Worship - June 10, 2007

1 - Hallelujah! O my soul, praise God!
2 - All my life long I'll praise God, singing songs to my God as long as I live.
1 - Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life.
2 - Mere humans don't have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them.
1 - Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God and know real blessing!
2 - God made sky and soil, sea and all the fish in it.
1 - He always does what he says - he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry.
2 - God frees prisoners - he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen.
1 - God loves good people, protects strangers, takes the side of orphans and widows, but makes short work of the wicked.
2 - God�s in charge�always. Zion's God is God for good! Hallelujah!

Opening Prayer

Grant, O God, that thinking, we may think your thoughts; that speaking, we may speak your word; that singing, we may sing to your praise; that hearing, we may hear your truth; and that willing, we may make your will our own, so that walking forward at the end of our worship, we may walk in your love and your peace, and departing from one another, not depart from you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

adapted from prayer by Roy Pearson, Hear Our Prayer, �1961 McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, NT.
Taken from For all who Minister, �1993, Brethren Pres, Elgin, IL, p.85

Wellness Moment

Our Wellness Team has chosen a focus for each month of the year. On our May's theme of "Home Safety," deacon Mike Hanna will speak briefly about "Sun Safety."

preface to Scripture reading A

In the Bible, the prophet Elijah arrives on the scene unexpected, uncredentialed, uninvited, unannounced, and unexplained.* After telling King Ahab that "there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by (God�s) word," Elijah was instructed by the Lord to hide in a nearly dry riverbed, where he had just enough water to survive, and was fed - it says - by the ravens. After a while, however, the harsh sun dried up even that source of moisture. Let�s listen to what happened next:

1 Kings 17:8-16

*to borrow from Walter Brueggemann
in 1 & 2 Kings, �2000 Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Macan, GA, p. 207.

For Children
"Elijah helps a widow"

Using a jar of flour, and a jar of oil, along with some biscuits, we'll retell the Bible story of 1 Kings 17:8-16, emphasizing how God cared for a starving widow and her son (and a prophet). This is adapted from pp. 69-70 of The Humongous Book of Children's Messages, by Kristen Baltrum, et.al., �2004, Group Publishing, Loveland, CO.

preface to Scripture reading B

In the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, what happened next moves us in the direction of this morning�s gospel reading. You see, even though those jars of meal and oil never emptied, the widow�s son became ill and died. Elijah then cried out to God, and the boy was brought back to life (17:17-24)... Now, let�s turn to Luke�s gospel and hear a similar story about Jesus and another widow and her son:

Luke 7:11-17

Unison Prayer of Confession

Lord, our God,
         great, eternal, wonderful
         utterly to be trusted:
                  you give life to us all,
                  you help those who come to you,
                  you give hope to those who cry to you.
Forgive our sins, secret and open,
         and rid us of every habit of thought
         that stands against the gospel.
Set our hearts at peace,
         so we may live our lives before you
                  confidently and without fear,
                  through Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN

Hymnal #699. Based on a prayer from
The Liturgy of St. Basil of Caesarea, 4th c.,
adapted from Contemporary Prayers for Public Worship,
ed. Caryl Micklem, copyright � 1956 1967 SCM Press, Ltd.

Praying for others

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

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

(Read Psalm 30, then:)

As you return your offering this morning, take time to read the devotion found on the back of your bulletin. Don't just give your money, share your faith, "a faith in a Savior who turns our mourning into dancing." As you do, make sure you "put on your dancing shoes."

(on back of bulletin:)

LET'S DANCE

Every day we see them. We talk to them. Maybe we are them. The broken. The hurting. The desperate. The defeated. It's so easy to let this world steal the joy from our lives. As I try to figure out what I can do, I often find myself overwhelmed, feeling powerless. I sometimes mourn for this world. I mourn for those who go to bed at night on an empty stomach, the child who longs for a mom or dad. I mourn for the person caught in the violence of war, for the one controlled by addiction. I mourn, maybe most of all, for the soul void of the hope brought by the risen Savior.
Then he turns my mourning into dancing. He assures me of my salvation. He assures me that he is at work. He came to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, to comfort the hurting. He came to turn their mourning into dancing. Part of my dance as well as yours is to teach others to dance. We do this by working for justice-by feeding the hungry, caring for the fatherless, encouraging the brokenhearted. We do this by sharing our faith, a faith in a Savior who turns our mourning into dancing. Now put on your dancing shoes.

- Doug Diamond, pastor
Peak Creek Church of the Brethren, Laurel Springs, North Carolina
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"

Word of Mission and Blessing

My friends, this life is not a rehearsal.
Every day and each week is precious.
Here and now is blessed reality;
each day can be claimed
as either life to be loved or lost to death.

Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise God as long as I live;

Step out in faith and hope,
and pray that God will enhance your successes,
annul your blunders and mistakes,
and replace your weakness with a humble strength.

I will praise God as long as I live;
I will sing praises to God as long as I have being.

The blessing of the Holy One,
whom the Church through the ages has cherished
as Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you this day and always.

Amen!

by Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church in Australia