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#WeAreTowneView
Welcome and Instructions
As you scroll down this page, interact with each element, read along, sing the songs that you know & listen to the ones that you might not. Pray, Praise, Participate! Take your time with it, and after the service, call a friend and reflect on the music, the words, the prayers, and the sermon. We love each other, we are here for each other, we are Towne View.
Call to Worship
Psalm 16
Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.
And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!
Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.
My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!
The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!
Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.
Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made.
All: We will Rejoice and be glad in it.
Song of Praise
Prayer
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 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 and ever. Amen.
Scripture Reading
Acts 2:14, 22-32
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
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Leader: This is the Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God
Song of Triumphant Worship
Prayer of Thanksgiving
May we who are merely inconvenienced,
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
Remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must chose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close
Remember those that have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market,
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home,
Remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country,
Let us choose love.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.
Amen. "Prayer for a Pandemic" — Cameron Wiggins Bellm
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To give online now CLICK HERE.
Song of Thanksgiving
Pause
Discuss with your family, or ponder to yourself...
1) What does the message of the empty tomb mean to you today, in the world of Covid-19?
2) What are you most anxious about? How does it feel to sing "whatever my lot... it is well with my soul?
?
Sermon
John 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Pause
Discuss with your family, or ponder to yourself...
1) How does it feel to have this story start with the first followers of Jesus "sheltering in place?" How does it feel to see that Jesus finds them, even there in their self-imposed social isolation?
2) Pastor Jim talks a lot about symbols in this sermon, what symbols, ideas, ideals, or rituals are you clinging to these days? why those?
3) Jim talks about breathing in and out, what do you need to receive from God right now? What do you need to share with your neighbor?
?
Song of Response
Benediction
Each week for the past 26 years, we have closed our worship times by reading this ancient prayer together. Benediction is a Latin word meaning "Good Word." Christian worship services traditionally end with the clergy speaking a "Good Word" of blessing over the congregation. At Towne View, we affirm the priesthood of all believers and as a part of that, we read this benediction together, ending our time of community worship by speaking a good word of blessing over each other.
Jim Conrad: Sr. Pastor
Jim@towneview.org
678-977-5013
Jeremy Hall: Assoc. Pastor
Jeremy@towneview.org
850-982-7530
Cheryl McCree
Deacon on Call:
hotroti@comcast.net
404-642-4033
Dear Friends,
Thank you for sharing in this worship experience today. This service will remain available to enjoy and share until next weekend.
Keep an eye on towneview.org as well as our various social media accounts as we continue to offer opportunities for worship, fellowship, education, and prayer as a community of faith.
Pastor Jeremy will be on Facebook live today (4/19) at 1pm to reflect with participants on today's worship experience. CLICK HERE to go there now.
Grace and Peace,
Towne View Baptist Church