Worship for March 16, 2025: A Visitation Resource

     Gathering for Worship in the widest possible extent is the centerpiece of the Christian community.  We get the single largest gathering of folks on Sunday morning.  Preparing for worship starts on Monday morning, or Tuesday morning if I get laid up on a Monday like yesterday.  

    What I try to do when visiting is bring Sunday's Bible Lesson with me.  Take what is coming for Sunday's sermon 'on the road', if you will.  However, in any visit, my first step is to ask the person I am visiting if they have a preferred passage.  What is dear to them in the moment.  I am coming in service to them, so I seek to follow their lead (and blessed have I been in those moments).  

    If it is a time of crisis, it may be appropriate to select something familiar and powerful that speaks God's truth (like Psalm 23).  If my fellow Christian does not have a passage, that is my preferred 'go-to'. Most times, I will know ahead if I am going to visit someone in time of crisis, so I will be prepared to go to something familiar and powerful.

    These include passages like Psalm 23 to speak of God's faith and power, Psalm 42 in time of sorry and crisis, Isaiah 40: 21-23 where God's strength to care for us is central, or Psalm 100 to praise the Lord.

    Most times, the visit is not a crisis nor does my fellow Christian have a passage on the tip of their tongue to share.  Most often, it is left to me to pick something.  Sunday's Bible Lesson is what I pick.  This is part of my worship, so I am not simply writing 'about' the passage  for a sermon, but taking it to the Church with me as we come to the Lord.  Bringing the Scripture with me is also a way to take a pastoral visit from a "one-on-one" to a connection to the wider worshipping community.    

    At present, it is in three pieces.  The first is a selection of verses from the passage for Sunday.  These are 'curated' verses, verses that are picked because they reflect on God's love and strength.  The second is a song from our hymn book that is familiar to our community.  So that it is not the same three songs over and over again, I am asking Kim's help to plumb the depths of the song life of this congregation.  The last piece is the Lord's Prayer.

    Feel free to talk up the Scripture, feel free to choose how many verses to sing, feel free to offer your own words in prayer (but close with the Lord's Prayer so the person we visit participates).  For me, in a time of pastoral visitation, the key is familiarity.  Let God's love be familiar, let the language of worship (music) be familiar, let the prayer be familiar.  Let God's presence be familiar.

    What follows in the big print (suitable to cut and paste and print) is a brief outline for use when visiting someone who is not able to come to worship, perhaps due to illness, due to being shut-in, due to the constraints of the job or family.  

    So, if you are visiting on behalf of the church, visiting with a desire to bring some Christian presence into the moment, seeking a brief meditation for yourself, I hope this will be helpful.

    If you would like this sent separately, please email me to let me know.  If you would like hard copies to be left to grab 'on the go', please email me and we will set a spot for them.  Those who can attend church are free and able to come to the Lord.  For those who are not, we have the capacity to bring the Lord to them.

Peace,
Pastor Peter

For Worship: Sunday, Mar. 16, 2025, from Luke 13 and Psalm 27

Prayers for God’s Strength

 

From Luke 13: ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’

From Psalm 27: ¹The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

¹³I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

¹⁴Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

 

A Song: What A Friend We Have In Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer

O what peace we often forfeit O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness Take it to the Lord in prayer

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy word be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.