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A
YOUTH WORSHIP EXAMPLE
This is a worship
service I put together with several Jr. High age kids at my UCC church in
Sebastopol. We began by looking at
the lectionary. Of the four
passages they liked 1 Samuel 3:1-10 the best.
This is the story of the boy Samuel’s call to serve God.
As we talked, the kids said they liked it because it was about a kid, and
they liked the idea that no matter how old you are you can be called to serve
God. The other three passages were
also about service, and we spent time discussing them as well.
Next, I
walked them through the five parts of a worship service until everyone
understood each part and what its purpose is in worship.
We talked about how we traditionally do each part in our service and then
I let them know that as long as we accomplished the purpose of each part, we
could be as creative as we wanted.
The next
thing we did was to try and distill the message of the scripture down to a
simple theme that we would weave through everything in the worship service in
order to help make it feel like an integrated whole.
They decided that the message was that God calls people to do God’s
work in the world despite their flaws and imperfections.
Keeping
this message in mind, we went to work brainstorming how we wanted to get that
across to the congregation. We
began by deciding to do the scripture in the form of a dramatic reading and
skit. Then we brainstormed other
people in the Bible besides Samuel who had “excuses” for not doing what God
called us to do. We came up with: ·
Moses who had a
hard time talking (Exodus 4:10) ·
Sarah who
laughed when God said she was going to have a baby at an old age (Genesis
18:9-15) ·
Jeremiah who
thought he was too young to serve God (Jeremiah 1:6) ·
Mary who
didn’t have a husband (Luke 1:34) Then we
brainstormed things each person could do to answer God’s call and do God’s
work. We came up with: ·
helping younger
siblings with their homework ·
helping parents
or grandparents with housework ·
cheering up
depressed friends ·
helping a
stranger take off their skis if they are stuck on the slopes ·
not getting mad
when we are being teased ·
helping a
kitten ·
doing fund
raisers for good causes ·
donating books
or clothes for flood victims ·
and lots more They asked
me to develop the reading or skit, incorporating the brainstorming into the
scripture reading and sermon.
Next we brainstormed songs that would fit into the theme. We thought about songs that the whole congregation could
sing: ·
Be Thou My
Vision (out of the hymnal) ·
Pass It On (a
camp song) ·
Prepare Ye the
Way of the Lord (from the musical “Godspell”) ·
and several
others We thought
about music that individuals or the whole group, could do as the prelude,
postlude, offertory, call to prayer, etc. Some
people played piano or sang or played another instrument.
They volunteered to do different musical parts of the service.
Someone thought of a rap song that they liked that talked about helping
other people and we decided to play the CD during the offertory.
Then we moved on to brainstorming about things we wanted to pray for,
following the “Thank you, I’m sorry, and Help” pattern of prayer.
The last thing we did in the planning session was to decide who was
comfortable reading in public for the different parts of the service, and who
would rather do non-speaking things like being ushers, acolytes, greeters, etc.
The next time we gathered, I had taken all their brainstorming and
crafted it into a worship service. We
went into the sanctuary and practiced the whole thing with the church sound
system so the kids knew what to do and were comfortable the following week when
they were to lead the service. The
final “script” looked like this: Prelude:
two kids playing a duet on the piano Greetings
and Congregational Announcements Call
to Worship: The
whole congregation singing “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” as the youth
group processes in. Prayer
Concerns from the Congregation Hymn
of Preparation for Prayer:
“Spirit of the Living God” out of the hymnal Unison
Prayer of Confession: Dear
God, we confess that we let the noise of our everyday lives drown out your voice
calling us. We confess that when we
do hear you, we often balk at doing what you ask because we are too young, or
too old, or too shy, or too weak. God,
you know our limitations: help us to remember that through you, all things are
possible. God, we ask that you give
us ears to hear your calling and the faith and strength to respond. Amen Song
of Assurance:
“Jesus Loves Me” Prayers
of Confession, Thanksgiving, and Intercession: Reader
1: Please join us in prayer. Dear
God, please forgive us for not always listening to you.
Forgive us for not helping others when we have the chance to.
Forgive us for fighting with our families and for not listening to the
adults who love us when they try to give us good advice.
Thank you for forgiving us when we admit that we’ve been wrong. Reader
2: Thank you God for the church, for our friends, for our families, for music,
for shelter, for love, for health, for fun places to hang out, for telephones
that help us talk with our friends and family, for people who care, for research
to cure diseases like AIDS and cancer. Hear now the things we are thankful for
as we tell them to you silently. Reader
1: Hear now the things, the places, and the people we are concerned about.
The people facing hardship in Africa, in Texas, in Stockton, for the
families that are torn by alcohol and other drug problems, for the people with
AIDS and their families, for those touched by racism or homophobia, for the
hungry. Hear now the things we are
concerned about as we tell them to you silently. Reader
2: God, thank you for pouring yourself into human form in the person of Jesus
and coming to teach us and love us. Hear
us now as we pray the prayer he taught his disciples, saying, “Our Father,
which art in heaven…” Song
of Response:
“Amazing Grace” from the hymnal Scripture
and Sermon: Responding
to God’s Call (Some
kids read the scripture, while other acted it out) Reader
1: Throughout human history many people have heard God’s call.
