The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Trygve: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Welcome to the Gathering Hope College!
And this is why we gather… we believe that Christ is the light of the world and in him there is no darkness at all… the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it at all!
Let us worship the God who comes to us as Light from true light!
Song
“God with Us”
Oh You’ve come to bring peace to be Love To be nearer to us You’ve come to bring life to be Light To shine brighter in us Oh Emmanuel God with us
Chorus Our Deliverer You are Savior In Your presence we find our strength Over ev’rything our Redemption God with us, You are God with us
Oh You’ve come to be Hope to this world For Your honor and name And You’ve come to take sin to bear shame And to conquer the grave Oh Emmanuel God with us
Bridge You are here You are holy We are standing in Your glory (Lord)
Song
“Praise the Lord/Rejoice”
Praise the Lord O my soul rejoice For his love is strong and His mercies are never ending All that I’ve needed you have provided Great is your faithfulness O Lord your mercy is new every morning Great is your faithfulness All the people sing
Chorus Praise the Lord O my soul rejoice For his love is strong and His mercies are never ending
From the beginning you have been with me Great is your faithfulness When I am downcast your love is steadfast Great is your faithfulness And all the people sing
Bridge Holy Holy Lord God almighty So worthy to be praised Holy Holy Lord God almighty My soul will bless your name Holy Holy Lord God almighty So worthy to be praised Holy Holy Lord God almighty My soul will bless your name All the people sing
Confession:
Based off of Psalm 23
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” But, O Lord, we are consumed with wanting more.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” But, O Lord, other pastures seem greener. The waters aren’t always still. Our souls still thirst.
“He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” O Lord, we long to be led by you, though we may complain along the path.
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff– they comfort me.” And yet, O God, we do sometimes fear. May we feel your presence, your comfort and your forgiveness anew.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” O God, sometimes we refuse to sit down at your table. Forgive us and help us to see your overflowing mercy.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” Forgive us, God, and lead us into your house.
Assurance
Romans 8:38–39
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Song
“Nothing to Fear”
When you pass through the waters I will be with you And the depths of the rivers Shall not overwhelm When you walk through the fire You will not be burned I am the Lord I am the Lord
Chorus And there is nothing to fear nothing to fear There is nothing to fear nothing to fear For I am with you always
In the depths of your sorrow I wept beside you When you walked through the shadow I drew you near Yesterday today tomorrow Always the same I am the Lord I am the Lord
Bridge What can separate you from my perfect love
Word
John 1:1-16 The Prologue of John
(If you can’t get the video to work, read the prologue three times slowly)
Table
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest . . .I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (Mt. 11:28 and Jn. 6:35
During this season we will grieve not sharing the Lord’s Supper with our hope community. Coming to the table together in Dimnent is a moment of shared glory with our beautiful Hope community. Here is a link to the liturgy that we often say together if you’ve been curious and want to spend some more time with it. As you share a meal in your space this Sunday evening pray that your community would be filled with Christ even in this fasting season of separation.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them this prayer. Please join with Christians of all times and all places in praying with Christ tonight. We’ve added some ‘extras’ for your time of intercession. We pray especially mindful of our deep need and dependency on God in the time of Covid 19.
Let us pray
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. . .
[Prayers of adoration and thanksgiving–how has God blessed you this week? How has he shown himself faithful, gracious, merciful?]
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. . .
[Prayers of longing for God’s peace and wholeness in your life, in the life of family, friends, the Hope community]
Give us this day our daily bread . . .
[Pray for the needs of your community–God’s keeping of medical personnel, God’s care of those who are alone, fearful, and anxious; God’s healing for those who are sick, God’s help for those who know the loss of job or income, etc.
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us . . .
[Prayers for reconciliation and forgiveness]
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. . .
[Prayers for the healing of the world, that hope may abound at Hope, for personal struggles with temptation and evil]
For Your is the Kingdom, the power, And the glory, forever. Amen!
