Worship - March 30, 2008

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
March 30, 2008
Worship 10:00 am, Sunday School 11:10 am

Second Sunday of Easter

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
(John 20:19)

Morning Praise (9:45 am)
Announcements
Prelude "Prelude in G Major" J.S. Bach

Call to Worship

*Hymn "Christ is alive! Let Christians sing!" 278

*Opening Prayer

*Responsive Affirmation of Faith 714

Choir "Praise His Holy Name" Keith Hampton

From the Hebrew writings Psalm 16

Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise
(please be brief, and aware of God’s listening presence)

Choir "Of the Father's Love Begotten" arr. Paul Wohlgemuth

Pastoral Prayer

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

Offertory "Ave verum corpus" William Byrd

Tercentennial Minute “The Actor and the Peace Corps”

Choir "Deep River" arr. Larry Farrow
(link is not the same arrangement)

From the Gospel John 20:19-25

Choir "Kwmbaya" arr. James Hutchings

From the Gospel John 20:26-31

Choir "Tomorrow shall be my dancing day" John Gardner

From the Church’s Story Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Choir "I Got Shoes" arr. Debra Lynn
(link is not the same arrangement)

From the Church’s Story 1 Peter 1:3-9

*Hymn "Proclaim the tidings near and far" 282

*Choral Benediction "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" Peter Lutkin

*Postlude "Postlude in G Major" Handel

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

We are blessed today by the ministry of the Manchester College Chamber Singers. The links above are to the musical numbers they sing, but are not them singing. On this Sunday afternoon, following a covered dish meal, they perform with the Manchester College Jazz Band in our fellowship hall. The program includes swing band music.

Call to Worship

One - Come to worship Jesus Christ, risen forever.

All - Come to rejoice in life born out of death.

One - Come to grasp hope in the face of fear.

All - Come to find forgiveness for your sins.

One - Come to release your doubts into the very presence of God.

All - Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

written by Obadiah Ballinger, Yale Divinity School student

Opening Prayer

God of resurrection hope, as you have raised Jesus Christ from death, raise us to new life in your tender care. Draw near and fill us this day with your Holy Spirit. Call us back from places of distraction. Lift the veil of daily routine that hides your constant presence from us. Show us the path of true life, that we may know joy beyond joy in your light. Amen.

written by Obadiah Ballinger, Yale Divinity School student

Responsive Affirmation of Faith

He was the Son of God.
         He was the Son of Man.
He came down from heaven.
         He was born in a stable.
Kings came to his cradle.
         His first home was a cave.
He was born to be a king.
         He was a child of Mary.
He was the greatest among rulers.
         He was the least among servants.
He was loved and honored.
         He was despised and rejected.
He was gentle and loving.
         He made many enemies.
He counseled perfection.
         He was a friend of sinners.
He was a joyful companion.
         He was a man of sorrows.
He said, "Rejoice."
         He said, "Repent."
"Love God with all your heart."
         "Love your neighbor as yourself."
"Don't be anxious."
         "Count the cost."
"Deny yourself."
         "Ask and receive."
In him was life.
         He died on a cross.
He was a historic person.
         He lives today.
He was Jesus of Nazareth.
         He is Christ the Lord.

Hymnal #714
adapted from We Gather Together, Kenneth I. Morse,
©1979 Brethren Press.

From the Hebrew writings
Psalm 16

1 – "Trust in the Lord with all your heart," the proverb says.

2 - But trust is not merely a warm feeling or a passing impulse in a time of trouble.

1 - Instead, it is a lifelong walk.

2 - This is the meditation of the following Psalm. Listen.

(pause)

1 - Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2 - I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."

1 - As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.

2 - Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

1 - The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

2 - The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

1 - I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

2 - I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

1 - Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.

2 - For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.

1 - You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

from The New Revised Standard Version,
copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pastoral Prayer

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

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

1 - Though we stand on this side of Easter, we remember that suffering is part of redemption.

2 - Our Alleluia's cannot,

1 - and should not,

2 - silence the cries of a hurting world.

1 - It is this world that "God so loved."

2 - It was for this world that God "gave his only Son."

1 - As you return your offering just now, allow the old Eucharistic hymn, "Ave verum corpus," to remind you that Christ suffered to redeem a world that continues to suffer, a world that needs our response.

2 - The words to this hymn go back over 700 years to the following poem, translated from Latin.

