Worship Order for Sunday

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
February 26, 2012
Worship 10:00 am              Sunday School 11:10am

First Sunday of Lent 

      I have set my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth (Genesis 9:13)

  Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)     "Marvelous grace of our loving Lord"      151
  Announcements
  Prelude                        "Prelude and Fugue in G Major"                          Bach

  Call to Worship                                                                     (back of bulletin)

*Hymn                              "Wonderful grace of Jesus"                                150

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture                                   Psalm 25:1-10

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

  Hymn                                   "Lead us, O Father"                                      359

  Pastoral Prayer

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

  From the Hebrew Covenant                                                    Genesis 9:8-17

  Children Sing Out                     "Rise and shine"                             (see insert)

  From the Jesus Covenant                                                        Romans 5:6-11

  Video

  Message                   "Nailing the gun to the wall" (MS & mp3)

*Hymn                          "My hope is built on nothing less"                           343

*Benediction

*Postlude                    "Chorale: O God, Thou Holy God"                    Fritzsch


*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

Leader:  When the human race increased and spread over the earth, it became so mired in sin that God wanted nothing less than to blot out every living thing upon the face of the land.

People:  We confess our kinship with those whose corruption and violence so disappointed God. We, too, are mired in sin. Our institutions enrich the wealthy, not the poor; our policies protect the powerful, not the oppressed; our churches embrace the saved, not the lost.

Leader:  Then God found one righteous among his generation.

People: We confess we lack the faith of Noah. We hear God’s Word and build walls, not arks; we know God’s commands and safeguard our possessions, not God’s creation. The pitch of night blinds us, and the thunder of the tempest deafens us to God’s presence. We run aground and send the raven, but in our despair, forget the dove.

Leader:  But God promises never to lay waste to the earth again.

People:  Is this true? Despite the world’s glut of ego, surfeit of greed, and deluge of violence, God promises to withhold the flood?

Leader:  It is true. See the rainbow? It is sign and seal of God’s sacred promise. When the rainbow appears in the clouds over the earth, God remembers his covenant.

People: God remembers his covenant!

Leader:  Instead of the fatal flood, the clouds bear living water.

All:       What grace! God remembers his covenant! Come, worship, and give thanks.

by Bruce Clary
McPherson, KS Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"
 

Opening Prayer

            It is your voice, O God, which has called us into this moment of worship. By your grace, we step forth into your promise. Once again we have embarked on this 40 day Lenten voyage, remembering the sea Noah sailed long ago. Ever before us is the rainbow sign of your covenant. Beneath this arch we travel, seeking not some pot of gold, but rather the true treasure of your heavenly kingdom. Lead us onward, Lord Jesus, through the storm and the calm. Encourage and empower us, Holy Spirit, by your presence in our boat. Bless the journey of this hour, Heavenly Father, as well as the directions we take from this time and place. Amen.
  

Pastoral Prayer

 

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

 

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

The church is sometimes likened to a boat. Perhaps this is because Jesus called fishermen to be his first disciples, and some of his initial messages were delivered from the seat of fishing vessels to crowds on the shore. The simplicity of this image emphasizes that we are all in the same boat.

On this first Sunday of our Lenten voyage toward Easter, we are guided by the story of another boat. In the background we hear a cacophony of sounds that reveal this ship carries more than the children of Adam and Eve. All of creation is present, two by two, reminding us that, like Noah’s family long ago, we bear responsibility for more than ourselves. We are stewards called by God to care for all who are with us in this boat.

It’s not just about us, as if salvation were merely a personal affair between us and Jesus, with him rowing our little boat home. No, “all God’s creation is waiting on tiptoe for the children of God to come into their own,” as the apostle Paul once wrote (Romans 8:19). We are empowered to bear responsibility for the world around us.

Stewardship, you see, is not only about giving money to the church to keep it afloat. Mind you, we do need money on this voyage, and your offerings help us to fulfill our mission, which is more than just putting oil in the tank so we don’t freeze as we worship. However, being a steward of what God has given each of us, is much more than paying for a berth on a cruise ship.

Think of Noah’s sons. God called them to not only build the boat, cubit by cubit, but also to load it with animals and supplies. Once the doors were shut, and the rain fell, they didn’t sit in their bunks reading the paper. They fed the critters on the boat and, no doubt, shoveled a lot of manure. It was their responsibility to make sure all those who came aboard before the flood disembarked alive once the voyage was over.

We are like Noah’s family. We’re not just passengers. We are the crew of this ship - all of us, not just some of us. With Jesus as our “captain,” we have set sail on a fantastic voyage. What we do along the way, as we each bear some responsibility for this journey, is called “stewardship.” None of us sails alone. We do so together.

As you return your offering just now, I invite you to mentally put on your sailor suit and think about what you are going to do the next 40 days of this Lenten voyage. Don’t just be a passenger. Join the crew.

Ushers?
  

Video

 
  

Benediction

May God, who set the bow in the sky as a promise,
            give us the courage to push away from the shore
                        on this voyage of faith;
May Christ Jesus, who was sent not to nail us to the wall,
                                    but to reconcile us to God,
            guide us in unfurling the sails of peace
                        on this voyage of faith;
May the Holy Spirit, who is always present
                                                no matter where this boat takes us,
            be the wind that propels us
                        on this voyage of faith.
And all God’s sailors say:
            Amen.
 

(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)

 

Interested in Sunday School?
Below is a growing list of possible sites to visit. As you discover others, please let us know.

International Lesson:
Faith and Life Resources

Mennonite Publishing House

International Lesson:
Mennonite Weekly Review

(scroll down on left to "Sunday School lessons)

International Lesson:
Christian Standard
(one week ahead)

International Lesson:
Adult Bible Studies
from The United Methodist Publishing House
(click "supplemental resources" and "current events supplement" under both the "Student" and "Teacher" sections in the left hand column)

International Lesson:
International Bible Lesson
a weekly column by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
in "The Oklahoman" newspaper
also found
here

International Lesson:
Living Web Sunday School Project

While one of our adult classes follows the International lesson above (see also), using
A Guide for Biblical Studies,
published quarterly by our denomination,
another class often uses one of the
Good Ground series.

For children and youth, we use the new
Gather Round curriculum
(developed jointly by the Church of the Brethren and the Mennonite Church)

 

©2012 Peter L. Haynes
(unless otherwise stated, worship resources were written by him)

 

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