Worship Order for Sunday
|
Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
"For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God." (Hebrews 3:4)
Morning Praise (9:45 am) The Foundation of our Faith Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Matthew 22:37-39 *Song "Lord, I lift your name on high" (see insert) Song "Thy Word" (see insert) Song "What does the Lord require" (see insert)
Song
"Beloved"
(see insert) Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer Drama "Marvin and Malcolm"
Song
"He's my rock, my
sword, my shield"
(see insert) Sharing the Joy (campers & volunteers) Scripture Matthew 28:16-20 Returning our Tithes and Offerings
Offertory
"That where I am, there
you..."
(see insert) *Song "Sanctuary" (see insert) #'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book Worship leaders - see basic guidelines |
|
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) In response to a question about which commandment in the law of Moses was the greatest?, Jesus repeated these words. They are the foundation of our faith: "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Matthew 22:37-39) Let us stand upon this foundation and worship the Lord our God. Let us lift up the name which is above every name, and sing our praise. Let us allow God’s Holy Spirit to be like a campfire within, burning upon our heart, soul, and mind the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
|
Standing upon the foundation that "you are God, you alone," we lift up your name, O Lord. Not only do we love to sing your praises, but we seek to build your praise into our lives. Not just with our words, but with all of our heart, soul, and mind do we long to love you. So, God, weave your Holy Spirit into the fabric of our everyday existence, just as you have said you would, and help us to keep remembering your Word, to continue sharing your good news in Jesus Christ, to wrap your commandments and your promises around our wrists to guide our actions and our heads to inform our thinking. May your love in us - reaching back to you - overflow into where we live and work, that it may reach our neighbors as well as our enemies. It is by the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ, painted upon the entryway of our homes, upon the doorpost of this house of faith, that we are saved - and it is by his resurrection that we live. Just now, O
God, thank you for the outdoor ministry of our camps, and for
those who have experienced the spark of your fire there. Bless
this time of remembering. May we hear you speak through even the
simplest words shared. In so doing, may this become your hour of
power. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. |
|
This summer, 24 children and youth from our congregation had the privilege of spending a week at one of our district’s camps - Shepherd’s Spring or Mardela. Alongside them went 9 older volunteers, who served as counselors, nurse, staff assistant, cook or directors... "Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart," it says in Deuteronomy, chapter 6. "Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away..." Camp is like a home away from home, a place where we grow as disciples of Jesus in a different environment. There, like here, we are "under God’s roof." That, by the way, was the theme of this summer at both Shepherd’s Spring and Camp Mardela - "Under God’s Roof." For some children, and their parents, who were experiencing this "when you are away" for perhaps the first time, it wasn’t easy. As always, we had our share of homesick youngsters - at least at my week we did. But they, and hopefully their parents also, grew. And we learned that no matter where we are, we are always "under God’s roof." This year’s camp curriculum involved six "discoveries." Now, each week of camp built on these "discoveries" in their own way. I know the younger age groups, such as the week I led with my co-director, used memory verses to go along with each discovery. Why don’t we walk through these six discoveries, remembering some of the scriptures attached to each, and allow them to guide our worship this morning. The first discovery was this: "Under God’s Roof, There Is a Strong Foundation." We already touched on this as we began worship. Any structure that is built needs to rest upon a solid foundation, otherwise it will fall. The memory verse for my week of camp, perhaps it was for some other weeks also, came from the mouth of Jesus, who repeated the first and great commandment about loving the Lord with heart, soul, and mind, followed by loving your neighbor as yourself. I know of another foundational verse used by another week for this discovery. It comes from Psalm 119, and speaks of God’s Word being like a lamp which guides our feet. The chorus to a song many campers learned was a way of remembering this foundational truth. Won’t you join in singing it as you catch the simple tune. sing "Thy
Word" |
|
One of the great things about camp is that when you’re there you can’t miss making an important connection - God’s roof covers nature, also. In our society, we are becoming more distant from God’s Creation. The heat, the bugs, and everything else, we try to shelter ourselves from behind closed windows, in air conditioned houses. God, however, has provided another kind of air conditioning. "Under God’s Roof, All Creation Lives Together." That was the second discovery at camp. Now, the curriculum suggested a Bible verse from the prophet Micah to go with this day. It’s not a scripture about Creation, but it does remind us about our responsibility to our Creator, who has shown us what is good. My week learned Micah 6:8 through a song. Let’s sing it. sing "What does
