Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
July 8, 2007
Worship 10:00 am

  Morning Praise (9:45 am)
  Announcements
  Prelude

  Call to worship

  Opening Prayer

*Hymn                          "God of grace and God of glory"                              366

  Responsive Reading                                                                                    833

  For Children                         "Faith the Cow"
                          (Our younger children, ages 3-7, then leave for Sunday School)

  Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise

  Hymn                                "Spirit of the living God"                                     349

  Prayer

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

  Offertory              (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

*Response                  (vs. 1) "We give thee but thine own"                             384

*Dedication

  Scripture                                 Mark 12:38-40

  Hymn                                      "Obey my voice"                                          163

  Message                                 "Passing Gifts"
                                                                       Ann Cornell
                                              Administrator - Shepherd's Spring OMC

*Hymn                                     "Here I am, Lord"                                         395 
                                                                             (mp3)

*Blessing Song                           "Hamba Nathi"

*Postlude

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

         "When Jesus saw the crowds," it says in Matthew 9:36, "he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Please pray with me.
   

Opening Prayer

         Lord, thank you for coming to this village. We are in need of the things you have to teach us. We are desperate to hear the good news of your kingdom. We long for your healing touch. Our ‘long green valley’ is no different than any other village in this, your world. We may possess more than people in other places, but like them, we are like sheep in need of a shepherd. Shepherd us, O God, with your grace and your glory. May we become less full of our things, and more full of your Holy Spirit. Bless this hour with the words of Jesus and a willingness in us to follow him. Instill in us a burning desire to pass on the gift we receive from you such that we will leave this place a bit different from when we arrived. This we pray in the name of the One who still sends his disciples forth. Amen.
   

Responsive Reading
(Micah 4:1-4)

In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house
      shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
      and shall be raised up above the hills.
Peoples shall stream to it,
      and many nations shall come and say:
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
      to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
      and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
      and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples,
      and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
      and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
      neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines
      and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

Hymnal #833
New Revised Standard Version
   

Prayer

         O God, by whose strength even those of us who are weak are made strong, we pray in the certitude made possible by your might and your steadfastness; we pray in the full and blessed assurance of your unshakable trustworthiness.
         We offer to you our special concerns. For those suffering bereavement through the loss of family or friends we ask a renewal of that sustaining assurance that nothing in all creation can ever separate us from your love made personal and powerful in Jesus Christ. We pray for distant neighbors as well as those close at hand. Comfort all persons with special needs, all who suffer from injustice and life's calamities. Keep before us concern for your world, yes, for that very world so centered in your love that you sent your only Son to suffer and die in its behalf.
         Renewed in gratitude and in the joy of our calling, lift us, O God, to new levels of service and evangelical witness so that "the world might believe." Amen.

by Warren F. Groff
from Prayer: God's Time and Ours (©1984 Brethren Press)
   

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

         The willingness to give is a sign of life. The fruit tree gives of its fruit, and we know it is alive. When it refuses to give, we know real life has gone out of it. The heart that hoards the blessings of God is no longer alive with spiritual power. To give is to live.

by Earle W. Fike jr.
from For All Who Minister (A Worship Manual for the Church of the Brethren),
©1993 Brethren Press, p. 120.
   

Dedication

Teach us, good Lord,
      to serve you as you deserve;
      to give and not to count the cost;
      to toil and not to seek for rest;
      to labor and not to ask for reward,
            except that of knowing that we do your will;
      through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

by Ignatius of Loyola, 16^th century
from For All Who Minister (A Worship Manual for the Church of the Brethren),
©1993 Brethren Press, p. 121.