Following a powerful partnership journey to Tanzania, the United Methodists of Greater New Jersey have set forth on an ambitious mission: the “For Tanzania 2024” campaign.

The following is worship resources to aid in bringing this campaign to your local worshipping community. Together, we can build a church, support pastors, and make a lasting difference for our siblings in Christ across Tanzania.

Fall Kick-Off Series

The idea of talking about our faith and sharing it with others can cause strong reactions. Fear. Nerves. Excitement. Uncertainty. Let’s face it, telling the Good News of the Gospel can be difficult for lots of reasons, even when our faith is at its strongest. Yet a faith worth having is a faith worth sharing! Thankfully, scripture not only tells us to share our faith, it also helps us learn how, for our own time and place. Coming soon!

Week 1: The Great Commission | Matthew 28:16-20
Week 2: The Good News is for Everyone | Acts 10:30-48
Week 3: Meet People Where They Are | Acts 17:16-28
Week 4: The World Needs the Good News | John 3:11-20

Stewardship & Generosity Campaign Series

We get lots of messages about what is important, what the “good life” is, and everything we need to do – and have – to achieve it. Still, so many of us remain unsatisfied, chasing after the next thing in search of fulfilment. But there is good news for us! God desires for us to have lives of contentment, freedom from worry, and joy in abundance. And Jesus shows us the way there. As we learn how to find our contentment in God, we will also discover the beauty in giving. Our lives will be evidence that the good life is the generous life – a life through which the grace of God flows into the world.

Week 1: Living in a World of and with Scarcity | Matthew 6:24-34
Week 2: Finding Our Contentment with God: Spiritual Maturity | 1 Timothy 6:6-12
Week 3: The Gift of a Self-Emptying God | Ephesians 3:5-12
Week 4: Abundance is Communal and Connectional | John 6:1-14

Advent & Christmas

Anyone who has hosted a Christmas dinner or party can tell you, there is a ton of preparation that goes into throwing these holiday celebrations. Many of us find ourselves doing lots of preparing in this busy season of lights, tinsel, and wrapping paper. Yet, what are we really preparing for?Who are we really preparing for? This Advent, hear God’s call: “Prepare!” – for the coming one, Jesus. Hear this imperative as an invitation to strip away all the fuss and ready your heart and life for the change that is coming when Jesus gets here. Coming soon!

Week 1: Keep Awake | Mark 13:24-37
Week 2: Get Ready | Mark 1:1-8
Week 3: Testify | John 1:6-8, 19-28
Week 4: Be Courageous | Luke 1:26-38
Christmas Eve: Go! | Luke 2:1-20
Week 5: Worship and Bless | Luke 2:22-40

God’s mercies are new every morning! But sometimes it is easy for us to get stuck in the same old routine. This New Year let’s hit the “reset button,” so we can claim the fresh start God makes available to us. As we rediscover our true identity in the love of God, we will discover new purpose and, guided by the compass of God’s values, head off in an exciting God-given direction! Designed for the New Year.

Week 1: Soul Reset | Luke 3:21-23

Week 2: Reset Purpose | Mark 1:32-39

Week 3: Reset Values | Galatians 5:24-6:10

Week 4: Reset Direction | Acts 9:1-15

Throughout Scripture and today, God sustains God’s people in the most basic of human ways – physically, with food and drink, and spiritually – with food and drink for our souls. This Lent, as we remember what it means to be human, we find refreshment from God’s fountain of grace. The different images of cups shown in Scripture will serve as a touchpoint for exploring aspects of our relationship with God. What does our brokenness say about us? What does discipleship look like? What does it mean to seek justice? This exploration culminates in the most exciting celebration of all – that Jesus is risen for us and we have new life in him! Designed for Lent 2022.

