Description
Matthew 28:16-20
In the Gospel of Matthew, the risen Jesus is worshipped by his disciples. Jesus states that all authority has been given to him. Jesus gives them the “Great Commission,” to make disciples of all nations. And in this command, the Trinity is there, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And Jesus makes a tremendous promise- I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
We Lift Our Hearts in Worship
[Preservice options include video countdowns, worship song videos, welcomes), CDs, or live music.]
Welcome & Time of Greeting
Time of Praise and Worship
Our God Saves
Brenton Brown and Paul Baloche, ©2007 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Integrity’s Hosanna! Music Leadworship Songs (Admin. by Integrity Music, Inc.)
Holy Spirit
Bryan Torwalt & Katie Torwalt © 2011 Capitol CMG Genesis (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Jesus Culture Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
House of the Lord
Jonathan Smith | Phil Wickham, © 2020 Be Essential Songs (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)
Cashagamble Jet Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) Phil Wickham Music (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Simply Global Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Sing My Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC])
[Traditional Options]
Holy, Holy, Holy
BH 75 1; BH 91 2; CH 3; CHH 4; EH 362; ELW 413; HWC 262; HPW 2; HFG 323; HLC 1; HGP 51; HSP 12; LBW 165; LSB 507; LW 168; NCH 277; PH 580; RH 213; RS 624; STTL 2; WC 2; UMH 64; WAR 136; WHM 47; WIS 8
God Loved the World So That He Gave
BH75 445; ELW 323; LBW 292; LSB 571; LW 352; NCH 208
Christ Is Our Cornerstone
LSB 917; LW 290
Invocation
Pastor / Worship Leader
O Lord, our Sovereign God, You are neither made nor fashioned by anyone.
Worshipers
Wonderful beyond measure, You are faithful Father, servant Son, and enlivening Spirit.
Pastor / Worship Leader
Holy Father, send your Holy Spirit to us who know not how to pray as we ought, that he may help us in our frailty, and ask for us those gifts which will make us pleasing to you.
Worshipers
Christ, Son of the living God, you asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon your Church,
make us worthy to have this Spirit of Truth with us always.
Pastor / Worship Leader
Come, Holy Spirit, that we may show your fruit in our lives: charity, peace, equanimity, kindness, generosity, long-suffering, patience, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.
Worshipers
Father all powerful, you have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts, so that we cry: Abba, Father, make us submissive to your Spirit, that we may be your heirs, and co-heirs with Christ.
Pastor / Worship Leader
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
Worshipers
Amen!
Opening Prayer / Theme Introduction
Pastor / Worship Leader
O God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in whose name we are baptized and into whose fellowship we have been received. We cling in faith to you, the only God. We praise you dear Father, for having loved us and sent your Son to die for our sins. We praise you dear Jesus, for having redeemed us from our sins by sacrificing yourself for us. We praise you, Holy Spirit, for having sanctified us for you gave us faith and through faith cleansed us from sin. O Triune God, graciously enable us always to believe and obey, and to worship and confess you; Creator, Redeemer and Sanctified, one God, eternal and all-glorious forever. Amen.
Worshipers
Amen!
Time of Confession and Forgiveness
[Alternate location: following Message]
Pastor / Worship Leader
Lord, we confess.
Worshipers
Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Pastor / Worship Leader
Have mercy on us, Lord. We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Worshipers
We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives, our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
Pastor / Worship Leader
Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done, for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, for all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us.
Worshipers
Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us; Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great. Accomplish in us the work of your salvation, that we may show forth your glory in the world.
Pastor / Worship Leader
Lord have mercy and forgive us through Christ. Amen
Worshipers
Amen!
We Hear God’s Word
[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture]
First Reading Genesis 1:1-2:4a
In the very first chapters of the Bible, the creation of heaven and earth, and all that is in them, is described. It is notable that the Spirit of God is recognized in verse 2, hovering over the waters. The Trinity can begin to be recognized also, in verse 26, when the plural is used for God when describing the creation of man. God recognizes all he created as very good, and He rests on the seventh day.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
