Are you one of the many Christians totally thrown off by the fact that you won’t be worshipping in your local church during Holy Week? Well friend, me too. That’s why I’m here typing.
Remember that little song we used to sing as kids? “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church to-ge-therrrrr!” Well, that’s exactly right. Our church is not a building, a church is not a steeple…it’s the people. You and I can totally worship a perfect & awesome God, wherever we are. No pandemic can stop that. You see, the enemy tries to distract us and we must remember that God is a creative God, and we are made in God’s image…so we just have to get creative! Just like I’ve seen for weeks – teachers threw together the rest of the year’s schoolwork on one day’s notice – businesses are reinventing the way they operate – churches have moved online, etc. It works! We just have to switch it up a bit. We have to work a little bit harder for the things we want, even though that’s very hard for our society.
You might be asking, “what’s your point, Emily.” Well, my point is, I’ve put together a few intimate things that you can do with the people in your home, or your friends via facetime, zoom, etc. Enjoy, make it your own, and praise Jesus for all that he has done, not just in this season, but every day you’re given life on earth.
Below is a small service for you and your loved ones. Take turns reading / leading each bullet point as you worship together.
MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE OUTLINE
What you will need: The worship order (below), bread, wine/grape juice (substitute it for anything if you don’t have it- no one will smite you if it’s coke and potato chips), towel, water, bowl/basin (optional).
Gather in an area with low lighting and candles – an intimate setting – maybe around a table or in a family room.
Introductory thoughts: Today we pause to remember the time that Jesus took to explain to the disciples their (and our) mission on earth. Too often we are concerned with our wants, our needs, our past, our reality, our future, God’s will for our lives, our families, and we very rarely stop to remember that it’s not all about us. Jesus knew he would be betrayed; he knew that it was his last night on earth and could have done anything. Jesus chose to spend his last night on earth teaching one final lesson on servanthood, after all, his biggest lesson on servanthood would be tomorrow night’s sacrifice. The word “maundy” comes from the latin mandatum novum meaning “new commandment.”
Read and consider this verse: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35.
Read: This commandment was new because the standards were higher. The old commandment was to “love your neighbor as yourself,” and the new commandment was to “love as Christ loves us.”
Stop and ponder in silence the difference between the old and new commandments to love your neighbor.
Think (sharing optional): In what ways or to whom do I need to love like Christ loves?
Read John 13 together.
Share: Why do you think that humility, sacrifice and love were Jesus’ last teaching subjects?
Optional activity: Take turns washing one another’s feet. As you wash their feet, pray for them. If you are home alone (or don’t do feet), consider calling a friend and praying for them. Write a note. Anything that puts you in a posture of humility, sacrifice and love.
Thoughts to consider: If Jesus never took the position of a servant, you and I would still be dead in our sin. Take some time to pray your own prayer of gratitude for Jesus’ heart and sacrifice.
Read Matthew 26:26. Take turns serving one another bread, and tell each other “this is Christ’s body broken for you because of His great love.”
Read Matthew 26:27-29. Take turns serving one another the cup of juice/wine and tell each other, “this is Christ’s blood, poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins and because of His great love.”
Sit in silence for a brief period.
Further Reading and Meditation:
- Matthew 26:31- Meditate on how Jesus knows our hearts, minds and motives yet still chooses to love us. We see that there is no limit to how far he will go to prove His love for us in spite of who we are.
- Matthew 26:36-46- Meditate on how Jesus must have felt knowing what was ahead: betrayal, loneliness, pain, slander, a brutal beating and death. However his prayer time in the garden (when he felt the weakest) refocused him on one thought that kept him on track: his triumphant resurrection. Take a moment to let prayer refocus your troubled mind on God’s promise of freeing hope and peace.
- Matthew 26:47-56- Meditate on the ways you have exchanged Jesus for the things of this world, yet Jesus still calls you “friend” (verse 50, NLT).
Play “To Be Like You” by Hillsong.
Closing thoughts: What kept Jesus focused was his mission and his love for each of us. Our salivation and forgiveness were worth all the pain, rejection, gossip, violence and death. This is the new commandment that he gives us – to love the same way.
Close in a prayer of thanksgiving.
Emily Sue Roach 