1 - Hail the true body,
2 - Born of the Virgin Mary,
1 - Truly suffered, sacrificed
2 - On the Cross for mankind,
1 - Whose pierced side
2 - Flowed with water and blood,
1 - Let it be for us, in consideration,
2 - A foretaste of death.

Tercentennial Minute
“The Actor and the Peace Corps”

When the actor Don Murray registered as a conscientious objector during the Korean War he ran up against an obstacle. His draft board and the US Attorney in his area refused to believe that Don was acting out of his convictions, because they didn't believe actors had any convictions. After a month in prison, with a $10,000 fine and a potential sentence of five years hanging over his head he underwent a grueling interrogation at the hands of that prosecutor who finally concluded that Murray was telling the truth – he was against war.

Murray served overseas with the Brethren Service Commission, and later called his time in Europe as the "best education I ever had." Inspired by Dan West and others, he worked in both Germany and Italy. Upon his return to the states he proved his convictions were authentic by funding an amazing program called Homeless European Land Program (HELP) through his earnings as an actor. The program settled longtime refugees into farms on the island of Sardinia, which they came to own. It was one of the major success stories not only of Brethren relief, but for all relief agencies in Europe after the war.

In 1956 he was asked to introduce Vice Presidential candidate C. Estes Kefauver at a rally in Hibbing, Minnesota, but when the candidate's plane was delayed the organizers begged him to stall for time by telling Hollywood stories. Instead, he told the audience about Brethren Service. The audience was enthralled, including Senator Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey became convinced that the idea of Brethren Service would work for the government, but though President Eisenhower was intrigued his advisors convinced him that American youth didn't have the enthusiasm and idealism to serve other people for peanuts. Humphrey didn't give up, and he convinced the next president, John F. Kennedy, who established the Peace Corps by executive order.

And that's the Tercentennial Minute for Sunday, March 30, 2008

by Frank Ramirez, pastor of the Everett, PA Church of the Brethren
posted by permission
The Everett church graciously makes available these weekly vignettes from Brethren history
to all who are interested during this 300th anniversary year of our denomination.
Frank will be the guest preacher for our Homecoming on October 26, 2008
(this is our congregation's 100th anniversary year)

From the Gospel
John 20:19-25

1 - When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews,

2 - Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

1 - After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

2 - Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

1 - Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

2 - When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

1 - But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

2 - So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."

1 - But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

From the Gospel
John 20:26-31

2 - A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.

1 - Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

2 - Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."

1 - Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

2 - Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

1 - Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

2 - But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

From the Church’s Story
Acts 2:14a, 22-32

1 - Peter stood up with the other eleven and addressed the crowd as loudly and clearly as he could:

2 - "My fellow Israelites, tune in and I'll set you straight. You already know about Jesus of Nazareth, and you know how God publicly endorsed him by enabling him to do powerful and amazing things which clearly had God's fingerprints all over them. This man's life was put in your hands, just as God had decided it would be — a decision made with eyes open to the consequences. You strung him up and killed him, and the fact that you got some outsiders to do your dirty work doesn’t change that. But that wasn’t the end of the story: God raised him up, breaking him free from the grip of death, and death was powerless to do anything about it. Clearly David was anticipating the experience of Jesus when he wrote:

1 - I can see that you are always with me, Lord;
            you stick by me so I'll never be pushed off track.
      No wonder I’m on top of the world
            and songs of joy burst from my lips;
                   there is even hope for my mortal body because of you.
      You will never give me up to the grave,
               or leave your dedicated servant to rot.
       You set my feet on a life-giving track,
            and you will give me the ultimate pleasure
                  of being in your presence for keeps.

2 - "My fellow Israelites, I'm not giving away any secrets when I say that our ancestor, King David, did himself die, and was buried. Even to this day, any of us can go and visit his grave and know that he's gone. But he was a prophet who heard from God. He knew that God had promised to raise the ultimate King from his own family line. Seeing what this would mean, David pointed to the resurrection of the Messiah when he said:

1 - He was not given up to the grave;
nor was his body left to rot.

2 - "So the fact is, Jesus is the Messiah and God has raised him up. And we all stand before you as witnesses to this fact."

From the Church’s Story
1 Peter 1:3-9

1 - What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus!

2 - Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!

1 - God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.

2 - I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime.

1 - Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine.

2 - When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

1 - You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing.

2 - Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.