Journey of Worship

When someone is in their final days, those who are close to the person often lean and listen hard to their final words. As Jesus hung on the cross, the Scriptures record Him saying seven final phrases that those who were gathered near Him listened to and recorded. What do they mean for us today, and why should we still listen to them?

We began a series this week called “Final Words” that will look at those seven phrases over the next four weeks leading up to Easter. This Sunday we looked at the first two recorded in Luke 23:34 and Luke 23:43. The focus was on the fact that salvation is a limited time offer. We looked at the forgiveness Jesus offered and how it was extended with a promise to the one criminal that asked for it.

Service Flow:
Welcome/Announcements/Greeting
New Member Reception
Call to Worship: Dramatic Reading incorporating many of the phrases we’ll be studying.
Ancient of Days (Sadler/Harvill)
Mighty to Save (Morgan/Fielding)
How Great Thou Art (Hine) – refrain only
Time of Confession / Psalm 25:4-8
Hallelujah, What a Savior (Bliss, arr. Chapman)
Offering
Video: “Jesus Messiah” from Vimeo
Message
Time of Response and Prayer
Shout to the North (Smith)
Dismissal (Psalm 67:1-2)

At the end of the message, a clear opportunity was given for people to accept God’s forgiveness through Christ who had never done so before. We had three people respond to the offer of salvation in our services. We’re thankful for that, and are looking forward to continuing to clearly present the Good News throughout this series leading up to Easter.

Check out other Sunday Setlists over at Fred’s blog to see what’s going in other churches.

Related posts:

1. Sunday Setlist: 4/12/09
2. Sunday Setlist: 3/29/09
3. Sunday Setlist: 4/05/09