The Season of Ordinary Time
SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
Mid-Worship Engagement
Below, you’ll find elements from within the corporate worship gathering including scripture texts, prayers, and other resources depending on the week. These may be beneficial during the service or to refer back to afterwards.
Assigned Scripture
Ephesians 1:15-23
     15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to theÂ
working of his great power. 20Â God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21Â far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22Â And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23Â which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
First Testament:
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm:
100
Gospel:
John 10:14-21
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
As we focus on the Ephesians over the next few weeks to better understand the soul shift from me to we, go further in your study by watching the Bible Project’s overview of Ephesians. This video breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Ephesians, Paul shows how the good news should create ethnically diverse communities that are unified by devotion to Jesus and to each other.
At-Home Response
Following the weekly gathering, you’re invited to respond to the service by engaging in group discussion with those gathered with you. There are also additional activities if you’re looking for more ways to respond!
Discussion Questions
Christ is the Center of every Christian community and that community is the portal into Christ. They are not the same – Christ and His Community – yet we can’t get into the One except through the Other, nor into the Other except through the One. But what, exactly, is that community? And what are we doing to help each other find Christ?
Do you know anyone who has left the Church?  Why did they leave?  What were they looking for that they didn’t find?
If your small group was a centered community, what are two things you’d notice about it?  How true are those things of your community?
What is one practical step your group could take to get even better at knowing God?
Benediction
invite someone to offer this sending blessing to those gathered:Â
     May God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, give you love with faithfulness. May his grace be eternally upon you.
     In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, you are sent to join God, through his body, in bringing his kingdom to earth.Â
Want more to do?
Additional Activities
VIDEO RESOURCES
Paul writes that, “We are carefully joined together in [Christ], becoming a holy temple for the Lord” (Eph. 2:21). This is why the logo for the Me to We series includes the Temple.Â
In this video, the Bible Project explore how Israel’s temple in the Bible is described as the place where God’s space and humanity’s space are one. In fact, the whole biblical drama can be told as a story about God’s temple. In the opening pages of Genesis, God creates a cosmic temple, and in the person of Jesus, God takes up personal residence in his temple-world. By the end of the biblical story, all of creation has become God’s sacred temple
SCRIPTURE EXERCISES
Take the following portion of this week’s text and “transpose” it into a prayer for someone the Spirit brings to mind. Challenge yourself to come back to this prayer throughout this week considering how you might even participate with Christ in answering it.
God has put all things under
  the feet of Christ
and has made him the head
  over all things for the church,
   which is his body,
     the fullness of him
      who fills all in all. Â
OTHER WAYS TO RESPOND
The Sunday Worship Service is the start to a week of continued worship service. God’s kingdom-values are revealed to us each Lord’s Day so we can respond by more faithfully living out those values in our home, work-place, market-place, and all our relationships.
If you would like some practical ways to love others well, specifically during this season of special circumstances, click below to find opportunities.