Welcome to the CHS Vientiane Worship Service Resources
your Son Jesus Christ
is the way, the truth, and the life.
Give us grace to love one another
and walk in the way of his commandments,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Leader: Dear friends,
we gather in the name
of the God of love,
we gather in the presence
of the God of love.
All: So let us worship the God of love.
Leader: Dear friends,
we gather as children of the God of love,
we gather as sisters and brothers.
All: So let us learn to love one another.
Opening Hymn of Praise
O earth, and all ye heavens rejoice;
from world to world the joy shall ring,
‘The Lord omnipotent is King!’
2 The Lord is King! who then shall dare
resist His will, distrust His care,
or murmur at His wise decrees,
or doubt His royal promises?
3 The Lord is King! Child of the dust,
the Judge of all the earth is just;
holy and true are all His ways:
let every creature speak His praise.
4 He reigns! ye saints, exalt your strains;
your God is King, your Father reigns;
and He is at the Father’s side,
the man of love, the crucified.
5 One Lord, one empire, all secures;
He reigns, and life and death are yours,
through earth and heaven one song shall ring,
Our heavenly Father
thank you that you love us
and care for us all the time.
We know that this week
we have not always lived the way you tell us.
We have done wrong things
and not done all the good things we should have done.
Only you can save us,
so please forgive us
and help us to live as your friends.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
As we focus our minds,
it is easy for our minds to shoot off
in so many directions.
We find it hard to slow down,
to remove all the clutter
and concentrate on You, Lord.
In the stillness of this place,
this time,
take from us the strain and stress
as we feel ourselves rest in Your eternal love,
in the everlasting arms.
Then quietly,
the small beginnings of praise well up
as we remember
what we have in Jesus Christ.
That we have one who is with us,
who guides and strengthens us.
Who holds us through every storm of life
who leads us to everlasting life.
We confess that sometimes the storms we endure
are of our own making.
A foolish word,
a thoughtless comment,
a misguided action,
a quick judgement.
Then we have to live with the consequences,
and the guilt.
Take all that stress from us too
and replace it with Your forgiveness and peace.
in Your hands we are safe and secure –
we rejoice in Your eternal love
and all sufficient grace.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Father God, I wonder
how I managed to exist
without the knowledge
of Your parenthood
and Your loving care.
But now I am Your child,
I am adopted in Your family,
and I can never be alone
’cause, Father God,
You’re there beside me.
I will sing Your praises,
I will sing Your praises,
I will sing Your praises for evermore.
I will sing Your praises,
I will sing Your praises,
I will sing Your praises for evermore.
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God of planting and harvest,
growth and nourishment,
we see your creative presence everywhere and in everything.
The natural world gives us so much
to enjoy and use physically,
to ponder and reflect on emotionally and spiritually.We see that everything is connected:
soil, sun and rainfall;
chemistry and biology bringing seed to harvest; engineering and creativity making products fit for plate or glass.Connections run deep within your created world, and we, your people, are in the middle of it all, linked to each other—entwined with nature herself. Forever remind us of how you call us to not just be consumers of your world’s products, but stewards too of all that is beautiful and special.
Living God,
let your natural world thrive into eternity,
a reminder for all people of your divine glory.
Amen
You are the vine (MP792)
we are the branches,
keep us abiding in You.
You are the vine,
we are the branches,
keep us abiding in You.
Then we’ll grow in Your love,
then we’ll go in Your name,
that the world will surely know
that You have power to heal and to save.
You are the vine,
we are the branches,
keep us abiding in You.
May we find the connection
that brings life to us all,
and dedicate ourselves
towards that new life,
bound up in each other:
dedicated to the language that unites,
the hopes that bring adventures, and the word that is shared between us all.
True vine,
may we be the branches
of every possibility,
that speak of,
and lives for,
your kingdom.
Prayers of Intercession
Jesus Christ, the true vine,
in our need
we come to You,
in weakness,
needing Your strength
for we too easily become dry and lifeless
without Your life-giving spirit.
Jesus Christ, the true vine,
teach us to remain in You
and so to find Your life flowing in us
giving strength and vigour to our discipleship.
And as we come closer to You
our lives are drawn closer to others.
Our minds turn to images of violence we have seen on the news in places of fear and terror,
to where people are at loggerheads,
over race, religion, land, power.
Our thoughts turn to Christians
living with persecution
who face danger, simply for being linked to You.
Father, prune back all that stands in the way of peace.
Our thoughts turn to people
in leadership and power
– who have decisions to make over the economy and people whose jobs and livelihood will be affected.
We pray for this nation and the nations which we come from, and their leaders.
May changes and choices be shaped by the values of the kingdom.
We pray particularly for the nation of India and the many challenges its people face due to the Covid19 Pandemic. May the people of India know your compassion and mercy at this time. May available resources be directed where they are most needed, to heal those who are sick and may people who grieve be afforded the dignity to do so.
We remember too the nation of Israel and those injured in the tragedy at the religious festival there. We pray for their healing and for you to draw near to the loved ones of those who lost their lives. May you listen to their anguished cries and answer them that they would sense your hesed steadfast loving kindness, even in the midst of such sorrow.
On our hearts
are people in need in our church and community.
Wherever hearts are breaking …
bodies are failing …
minds are confused …
families are ruptured …
Lord, come with Your help and healing.
We continue to pray for your comfort and healing for Siddhartha Sahu's widow, Rosy and Aloke their son and daughter Suniti and their families.
We also pray for Biju Abraham and his family as they grieve their loss of Biju's father.
Here, too, as Your church gathered today,we give thanks for the saints of the past
and the fruit they have borne in our community and beyond.
Like them, help us to remain in You
that we may be fruitful
and bring glory to Your name.
Through Jesus Christ, the true vine.
May the mind of Christ my Saviour (MP463)
live in me from day to day,
by His love and power controlling
all I do and say.
2 May the word of God dwell richly
in my heart from hour to hour,
so that all may see I triumph
only through His power.
3 May the peace of God my Father
rule my life in everything,
that I may be calm to comfort
sick and sorrowing.
4 May the love of Jesus fill me,
as the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
this is victory.
5 May I run the race before me,
strong and brave to face the foe,
looking only unto Jesus,
as I onward go.
let us go from here to bear fruit in the name of the true vine,
