Worship - October 30, 2011

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
October 30, 2011
Worship 10:00 am Sunday School 11:10am

Reformation Sunday

“Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.”
(Matthew 23:11-12 from The Message)

Beginning with Praise (9:50 am) "A mighty fortress is our God" 165
Announcements
Prelude "Praeludium" Gordon Young

Beginning with the Word

Call to Worship

*Hymn "He leadeth me" 599
(sung quickly, without holds, a walking song)

*Opening Prayer

Scripture Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37

For Children “Led by Christ-light”

Remembering the “saints triumphant”

Hymn (refrain) "He leadeth me" 599

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

Hymn "When we walk with the Lord" 544

Pastoral Prayer

Scripture 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

Scripture Matthew 23:1-12

Message "Neither burdensome nor showy" (mp3)

*Hymn "Will you let me be your servant" 307

*Benediction

*Postlude "Church Triumphant" Elliot

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Beginning with the Word
Joshua 3:7-17
(links are to pronunciation guides)

1 - The Lord said to Joshua,

2 - “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant,

1 - ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”

2 - Joshua then said to the Israelites,

1 - “Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.”

2 - Joshua said,

1 - “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”

2 - When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.

1 - Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,

2 - the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan,

1 - while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off.

2 - Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

1 - While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground,

2 - the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan,

1 - until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

text 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.

Call to Worship

There is no river for us to cross this morning, but we are likewise on a journey toward the promised land, and this is a new day in which we are called to follow where Jesus leads. Please rise in body or spirit and let us sing a traveling song of faith and trust. Ignore the hold marks in the music, for we follow at a steady pace on the path where he leads. Come and worship!

Opening Prayer

God-ever-with-us:
you draw us near to your heart,
so that, cradled in compassion,
we might see the brokenness
of all who are around us.

Teacher-beside-us:
you draw us near to yourself,
so that, by following you,
we may discover the deep joy
of serving the broken of the world.

Spirit-within-us:
you draw near to us with your peace,
so that, reconciled and restored to God,
we may be the healers
to a world shattered by despair.

God in Community, Holy in One,
as we draw near to you in this time,
we lift the prayer you have taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .

by Thom M. Shuman, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), from Lectionary Liturgies

For Children
“Led by Christ-light”

What day is tomorrow, October 31^st? I thought you’d get that right. It’s Halloween. Are you doing anything on Halloween? Oh, you’re going trick-or-treating? What’s that? You go from house to house and ask for candy? And they just give it to you? Interesting. Are you going dressed like you are now? Oh, you’ll be wearing a costume. Tell me about it….. (the discussion may not happen in this order, but the point is to hear about it from their perspective).

Thank you for sharing. I hope it is a wonderful night for you, and not too scary. I know that when it gets dark, it can be easier to be afraid of things that wouldn’t be so frightening in the daytime. By the way, Daylight Savings time begins next weekend, which means that it will be getting dark earlier. Halloween was originally a festival of people across to ocean. The holiday was called “Samhain,” and it took place right about now. People were glad that they had collected the crops from their fields, but they were also sad that the days were getting shorter. They didn’t have electricity back then, and it got really dark at night. When it’s dark, it’s easy to be afraid, isn’t it? It was for them. Back then, they also dressed up in scary clothes for Samhain. One reason they did that was to be able to laugh at their fears. Of course, they had other reasons, too.

And then, along came Jesus. These people learned about him, and somewhere along the way, Samhain became Halloween. Do you know what the word “Halloween” means? There is a Christian holiday called “All Saints Day.” On this day, we remember all sorts of people over the years who followed Jesus, persons who, when it was dark, shined with the light of Christ so that others might not be afraid. “All Saints Day” is also called, “All Hallows Day,” and the “eve”-ning before it was called “All Hallows Eve,” or “Halloween.”

Yes, Halloween may be a time for scary stuff, but it’s also a time to laugh at what scares us, things that in the daytime may not be all that frightening. Like a tree that has lost its leaves may look like a monster at night, in the day it’s just a tree which is now ready for winter. We laugh at our fears, also, because we have the light of Christ shining for us in the lives of others. This year, I think of Lois Webb, who died last spring, but I can still see by the light that shone in her. Whenever she comes to mind, I can still hear her laugh, and remember how loving and brave she was. She was led by the light of God, and she is – I believe – alive in Christ now.

Well, I hope you have lots of fun tomorrow. Remember to laugh. Know that Jesus is with you as you walk, even in the dark.

Remembering the “saints triumphant”

I just mentioned Lois Webb in my time with our children. It is good to remember those who have gone before us in Christ, persons who are “saints” in the real sense of the word. Yes, there are extraordinarily hallowed persons, officially recognized by some religious authority down through the centuries. And then there are the everyday saints, persons of faith whose lives still add light to our lives. In the following moments, I invite you to think of some of the “saints triumphant” in your life, perhaps someone who died within the last year, like our sister Lois. Feel free to speak their name out loud - right where you are, without a microphone – that their example might color the silence and help us to follow Jesus. After this time of quiet remembrance and honoring their witness on this Sunday before “All Saints Day,” we will sing the refrain (only) to the hymn we sang earlier – “He leadeth me.”

Pastoral Prayer

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

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

God is, indeed, at work in all of us. This thought lies at the heart of any reformation of the church. Over five hundred years ago a protest movement in the church emphasized that God is active in all people, not just those who are officially “religious;” that the scriptures belong in the hands of all, not just a few. We call this the Protestant Reformation, something celebrated every year on this Sunday in churches which claim a connection to those reformers. Our own tradition within Anabaptism pushed the edges of that protest to really mean all people seeking to live the life Jesus taught, not just preach it. This movement has been called the Radical Reformation.
God is, indeed, at work in all of us. This thought lies at the heart of any reformation of the church, 500 years ago or today. It’s not really about what happened way back when, as important as it is to know our history. It’s about what God is doing now. Unlike them, we have Bibles. Perhaps too many of them. Do we read them? Do we seek to live as Jesus taught, or do we only give him lip service? That’s the question of the hour. Ponder it as you return your offering, which is not paying your ticket to heaven, or as it was called 500 years ago, an “indulgence.” It’s a matter of working to the surface the salvation God has already worked into you. For God is, indeed, at work in all of us.

Ushers?

Benediction

Go now, in the freedom of the gospel of Christ.
Encourage one another to lead lives worthy of God
and walk together in service and humility.
Let your words and your lives be one in Christ.

And may the God of lasting love open the way before you;
May Jesus the Messiah be your one instructor;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on
........into the promised land of God’s kingdom and glory.