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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Call to
Worship
(1
Peter 1:3-7)
1 - "Blessed be!
2 - Blessed be!
1 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
2 - By his great mercy
1 - great mercy
2 - great mercy he has given us a new birth
1 - a new birth into a living hope
2 - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 - By his great mercy
2 - great mercy
1 - great mercy he has given us an inheritance that is imperishable,
2 - undefiled,
1 - and unfading,
2 - kept in heaven for you,
1 - you who are being protected
2 - protected by the power of God through faith
1 - for a salvation ready to be
2 - revealed
1 - disclosed
2 - uncovered
1 - in the last time.
2 - In this you rejoice,
1 - celebrate
2 - delight
1 - even if now for a little while
2 - just a little while
1 - you have had to suffer various trials,
2 - so that the genuineness of your faith-
1 - being more precious than gold
2 - gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-
1 - so that the genuineness of your faith may be found to result
2 - in praise
1 - and glory
2 - and honor
1 - when Jesus Christ is revealed."
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1 - Our hope is built on nothing less... #343.
As God makes you able, stand in this
hope and sing.
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Opening
Prayer
Holy God, it has been a busy week for many of us. We have been hard
at work at our jobs, we have attended meetings, we’ve shuttled our
children to friends’ houses and extracurricular activities, and we
have wondered, "Where has all the time gone?" At certain
moments, it has been comforting to know that at least we are being
productive, but such comfort has been fleeting. As productive as we
have been, there has not been much time left over for leisure, for
deepening relationships with those we know and love, or for
deepening our relationship with you. And yet, we have carved out a
little time this morning to come here to spend with you and the
people gathered in this place. We have found the time because we
have learned, over and over again, that when we make time for you,
you always seem to make time for us. Help us, holy God, to be as
unhurried as you seem to be, at least in this hour. Help us to be as
interested in connecting with you as you seem to be in connecting
with us. And teach us what busyness in our lives we may let go of,
not that we may have more time to kill, but more time to live
abundantly. We pray for abundant life in relationship with you and
the ones we love. We pray these things in Christ s name. Amen.
Eric Elnes, Igniting Worship
Series: The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 73.
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Receiving
a new member
1. Introductions
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(After this person is "introduced" to the
congregation by a church member, highlighting a bit of
their walk with Christ up to this point): |
Today you are
being received into this community of faith and into the Church of
the Brethren. As part of the whole church of Jesus Christ, we
offer you our rich heritage and invite you to share fully in our
life and mission.
As you are
received into the Long Green Valley Church, we intend to be a true
family of faith to you. We commit ourselves to be for you a loving
fellowship, to be a means of grace in your life, and to offer
opportunities for worship, study, and service. One of the happiest
times in our life as a church is when new people choose to become
members. We welcome you with joy.
2. Reaffirming Baptismal Vows
Do you still
believe that Jesus is God's Son and do you continue to receive and
trust him as your Savior and Lord? (I do.)
Do you still
seek to turn away from all sin and endeavor by God's grace to live
according to the example and teachings of Jesus? (I will.)
Will you be
loyal to this church, upholding it by your prayers and your
presence, your substance and your service? (I will.)
3. Congregational Reaffirmation
As we now receive you into the fellowship of the
church,
we make this covenant with you
as we renew our own covenant with God:
to bear
each others' burdens,
to assist
in times of need,
to share
our gifts and possessions,
to forgive
as Christ has forgiven us,
to support
each other in joy and sorrow,
and in all things to work for the common good,
thus making
known Christ's presence among us
to the glory of God
As we unite with each other now,
may we all be joined with Christ, our
Lord.
Hymnal #777
Adapted from The Mennonite Hymnal,
©1969 Faith & Life Press/Mennonite Publishing House,
based on Anabaptist baptismal vows, 16th c.
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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
Listen to these
words from the apostle Paul to the young man he was mentoring,
scripture from which, by the way, the theme of our denomination’s
annual conference this summer is derived: "Exercise daily in
God." I’ll be reading from "The Message," a
paraphrase by Eugene Peterson, with a slight addition from the New
Revised Standard Version. All who have ears, let them hear.
"You’ve
been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound
teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the Christians there, and
you’ll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories
that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God--no
spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are
useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you
fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to
heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so
totally. We’re banking on - we have set our hope on
(NRSV) - the living God, Savior of all
men and women, especially believers."
-1
Timothy 4:6-10 (The Message)
Pray with me.
Living God, help
us to take to heart the message of the faith which we have received
over the years. Lead us away from silly stories and toward the
greatest story ever told. Following Jesus together, help us to get
in shape, spiritually. Bless these offerings we are about to share
for the work of your church, and open our hearts and minds to
receive what you have to share with us this day. In Jesus’ name,
amen.
Ushers?
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Planting
Seeds of Hope
After the
message, the 11 readers come forward to one of the two microphones
on stands in front of the organ or the piano, and read the quote
that is highlighted below in the order listed. After they read the
quote, each also reads the name of the author or the scripture
reference, saying nothing more than what is written. While these
statements are being read, people (the invitation extended during
the sermon) will be coming forward, as they feel led, to plant a
literal seed in a planter up front as a symbol of hope. Before or
after a particular reading, depending upon where it is in the order,
the readers are also invited to plant a seed if they feel so led.
They should just be in place to begin reading their segment as soon
as the person reading the segment before is done. Then they return
to their seat.
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1. "Every thing that is done in the world is done by
hope."
—Martin Luther
2. "Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose
hope is in the LORD their God..."
—Psalm 146:5
3. "Hope has a thick skin and will endure many a blow; it
will put on patience as a vestment, it will wade through a sea of
blood, it will endure all things if it be of the right kind, for the
joy that is set before it. Hence patience is called "patience
of hope," because it is hope that makes the soul exercise
patience and long-suffering under the cross, until the time comes to
enjoy the crown."
—John Bunyan
4. "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have
obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our
hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also
boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and
hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to
us."
—Romans 5:1-5
5. "The very least you can do is figure out what you hope
for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it
from a distance, but live right in it, under its roof."
—Barbara Kingsolver
6. "For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not
hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do
not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us
in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but
that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God,
who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will
of God."
—Romans 8:24-27
7. "Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you
just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You
wait and watch and work: You don’t give up."
—Anne Lamott
8. "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come
to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you
may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the
riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the
immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to
the working of his great power.
—Ephesians 1:17-19
9. "As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is a mere
flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that
hope begins to be a strength. Like all the Christian virtues, it is
as unreasonable as it is indispensable."
—G. K. Chesterton
10. "For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work
and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as
you still do. And we want each one of you to show the same diligence
so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that
you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through
faith and patience inherit the promises.
—Hebrews 6:10-12
11. "I’m such an optimist I’d go after Moby Dick in a
rowboat and take the tartar sauce with me."
—Zig Ziglar
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Benediction
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit." (Romans
15:13)
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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