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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Call to
Worship
Easter is near, so close—can you smell it coming?
The aroma of baking bread,
the smell of the
love feast soup,
fragrant vapors of
grape juice in a cup.
The scent of the palm fronds,
the memory of olive trees, pungent and strong,
sensing the sweat
of the Savior as he prays
and the soldiers as
they march into the garden.
After the perfumed palace,
the sour smell of
vinegar offered on a cross.
Time passes over.
Dawn brings
a whiff of cold and
damp at an empty tomb.
Then,
the fragrance of
the flowers—
OVERPOWERING
(proclaiming without words)
"GOD
LIVES!"
Melanie Jones, pastor
Carlisle, PA Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word
Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word
Series"
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Opening
Prayer
You God, only you! You who are the holy Source of our lives, the
Friend on the journey, the Savior when we fall, and in the hour of
success the Joy that makes our joy complete. We your much-loved
children gather to worship and adore you. Through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen!
by Bruce
Prewer, Uniting Church in Australia
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Anointing
A young person
in our congregation will next month be undergoing another surgery
in her knee, part of a progression of periodic (and painful)
surgeries as she grows. In preparation. she has asked to be
anointed during worship on this day. For more info on this
ordinance of the church, click
here.
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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
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The following are some words to ponder as you return your
offering to the Lord. They speak to what we consider most
important in life, who we really are (or are not) and the
things that we do which matter most. Listen to what the
apostle Paul had to say. I’ll be reading from the
Contemporary English Version. |
"Others
may brag about themselves, but I have more reason to brag than
anyone else. I was circumcised when I was eight days old, and I am
from the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a true
Hebrew. As a Pharisee, I strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. And I was
so eager that I even made trouble for the church. I did everything
the Law demands in order to please God.
"But
Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is
worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I
want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make
myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted
me simply because of my faith in Christ. All I want is to know
Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and
die as he did, so that somehow I also may be raised to life.
"I have
not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken
hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the
prize. My friends, I don't feel that I have already arrived. But I
forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run
toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to
heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ
Jesus has done."
Philippians
3:4b-14
Ushers, would you help us to share?
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Unison
Prayer
Gracious God, hear our confession.
Our faith is uncertain,
our forgiveness slow,
our conviction weak,
our compassion wavering.
We have exalted the proud and powerful,
put down the weak,
saturated the rich with good things,
neglected the poor,
sent the hungry away empty-handed.
We have helped ourselves.
Show us your mercy,
Help us show mercy,
through your Son, our Savior. AMEN
Hymnal #703
Adapted from the musical "Prayer Phrases"
by Harris J. Loewen, ©1986
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Responsive
Benediction
Let the fragrance of faith,
the aroma of hope,
the perfume of love
fill our lives and this world,
through the power of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Melanie Jones, pastor
Carlisle, PA Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word
Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word
Series"
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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