Welcome to ROOTS at home for adults
Worship-at-home resources to help you read and reflect on this week's Bible passages
ROOTS is a partnership of denominations and other Christian organisations and has been publishing lectionary-based worship resources online and in print since 2002.
Copyright
You are welcome to copy this material for use in your own resources e.g. printed sheets or web pages including audio/video recordings. If you do so, please include this acknowledgement to ROOTS:
© ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www.rootsontheweb.com) 2002-2020.
Reproduced with permission.
Opening prayer
In your love we trust, creator God:
your love for your world;
your love for each one of us;
your love that invites us to love others,
to love ourselves, and to love you.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
receive our love now, and our thanks.
Amen.
Activities
The Lord’s Prayer
Jesus’ prayer in John 17 has strong echoes of the Lord’s Prayer (or is it vice versa?).
Place or print a copy of the Lord’s Prayer at the centre of a sheet of A4 paper. Look for phrases and words in today’s Gospel reading that relate to the Lord’s Prayer and write them around the prayer.
Glory - an individual activity
If you had to illustrate the phrase The Lord of the Dance, what images would you use? Would they be literal interpretations or would you use pictures of DNA or nebulae, footstep diagrams of the waltz or something else? Let your faith-filled imagination run riot with this!
When you have spent some time thinking about this, look at these YouTube sequences:
The host of Seraphim; Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
Glory – a group activity
Make a giant picture based on the phrase ‘the whole earth is full of God’s glory’.
Give each person the same-sized piece of paper. They should colour it/stick pictures on it – anything that speaks to them of God’s glory (be that a simple block of a wonderful colour, or the intricate detail of something really complex). Lay out all the pictures to make one huge pattern — in any shape you like.
When you look at the wonder and scale of whatever you have created together, remember that it barely scratches the surface of the fullness of God’s glory. Pray for the grace to live in constant awareness of the glory of God filling the earth.
This week's Live your faith sheet
(Bible notes, prayers, a picture and questions for reflection, a live your faith action)
Prayers
A prayer of praise
Lord God, all the world belongs to you.
You spoke your creative word in the beginning,
to bring life where there was nothing.
You spoke your reconciling word in Jesus,
and welcomed us to life in all its fullness.
You spoke your redeeming word in his promise
to be with us always in your Spirit,
giving us strength for the tasks of Christian living,
and hope for a transfigured future.
For all you have given, for all you now give,
and for all you have promised to give in the future,
we offer you our praise and thanks.
Amen.
A meditative prayer about not clinging on
Christ passes the baton on, to share the race,
to keep his story growing each day alive in us…
His endings – beginnings
our beginnings and endings.
How do you tell which is which?
The eternity of his life wheel keeps turning in us.
Encounters, departures,
sadness of loss, hopes for the new.
Lord, teach us to live loosely and gently…
to hold love not too tightly…
to see each day as the moment,
each moment as a gift.
Help us to give blessing to others,
to call out the goodness in everything.
May the Spirit of the Christ who hands over the work to his friends,
rise in us as we become his hands…
May the encouragement of the Christ who steps back so that we may grow,
rise in us as we seek to do his will…
Amen.
A prayer of adoration
Almighty Father, we come before you.
You are the King of glory, the King of kings.
You created the world
and rule it from your sacred throne.
You formed humanity for yourself
and called women and men to tell of your glory.
You sent your Son, who spoke of your kingdom
but he was rejected and killed.
You raised him from death and he walked with his disciples,
sending them to the ends of the earth.
You carried him into the heavens
where he rules with authority and power.
Lead us in our prayers today,
that we may share your glory to the ends of the earth.
Amen.
Listen and sing
Preview songs on YouTube, buy online and download.
Glorify thy name, Shane & Shane on Seven
Unshakeable, Fred Hammond on United tenors: Hammond Hollister Robertson Wilson
How great is your love, Phil Wickham on Living hope (the house sessions)
Traditional hymn(s): All heaven declares
Don’t forget that, as subscribers,
all the normal weekly and issue-based materials are available to you: |
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- In conversation with the Scriptures
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- A range of adaptable prayers and activities
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