Maundy-Thursday Service
6:30pm
Welcome
The prophet Isaiah talked about Jesus saying this: (Isaiah 42:1) "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or
cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
Hymn: “Come Share the Lord”
Tonight we come to celebrate the one from God who rescues us. We know that we are in need of help to be all we want to be.
We know that we have fallen and done wrong. We know that we need one who can lift us up. So we search for the Christ from
God who comes to take away the sins of the world and bring us life. Tonight let us share this time with the Lord, celebrating
the gift he brings and deciding whether we allow him to be our leader.
Prayer
Special: “Come Expecting Jesus”
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts
be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me,
you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens,
so that when it does happen you will believe.
We watch for the Christ because we want comfort, we want healing and we want acceptance. We want the Christ
because we want a future that is bright and we need to be rescued from a world where we are too often torn down,
pushed aside and traveling the wrong pathways. Jesus brings us a future of peace and fulfillment by healing our wounds.
He helps us let go of guilt, he helps us to forgive others of the wrong they have done and he brings us wholeness.
Jesus brings us peace and fulfillment by showering acceptance on us. Christ’s acceptance is an acceptance based on his loving of us.
It is an acceptance that stands whether we also do what is good and right or not. It is an acceptance that remains whether
we return his love or not. Christ values us and so desires to be with us.
Jesus brings us peace and fulfillment by giving us a future of richness and goodness. It is a future where we are completed
because we are doing what we were created to do and where we find our every longing filled by our Lord.
Communion celebrates the peace of Christ found in how he rescues us from a world of hurt, uncertainty and rejection
and brings us into his kingdom of peace.
Hymn/Special: “Table of Peace”
John 13:13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have
done for you.
In Christ we can find peace and comfort, fulfillment and joy, because he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
But those blessing come as we set Jesus as the Lord for our lives. Communion celebrates how we have been rescued by Christ.
It also is a challenge for us to remember what was done and what is asked of us. We are to place ourselves at Christ’s feet
prepared to follow his example and to do what he asks.
We are to care for God’s children with the love that has been shown to us. We are to care by feeding the poor. We are to care
by clothing the naked. We are to care by healing the sick. We are to care by showing forgiveness. We are to care by showing
courtesy to others. We are to care by thinking of how our actions impact others. We are to care by not placing our desires above
the needs of others. We are to care by making the will of God the first priority in our lives. We truly celebrate the Lord’s Supper
when we come to it having opened our hearts, minds and lives to having Jesus as leader, boss, king and Lord.
Hymn/Special: “In Remembrance”
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
To receive the Lord’s Supper is to dedicate ourselves to the way of Jesus. It is to grab the life which he offers to us.
To drink the cup and eat the bread is to proclaim that we are willing to be changed, through the power of God and by our own
efforts, into the persons that God created us to be. God sees the beauty in us just as we are, but God also sees how we can be
even more beautiful and happier. God’s love for us made it impossible for the Lord to ignore our needs and so two thousand years
ago and every day since, God is reaching out in love to bring us life. Our choice is to stay with the brokenness and partial happiness
or to open ourselves to the richness that is offered through Christ.
Special: “For God so loved the World”
Words of Institution and Prayer for the Elements
Sharing in the Lord’s Supper
Matthew 28: 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
We are called to commit ourselves to Christ. The Lord’s Supper calls us to make that commitment, so as we remember what
Christ has done I invite yoiu to affirm your acceptance of Christ: “I believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Son of the Living God, and I accept
him as my personal Lord and Savior.”
Let us go rejoicing over the gift God has chosen to send us in the life of His Son, Jesus. Let us celebrate the love of Jesus that
brought him to us and lead him to offer his life for us. Let us claim him as Savior, as Lord and our God. Let us share with the
world the gift of his salvation, forgiveness and life.
Wallace SC&W www.wallaceresources.us
