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Thanksgiving and Praise
In Psalm 100:4-5 we are encouraged to praise and give thanks to God:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
We begin our service with a prayer of thanksgiving, followed by a song of praise.
Almighty God, creator and redeemer, we praise you for the beauty of the world around us and for every gift we enjoy.
Thank you for creating us to know you, to love you and to obey you.
Most of all, we praise you for your amazing love in sending your Son
to restore your world by dying for us and rising to give us new life.
Accept our praise and thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This week we are led in praise by the musicians from our 6:45 service
Bible Reading
As we prepare to receive God’s word, let’s ask for God to be at work within us.
We thank you heavenly Father, for inspiring all Scripture by the Holy Spirit. Help us by your Spirit so to hear your holy word that we may be equipped for every good work, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Revelation 21:1-7 New International Version (NIV)
A New Heaven and a New Earth
21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
Sermon
Our minister, Martin Kemp, will now preach the sermon “What should we think about the Coronavirus?”
Prayers
We are the people of God, but Scripture reminds us that we still sin. We need to confess our failures, knowing that the Lord Jesus intercedes for us with the Father, who freely forgives us, through his infinite goodness and mercy.
So let us draw near to God with sincerity and confidence, and pray together.
Heavenly Father, you have loved us with an everlasting love,
but we have gone our own way and rejected your will for our lives. We are sorry for our sins and turn away from them. For the sake of your Son who died for us, forgive us, cleanse us, and change us. By your Holy Spirit, enable us to live for you and to please you in every way; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
In 1 John 1:9, those who confess their sins are assured with these words:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
You now have an option. Either allow Joseph Shin to lead you in prayer, or pray through our weekly prayer points below. Finish with the Lord’s Prayer.
Weekly Prayer Points:
- Pray for those leaders around the world who have been infected with the Coronavirus. Give thanks many of them have been able to continue in their roles while working remotely.
- Pray for our Prime Minister during this crisis. Give thanks that he, along with other politicians, is a person of prayer.
- Give thanks that individuals from outside our church are using our new digital platforms to experience elements of our church for the first time.
- Pray for our online Easter services. Pray that the new format will create opportunities for the curious to hear of Christ.
- Pray for those struggling to adjust to life lived almost wholly from home as they balance work, family and church life within the same four walls.
- Continue to pray for those working in health: David Loke, Tamara Lam, Mina Nelson, Errol Edge, Emily Carpenter, Sandra Barrett, Maxine Andersson, Alicia Sloman, Kai Zhu, Akane Hansen. Aged care workers are listed below.
- Pray for Namibia as they seek to keep an outbreak of COVID-19 at bay. Pray for those NETS students who do not have access to the internet during shutdown.
- Pray for Penny and Ben as they:
- Prepare lectures for online delivery (Penny)
- Deliver food and education about the virus to the poor (Ben). Pray for those Namibians who are already living day-to-day, and who will be hardest hit as the crisis worsens.
- Please continue in regular prayer for our dear friends who are now in permanent aged-care facilities, particularly at this time of vulnerability because of the Coronavirus: Eion Miller (Regis Hornsby); Eric Lee (Bowden Brae); Marie Neal, Colleen Jeffries, Jane Putt, (Masonic Towers). Also for Veronica Chao, Katherina Bilko and Robin Edmundson who work in this sector.
Let’s conclude our time of prayer with the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever.
Amen.
Announcements
Closing Song
Benediction
As we conclude our service, let’s be encouraged by these words from the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it! Amen.
Thanks for sharing with us! See you next week for our online Easter services!
