The litany was well received by the congregation and served as a positive response to the sermon. You may use this litany if you would like; however, I ask that you would use it as is and not making any changes to the litany's content.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version of the Bible.
The Great
Commission Litany
|
|
Narrator:
|
After
he had died and was resurrected from the dead, our Lord Jesus spoke these
words:
|
Voice 1:
|
“Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you.”
|
Narrator:
|
As
followers of the Risen Christ, we have been called by our Master to make
disciples who bear the seal of the waters of baptism.
|
Congregation:
|
When
we commit ourselves to carrying out this commission,
we
commit ourselves to obediently proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When
we do this we expect to see the power of God
that
was witnessed by Phillip on a dusty road from Jerusalem to Gaza
as
he proclaimed the good news of Jesus.
|
Narrator:
|
Listen
to how God used Philip to transform an Ethiopian court official into a
follower of Jesus:
“The Spirit said to Philip, |
The Spirit:
|
“Go
over and join this chariot.”
|
Narrator:
|
So
Philip ran to [the Ethiopian eunuch] and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet
and asked,
|
Philip:
|
“Do
you understand what you are reading?”
|
Narrator:
|
And
he said,
|
Eunuch:
|
“How
can I, unless someone guides me?”
|
Narrator:
|
…Philip
opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news
about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water,
and the eunuch said,
|
Eunuch:
|
“See,
here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
|
Narrator:
|
And
the Eunuch commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the
water, Philip and the eunuch, and Philip baptized him.
|
*** Insert Chorus ***
|
|
Narrator:
|
When
in Philippi, Paul and his fellow laborers met a woman named Lydia. Upon
talking to Lydia about the things of God, Paul and his company bore witness
to the power of God to save men and women.
|
Congregation:
|
When
we present the worthiness of following Jesus
to
an unbelieving child,
an
apathetic neighbor,
or
skeptical co-worker,
we
stand with Paul and his company.
We
do so expecting to see the saving power of God:
|
Narrator:
|
Listen
to how God used Paul and his company to transform a Philippian businesswoman
into a follower of Jesus:
And
on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we
supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women
who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the
city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The
Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after
she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying,
|
Lydia:
|
“If
you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.”
|
Narrator:
|
And
she prevailed upon us.
|
*** Insert Chorus ***
|
|
Narrator:
|
When
Paul and Silas, freed from their chains, chose to speak words of life to a
Philippian jailer instead of flee, they witnessed the word of the Lord
transform an entire household.
|
Congregation:
|
Along
with Paul and Silas,
we
too desire to see households transformed by God.
Therefore,
in obedience to Jesus’ commission
and
with a desire to see God change human hearts,
we
also will testify to Jesus in East Grand Rapids and Alger Heights,
at
work and at school,
to
our families and to our neighbors.
|
Narrator:
|
Listen
to how God used Paul and Silas to transform a suicidal prison guard into a
follower of Jesus:
About
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
prisoners were listening to them, and
suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison
were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds
were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were
open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the
prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice,
|
Paul:
|
“Do
not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
|
Narrator:
|
And
the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell
down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said,
|
Jailer:
|
“Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?”
|
Narrator:
|
And
they said,
|
Paul:
|
“Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
|
Narrator:
|
And
they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And
he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized
at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and
set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he
had believed in God.
|
*** Insert Chorus ***
|
|
Narrator:
|
Wherever
we proclaim Jesus as the Risen King and Savior of the World, we labor
alongside Philip, Paul, and the church throughout the ages in obedience to
our Lord’s command. And, we do all this trusting in Jesus’ most certain
promise, that he would be
with us always, to the end of the age.”
|
Congregation:
|
Amen.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment