Worship Guide for Sunday, May 31st

For information on these worship guides & instructions on how to access Kingdom Kids curriculum, please click HERE.

Tips for Working through the Order of Worship

We encourage that someone takes the lead in prompting through the prayers, reading, and discussion questions below, as many sections will have a “leader” and a response by “everyone.” Accordingly, each participant is encouraged to follow along on their own device (or displaying this on a screen everyone can see). *Underlined Text is meant to be read together, corporately.

STATEMENT FROM THE ELDERS

Church Family, 

I wanted to let you know that both this & next week’s worship guide & sermon were filmed in advance to the events that have transpired in our country this week. However, we acknowledge that God’s people cannot afford to be silent in the face of injustice & the greater issues that we are seeing in our country right now. If we were gathered together in person, we would certainly address & pray together in the face of all that is happening. 

Justice & racial reconciliation are implications of the gospel that the church of Jesus Christ are called to pursue. The Scriptures are full of warnings from God to his people when they fail to act justly and pursue righteousness. More than half of the books of the OT speak of justice as a central part of the character of God & a responsibility of God’s people. Our world is broken. We are in need of repentance and the hope of the gospel. 

For now - until we are able to gather together again - I want to call us to lament. You will find a prayer of lament below in our worship guide. Lament alone does not solve the problems we are experience right now - but it is a starting point. As Mark Vroegop observes, “The beauty of this biblical language of sorrow is its ability to provide a bridge robust enough to handle outrage and empathy, frustration and faith, fear and hope. Lament can be our first step toward one another when racial tension could drive a wedge. It is a God-given means for vocalizing complicated and loaded pain.”

Please know that your pastors and elders at The King’s Church are committed to praying for these issues affecting our country right now and are proactively considering what kind of local action we can participant in to promote racial reconciliation and justice for all in our context. There is more to be said & done in the days ahead. We love you all & are praying Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

On Behalf of the Elder Team,

Pastor Ian

Prayer of lament

Habakkuk 1:2-4 & Psalm 77:7-10
Leader: O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?

Everyone: Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.

Leader: So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.

Everyone: “Will the Lord spurn forever,    
and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?    
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?    
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”

*Take a few moments to silently pray for our country, confess our own sin, and ask the Lord to intervene and bring peace to the brokenness & division we are experiencing.

ORDER OF WORSHIP

CALL TO WORSHIP

SINGING
You Cannot Be Stopped & King of Kings
(The King’s Church)

SCRIPTURE READING
Revelation 1:17-18
*Note: Scripture reading also available in the sermon video

SERMON
"He Descended to Hell" (Revelation 1:17-18)
*We encourage you to corporately read along with The Apostles’ Creed in the video

DISCUSSION & PRAYER

Based on the passages considered & Pastor Ian’s sermon, discuss the following questions:

1. How does the full humanity of Jesus (even through his death) encourage us in our faith?

2. How does Jesus’ victory over Death & Hades give us confidence when we consider our own death?

Spend a few minutes praying together for the following:

• Pray that we would live without fear and in full confidence that Jesus has gone before us in death but has overcome its power.

• Pray we would face our own deaths with the comfort of knowing Jesus has identified with us all the way to the grave.

• Pray for the Lord to protect those around the world from the effects of this virus, to sustain healthcare workers and others on the frontlines of care, and for patience and endurance in this prolonged season of being scattered.

CONFESSION OF SIN, COMMUNION, & ASSURANCE OF PARDON

*The Lord’s Supper is a meal instituted by Jesus for his followers to specifically remember his death on our behalf (see Matt. 26:26-28 & 1 Cor. 11: 23-26). Partaking in the bread and the cup together is a reminder of where our hope is rooted, and prepares us for the marriage supper of the Lamb that is to come in the New Heavens & the New Earth. Accordingly, only Christians (and Christians with a clear conscience) should partake in this meal. A confession of sin & assurance of pardon bookend communion below to capture our need for and our response to the death of Jesus.

CONFESSION OF SIN (Romans 2)

Leader: Gracious and heavenly Father, in passing judgment on to one another, we have condemned ourselves. For we know that we practice the very same things.

Everyone: Father, forgive us for where we as a church fail to extend your grace to others.

COMMUNION

Leader: The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON (Romans 3:23-25a)

Leader: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

Everyone: Thanks be to God!

BENEDICTION

GIVING

In this unique & difficult time, it's important to remember that the Lord is still at work. We anticipate there being many ministry needs and opportunities in the coming days and weeks. As you are able, consider giving to support the mission & vision of The King’s Church.