READ
Acts 4:32-37
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
1 Peter 4:10-11
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
DISCUSS
1. How has your week been?
2. How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
3. Read the passages again.
4. What does these passages tell us about God?
5. What does this passage tell us about gifts of the Holy Spirit?
6. What do you think your gift is?
7. What is challenging in this passage?
8. Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
9. What am I going to do about it?
10. Who am I going to share it with?
11. Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Dear Lord
There are diverse gifts;
but it is the same Spirit who gives them.
There are different ways of serving God:
but it is the same Lord who is served.
God works through people in different ways:
but it is the same God whose purpose is achieved through them all.
Each one of us is given a gift by the Spirit:
and there is no gift without its corresponding service.
There is one ministry of Christ:
and in this ministry, we all share.
Together we are the body of Christ:
and individually members of it.
Help me discover and discern and use the gifts that you give me.
Amen
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READ
Romans 12:6-8
We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
1 Cor 12:4-11
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
DISCUSS
- How has your week been?
- How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
- Read the passages again.
- What does this passage tell us about God?
- What does this passage tell us about gifts of the Holy Spirit?
- What do you think your gift is?
- What is challenging in this passage?
- Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
- What am I going to do about it?
- Who am I going to share it with?
- Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Dear Lord
There are diverse gifts;
but it is the same Spirit who gives them.
There are different ways of serving God:
but it is the same Lord who is served.
God works through people in different ways:
but it is the same God whose purpose is achieved through them all.
Each one of us is given a gift by the Spirit:
and there is no gift without its corresponding service.
There is one ministry of Christ:
and in this ministry, we all share.
Together we are the body of Christ:
and individually members of it.
Help me discover and discern and use the gifts that you give me.
Amen
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READ: John 14:15 - 31, 16:5 - 15
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
John 16:5 - 15
5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
DISCUSS
1. How has your week been?
2. How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
3. Read the passage again.
4. What does this passage tell us about Jesus?
5. What does this passage tell us about the disciples?
6. What does it tell us about our relationship with Him?
7. What is challenging in this passage?
8. Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
9. What am I going to do about it?
10. Who am I going to share it with?
11. Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Holy Spirit, as you dwell in us, we pray that we might be aware of your presence in our lives
That we may learn to turn to you in our times of confusion, fear, and hunger for more
Help us to listen and be still when we need to
To have the courage to take action when we need to
And to follow where it is that you lead us
Now and forever
Amen
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READ: Matthew 5:9, John 14:27
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. John 14:27
DISCUSS
1. How has your week been?
2. How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
3. Read the passage again.
4. What does this passage tell us about God?
5. How would you define peace and peacemaker?
6. How is Jesus’ peace different?
7. What is challenging in this passage?
8. Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
9. What am I going to do about it?
10. Who am I going to share it with?
11. Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Peace Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
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READ: JOHN 20:19-31
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
DISCUSS
1. How has your week been?
2. How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
3. Read the passage again.
4. What does this passage tell us about Jesus?
5. What does this passage tell us about the disciples?
6. What does it tell us about our relationship with Him?
7. What is challenging in this passage?
8. Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
9. What am I going to do about it?
10. Who am I going to share it with?
11. Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Let us pray
We gather here as a fellowship of people who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. One of the major marks of this fellowship is the sense of joy we experience as we gather to worship God, to give thanks for Jesus Christ and to witness to the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yet, we admit that there are times when we feel afraid, abandoned, and lonely; when faith leads to doubt and questions rather than a sense of joy or peace of mind. Lord Jesus Christ, unlike those first disciples, we cannot touch you or see you, and so it is all too easy to become downcast and given to despair.
Forgive us when, like the disciples, we find the truth of Easter hard to believe.
Come to us, risen Christ, come through the closed doors of our hearts and minds and take away our fears and doubts; Come to us, risen Christ, breathe on us and fill us with the joy and peace of your presence.
Bless us all as people who have not seen you, but who believe that you are truly the risen Christ, Son of God. Amen
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READ: Ephesians 4:1-6
Unity in the Body of Christ
Chapter 4
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
DISCUSS
- How has your week been?
- How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
- Read the passage again.
- What does this passage tell us about God?
- What do you think ‘the calling’ is? What are the signs or attributes?
- What does this passage tell us about unity?
