Happy Palm Sunday LifeWay family! We would have loved to celebrate, and worship, with you in person; but because of the gathering restrictions to assist in tempering the spread of COVID-19, we have developed a service "template" that we would invite you to use in your family worship each Sunday morning.
The idea behind it is to:
(1) provide you a helpful means to guide your family worship time, yet
(2) in a way that allows each family unit to be led in the way you believe to be best in the specifics.
We hope this is an encouragement to you, and we look forward to the time when we can one day worship God together with you back in our physical location.
Call to Worship
Here is our Call to Worship to begin the service.
CCLI#7037787
Opening Prayer
Choose a member of your home gathering to read the following prayer out loud.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
- Matthew 6:9–13
OPTIONAL, discuss: What does hallowed mean? Why do you think Jesus say “daily” bread? Why is it important that we demonstrate forgiveness to those who have wronged us?
Play the following song.
You can sing along with the lyrics on the video or simply use it as a time of reflection.
CCLI#25297
Scripture Reading
Choose a member of your home gathering to read the following passage aloud.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. - Mark 11:1-11
Play the following song.
You can sing along with the lyrics on the video or simply use it as a time of reflection.
CCLI#5638022
Pastoral Challenge
Testimony Time
Ask someone to share of a way they saw God work in others this week. Choose this time to thank God for working in a family or friend by recognizing grace in their lives. Did someone make an unselfish choice in your family, did you observe a kindness done that encouraged you? Speak that encouragement to or about someone.
Corporate Prayer
Here are 3 things to consider and pray over from today's challenge and our current state of events. You can assign each of these to a different person, or have someone pray for all of them.
Pray that we will remain committed to corporate worship and connection to our church family during this time.
Thank God for the hope He's given us (especially Jesus) that the forces of the world or hell can never threaten.
Thank God that He gives us grace to meet this moment, so that we'll be equipped to act and speak for Him.
Closing Song
You can sing along with the lyrics on the video or simply use it as a time of reflection.
CCLI#5638022