Worship - February 5, 2006

Call to Worship
(Psalm 147:1-11)

(Reader 1 speaks from the lectern and motions to the lofty things mentioned. Reader 2 begins in the back of the sanctuary and walks forward, motioning to the lowly things mentioned.)

1 - Praise the LORD!
2 - How good it is to sing praises to our God;
1 - for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 - The LORD builds up the city; he gathers the outcasts. He heals
      the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.
1 - He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them
     their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his
     understanding is beyond measure.
2 - The LORD lifts up those who have fallen down, while those who
      have done the pushing will themselves taste the dust.
1 - Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God
      on the lyre. He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain
      for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills.
2 - He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens
     when they cry.
1 - His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure
      in the speed of a runner;
2 - No, the LORD takes pleasure in those who live in awe of his
      wonder, and delights in those whose hope is grounded in his
      steadfast love.
1 - Praise the LORD! ... If you are able, please stand and sing of
      how "Great is the Lord," #87 in your hymnal.

Opening Prayer

O God who builds and gathers and
                    heals and binds and
                    lifts up and feeds;
            who names and knows and
                    covers and showers and grows,
                                        We praise you!

Humbly we confess the ways in which we
                   tear down what you have built up,
                   tear apart what you have sown together,
                   wound those whom you love,
                   fail to reach out and lift up and feed
                                      the very people you came in Christ to save.
We have been more aware of our own needs and wants this week,
        and paid more attention to the work of our own hands,
                   than we have to the glimpses of your glory all around us.
Forgive us and help us to live, instead, with a sense of awe and wonder,
                    hoping in your steadfast love and faithfulness.

Keeping our eyes upon Christ Jesus,
whose name is above every name, we pray. Amen

(used again 2/5/12)

Affirming our faith

Leader: We affirm that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
                  Miriam, Hannah, and Mary is our God.
People: We affirm that God has come to us in our likeness,
                  taking the form of a servant in Jesus of Nazareth.
Leader: We believe that god, in Christ, suffered the pain and agony
                  of the cross to provide for our salvation.
People: We believe that God demonstrated power over sin and death
                  by raising Jesus from the dead
                  and declaring that the risen Christ is Lord.
Leader: God has given us new life and freedom
                  in the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
                  who is the guide and power of the community of believers.
ALL: We believe that in the end, God's rule of peace and justice
                  will be fully established
                  and that Jesus Christ will reign forever and ever.

Hymnal #710
Adapted from a liturgy of baptism
by Assembly Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.,
Baptism and Church Membership, Worship Series 3,
ed. James H. Waltner,
�1979 Faith & Life Press/Mennonite Publishing House.

Jesus knows me this I love

     A.
Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
         Yes, Jesus loves me!
         Yes, Jesus loves me!
         Yes, Jesus loves me!
         The Bible tells me so.

     B.
Jesus knows me, and this I love
Because He's always watching me from above
No matter if you are big,
No matter if you are small,
Jesus loves us one and all.
         Yes, Jesus knows me
         Yes, He loves me,
         Jesus loves me ... Just remember that
         Jesus loves and cares about me
         Because the Bible tells me so.

Bradbury/Bock

Listening Prayerfully
Isaiah 40:21-31

         In Hebrews 4:12, the word of God is described as "living and active." "Sharper than any two-edged sword," God�s word is able to cut through the surface of who we are - the mask we project to everyone else. If we allow this word to speak to us, in us, through us, according to Hebrews, "it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." In other words, God cuts through all the inner garbage to help us discern what is really real. If we allow this to happen, that is.
         Just now, let�s "allow this to happen" as we listen prayerfully to what God says through the prophet Isaiah. Prayer is a conversation, you know. It is not just us talking to God. It�s a two-way street. When we love someone, and they love us enough to know us deeper than on a surface level, we spend less time trying to figure out what we will say in response when they speak to us, and more energy just experiencing their words. "Jesus loves me, this I know," our children reminded us a few minutes ago. Furthermore, "Jesus knows me, this I love."
         Though the words of Isaiah, right now, listen to the One who knows us and loves us. Afterward, simply sit a few moments in silent wonder before the spoken prayer...

1 - Have you not known?
2 - Have you not heard?
1 - Has it not been told you from the beginning?
2 - Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
1 - It is God who sits above the circle of the earth, and
      its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
2 - It is God who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and
      spreads them like a tent to live in;
1 - It is God who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers
      of the earth as nothing.
2 - Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem
      taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they
      wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
1 - To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal?
      says the Holy One.
2 - Lift up your eyes on high and see:
1 - Who created these?
2 - He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all
       by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not
       one is missing.
1 - Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
2 - "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded
       by my God"?
1 - Have you not known?
2 - Have you not heard?
1 - The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of
      the earth.
2 - He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is
      unsearchable.
1 - He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
2 - Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall
      exhausted; but
1 - those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
2 - they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
1 - they shall run and not be weary,
2 - they shall walk and not faint.

...Silence...

Spoken Prayer

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you strengthen the powerless
and renew those who wait for you in trust.

You are the Creator of the earth
         who stretched out the sky like a curtain
         and sent down rain, clothing the mountains in green.
You gathered your people from exile,
         healing the broken hearted and binding their wounds.

You came among us, as one of us,
         in your child Jesus the Christ,
         sharing our weakness in order to save us.
Healing the sick and casting out demonic powers,
         he proclaimed your mercy and peace.
Turning his back on the acclaim of the crowds,
         he faithfully followed your call
         all the way to death on a cross.
You raised him up
         and promised that all who trust in him
         will rise up with wings like eagles
         and run the race without ever growing weary.

Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
         we offer you thanks and praise at all times
         through Jesus Christ our Lord,
         who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
         one God, for ever and ever.
         Amen.

Spoken prayer: �2003 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net

Singing our prayer
"They that wait upon the Lord" #584

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

At the beginning of Mark�s gospel we catch a glimpse of how Jesus healed one person, and what happened next. Listen.

"As soon as Jesus and his followers left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them." (Mark 1:29-31)

No "razzle-dazzle." A live-in mother-in-law was sick and they told Jesus about her. In a way, we have just done that in our time of sharing and prayer, telling God about persons for whom we care. Jesus came and simply took this woman by the hand and helped her to sit up. Without the weight of the fever that had been pushing her down, she got up and began to serve. Did you notice that transition - from healing to serving?

Right now, we make a transition is worship, from prayer to service. As you return your offering, don�t lose track of the hand of the One who lifts you up. May God�s promise through the prophet Isaiah keep flowing through your mind - "Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall stand upon the edge of the cliff, unfurl their wings, and fly..."

Unfurl your wings, brothers and sisters, and take a leap of faith by serving.

Ushers?

Dedication

On the wings of faith we offer these gifts, O Lord. It is your care which has brought us to this point. Help this church to fly. In Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Benediction

Go now, and trust in God�s mercy for your strength.
Proclaim the good news wherever God calls you,
and do not set yourselves apart from others,
but be all things to all people for the sake of the gospel.

And may God give you the strength and freedom of an eagle.
May Christ be the bread that nourishes and renews you.
And may the Holy Spirit be the rising wind beneath your wings.

�2003 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net