Worship - October 24, 2010

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
October 24, 2010
Worship 10:00 am Sunday School 11:10am

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)

Beginning with Praise (9:50 am) "For we are strangers no more" 322
Announcements
Prelude "Melodie" Faulkes

Tune my Heart to Sing thy Grace

Responsive Call to Worship (back of bulletin)

*Hymn "Come, thou fount" 521

*Opening Prayer

Prone to Wander, Lord, I feel it

Scriptures Jeremiah 14:7-10,19-22
Luke 18:9-14

Message "Binding wandering hearts" (mp3)

Responsive Confession 690

*Hymn "Marvelous grace of our loving Lord" 151

Here’s my heart, O take and Seal it

Scripture Psalm 84:8-12

For Children "Doorkeepers in the House of God"

Responding with our Tithes and Offerings

Offertory "Chorale: O God, Thou Holy God" Fritzsch
(Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

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

Pastoral Prayer

Let that Grace now….

*Hymn "We praise thee, O God" 99

*Words of Sending and Blessing (back of bulletin)

*Postlude "All Glory Be to God on High" Decius

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 84:4-7)

One: Happy are those whose strength is in the Lord.

All: My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord!

One: Happy are those who are ever singing God's praise.

All: My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God!

by Jerry Crouse, pastoral team member
Warrensburg, MO Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"

Opening Prayer
(based on Psalm 84:1-3)

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts. Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow finds a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, our King and our God. Now, make highways in our hearts, highways that lead to fellowship with you and with your children. In Jesus' name, amen.

by Jerry Crouse, pastoral team member
Warrensburg, MO Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"

Scriptures
Jeremiah 14:7-10,19-22 and Luke 18:9-14

1 - Two scriptures stand before us, the first from the prophet Jeremiah, the second from Luke’s gospel.

2 - In the 14^th chapter of Jeremiah, the nation of Judah faces a severe drought, which the first six verses describe.

1 - The air is thick with anguish and the people turn to God. In verses 7-9 we hear their lament, which includes a confession of sin, a complaint, and a plea for help.

2 - However, God has heard this all before and has had enough. The Lord speaks a word of judgment, which we hear in verse 10.

1 - In verses 11-18, which we will not read this morning, God and Jeremiah discuss (to put it mildly) the false prophets who enable Judah’s addiction to sin.

2 - The rest of the chapter, verses 19-22, continue the lament, which features a complaint, a confession of sin, and a plea for help.

1 - Listen as we read from The Message, a paraphrased by Eugene Peterson.

2 - We know we're guilty. We've lived bad lives - but do something, God. Do it for your sake! Time and time again we've betrayed you. No doubt about it - we've sinned against you.

1 - Hope of Israel! Our only hope! Israel's last chance in this trouble! Why are you acting like a tourist, taking in the sights, here today and gone tomorrow? Why do you just stand there and stare, like someone who doesn't know what to do in a crisis?

2 - But God, you are, in fact, here, here with us! You know who we are - you named us! Don't leave us in the lurch.

1 - Then God said of these people: "Since they loved to wander this way and that, never giving a thought to where they were going, I will now have nothing more to do with them - except to note their guilt and punish their sins."

2 - God, have you said your final No to Judah? Can you simply not stand Zion any longer? If not, why have you treated us like this, beaten us nearly to death? We hoped for peace - nothing good came from it; We looked for healing - and got kicked in the stomach.

1 - We admit, O God, how badly we've lived, and our ancestors, how bad they were. We've sinned, they've sinned, we've all sinned against you!

2 - Your reputation is at stake! Don't quit on us! Don't walk out and abandon your glorious Temple! Remember your covenant. Don't break faith with us!

1 - Can the no-gods of the godless nations cause rain? Can the sky water the earth by itself?

2 - You're the one, O God, who does this. So you're the one for whom we wait. You made it all, you do it all.

1 - (pause to indicate the reading is finished) We turn now to the gospel of Luke.