Song
“Living Hope”
How great the chasm that lay between us How high the mountain I could not climb In desperation I turned to heaven And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness Your loving-kindness Tore through the shadows of my soul The work is finished the end is written Jesus Christ my living hope
Who could imagine so great a mercy What heart could fathom such boundless grace The God of ages stepped down from glory To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken I am forgiven The King of kings calls me His own Beautiful Savior I’m Yours forever Jesus Christ my living hope
Chorus Hallelujah praise the One who set me free Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me You have broken every chain There’s salvation in Your name Jesus Christ my living hope
Then came the morning that sealed the promise Your buried body began to breathe Out of the silence the Roaring Lion Declared the grave has no claim on me Jesus Yours is the victory whoa
Sending
Song
“Not Finished Yet”
I am tethered to Your every word My heart ever after Your heart first I will trust You here I will trust You here and now My hope always set in who You are Even when I can’t see every part I will trust You here I will trust You
Chorus I won’t forget the things You’ve done For I know that this is just the beginning You’re not finished yet You’re not finished yet Until I see Your promise come God with all I am I’ll keep believing You’re not finished yet You’re not finished yet
You don’t play games it’s not who You are You’re not the type to mislead my heart I can trust You here I can trust You here and now I’ve only known You to keep Your word I’ve only found love at every turn I can trust You here I can trust You
Bridge Until the dry bones wake until the mountains shake Until the darkness breaks I will praise You I will praise You
Candle
Trygve: Hope College, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket? That would be like failing to stay home in this quarantine…that would be dumb!
Trygve: You don’t put it under a bushel basket, you put it on a…
Hope: Lampstand!
Trygve: And it gives light to the entire…
Hope: Hoooouuuuussssssse.
Trygve: Conversation, bedroom study session, Zoom class, Google Hangout, Facebook Live event….Wherever you are at, whatever you do, and whoever you are with – may God’s light and love shine through you, so that each person you encounter might experience in some measure the love and light of God. Stand where you are and hold your hands out….(The Holy Spirit will cover the distance!).
And as we step into this week together let us sing the song that anchors our hope in God…
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise God all creatures here below Praise God above ye heavenly host Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Thanks for joining us today. Today’s Chapel is a reflection on one of my favorite moments in Genesis. Hagar is feeling lost and alone and the angel of the Lord comes to find her.
“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”
As you are at home, we wanted to invite you to be at home with us in the Huys der Hope! For the remainder of the semester, we will be offering Chapel remotely at 10:30 a.m. on the Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays that Hope is scheduled to be in class.
As a people who celebrate God’s incarnation in Jesus Christ, remote chapels are not our ideal. We like to be in person — to see each other’s faces and to hear each other’s voices. But in this disruption, we also want to stay connected with you, and invite you to stay connected with us at Hope College. So in between your remote classes, join us here as we work on the theme “Keeping Hope” with selective texts from the book we love!
Today’s chapel is a reflection on one of my favorite verses:
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
This is a text that reminds me that the reality of my hope is rooted in a living Christ who reminds us not to be afraid. You can read the whole context in Revelation 1:9–20.
Hope College is staying calm and carrying on! Faculty will deliver classes remotely, and Campus Ministries will also be offering a version of Chapel online. We are still working out the details, but we will be delivering Chapel remotely on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:30 am.
Check back in this space for more information and communication. Again, we will be experimenting a little — but we want to invite you to stay connected to a worship rhythm even from home.
For the Gatherings, we will be providing an online liturgy the day before right here on the Campus Ministries blog.
You may be wondering how I pray in this season, and what I
pray for. Here are a few recommendations
of prayer for the Hope Community:
We have students returning from semesters abroad. Pray for safe and uneventful travel and for their protection from any kind of illness, and for their disappointment at having their experiences cut short.
Our spring sports athletes are grieving the loss of their seasons. For so many of our students, athletics is their outlet, their community, and their joy. Our winter athletes missed out on their grand finales: NCAA tourneys and meets. These losses are especially hard for seniors. Pray for these teams and their coaches as they grieve and make a way forward.
We have many students from the countries where the virus has been for several weeks. They are concerned for family and friends, and also wondering about travel plans home for the summer. Please pray for our international students to have peace and for homes to open up if they need somewhere for summer.
Our international students, staff, and faculty are aware of the bias that can crop up during times of crises. Pray that our community is anti-racist in every way, especially as we care for our friends from other countries and cultures.
Pray for the health professionals, researchers, government officials, and public health providers and networks working tirelessly to help flatten the curve and slow down this pandemic.
God will bring other things to mind—names, faces, departments—listen to God as he calls us to pray.
As a Campus Ministry team we have been living into these words from the Apostle Paul:
“The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Phillippians 4:4-7
I love this scripture. Paul reminds us God shows up. He encourages us not to let anxiety define our reality. In keeping hope we are called to prayer!
Our prayer for you in this season is that all anxiety will melt away like an ice-cube in the sun, as you pray and experience the peace of Christ, who will guard your thinking and your feeling in this time of uncertainty. Remember, the Lord is near! This is good-news.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, who guards our hearts and minds, be with you all!