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Do Not Be Afraid . . . Remember! - Worship Guide

TOday's Announcements

Good morning Mercy Hill! Before you get started with this Sunday’s message, please check out the announcements brought to you courtesy of John Lugo.  The two critical resources he mentions can be found below.  Please do pay special attention to the last "Gospel Opportunity" mentioned regarding serving our city.  We'd love to see our neighbors reached through these Neighborhood Care Cards.  Remember, you can either print and cut your own or email Jill LeMoine at  to order some already prepared for you!  Let's move out in love for our city, even while maintaining the appropriate social distance ; )

• COVID-19 Updates Page
• Church in the Midst of a Pandemic: Establishing New Rhythms and Engaging New Opportunities.

Today's Sermon

Title: Do Not Be Afraid . . . Remember!
Text: Deuteronomy 7:17-19
Preacher: Nick Weber

Pause Points

Pause Point #1:

• How have you personally been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic this week?  How has your stress level been?  What has been tempting you towards fear and worry?  Have you experienced a bit of this "fear of the unknown"?  Explain. 
• Why do you think people are panic-buying and hoarding?  What are they trying to accomplish?  How might Jesus free us from this sort of thing?
• When you are struggling with fear and anxiety, do you have any go-to verses/promises from Scripture that you often "remember" and call to mind?  Explain.

Pause Point #2:

• How does the fact that God is faithful to His word help us face this current COVID-19 crisis without fear?  How have you experienced His faithfulness to you personally through the years?  How might remembering that help you as you step out into the unknown of tomorrow?

Pause Point #3:

• Reconsider the Footprints in the Sand poem and the idea that God is carrying us even now "as a man carries his son" (Deuteronomy 1:31).  Do you feel carried or do you feel abandoned?  Be honest.  Where do you think God is in your current situation?  How has He been mercifully at work even in the hard things?  How does remembering the cross give us confidence that God is will never leave or forsake us?

Pause Point #4:

• Read Psalm 77.  Note how the Psalmist does precisely the things encouraged by Moses in our text.  What speaks to you from this Psalm?  Have you ever felt similar?  How can we learn from the ways he handles his fears? 
• What would it look like to carry the truths we've remembered about our God this morning (that He is faithful, merciful, and stronger) into this next week?  How can these things walk out into the details of our life?  

Call to Response

Sing:

• Ancient of Days (Shane and Shane)
• Way Maker (Passion)

Pray:

If you need prayer in any way, please either: (1) post your request to our Mercy Hill Community Facebook Group; or (2) email us at We’d love to be lifting you up and caring for you in this time!

Give:

If you’d like to give an offering this morning, please check out our Give page to find the best option for you!

Have a Wonderful Week!

Don't forget to check out our Prayer Room for midweek connection!

Mercy Hill Kids

While difficult, this pandemic does create a wonderful chance for parents to step towards their God-given call as chief disciplers of their kids.  We know this may feel overwhelming and that is why we want to help!  Parents of Mercy Hill children should have already received an email from the Director of Mercy Hill Kids, Christina Lugo, regarding ways you can utilize the Gospel Project curriculum at home.  This information has also been included on our blog here.  Beyond this, each Sunday, we are also looking to host an online worship gathering for our kids.  You can check here for more details.  We'd love to have you join us!

If you have any questions or need help in any way, don't hesitate to reach out to Christina at    

Church in the Midst of a Pandemic: Establishing New Rhythms and Engaging New Opportunities

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly shaken things up as of late.  You can read how we are responding to things as a church more broadly on our COVID-19 Updates page.  Here I simply want to do two things.  First, I want to outline some of the new rhythms we are looking to establish as a church in an effort to bring a sense of order to the current chaos.  And, second, I want to share with you a couple new opportunities that have now opened up to us for the gospel.

New Rhythms

New Rhythm #1: Sunday Services

For the foreseeable future, it seems we will not be able to gather as a large group on Sunday mornings as we have been accustomed to.  Instead, our current plan is to continue to pre-record a sermon that will then be uploaded to our website by 10:00am Sunday morning in video format.  We will be providing a Worship Guide on our church blog to help you follow along at home.  Depending on current limitations and recommendations, feel free to engage in this with family, friends, or other Mercy Hill members insofar as you feel it is safe and wise for you to do so.  There will be punctuated times throughout the video where we will encourage discussion, prayer, etc.

New Rhythm #2: Home Groups

Beginning next week, we will be looking to move all of our Home Groups to an online format using Zoom or some other video conferencing platform.  The group leaders will be able to "host" the meeting and anyone interested can join from their home via a simple link.  To see each group's plan for this time and to find links for joining in remotely when the time comes, check out our Home Groups page here.

Note: If you have not to this point been a part of a Home Group, don't let that stop you!  This is a perfect (and very important) time to jump in.  Look for a group that you might see yourself continuing on with in the future, contact the leader(s) to let them know you'd like to take part, and do it!  If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out to us at

New Rhythm #3: The Prayer Room

In light of the current shelter-in-place order whereby we find ourselves unable to meet with one another in person, we wanted to create a regular and reliable online space for us to connect and pray.  We're calling this space "The Prayer Room."  Using Zoom's video conferencing platform, this Prayer Room will be open from 12:00-12:45pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning March 23rd and continuing indefinitely.  You can enter the room by clicking the appropriate link found within the event on our website's calendar (e.g. check out the first Prayer Room event).  One of Mercy Hill's leaders will be hosting and facilitating the time together.  Feel free to eat your lunch while you pray!

Each time will follow the same basic outline:

• 12:00-12:10 - People enter the room and begin to share prayer requests (please be timely!).
• 12:10-12:40 - Those in the room begin to engage in prayer together.
• 12:40 - We say our goodbyes and leave the room until next time.
• 12:45 - We go about our day and watch as God moves!

I hope you can join us for these!

New Gospel Opportunities

New Gospel Opportunity #1: Serving the Church!

We know that the effects of this pandemic are widespread and multi-faceted.  Some of you may be worried about your health.  Others may be concerned financially.  Still others may be struggling from isolation and loneliness.  Whatever, the case, we want to serve you during this hard time!  You are not alone.  God designs the church to support one another in times like these (e.g. Acts 4:32-35).  Please head on over to the COVID-19 SOS Form and let us know if we can help you in anyway.

New Gospel Opportunity #2: Serving the City!

The current crisis has also opened up new opportunities for us to serve our neighbors and city as well.  One way we'd like to pursue this is through the use of what we're calling Neighborhood Care Cards.  The idea was inspired by this post from The Gospel Coalition (please take a moment to read it!).  You can either print and cut these cards yourself, or you can pick up a stack ready to go (in color and on quality cardstock) from Jill LeMoine.  Email her at  to place your "order" (don't worry, she can set them on her front doorstep for you to pick up).

Once you have your Neighborhood Care Cards, here are the next steps:

• Be sure to put your name, address, and contact info on each card.
• If you know the neighbor, you may want to even write a personal note to them on the back of the card.
• Drop the cards off on your neighbors' doorsteps.  Pray for them as you do!
• When someone responds, if you're able to care for them yourself, go for it.  If you need help either running errands or getting funds, please reach out to us at  and we will try to mobilize our resources to help.
• Care for your neighbors and share with them the love of Christ!

Times like these provide Christians opportunity to show the world where our treasure really lies (Heb 10:32-34).  So, God help us, let's do just that!