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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
March 6, 2005
Worship 10:00 am, Sunday School 11:10 am
The Fourth Sunday of
Lent
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The Lord said to
Ananias, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I
have chosen..." (Acts 9:15a) |
Morning Praise (9:45 am)
Announcements
Prelude
Rejoice and
leap for joy
Call to Worship
Songs of
Praise
(a medley)
"The Joy
of the Lord"
"My
life is in you, Lord"
"Joyful,
joyful, we adore thee"
(vs.1 & 4)
71
*Opening Prayer
(e-2)
Scripture
Nehemiah
8:9-10
For Children
"Joy strong"
(Pre-schoolers then leave for playful worship)
Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony
or praise
Hymn
"When
I survey the wondrous cross"
259
Pastoral Prayer
by the grace
of God I am what I am
Returning our Tithes and
Offerings
Offertory
Scripture
Acts
9:1-22
Message "Ananias and God’s instrument of grace"
*Hymn
"Obey my voice"
163
*A Prayer of Invitation
(back of bulletin)
*Hymn
"Here I am,
Lord"
395
*Benediction
#'s are from Hymnal:
A Worship Book
Worship leaders - see basic
guidelines |
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Call to
Worship
1 - The apostle Paul once wrote, "Rejoice
in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." (Philippians
4:4)
2 - Jesus said, "there will be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who need no repentance." (Luke 15:7)
1 - He also said, "Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of
the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their
ancestors did to the prophets." (Luke
6:22-23)
2 - And this also: "If you keep my commandments, you will
abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and
abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy
may be in you, and that your joy may be complete." (John
15:10-11)
1 - The joy of the Lord is our strength!
2 - Don’t just sit there with your hands in your pockets.
1 - Stand, if you are able, and let this joy overflow.
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For
Children
"Joy strong"
Tell
the story of Nehemiah
8:1-10, first setting the stage - the fact that the people
have returned home and are rebuilding Jerusalem; then highlighting
some of the interesting parts:
| - People gathered in a large square (there
was no temple yet) |
| - everyone came (men and women, and
"all who could hear with understanding" - did that
include children? ask what they think) |
| - Ezra read the law of Moses (not exactly Harry
Potter) |
| - Ezra read all morning - "from early
morning until midday" (a long time!) |
| - People listened (could you pay
attention that long?) |
| - Others helped - the Levites, who helped
people understand what they were hearing |
| - People wept when they heard these words
from God - why do you think they cried? (sorrow? happiness?) |
| - Ezra told them to celebrate, to have a
party, to share the party with those who don't have much,
and he said not to be sad. |
| - Then he said, "the joy of the Lord is
your strength." What does that mean? Play around with
this to get at how they understand this. How does joy make
us strong? Remember
the children in our sister church in the Dominican Republic,
and how joyful they were. |
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Don't impose the meaning, let it come from
the kids. |
children's handouts: Ezra
reads the law, Saul
is converted |
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Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
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Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-10
Pray with me,
God of joy and
grace, what we have to share, the things we do for you, the unique
person each one of us is becoming - this all is evidence of your
graceful presence. Bless what we have to offer this day, such that
each one of us, like the apostle Paul, can affirm that "by
the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not
been in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:10a).
Amen.
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Acts
9:1-22
a dramatic reading of the NRSV
characters in order of appearance (or not)
N -
narrator
J- voice
of Jesus (offstage)
P -
Paul/Saul
A -
Ananias
C - one
person representing the crowd (offstage)
(P & A can act out what’s
happening, but do so minimally) |
N - Meanwhile Saul, (Paul comes and stands in
front of lecturn) still breathing threats and murder
against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and
asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he
found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring
them bound to Jerusalem.
Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a
light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and
heard a voice saying to him,
J - "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
N - He asked,
P - "Who are you, Lord?"
N - The reply came,
J - "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and
enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
N - The men who were traveling with him stood speechless
because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the
ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so
they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three
days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. (Pause,
Ananias comes and stands in front of pulpit. When in place,
continue.)
Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The
Lord said to him in a vision,
J - "Ananias."
N - He answered,
A - "Here I am, Lord."
N - The Lord said to him,
J - "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at
the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this
moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named
Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain
his sight."
N - But Ananias answered,
A - "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much
evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has
authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your
name."
N - But the Lord said to him,
J - "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to
bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of
Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the
sake of my name."
N - (Pause, Ananias goes over ans stands with
Paul) So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid
his hands on Saul and said,
A - "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on
your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and
be filled with the Holy Spirit."
N - And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes,
and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and
after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days
he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to
proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of
God."
All who heard him were amazed and said,
C - "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among
those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the
purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?"
N - Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the
Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.
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A
Prayer of Invitation
One: Precious Lord, in your wisdom you call us to serve. But
sometimes we are not sure.
All: Do you really want me?
One: Sometimes, like the prophet Samuel, we have seen the risks
in serving you and are afraid to go.
All: How can l go?
One: Sometimes, like the disciple named Ananias, we know the
reputation of those you seek and are not willing to go.
All: How can I go?
One: Sometimes, like Jonah, we are blinded by our
preconceptions and prejudices and simply refuse to go.
All: How can I go?
One: Precious Lord, forgive us when we do not understand that
you have future leaders in unlikely places. Forgive us when we are
stingy with grace. Give us a spirit willing to hear your call and
to go where you are already working.
All: Here I am, Lord, send me!
Scripture references 1 Samuel 16
2, Acts 9 10-16; Jonah 1 3
by Tim Harvey, pastor
Central Church of the Brethren, Roanoke, Virginia
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word
Series"
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Benediction
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