Everything you need to join October 25 online worship.
Preparations for Worship:
- Do your best to eliminate distractions like the phone, TV, etc.
- Worship actively! Whether you are by yourself or with others, try reading the parts of the service aloud (responses, lessons, and prayers).
- This service is for children too. Help them participate. Ask those who have that ability to read a prayer or lesson aloud. Take a moment to describe what’s happening. Ask questions. Encourage little ones to draw what they are hearing while you all listen. Unlike our more typical Sunday worship at church, you can pause at any time for questions and discussion.
- Before you begin, load each of the videos below. (You might first have to get past a distracting ad.)
- Pause for a moment of quiet meditation. Then pray:
“Heavenly Father, I have come to worship you. Draw near to me in your gracious Word, and assure me of your loving kindness. Curb my wandering thoughts, that with undivided attention I may hear your voice and speak your praise. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.”
INVOCATION
O Lord, open my lips. And my mouth shall declare your praise.
Hasten to save me, O God. O Lord, come quickly to help me.
The glory of Christ is revealed: let us worship him.
FIRST LESSON – 2 CHRONICLES 30:1-5, 10-22
Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah. He also wrote letters inviting Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. 2The king, his officials, and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had made plans to celebrate the Passover in the second month. 3They were not able to celebrate it at its proper time, because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem. 4The plan seemed right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of the whole assembly. 5So they decided to issue a proclamation throughout Israel from Beersheba to Dan to come to observe the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, because they had not been celebrating it with large numbers of people as had been commanded. 10The runners went from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and even as far as Zebulun, but people laughed at them and ridiculed them. 11Nevertheless, some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12But in Judah the hand of God was present to give them one heart to follow the command of the king and the command of the officials, in agreement with the word of the Lord. 13Many people gathered in Jerusalem to keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month—a very great assembly. 14They quickly removed the altars from Jerusalem. They took away all the altars for burning incense and threw them into the Kidron Valley. 15They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites had been put to shame, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the House of the Lord. 16They took up their positions as prescribed in the Law of Moses, the man of God. The priests splashed the blood, which was given to them by the Levites, against the altar.17Because many of the assembly had not consecrated themselves, the Levites carried out the slaughtering of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not ceremonially clean, to make them holy to the Lord. 18A large number of the people, many of whom were from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, but they ate the Passover anyway, in a manner not in keeping with what is written. So Hezekiah prayed for them: “May the good Lord pardon everyone all around, 19 that is, everyone who seeks God the Lord, the God of his fathers, with all his heart, even though he does not have the ceremonial purity required by the holy place.” 20The Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21The people of Israel who were present in Jerusalem observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing. The Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day with loud instruments for the Lord. 22Hezekiah encouraged the hearts of all the Levites, who displayed wonderful skills in service of the Lord. They ate the food of the festival for the appointed seven days, presenting fellowship sacrifices and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.
GOSPEL – MATTHEW 22:1-14
Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come. 4“Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’ 5“But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town. 8“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14For many are called, but few are chosen.”
DEVOTION – ROMANS 11:1-10
OFFERING
Offerings may be given on-line at tithe.ly/risensavior, mailed to the church, or dropped off at the church.
Our members have joined together in faith and love to do the Lord’s work in this community and around the world. Guests need not feel obligated to participate in this offering which supports our ministry.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
God our Father, You have invited us to raise our prayers to You in the name of Jesus, Your beloved Son, and have promised to hear and answer us with all that is best for us.
Give us confidence, that we may call upon You as the people of Your name, and teach us to be content with what Your wisdom and love supply.
God our Father, You have appointed on earth governments and institutions that are accountable to You. Bless our nation and those in authority over us, and teach us to be good and faithful citizens who willingly supply the resources needed to provide for the common good.
Though we are quick to judge and condemn what we dislike, give us patience and wisdom, that we may encourage and support those who carry the heavy mantle of leadership.
Heavenly Father, please watch over and continue to bless Pastor Kevin Schultz and the members of our home mission, The Vine, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, as they work through every means possible to spread the gospel in their community.. Help The Vine to fulfill its stated purpose, “Connecting people to Jesus and growing together in his Word.”
Please protect and guide them during these uncertain times.
God our Father, You have set apart a people for Yourself and washed them in the blood of the Lamb to be Your own, to live under You in Your Kingdom forevermore.
Give us faith, that we may daily be restored through repentance and forgiveness, and renew our hearts and spirits in the causes of holiness, righteousness and faithfulness all our days.
God our Father, You have loved and chosen us according to Your mercy and called us through the living voice of Your Word.
Grant to us the healthful Spirit of Your grace, that what You have begun in us may be brought to completion when Christ appears in His glory on the Last Day.
God our Father, Your Son has borne the weight of our sins and carried the weakness of our flesh in His body on the cross. Be with the sick, the suffering, the grieving and the dying in their hour of need. We especially remember before You those we name in our hearts.
We ask that everyone who calls on You may find comfort in Your presence, healing according to Your will and be sustained through their afflictions.
We commend all things to Your mercy in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who taught us to pray…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to this new day. Defend us with your mighty power, and grant that this day we neither fall into sin nor run into any kind of danger; and in all we do, direct us to what is right in your sight, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.
Let us praise the Lord. Thanks be to God.
THE LORD’S BLESSING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.