Sitting in different chairs, joining in at different times throughout the day, God’s people still gather for worship on this, the Lord’s day. Welcome, to Sunday worship.
Call to Worship – parts in bold to say aloud
Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
We come, Lord Jesus,
we are weary and heavily burdened
and long for the rest you give.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
We take your yoke upon us, Lord Jesus,
make it easy and lighten our load.
I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
We come to find that rest for our souls.
Be gentle, Lord Jesus, and humble our hearts.
HYMN – Gracefully Broken
All-Age Prayer
It’s hard to understand healing
when so many are sick.
It’s hard to understand blessing
when so many are in need.
It’s hard to trust
when trust is so often broken.
Yet you come to us
in the midst of sickness,
in the midst of need,
in the midst of brokenness.
And you see us—
you see to our very hearts.
And you love us—
you love us to our core.
Take these gifts and use them
for the healing of the nations.
Take our lives and use them
as blessings for brokenness.
Take our hearts
and fill them with your love that never ends.
Amen.
Reading: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 read by Sheila Christensen
Dramatised Reading:
Reflection:
Reflective prayer:
HYMN – I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Sunday School Activities for all ages:
Yoked!
You will need: tying material/stretchy fabric.
A classic three-legged race using a stretchy fabric for safety. God’s compassion with us and for us leads us to have compassion for others and calls us to share each other’s burdens as God shares ours. A three-legged race is an excellent way to demonstrate cooperation and shared experience.
Worry Jar
You will need: a glass jar for each person (lids are optional), Posca paint markers, ribbon, scissors, small slips of paper (approximately 8 cm x 8 cm), pens, pencils, PVA glue, and glue spreaders.
Give each person a jar and ask them to write the words ‘WORRY JAR’ on one side in a decorative outline way and then fill in the letters with colour. If they wish they could decorate the back and sides of the jar too, but do not make it too attractive as it is a Worry Jar! Get them to cut a contrasting length of ribbon and tie it around the rim of the jar. Depending on the style of jar you may need to glue the ribbon in place.
Talk in a sensitive way about the things that worry them, the things which make them feel weighed down and perhaps a bit low. Get them to write each worry on a slip of paper and for the moment lay it in front of them.
You could listen to The Huge Bag of Worries story by Fischy music on youtube: talk about how the little girl finally managed to let go of her worries and get rest by sharing them with someone. Ask them to think about how they could get rest from their worries which they have laid out before them and encourage them to think of letting them go by giving them through prayer to Jesus, who said it was okay to bring them to him. Talk of how they could scrunch up their worries one at a time as they let them go and then place the scrunched-up paper in their ‘Worry Jar’ as a symbol of letting them go. Let them do this with any worry they feel they could let go.
HYMN – God is Good
Prayers for Others and Ourselves
Come to me,
come to me,
come to me,
is the chorus of your invitation, God.
Yet we arrive carrying so much baggage:
things done and left undone.
We arrive with the very things we sought to leave behind:
plans half-baked and hopes over-cooked.
And still, you are there:
arms outstretched,
welcome table prepared,
grace already weaving its slow path
through the warp and weft of our lives.
Easy is your yoke,
light is your burden,
steadfast is your kindness,
set us free to rest in you.
We pray for the things that divide us,
and keep us from seeing your image
in the other,
in the enemy,
in ourselves.
We pray for the things we think unite us
but actually push others away.
Move us beyond
our teams,
our tribes,
our parties,
our definitions,
and our denominations.
Prepare us for lives of
yoke sharing,
burden lifting,
grace proclaiming,
and peace breathing:
for you are gentle and humble of heart.
Amen.
HYMN – Sing of the Lord’s Goodness
Prayer of Dedication
Reset our priorities,
reorient our anxieties to reflect your image,
alive in our innermost selves.
In that way we might dedicate all that we have,
and all that we are,
to your steadfast loving kindness.
Amen.
Sending:
In our weariness we come before you, God:
carrying our burdens.
We come before you, God:
confused and uncertain,
fragile and shaky.
In you we find what we need.
Support us and make us strong, Lord.
Unite us as people
and make the bonds between us stable.
Father, Son, and Spirit—three in one,
you are the arch of Divine Love
that holds together our whole existence. Amen