Ash Wednesday: The Cup of Fasting | Isaiah 58:1-12

Week 1: The Broken Cup | 2 Corinthians 4:5-11

Week 2: The Cup of Living Water | John 4:7-29, 39

Week 3: The Cup You Choose | Psalm 16

Week 4: The Cup of Discipleship | Matthew 20:20-28

Week 5: The Cup of Compassion | Matthew 25:31-46

Week 6 Option 1: From Empty to Overflowing (Palm/Passion Sunday) |

John 12:12-19, Psalm 22, Psalm 23

Week 6 Option 2: The Overflowing Cup | Psalm 23

Holy Thursday: The Cup of the New Covenant | Matthew 26:20-29

Good Friday: Jesus’ Cup for Us | Matthew 26:30-27:66

Easter Sunday: The Cup that Never Runs Dry | John 20:1-18

Church is not a place you go, it’s something you are and something you do. Encounters with Jesus change people, not just for a moment, but by transforming us into something new. But we are not new by ourselves! We become new as part of a community, the church, held together and sent out by the Holy Spirit to introduce more people to the transformative Jesus! To be the church is to do God’s mission in the world. Designed for Spring.

Week 1: Be A Witness #ToInfinityAndBeyond | Matthew 28:16-20

Week 2: Be a Disciple #notjustachurchgoer | Luke 9:23-25

Week 3: Be Transformational | Romans 12:1-2

Week 4: The Church of the Pentecost | Acts 2:1-21 (focus:17-21)

The heart of worship is celebration! We celebrate who God is, what God has done for us in Jesus, and the new Spirit-filled lives we get to live because of it. By taking the time to celebrate God’s gifts to us — gifts of diversity, unity, promise, and new life – we are attuning ourselves to the good things in life, so that, even in times of struggle and hardship, we can be sustained. Designed for Summer/After Pentecost.

GNJ Clergy Team, Facilitator Gabby Corbet

Week 1: Celebrate Diversity | 1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Week 2: Celebrate Unity| Ephesians 4:1-16

Week 3: Celebrate Promise | Romans 4:3;13-25

Week 4: Celebrate New Life | Mark 5:35-43

Laity Sunday is observed on the third Sunday in October (October 16, 2022). Each year The United Methodist Church celebrates the ministry and witness of laypersons everywhere through a special service.

We often think of blessings as things we receive. While it is true that God, by grace, freely gives us all that we have, we are not just passive recipients of God’s blessings! Just as God blesses us through people in our lives, so does God promise to bless others through us. When we live from a place of gratitude for God’s gifts and trust in God’s provision, we can be agents of God’s blessing in our world.

Week 1: A Legacy of Blessings: “I Know Who I Am” | 2 Corinthians 9:1-5

Week 2: Blessed People Bless Others | 2 Corinthians 9:6-10

Week 3: Overflowing Blessings | 2 Corinthians 9:11-15

Advent & Christmas

Prophets are painters. They paint pictures of a time to come when people will be at peace with one another, hope will be made real, and all will shout for joy! Even if that time seems far off, we know it has already begun in Jesus, who is love come down to transform our lives and the world. This Advent season, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we celebrate how he has made possible what once seemed impossible – peace, hope, joy and love!

Week 1: Peace Made Possible | Isaiah 2:1-5
Week 2: Hope Made Possible | Isaiah 11:1-10
Week 3: Joy Made Possible | Isaiah 35: 1-10
Week 4: Love Made Possible | Matthew 1:18-25
Christmas Eve: The Impossible Made Possible | Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Week 5 (After Christmas): God Found in Impossible Places | Matthew 2:13-23

Our world often tells us that being courageous is about strength, bravery, and heroic acts. This series explores what courage looks like in the New Testament and expands our understanding of courage. Together, we will learn how courage can help us raise other people up, transform our communities, and face new and challenging situations. Designed for January 2021.

Week 1: Courage to be Vulnerable | Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11
Week 2: Courage to be Gracious | Scripture: Philippians 1:2-12
Week 3: Courage to be Last | Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5
Week 4: Courage to be First | Scripture: Philippians 3:10-16

Designed for Lent.
Habits and routines help us stay on track in many areas of our lives – whether it’s our physical, mental, or emotional health. They can help us grow in our spiritual lives too. In this series, we will explore several spiritual disciplines, or faithful habits, that can help us deepen our relationship with God. Lent is the perfect time to commit or recommit to a spiritual discipline, as we enter a season of self-examination in preparation for Easter.

