Call to Worship

Opening Prayer

"God is great and God is good and we thank you for our food.
By your hand we all are fed, give us Lord our daily bread."

         These children gathered here just now pray this childhood prayer, realizing that we all stand no bigger in your sight, O Lord, than the smallest one present. Thank for being who you are in a world which so often denies your existence. Thank you for not denying our existence.
         Forgive us, O Lord, when our lives are not in tune
                                                       with the words we speak in this place.
Renew us this hour with the good news of your salvation,
                                     the leadership of your Son, Jesus our Lord,
                                     the strengthening of your Spirit’s presence
                                               blowing through us as a fresh breath of air.
         Indeed, you are great and good, and your feast is why we are here, hungering and thirsting for your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Children’s Message
"Chain Reaction"

         When you have some exciting news, what is the first thing you want to do? That s right. We usually want to tell someone else. The Bible story Jane just read is about someone who found out some very good news. This man’s name was Andrew. One day Andrew began to follow Jesus. When Jesus saw Andrew following him, he asked him what he wanted. Andrew wanted to know where Jesus was staying, and Jesus took Andrew and another follower to that place. They spent the whole day with Jesus. After they left, the very first thing Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon Peter, so he could tell him all about Jesus.

         Andrew and Peter followed Jesus for the next three years that Jesus was on earth. After Jesus died, rose again, and then went to be with God in heaven, they spent their lives telling other people about Jesus. I imagine that many of the people they told about Jesus in turn told others.

         I d like for us to do a little experiment to see how many people could hear about Jesus if just one of us begins to tell the good news. I need one volunteer. I will whisper something in your ear ["Jesus loves you"], which you’ll whisper to two others, and they’ll pass on to someone else - and so on - until you all have heard it...

         How did it go? What was the message? That’s right! "Jesus loves you." You know, that’s how people learn about Jesus. Someone - like you - tells them. And then they tell someone else. And that "someone else" passes it on to other people. It’s like a "chain reaction." It just has to start with somebody ... somebody like you!

         Hey, as you leave for choir time with Ms. Marian, why don’t we try this experiment with the whole congregation! I’ll whisper the message into your ears ["Jesus is alive"], and as you go out you whisper it to the persons on the aisle of each pew. Tell them to pass it on. Ready? Let’s do it!

(adapted from Children’s Sermons to Go, pp. 33-34)

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

Listen, again, to the Psalmist, who prayed these words:

         Sacrifices and offerings are not what please you; gifts and payment for sin are not what you demand. But you made me willing to listen and obey. And so, I said, "I am here to do what is written about me in the book, where it says, ‘I enjoy pleasing you. Your Law is in my heart.’"            (Psalm 40:6-8, Contemporary English Version)

Will the ushers come forward to serve.

Dedication Prayer

         Lord God, you commanded us to love you with heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourself. Writing this upon our hearts is not easy. It is often less difficult to just write a check. Even so, continue to be at work in us with your Holy Spirit, creating a new heart which beats in tune with your Son, Jesus. Help us to give out of a sense of sheer joy, such that it is a pleasure to follow where He leads. It is in His name we pray. Amen.

A Confessional Reading
for two voices

"Called to be Saints"

Called to be saints . . .
         Who me?  Certainly, I'm not qualitfied.
Called to be saints . . .
         What's more, I'm not sure I want to be qualified!
Together with all those who call on the name of our Lord . . .
         All of us?  This congregation?  We're no saints!
Together with all those in every place who call on the name . . .
         Every place?  Every congregation?  I don't know about that.
Who call on the name of Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours . . .
         We know Jesus so differently, yet call on him the same.
Grace to you . . .
         Grace - unmerited grace - to all of us.
And peace . . .
         And peace.
Called to be saints . . .
         I'm beginning to wonder. What does it mean to be a saint?
Called . . .
         Perhaps it's about being called .  Called together.  And about grace.
Given to you in Christ Jesus . . .
         Maybe we don't need to be "saintly" to be saints.
Called . . . Grace . . . Given . . . Strengthened . . . God is faithful . . .
         God is faithful. Perhaps all that is asked is for us to be the same.

Janet L. Ober
Associate minister for children and youth
La Verne (CA) Church of the Brethren
Church of The Brethren Living Word Bulletin 1302