Description

Mark 1:14-20

Jesus said “Come, Follow Me” and the disciples dropped what they were doing and followed Him.  Wow!  Was it really that easy?  Or, had God been preparing the hearts of the disciples for quite some time.  God has always been at work behind the scenes, preparing his people to “Go” when He calls.  How does he prepare us?  And how do we prepare ourselves so that when Jesus says “Come”, we’re ready to “Go”?

 

… We Lift Our Hearts in Worship …

[Preservice options include videos (countdowns, worship music, welcomes), worship music CD, or live music by worship band.]

 

Time of Praise and Worship

Arise

Don Moen & Paul Baloche, ©2003 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music Come and See

Lenny Leblanc, ©1989 and this arr. ©1997 Doulos Publishing, a div. of Maranatha! Music

Lord, Reign In Me

Brenton Brown, ©1998 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire) (Admin. by Vineyard Music UK)

Come, Let Us Worship And Bow Down

Dave Doherty, ©1980 Maranatha! Music

Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing

Charles Wesley & Felix Mendelssohn, ©Public Domain

Available on www.PraiseCharts.com, www.LifewayWorship.com, www.MusicNotes.com

 

[Traditional Options]

Hark The Voice of Jesus Calling

BH 91 591; HFG 669; HLC 493; LBW 381; LSB 826/827; LW 318; RH 365 

Today Your Mercy Calls Us

LBW 304; LSB 915; LW 347

  

Invocation and Introduction of Today’s Theme 

Pastor  (or Worship Team) Great are the works of the Lord!

All                                           Holy and awesome is His name! 

Pastor                                   The LORD our God is one LORD.

All                                            We gather in His name.

Pastor                                     Father, Son, and Spirit

All                                            Praise the name of the LORD!

 

Prayer Opening 

Pastor              Great and Mighty God, we thank you for keeping vigil over our lives; for protecting us, providing for us, teaching us, and preparing us for                                   what lies ahead.  By the power of Your Spirit, give us teachable hearts and minds so that we may obediently follow Your Son, Jesus – who                                   lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit as the One True God now and forever. 

ALL                  Amen.

 

Time of Greeting  

Time of Confession and Forgiveness

[Alternate location:  following Message] 

Pastor:           We are called to follow Jesus, but the truth is we follow many things.  Perhaps we follow some things more fervently than we follow our                                       Savior.  We follow our favorite celebrities, we follow our favorite TV show, we even follow perfect strangers on Twitter.  Let us confess our                                   divided hearts to the Lord and seek His forgiveness.

All:                   Lord, we confess that we have sometimes followed idols of this world more zealously than we have followed after You.

                         Lord, we confess that we have put our faith in people of this world rather than trusting in You.

                         Lord, we confess that we have chased after material things rather than being content with Your provision. 

                         Lord, we confess that we have sometimes run from Your call rather than join You in Your work. 

                         Lord, we confess that we have not always recognized Your voice.

                         Forgive us for our divided and selfish hearts.

Pastor:           To repent means to “change your mind, and go the opposite direction”.  But God does not wait until we get it all perfect before He forgives                                us.  Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, He has forgiven your sin.  Now, may the Holy Spirit grant you the strength and courage to walk in true                                          repentance and grace. 

All:                  Thanks be to God, holy and awesome is His name.

 

… We Hear God’s Word …

[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture] 

First Reading:  Jonah 3:1-5, 10 

At first, Jonah resisted God’s instruction, but reconsidered after being tossed overboard a boat and swallowed by a big fish.  This passage finds God giving Jonah a second chance to deliver a message of repentance to the Ninevites. 

1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”  3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.