There’s a bumper crop of resources today!
For starters, there is the RCL-linked liturgy, with a beautiful confession based on Isaac Watts’ ‘When I Survey’.
Why has it taken me so long to spot that for a confession?
Next are a couple of resources for 1 Peter 4:16 ‘Praise God that you bear that name.’ (ie, Christian)
They both explore the names that we bear in Christ and can be a real blessing, helping us to see ourselves though God’s eyes, not through the eyes of the world or our own self-critical lens. There’s a even a video as well!
There are two resources on the same thing because of an oopsy on my part. I’m doing the intergen slot this Sunday and was intending to do the paper make (see bottom of this post for instructions, video and printable template), but I found out that the intercessions are also going to be paper-based. Too much paper!
So I did a last minute change to the drama version. Both say the same thing, so you could used one up front and the other perhaps in a youth group to reinforce the message.
But first, the liturgy resources from Philippians 3 ‘All this I count loss, for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.’ Wow!
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Liturgy Resources for Lent 5
Philippians 3:4b-14, When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (Isaac Watts, 1707)
Confession and Absolution
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an off’ring far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the God of all mercy absolve us of our sin,
revive and restore us to his image,
and grant us the joy of his salvation.
May we gain the power of Christ’s resurrection.
May we be found in Christ and his righteousness.
May we share in the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.
Amen.
Blessing and Dismissal
Beloved, forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead,
let us press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God is calling us heavenward in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
And may the blessing of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
sustain and inspire us as we live for him.
Go now, and serve God in the world he loves.
In the name of Christ.
Amen.
Praise God that you bear this name (1 Pet 4:16)
Props
- Large marker pen
- Large bag containing lots of easy-to-put-on clothing each with a strip of paper safety-pinned on. Top item is a hat pre-marked ‘BELOVED’.
Click here to see this sketch performed.
F: Hello, my name is Fay, and for this section I need volunteer.
I: Ooh! Me! Me! Please pick me!
F: Imogen, the perfect victi … volunteer. Please come up.
I: What do you need help with?
F: This! [produces huge bag of clothes]
I: You want me to help with your washing?
F: No, no, these are just props. I need someone to help me talk about today’s Bible passage in an interesting, memorable and preferably amusing manner.
I: In other words, you need someone to make a fool of themselves out the front?
F: Oh, no, no, no … well, yes. Actually, yes.
I: I’m up for that! What’s the passage about?
F: It’s the part in 1 Peter where he talks about standing up for Jesus. He says if we suffer for being Christians, we should praise God that we bear that name.
I: Praise God that we bear that name? What name?
F: I’m so glad you asked! Here, put this on. [pulls out hat marked ‘BELOVED’]
I: Beloved? What’s that?
F: That is one of the names you are called. It’s right there at the start of the passage.
I: Cool! What other names are there?
F: Another great question. [addressing congregation] What other names do we bear in God?
[as names are called out, writes them on paper strips and hands clothing to Imogen who puts them on – eg: forgiven, child of God, known, wanted, etc. Imogen should be a bundle of cloth by the end.]
F: Brilliant! How do you feel, Imogen, knowing that you bear all of these names?
I: Wow! I feel very blessed. [fans self] And VERY hot! [staggers off stage]
Printable Gyrocopter (Praise God because you bear this name)
- Print out the PDF on to A4 paper. Cut along the solid lines. Each sheet makes two.
- Add a large paperclip to each template and give out to the congregation along with pens.
- Talk about the names we bear in Christ and invite people to write other names in the lower section, alongside beloved.
- Fold along the dotted lines so that the lower section is three layers thick, and secure with a paperclip at the bottom (this also helps it to fly better).
- Bend the two top wings, one each way, so that you have T-shape.
- When every one has their gyrocopters ready, invite people to throw them high in the air. They should helicopter down and land all around.
- Everyone can find a nearby one and open it, finding the blessing of the names they bear in Christ.
The Reflectionary 