Drawing Near to God:

Welcome! We are delighted that you joined us for ToGather.church. (More information about ToGather.church is available here.)

What follows is our home worship guide for you to use on your own or to share with your friends, family, home group, or house church. Our theme today comes from the gloriously hopeful passage in Romans 8:1-4. Our focus is Romans 8:2 and the incredible promises of liberation from law-keeping, transformation toward Jesus, and life given us by the Holy Spirit.

Paul's longest and clearest declaration that we no longer serve under a law — under any law — is 2 Corinthians 3:1-18. Paul insists that we serve under a new covenant, a covenant not based on law but on the life-giving Spirit of God (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). While the old, ineffective covenant given to Moses came with glory, the new covenant has come with far greater glory, and it endures forever (2 Corinthians 3:9-11). We are now free to become all that God longs for us to be in Christ because his will is written onto our hearts and not onto tablets of stone. Jeremiah promised God's people that this new covenant was coming (Jeremiah 31:31-33). Our goal is no longer living up to any law, but becoming like Jesus:

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT).

We rejoice in living by the power and freedom of the Holy Spirit. We praise God for all that he has done for us in Jesus. We thank Jesus for sending the Spirit to each of us as the Father's child. We cry out to God, "Thank you!" as we sing, "For All You've Done," led by the Zoe Group. How wonderful is God's mercy! Let's worship him for all that he has done.

Welcome to the Table of the Lord:

This new covenant, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is the result of God's grace given us in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection with power from the dead. Let's remind ourselves of this grace in the song, "His Grace Reaches Me," led by the Westover Hills Praise Team:

Our goal is to live for Jesus until he comes. Phil, Donna, and Megan Ware invite us to join them in family Communion as they remember events in their family story that prompts them to remember Jesus' story and all that he has done for us:

Set Free by the Spirit to Find Life:

God's desire has always been to bless each of his human children with a life that is full and abundant. Jesus came to give us this life (John 10:10). Jesus gave his life to give us life. Thankfully, the evil one who thought he had won by crucifying Jesus actually opened the door for Jesus to triumph over sin, death, and hell for us. Let's join with Hillsong Worship and sing "Grace to Grace," celebrating Jesus' liberating power in the grace of God:

How wonderful and how marvelous is our Savior's love! He's freed us from our chains and gave us the ultimate victory through his empty tomb. Not only that, when we confessed Jesus as our Lord, trusted in him as our Savior, and shared with him in his death, burial, and resurrection, he poured the Holy Spirit out upon us (Titus 3:3-7). We are God's children of the Spirit! Join Phil as he leads us in a deeper look at our Verse of the Day, Romans 8:2.

Wow! Jesus has given us the freedom to live life to its fullest as we are transformed to become increasingly more like him by the power of the Holy Spirit. With the song, "Spirit Lead Me," by Michael Ketterer and Influence Music, let's invite the Spirit to lead us in our dance of life:

Now join Hillsong Young and Free's song, "Sinking Deep," to proclaim that we are wide awake as we draw close to Jesus and are stirred by the grace of God. We live our lives by God's mercy and the Spirit's power as we offer all of hearts to God:

We rejoice in living by the power and freedom of the Holy Spirit.

Our Closing Blessing:

We have rejoiced in the gift of life given us by the Holy Spirit during our time of worship. Let's conclude with a focus on walking in the hope and joy of the Spirit, with our closing blessing:

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:5-6, 13).

Postscript:

Shortly after ToGather is posted each weekend, the videos are professionally captioned and posted on YouTube. See all of our ToGather.church videos on our YouTube® Channel.

Special thanks for Multi Transcription Services of America (MTSOA.com) for their fine work. See them for all your questions about marketing YouTube® videos and expanding your online reach. Email Lee for more info.

Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus' ministry from The Lumo Project and Free Bible Images.