- What is challenging in this passage?
- Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
- What am I going to do about it?
- Who am I going to share it with?
- Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Let us pray
Father, give me the grace to eagerly seek to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Or to not forget that there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all. Help me to not forget that you alone are over all, and through all and in all. Lord give me the humility and gentleness, and patience to treat other Christians of any denomination as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Amen
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READ: Mark 16:1-8
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
DISCUSS
- How has your week been?
- How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
- Read the passage again.
- What does this passage tell us about Jesus?
- What does this passage tell us about the Father?
- What does it tell us about our relationship with Him?
- What is challenging in this passage?
- Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
- What am I going to do about it?
- Who am I going to share it with?
Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Let us pray
Yours is the glory, O God, for raising Jesus from the darkness of death.
Yours is the glory, O Christ, for being prepared, to conquer death and give us the gift of eternal life.
And, as if that were not enough, you greet us by name, as you greeted Mary in the garden, and transform our lives forever with your Easter life.
Risen Lord, we worship and adore you; and we pray that the Holy Spirit, your life in us, will so transform us to your image, that we radiate your glory here, through our rejoicing and praise, and in all the places where people's lives are still affected by the powers of death and sin.
Yours is the glory, O God, for showing us the human face of your love in Jesus, your Son, our risen Lord.
Yours is the glory, risen Lord Jesus, and we rejoice that 'endless is the victory that you over death have won'. Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Amen
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Good Friday service – 2 April 2021 - Order of service with Full script, order and images
Slide Guide
- Image
- Reference
- Station Title
Welcome and Intro - Brian
The service today is based on the Stations of The Cross - a devotion that was developed in the Middle Ages by the Franciscans as a way of allowing people who could not travel to the Holy Land to walk where Christ walked on the day of his passion. By the end of the 17th century many churches had stations, or stops, ranged at intervals along their walls - each with a cross and under that cross a representation of an event in the passion narrative. The Stations were revised in 2005 so that all of the stations are based in Scripture.
For each station there will be a reading from Scripture, a visual that you will see on the screen, a reflection and for some stations there will also be a tactile element – these are in the plastic bag and we will tell you what pieces to pull out when. these pieces are yours to take home to continue your reflection over this Easter weekend.
The service will be quiet and reflective, and we invite you to completely immerse yourself into the experience. Each station will end with a prayer that we invite you to join and say all together.
Please refer the attached PDF for the rest of service.
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Jesus's entry into Jerusalem is recorded in all four gospels and marks the beginning of Easter week.
READ: Mark 11:1-11
When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.
Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Then 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.
DISCUSS
- How has your week been?
- How have you seen God at work in your life this week?
- Read the passage again.
- What does this passage tell us about Jesus?
- What does this passage tell us about the Father?
- What does it tell us about our relationship with Him?
- What is challenging in this passage?
- Is there anything else the passage is saying to me?
- What am I going to do about it?
- Who am I going to share it with?
- Be prepared to share back next week.
PRAY
Let us pray
Lord Jesus Christ, we praise you with heart and life and voice, not only with outward signs such as palm branches or the occasional “Hosanna”, but with lives truly turned towards you. It seems such a distance from this Palm Sunday in Australia to that day when you entered Jerusalem with the shouts of the crowd ringing in your ears. Welcomed as a king, yet riding on a lowly donkey. Greeted with cheers and acclamations that were so soon to turn to jeers and condemnation. From this side of the resurrection, we confidently believe that we could never have been part of the jeering crowd - but would we, if we had been there?
silent reflection
Lord Jesus Christ, when our words and actions reflect a reluctance to confess you publicly as Lord of our lives:
Forgive us.
When we fear that humbling ourselves, would be seen by others as weakness, some kind of defect in our character:
Forgive us.
When we have betrayed your love for us through our lack of love for you, for others, and for ourselves:
Forgive us.
When we find ourselves glossing over the events of your passion and death because we look forward to Easter as a time to enjoy holidays and have fun.
Forgive us.
Lord Jesus Christ, fix your mind in us;
remake us in your likeness;
empty us of all that hinders us from following you to where pain and suffering, exploitation and injustice exist.
Gracious and loving God, empower us with the Holy Spirit so that our lives continually glorify you and
our tongues forever confess Jesus as Lord.
This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
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