Ash Wednesday: Self-examination | Scripture: Psalm 51:6-12
Week 1: Prayer | Scripture: Romans 8:26-27
Week 2: Scripture | Scripture: Psalm 1:1-3
Week 3: Fasting | Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18
Week 4: Confession | Scripture: 1 John 1:5-9
Week 5: Worship | Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31-33
Palm/Passion Sunday: Silence | Scripture: Mark 14: 26-41
Maundy Thursday: Love One Another | Scripture: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Good Friday: Scripture: John 18 & 19:1-30
Easter Sunday: Gratitude | Scripture: Luke 24:1-12; 52-53

God creates, knows, loves, and sees all of us in our full humanity. But as people, we can fall into the habit of assuming everyone is the same or everyone is like us. While we share a common humanity, these assumptions can be harmful and prevent us from truly seeing other people and listening to their perspectives. By looking at Biblical stories, this series will help us learn how to listen to, respect, affirm, and act for and with others. In doing so, we can also come to know God even more fully.

Week 1: Hearing Other Voices | Scripture: Mark 10:46-52
Week 2: Sisters Are Doing it for Themselves | Scripture: Numbers 27:1-11
Week 3: R.E.S.P.E.C.T. the Stranger | Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:14-22, focus verses: 10:17-19
Week 4: Diverse People, One Vision | Scripture: Revelation 7:9-17

We invite you to be part of a summer of love – no, not the 1960s version! 1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” But what does that mean? Through this series, we will look at four different ways we can love God and the people around us by following the example and teaching of Jesus. Embrace your inner Hippie!

Week 1: Loving Friends | Scripture: John 21: 3-4, 10-17
Week 2: Loving Community | Scripture: John 6:1-13
Week 3: Loving Family | Scripture: Luke 10:38-42
Week 4: Loving God | Scripture: Mark 2:23-28

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, insisted that Christian faith was more than just a set of beliefs or a feeling. Faith changes our lives and results in faithful action in the world. The New Testament letter of James gives the same message. This series will look at John Wesley’s General Rules in connection with readings from James to show how our faith can come to life in all that we say and do.

This series follows the epistolary readings from the Revised Common Lectionary for Sept. 5- Sept. 26, 2021 [Year B].

Week 1: Genuine Faith | Scripture: James 2:1-7, 14-17
Week 2: Do No Harm | Scripture: James 3:1-12
Week 3: Do Good | Scripture: James 3:13-18, (4:1-3)
Week 4: Stay in Love with God | Scripture: James 5:13-20

(Stewardship Campaign Kit included)

When we face important decisions and opportunities in our lives, we often weigh the pros and cons. We often find reasons to avoid making changes and to keep doing things the same old way. But there comes a time when we must decide… are we going to play it safe or go all in? John 3:16 tells us that God loved us so much that he gave his only Son for us, “so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God’s love for us is “all in!” In turn, when we put all our trust in God, our lives can be freed for unimaginable wonder. This series will explore what it means to be “all in” for God with all of our being and all that we have.

Week 1: The Risk | Scripture: John 3:16; Luke 5:1-11
Week 2: Common Good | Scripture: 1 Cor. 12:4-13
Week 3: No Strings Attached | Scripture: Acts 2:43-47
Week 4: Commit | Scripture: Ephesians 4:22-24, John 3:16

God is leading us to let go of the past and to embrace the new things God is doing.

Laity Sunday.

Advent & Christmas

In the season of Advent, we prepare to welcome Jesus, the Messiah in God With Us. This year, as we await our Lord, we will put ourselves in the place of the first people who awaited and celebrated Jesus’ birth. Through their stories, we will learn what it meant for God to be with them, and we will open our eyes to experience God with us, too.

Week 1: God with Zechariah, the Skeptic | Scripture: Luke 1:5-16, 23-25, 76-80
Week 2: God with Joseph, the Dutiful | Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25
Week 3: God with Mary, the Faithful | Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
Week 4: God with the Shepherds, the Dismissed | Scripture: Luke 2:8-20
Christmas Eve/Christmas Day: God with Us | Scripture: Luke 2:1-20
Week 5: God with the World | Scripture: Luke 2:25-35