Organization of Material
There is one page of material for each Sunday. Material is
divided into three sections. We have tried to include resources
that would be useful for churches with many styles, from traditional
Mennonite to liturgically oriented to a more charismatic flavor.
- Theme The first section gives suggested
scriptures, a theme, a focus statement, and some other helpful
ways of focusing the worship experience.
- Worship Resources The second section
gives worship resources that will be helpful to worship planners
for the service as a whole.
- Sermon Resources The third section
gives sermon resources that will be most helpful to the preacher,
but may also be useful in other parts of the service if desired.
Notes on specific
resources:
Calls to Worship: There are two options for
each Sunday. One of them is oriented to scripture while the other
focuses more on the theme itself. Probably you will want to use
one or the other; in some cases, one of the readings might be
appropriate during a worship and praise portion of the service.
Hymns and Songs: Hymns are taken from both
the 1992 Hymnal: A Worship Book (HWB) and the 1969 Mennonite
Hymnal (MH). Many of these hymns can be found in other hymnals
as well. Songs chosen are more or less common in contemporary
music circles and should be used in conjunction with a CCLI (Christian
Copyright License Incorporated) license. For more information
on where to find specific songs, contact Eric Good of Communion
Fellowship, (219) 533-0315.
Offering Suggestions: Offering ideas come
from "The Giving Project" as part of their effort to
renew this aspect of congregational worship and life. Suggestions
are made for incorporating the offering in different parts of
the worship service to keep the meaning fresh and in tune with
the service as a whole.
Stories: Many of the stories come from the
context of urban or overseas missions. We hope these will be
useful in connecting us with our larger family of faith.
Additional ideas for worship aids
Bulletins: Have someone in the congregation
design the bulletin cover to look like an invitation to the congregation
from God. The invitation could be changed each Sunday to match
the theme.
Banners: Make an "invitation board."
Each Sunday add a new invitation from God. This way the progression
of the themes would be visible.
Responding to God's invitation: Include a
personal "RSVP" in the bulletin each Sunday (or pass
it out at the end of the service as a response time). Encourage
persons to respond to God's invitation each Sunday and place
their RSVP's in a collection.
Inviting others to your church: Print special
invitation cards which would invite persons to attend your church.
Give them to people in your congregation to use to give to friends.
Actions of invitation: At the end of each
worship time pass out a special invitation to take one particular
action the next week that would reflect the week's theme. Example:
Pass out an invitation suggesting that each one invite someone
to their house for next Sunday lunch. This could be used on the
hospitality Sunday.
Special Note on Scriptures:
- We encourage using the texts from Psalms and Revelation to
focus worship on a characteristic of God, preparing the congregation
to hear God's word.
- The texts from John and Acts provide sermon material that
grounds us in the resurrection and moves us toward Pentecost.
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