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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
August 12, 2007
Worship 10:00 am
Sermon on
the Mount Sunday
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"When Jesus
saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat
down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak..."
(Matthew 5:1-2a) |
Morning Praise (9:45 am)
Announcements
Prelude
"Abiding
Love"
Wells
Opening
Song
"Seek
ye first the kingdom of God"
324
*Opening Prayer
*Praise
Songs
"My
life is in you, Lord"
"Shout to the north"
(words/chords,
mp3
clip)
"I’m trading my sorrows"
(lyrics/chords, midi file,
story
behind it)
Traveling to the Mountain
Responsive Reading
834
Hymn
"Christian,
let your burning light"
402
Listening to
Jesus
Matthew
5:17-48
For Children
"Let your ‘Yes’
be ‘Yes’"
Hymn
"Asithi: Amen"
64
(Our younger children, ages 3-7, leave for Sunday School)
Returning our Tithes and Offerings
Offertory
"Melodie"
Faulkes
(Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)
Hymn
"Our Father who
art in heaven"
351
Scripture
Matthew 6:5-9a
The Lord’s Prayer
Scripture
Matthew 6:14-18
Drama
"I
know"
Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise
Pastoral Prayer
Listening to
Jesus
Matthew
6:19-24
Hymn
"Obey my voice"
163
Responsive Reading
835
Receiving a sister into our
fellowship
Listening to
Jesus
Matthew
6:34-7:12
Hymn
"Thou true Vine, that
heals"
373
Listening to
Jesus
Matthew
7:13-27
*Song
"Grace
like Rain"
(mp3
clip)
*Scripture
Matthew
7:28-29
*Song
"Thy
Word"
*Benediction
*Postlude
"Lancashire"
Smart
#'s are from Hymnal:
A Worship Book
Worship leaders - see basic
guidelines |
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Opening
Prayer
(silently beckon people to stand, then:)
O God, who has sought and found us,
long before we ever knew we were lost,
enable us just now
to turn toward you
and follow where you lead.
Along the way, we ask for the courage
to let go of the
burdens we carry,
that we might walk lightly and freely.
Instead of pounding our head against the wall,
help us this hour
to simply knock
with the expectation that a door will open
(even if it’s not the one we think should).
For you stand at our door,
ready to be
welcomed in to our lives.
Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
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Traveling
to the Mountain
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"The Sermon on the mount." That’s what the 5th,
6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew’s
gospel are often called. It’s a collection of Jesus’
sayings which fit together as a sermon that gospel
storyteller Matthew remembers as being preached on a
mountain, with Jesus sitting at the top and the multitudes
gathered below him. This morning in worship, imagine that
we have climbed a mountain along with many other people in
order to hear what this Jesus of Nazareth has to say. He
will be our "guest preacher" today, with his
words spoken by many lips. In preparation, let me read the
words that immediately precede this sermon. As I do,
please turn in your hymnal to #834, and be ready to begin
this sermon by reading responsively those familiar words
we refer to as "the Beatitudes." (pause)
... Matthew 4:23-25 says that: |
23
"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues
and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every
disease and every sickness among the people. 24 So his
fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the
sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains,
demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25
And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis,
Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan."
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Responsive
Reading
(Matthew 5:1-16)
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I will read the words in regular print. Your parts are in
bold. Together, we will read the first and last lines
which are in italics and bold print. Let’s listen to
Jesus as we do so. |
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down,
his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will
be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs
is
the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds
of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same
way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness
be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled
under foot.
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the
lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
Hymnal #834
New Revised Standard Version
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For
Children
"Let your ‘Yes’
be ‘Yes’"
Focus: Covenants and promises
are things we live into. In other words, we seldom know what
challenges we may face when we say, "I promise."
The focus of this sermon is on being faithful to our
promises-to God and to others-even when the situation
changes.
Experience: To make a promise to walk to the end of
the aisle and back, only to have the aisle fill up with
people, making the promise more difficult to keep.