2 - Jesus and his disciples are on the path leading to Jerusalem and there is much to be learned along the way.

1 - Last week we heard his parable of the widow and the corrupt judge, an encouragement to be persistent in prayer and constant in living out the faith.

2 - This morning’s gospel reading immediately follows that one. Both last week’s and this week’s stories are found only in Luke’s gospel. Listen.

1 - (read Luke 18:9-14)

Responsive Confession

Leader: Have mercy on us, O God,
                     according to your unfailing love;
People: Blot out all our transgressions,
                     according to your great compassion;
Leader: Wash away all our iniquities
                     and cleanse us from our sin.
People: For we know our transgressions,
                     and our sin is always before us.
Leader: We have sinned against you
                     and have done what is evil in your sight.
    ALL: as sacrifice we bring our broken and contrite hearts.

(pause for silence)

Leader: God will create in each of us a pure heart.
             God will not take the Holy Spirit form us.
             God will restore to us the joy of salvation
                     and grant us willing spirits to sustain us.
    ALL: Praise to the God of mercy who loves and forgives us.

For Children
"Doorkeepers in the House of God"

“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness.” That’s what it says in Psalm 84:10. Tell me, who is a “doorkeeper” in our church? Well, yes, we have someone who stands at the front door and welcomes people with a hug. Is that person our “doorkeeper”? There our people who stand at the door to our sanctuary and hand out bulletins. That would be Floyd and Karl this month. Do we call them “doorkeepers”? No, we say they are “ushers.” So, who is a “doorkeeper” in our church? Is it some really important person?

Actually, when this Bible verse mentions “doorkeeper,” it’s not talking about an “official” person in “God’s house” (that is, the Temple). It simply means someone who is standing at the entrance, ready to enter. Therefore, when you came to church this morning and paused at the door, this psalm mentioned you. I hope you felt that way today - that there’s no other place you would rather be than coming here and being with God and your Jesus friends.

Of course, maybe there is just a little more to than verse, to what it means to be a “doorkeeper in the house of God.” I found a couple versions of the Bible that translated it a little differently. One put it this way: “I would rather serve in your house, than live in the homes of the wicked” (CEV). Another said, “I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin” (The Message).

Hmm, how are those different? They talk about doing stuff, not simply standing. And the “stuff” they talk about doing is not big, important “stuff,” like being someone who stands at the door and makes sure nobody comes in who isn’t supposed to be here. Instead, being a “doorkeeper” is like being a “servant,” even someone who “scrubs floors.” “I rather be that kind of person in God’s house,” this verse may be saying, “than be recognized as someone really important somewhere else.”

This morning, I’d like to invite you to serve with the ushers as they collect our offering. Now, I know it’s not “scrubbing floors,” but it is kind of like being a doorkeeper in God’s house. Of course, everybody who comes into God’s house is a doorkeeper. And we all are servants. Our offerings show that. Okay, let’s go back and join Karl and Floyd.

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

As our children get ready to serve, and as we prepare to give as servants in God’s house, please join me in prayer.

Better is one day in your house, O Lord, than a thousand elsewhere. You, indeed, shine upon us like the sun above, and protect us like a shield. You provide for our daily needs, and in you we discover our greatest worth. You are not stingy with your goodness and mercy. We trust you deeply, and find true happiness in your presence. Bless these gifts we will soon place into the plates with which our children will serve you. Look within us as we respond to your gospel with broken and contrite hearts, and receive the kind of offering you desire most. This we pray in the name of the One who showed and became the doorway into your house. Amen.

Children, I mean “doorkeepers,” I mean “ushers” – it’s your time to serve, to lead us in serving.

Pastoral Prayer

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

Words of Sending and Blessing

One: Our strength is in the Lord!

All: The Lord Jesus lives in us!

One: Happy are those who are ever singing God's praise.

Unison: His Spirit will make life and hope spring forth wherever we go!

by Jerry Crouse, pastoral team member
Warrensburg, MO Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"