Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
February 1, 2009
Worship 10:00 am, Sunday School 11:10 am
 

  Morning Praise (9:45 am)
  Announcements
  Prelude                                        "Cantabile"                                     Guilmant

  Song                                         "Asithi: Amen"                                            64

  Call to Worship                            Psalm 111

*Hymn                                "Great is thy faithfulness"                                  327

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture                              1 Corinthians 8:1-13

  Prayer of Confession

  Assurance of Forgiveness

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

*Response                   (vs. 1) "Bless'd be the tie that binds"                          421

*Dedication

  Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise
                                 (please be brief, and aware of God’s listening presence)

  Hymn                                "Spirit of the living God"                                  349

  Pastoral Prayer

  Dramatic Reading of Mark 1:21-28                                          (bulletin insert)

  Message                          "A Cleansing Silence"

*Hymn                        "‘Tis not with eyes of flesh we see"                           571

*Benediction

*Postlude                                       "Psalm 9"                                Henry Lawes

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

1 - Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord…

2 - with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

1 - Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

2 - Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.

1 - He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.

2 - He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.

1 - He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.

2 - The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.

1 - They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

2 - He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever.

1 - Holy and awesome is his name.

2 - Holy and awesome is his name.

1 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

2 - all those who practice it have a good understanding.

1 - His praise endures forever.

Psalm 111 from the New Revised Standard Version,
copyright ©1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
  

Opening Prayer

         Grant, O God, that thinking, we may think your thoughts; that speaking, we may speak your word; that singing, we may sing to your praise; that hearing, we may hear your truth; and that willing, we may make your will our own, so that walking forward at the end of our worship, we may walk in your love and your peace, and departing from one another, not depart from you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

adapted from prayer by Roy Pearson, Hear Our Prayer, ©1961 McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, NT.
Taken from For all who Minister, ©1993, Brethren Pres, Elgin, IL, p.85
   

Preface to Scripture Reading

            In this morning’s second scripture reading, we turn to the first letter to the Corinthians, where the apostle Paul continues what he began in chapter 7 – answering questions raised in a letter he had previously received from the believers in Corinth. In chapter 8, the issue is food. Much of the meat sold in the marketplace in Corinth was left over from pagan festivals - that is, it was “food (already) sacrificed to idols.” Some folks in the church there didn’t think it was right to eat such meat. Others considered this concern to be irrelevant, so much so that they showed contempt towards those persons who were worried about it, calling them ‘weak’ and ‘ignorant.’ Such an attitude was disruptive the community, to their sense of being one body in Christ. While Paul was on the side of living free from legalism, he cared just as much (to borrow from another of his letters), about “bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 2b-3). Listen now to what Paul had to say.

Read 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
  

Prayer of Confession

The Apostle Paul tells us that what is most essential in our conduct as Christians is not knowledge, but love.  And that what we know is less important  than our being known by God. So, we confess .... The times when we have used  knowledge in ways which put people down rather than build them up.
God, source of all knowledge, forgive us.
When we see people being exploited because of lack of knowledge, and do nothing.
God, source of all goodness, forgive us.
When we have idolized knowledge at the expense of loving and caring for others.
God, source of all love, forgive us.
When we have ridiculed others for having a weak and feeble faith because they appear to lack  wisdom;
God, source of all wisdom, forgive us.

(A time of silence for personal confession)

Forgive us, O God, for seeing good only in what we understand and accept as your truths.  Remind us of Paul's words, “If I have all knowledge but do not have love, I am nothing.” Touch us, teach us, heal us and make us newly aware of your love and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Assurance of Forgiveness

Hear and believe these words of grace:  God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:17) And so I declare to you: In Jesus Christ we are loved, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God!

by Moira B Laidlaw, from Liturgies Online
   

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

(hold up a dollar bill as you begin)

A dollar bill… We don’t know where it has been, do we? It may have been used to buy groceries for a family, or drugs for an addict. It might have been part of a child’s allowance, or a bribe to a politician. A waitress may have received it in a tip, or a prostitute. It could have been slipped into a soda dispenser or a slot machine. We just don’t know where this dollar bill has traveled, do we? And yet, right there between pyramid and eagle, it states: “In God We Trust.” Whenever we see those words, we need to wonder, “Do we really?” 

Indeed, thanks be to God that we are forgiven, and free to use this and every dollar bill in ways that feed the hungry and reward good work, as well as accomplish a great many other wonderful things – no matter where this bill has been before it arrived in our hands. God gives us the opportunity to wisely use our money to build up rather than tear down. Do we trust God enough to bless others with it?

Ushers, would you lead us in giving our offerings?
  

Dedication

It is not money, nor is it food, O Lord, that binds us together. It is you. Draw our “kindred minds” into one body, that we might bless others with the love we have already received, aware that while “knowledge puffs up,” your “love builds up.” Help us to make such love our aim. In Christ, we pray. Amen.
  

Pastoral Prayer

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

Dramatic Reading of Mark 1:21-28

Pastor - Our gospel reading this morning is from the beginning of Mark’s account of what Jesus did and who he was when he lived as a man. We pick up the story right after he invited four fishermen to leave their boats and fish for people instead. It’s printed on your bulletin insert. Please turn to it. We will read this episode together, incorporating silence, as well as loud and soft voices. Perhaps we should practice one line, for it is implied but not written in the text and we are not used to speaking it in church. Imagine you have just been stuck with a needle and you cry out in pain, “Aaawwwgh!” It comes out of your mouth almost involuntarily. That’s the voice we need to practice. Try practicing it now: (“Aaawwwgh!”) Good, be ready to step into this scripture and listen with your whole being, voice and all. (pause)

(the above is not printed in the bulletin, only the below)

Worship Leader - They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.

     Congregation - (10 seconds of absolute silence)

Worship Leader - They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (pause) Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out,

     Congregation - (loudly) “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

Worship Leader - But Jesus rebuked him, saying,

     Congregation - (loudly) “Be silent, and come out of him!”

Worship Leader - And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

     Congregation - (loudly) “Aaawwwgh!”

Worship Leader - They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another,

     Congregation - (softly) “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

Worship Leader - At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Mark 1:21-28 is from the New Revised Standard Version,
copyright ©1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
  

Benediction

Go now:
        Go in safety,
                for you cannot go where God is not.
        Go in love,
                for love alone endures.
        Go with purpose,
                and God will honor your dedication.
        Go in peace,
                for it is the gift of God to those
                whose hearts and minds are in Christ Jesus.
Amen.

by Earle W. Fike, jr
Taken from For all who Minister,
©1993, Brethren Pres, Elgin, IL, p.122