Arrangements: None are needed. |
LEADER: Look at you all. It's so good to see
everybody! I wonder if you all would be willing to promise to do
something for me. Would you be willing, in just a moment, to walk
down the aisle to the back doors of the church and then walk back?
If you would be willing to make that promise, say "yes."
CHILDREN: Yes.
L: That's great. (Turn toward the congregation)
Would the congregation please stand? And now would you all please
move into the aisle? (The adults fill the aisle.)
C: Hey!
L: Are you still willing to keep your promise? C:
Yes. L: OK, go ahead. (You may need to remind
children that it isn't a race or a shoving match, in deference to
your congregation s toes! After children return, ask the
congregation to return to their seats.) You kept your promise, but
it was a little harder than you thought when you first said
"yes," wasn't it? C: Yes! L:
That happens to us a lot in our life. We make a promise - sometimes
to God, sometimes to other people - and we really mean to keep it.
But then something changes or things get tough, and we have a really
hard time trying to keep our promise. Let's have a prayer and thank
God for giving us the strength to keep our promises, to let our
"yes" mean "yes." (Prayer.) by Brant
D. Baker, Welcoming the Children:
Experiential
Children's Sermons,
©1995, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, p. 26.
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Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
1
"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be
seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in
heaven. 2 So whenever you give alms, do not sound a
trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell
you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you
give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
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Please pray with me.
Lord,
help us not to be "show off," "pat yourself
on the back" givers, seeking approval and applause
from all the wrong places. Instead, grow us into the kind
of people who respond to human need from the heart,
seeking to do what’s right in your eyes. Nudge us into
seeing the world through your love rather than through our
desire for the approval of others. How about we begin
again at this right now, God? Amen!
Ushers?
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Scripture
surrounding Lord's Prayer
Matthew 6:5-9a
5
"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for
they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street
corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you
pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father
who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward
you.
7
"When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the
Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of
their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your
Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9a
"Pray then in this way:"
Congregation in Unison - The Lord’s
Prayer (Matthew 6:9b-13)
- as 'traditionally' memorized in our tradition
Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us
our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. |
Matthew 6:14-18
14
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not
forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16
"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the
hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others
that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their
reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and
wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not
by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you."
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Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
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Responsive
Reading
(Matthew 6:25-33)
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what
you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
And why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I
tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you -
you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?"
or "What will we wear?"
For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well."
Hymnal #835
New Revised Standard Version
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Receiving
a sister into our fellowship
[After being "introduced" by a member
of our congregation...]
Minister: Knowing that Christians never fully arrive,
but are always in the process of becoming, do you now reaffirm
your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?
Candidate: I do.
Minister: Believing that Christianity is experienced in
a faith community that supports and strengthens us in time of
weakness and doubt, and that learns from us as we learn from it,
do you promise to live and share with us in the bonds of Christian
fellowship?
Candidate: I do.
Minister: Recognizing that the church is organized to
fulfill its mission, will you worship, serve, and share in the
program of this congregation by your prayers, regular attendance,
loyal service and outreach, and faithful stewardship?
Candidate: I will.
Minister: Becoming a member of this congregation, will
you make every effort to witness to the Christian gospel and keep
alive the concerns of the Church of the Brethren where you live
and work?
Candidate: I will.
Congregation: We welcome you with joy and affection
into this household of faith. We pledge to you our help, our
prayers, our concern, that we may all increase in the knowledge
and love of God. We trust God for strength to follow with you in
Christ's way, keeping together the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace. Amen.
from For All Who Minister
(A Worship Manual for the Church of the Brethren),
©1993 Brethren Press, pp. 143-144.
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Benediction
We
have heard what Jesus said. Now it is time to walk back down the
mountain, allowing this Word to be a lamp unto our feet. Do not be
afraid. Do not forget, either. Instead, be blessed. He will be with
us always until the end of the age, as promised. Amen!
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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