Sometimes it takes us time to recognize who is calling us. But the
important thing is to say yes when we figure it out.
Hear now the story of a little kid, younger than us, named Samuel. This
story is found in 1 Samuel chapter 3 verses 1-10.
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli,
the priest. It was rare for the
Lord to speak in those days. Visions
were uncommon. One day, it happened
that Eli was lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; he
could no longer see. The lamp of
God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in the sanctuary of the Lord
where the ark of God was, when the Lord called… God:
Samuel, Samuel. Reader
1: Samuel thought it was Eli who was calling him and ran to where Eli slept and
said… Samuel:
Here I am, since you called me. Reader
1: Eli said… Eli:
I did not call, go back and lie down. Reader
1: So Samuel went back to lie down. Once
again the Lord called… God:
Samuel, Samuel… Reader
1: Samuel got up and went back to Eli and said… Samuel:
Here I am, since you called me. Eli:
I did not call you, my son, go back and lie down. Reader
1: Samuel had as yet no knowledge of how the Lord revealed the word to people.
Once again the Lord called the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli and said… Samuel:
Here I am, since you called me. Reader
1: Eli then understood that it was the Lord calling the boy and said to
Samuel… Eli:
Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is
listening.” Reader
1: So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord then came and stood by, calling as before. God:
Samuel, Samuel. Samuel:
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. Reader
1: And Samuel went on to grow up to become a great prophet of God, because he
listened to what God was calling him to do and with God’s help and guidance he
went out and did it! (At
this point the kids stopped acting out the words and just read) Reader
3: On our journey to become active, faithful people of God, the first thing we
need to do is hear God’s call and respond.
That sounds easy, but many of us either don’t feel we are worthy, or
we’re too busy. We all have
excuses, but God knows our weakness and is ready to respond to our excuses. Reader
4: When God called Moses to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt and to the
Promised Land, Moses responded… Reader
5: But Lord, never in my life have I been a man of eloquence…I am a slow
speaker and not able to speak well. Reader
3: But God answered him, “I shall help you to speak and tell you what to
say.” Reader
4: But Moses still hesitated. So God said… Reader
5: There is your brother Aaron. I
know he is a good speaker. You will
speak to him and tell him what message to give.
I shall help you to speak to him, and then instruct you what to do. Reader
3: When God called Sarah to be the mother of a great nation… Reader
4: She laughed to herself and thought, “Now that I am past the age of
childbearing and my husband is old, am I really going to have a child in my old
age?” Reader
5: But God said, “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord to do?” Reader
3: When God called Jeremiah to be the prophet to the nations to warn them that
cheating the widows and orphans and the poor would be their downfall, Jeremiah
responded… Reader
4: “Oh Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am but a child!” Reader
5: But God said, “Do not say, ‘I am but a child.’ Go now to those to whom
I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect
you.” Then God touched
Jeremiah’s mouth and said, “There, I am putting my words into your mouth.” Reader
3: When the Angel told Mary that she was going to have a child who would be
called the child of the Most High Mary responded… Reader
4: “But how can this be? I have
no husband!” Reader
5: The Angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will cover you with its shadow, and so the child will be called
Holy and will be called the child of God.” Reader
3: We all have excuses not to hear God calling, or not to do what God calls us
to do. But with God’s power we can do great things. Reader
1: As we grow in faith, we begin to hear God calling us, just like God called
Samuel. Sometimes we are confused and don’t realize God is the one
calling. Sometimes we understand
it’s God, but have many excuses not to listen or do what God asks.
Reader
2: God calls us everyday to do things, like helping our sister or brother with
their math homework, or helping our grandma with the housework, or volunteering
to do something for our dad before he even asks. Reader
1: God calls us to cheer up a friend who’s depressed, or help a stranger
who’s stuck on the ski slope, or keep our cool when we are being teased, or
stand up for someone else who’s being teased. Reader
2: God calls us to help a kitten who’s been abandoned, or walk in a
walk-a-thon to raise money for people who can’t walk, or work at a food pantry
or a soup kitchen. Reader
1: God calls us to pull together with others and donate games and books to flood
victims, or have a canned food drive. Reader
2: You don’t have to be a great speaker, or an adult, or young and healthy, or
even married, to respond to God calling you.
God calls all of us. Listen;
what is God calling you to do? Song
of Response:
“This Little Light of Mine” Call
to Offering: God
has given each of us many gifts and talents.
God calls us to use what we have been given in the world. Let us dedicate back to God our gifts. Offertory:
The Rap song on CD Doxology Prayer
of Dedication:
Dear God, accept these gifts, not just the gifts of money, but the hands and
hearts of all of us who listen and try to answer your calling. Amen. Hymn:
“Be Thou My Vision” Benediction:
Go now and listen for God’s calling. Go
now and know God will give you the strength to fulfill that call.
Go in Peace. Congregational
Response: “Pass
It On” Postlude:
A trio of kids playing the violin, the piano, and the flute Deepening Faith: Youth Ministry Resources and Some Miscellaneous Advice Rev. Lizann Bassham, Front Porch Spirit Press Copyright © 2001
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