Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
July 15, 2007
Worship 10:00 am

  Morning Praise (9:45 am)
  Announcements
  Prelude

  Call to Worship                                                                       (back of bulletin)

*Hymn                        "All people that on earth do dwell"                                42

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture                                  Luke 10:25-29

  Skit

  Scripture                                  Luke 10:36-37

  Song                                      “N’nung yeh Dah”                               (see insert)
                              (Our younger children, ages 3-7, leave for Sunday School)

  Scripture                                Colossians 1:1-14

  Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise

  Pastoral Prayer

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

  Offertory             (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

  Scripture                                   Amos 7:7-17

  Message                             "God’s plumb line"

  Invitation to the Lord’s table

  Hymn                           "I heard the voice of Jesus say"                                493
                                             (Deacons distribute the bread as we sing)

  Prayer of Thanksgiving and Blessing

  Unison:   "This bread which we break
                             is the communion of the body of Christ."

  Take and Eat

  Quiet Reflection

  Unison:   "This cup of the New Testament
                             is the communion of the blood of Christ."

  Take and Drink

*Hymn                                      "Go, my children"                                         433

*Benediction

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

One:  The Lord is king! Let us all rejoice in the earth.

   All:  The heavens proclaim God's righteousness
            for all creation to behold God's glory. 

One:  We come, Lord Jesus, to sing and to pray,
            to touch the divine presence among us. 

   All:  You protect the lives of the godly people
            and call all of us to let God's light shine. 

One:  Now, Lord, speak to us as of the time of Amos:
               "I will test my people with this plumb line.
                I will no longer ignore all their sins."
                                                                     (Amos 7:8 NLT)

   All:  Let us listen to God and apply God's word to our living. 

-Paul D. Steiner, pastor 
Mountville Church of the Brethren Mountville, Pennsylvania 
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"
   

Opening Prayer

         God of righteousness, we deserve to be judged by you when our words and deeds do not reflect your justice, your mercy and your love. So, we praise you for gathering us here so that we can focus on you as the reason for our worship. We worship you as the one who gives meaning and order to our lives - and - more than that, you have given us a quality of life we could never achieve on our own. In your great love for the world, you chose to enter our history and our lives in the form of a helpless baby. How can we do other than praise and adore you for choosing to clothe your divinity in such vulnerable love. May we clothe our humanity with a like vulnerability - emptying ourselves of all self-serving power so that we can love you with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen

Moira B Laidlaw, Liturgies Online
   

Pastoral Prayer

written closer to the time (if not at the moment)

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

         Before you return your offerings just now, listen to these words from the book Deuteronomy. I’m reading from the Bible paraphrase known as The Message. Listen.

Read Deuteronomy 30:9-14

         Would the ushers please come forward to receive our offerings.
   

Invitation to the Lord’s table

         All of us who are in love and fellowship in the family of God, who do truly and earnestly repent of our sins, who humbly put our trust in Christ, and who desire his help that we might walk in newness of life, are invited to draw near to God and receive this holy communion to our comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

from For All Who Minister (A Worship Manual for the Church of the Brethren),
©1993 Brethren Press, p. 233.
  

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Blessing

Almighty, merciful, and loving Father,
      we are gathered in your presence
      to celebrate the memorial of the broken body
            and shed blood of your Son.
Make us worthy to sit at Christ's table as his friends.
In this supper, let our hungry souls be fed
      with the body and blood of your beloved Son
            through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
May Christ live in us and we in him.
Give us assurance through the breaking of bread
      that we are partakers of your covenant.
May we grow in faith, love, and willingness
      to carry the cross of Christ.
In his name we pray. AMEN

Hymnal #787
by Leenaerdt Clock, ca. 1600
translation and adaptation©1991 John D. Rempel
   

Benediction

Go now and live lives worthy of the Lord.
Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength
and bear fruit in every good work,
putting love and mercy into action for others
just as you would for yourselves.

And may God’s glorious power make you strong;
May Christ Jesus fill you with wisdom and understanding;
And may the Holy Spirit prepare you for the hope
........that is laid up for you in heaven.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net