the Lord require" |
|
The next three discoveries have to do with relationships, and learning how to love in the way that God wants us to love. You see, Jesus had a different idea about what "family" is all about. Our very name as "Brethren" emphasizes the fact that it is not genetics that defines who belongs in our family. No matter who our earthly mother or father may be, we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus once said (and here was a memory verse for my week), "my mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:21). "Under God’s Roof, We Are All Family." Not only that, but (and here’s the fourth discovery) "Under God’s Roof, We Are Friends Together." Jesus said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you," (John 15:12). I think that sounds even tougher than "loving your neighbor as yourself." The Jesus way of loving involves more than treating others as we would like to be treated - which sometimes can be translated as "doing things my way," as I would like them done. Our Lord reminds us that this is not what the second commandment really means. "Love one another as I have loved you," he said. And to further clarify it, he went on, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). That is God’s way of loving. Some weeks of camp learned a song to go with this, which helped them memorize a similar statement from the first epistle of John. Let’s sing it. sing "Beloved" (lyrics/chords,
midi) |
|
Pastoral Prayer & Lord's Prayer
prayed at the moment
|
|
With a theme
that speaks of being "Under God’s Roof," it makes
sense that the special project to which our young people were
invited to contribute this summer was Habitat for Humanity.
This grassroots ministry simply brings strangers together to help
someone build themselves a house, sort of like the old Amish
barn-raising. For my week, I wrote a little skit to go along with
this project, as well as with the fifth discovery: "Under God’s
Roof, Strangers Are Welcome." It’s entitled,
"Marvin
and Malcolm." |
|
It’s become our practice every year on this Sunday to give you who enjoyed your time at camp the opportunity to share with the rest of us just a bit of what you experienced. When I sent all of you a card reminding you about today, in it I encouraged you to be thinking about how God may have touched you at camp. That’s a different question than "what was your favorite experience?" It may be a harder question for some of you to answer. Sometimes it’s through our favorite things that God touches us. But not always. I remember one girl during my week at camp who shared with everyone that it was when she was feeling homesick that she realized that Jesus was right there with her. For some campers (and counselors), a bit of "stretching" happened as they were nudged into things they had never before tried. To grow in Christ is to be stretched. We are in this
place today to worship God, to celebrate what the Lord has done in
our lives, to trust in God as we look ahead to tomorrow. We want
the things we share to somehow connect us with God, to remind us
of the important "stuff" we need as we begin a new week
- which for many of you means your first week of school. So, what
from your time at camp are you going to take with you? What
memories still excite you? What you share doesn’t have to be all
polished and sound too good to be true. What you say, though, let
it come from your heart. We’ll pass the microphone around. |
|
Returning our Tithes and Offerings Those words have been called "the Great Commission." They remind us that we are called to share what we have received from God. Not just here in this meetinghouse, but wherever we go. Yes, we share our material goods. After all, according to the Bible, everything we possess is under God’s roof, it all belongs to God. In a minute, we’ll take up an offering. That’s a form of sharing, passing on what we have received. But we’re also called to show and tell others about Jesus and God’s house (which is sometimes called the "kingdom of God"). What we share is what we have received, with our own actions and our own words showing and telling how God has touched us. That’s our mission as followers of Jesus. This "Great Commission" ends with a fantastic reminder. Did you hear it? Jesus said, "remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Wow! As the last discovery of camp this year put it, "Under God’s Roof, God Is at Home in Us!" Always! If we get scared about doing what God calls us to do, never fear, God is near, and will supply us with whatever it is we need to do what God want us to do. That’s a promise! Think about this promise as you respond to God’s goodness with your offering. Let it grow in you until this commission and this promise is just so big that any fear you may have about living it out becomes very small. "I am with you always," Jesus says, "to the end of the age." It’s time for the ushers to do their part. As they receive our offerings, a few of us will sing a song about God’s house. If you catch the tune to the chorus, you’re welcome to join in. |
|
Under God’s roof, this house - Remember what he said, |
|
Interested in Sunday School? |
||
|
International
Lesson thoughts |
International
Lesson |
|
|
©2003 Peter
L. Haynes
|
|||
|
return to |
return to |
return to |
return to |