining as he/she speaks.) But small is the gate and narrow the road which leads to life, and very few find it.
Actor 3: (This is the character of Jesus.) Not everyone who says to Me . . .
Actor 4: (in a whiny voice) Lord, Lord . . .
Actor 3: . . . will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day . . .
Actor 4: Lord, didn’t You see me at church a bunch? I’ve been to church camp, disciple-training seminars, Christian-techno-new-wave-psychedelic-pretribulation rock concerts. I even know what the Book of Obadiah is about. I was even planning to attend the Southern Baptist Convention; but then, of course, You came . . .
Actor 3: Leave!
Actor 4: Excuse me??!?
Actor 3: Away from Me, you evil doers.
Actor 4: Don’t You know who I am?
Actor 3: I never knew you.
Narrator: As Jesus continued to speak, the people were amazed.
Actor 3: Therefore . . .
Narrator: Jesus concluded,
Actor 3: . . . everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock.
(Actor 2 becomes the house; the other actors personify the storm.)
Narrator: The rain came down, the streams rose . . .
Actor 2: Somebody get a bucket!
Narrator: . . . and the winds blew and beat against the house. (Actors beat on the back of Actor 2.)
Actor 2: Help!! I don’t think I can make it.
Narrator: Hold on to the rock!!
Actor 2: I’m trying!
Narrator: But it did not fall!
Actor 2: Whew! That was close!
Narrator: It did not fall because its foundation was on the rock.
Actor 3: But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like the foolish man or woman, whatever the case may be, who built his . . .
Actor 1: or her . . .
Actor 3: . . . house on sand.
Actor 1: Sand?
Actor 3: Sand. (Actors mime action of storm with Actor 1 as house.)
Narrator: The rain came down,
Actor 1: I love the rain.
Narrator: . . . and the streams rose,
Actor 1: I think I can, I think I can.
Narrator: . . . and the winds blew . . .
Actor 1: No, not the wind! Anything but the wind!
Narrator: . . . and beat against the house . . .
Actor 1: Help me! Please!
Narrator: . . . and it fell with a great CRASH!
Actor 1: Crash! (falling to the floor)
Actor 3: He who has ears to hear . . . shhh . . . listen.
(c) Matt Tullos
wordspring creative 