Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
June 15, 2008
Worship 10:00 am, Sunday School 11:10 am

Father’s Day

  Morning Praise (9:45 am)
  Announcements
  Prelude

  Responsive Call to Worship                                                                       821

*Hymn                          "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty"                             37

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture                             Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

  Father’s Day Moment                                                    "Dan West" & friends

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

*Doxology                                                                                               119A

*Dedication

  Tercentennial Minute              Kurtis Naylor Turns the Other Cheek

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

  Hymn                               "This is my Father's world"                                154

  Pastoral Prayer

  Scripture                                 Genesis 18:1-15

  Message                 "BBQ under the Oaks of Mamre" (mp3 audio)

*Hymn                           "Gracious Spirit, dwell with me"                             507

*Benediction

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
        Serve the Lord with gladness!
        Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord is God!
It is he that made us, and we are his;
        we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
        and his courts with praise!
        Give thanks to him, bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
        his steadfast love endures forever,
        and his faithfulness to all generations.

Hymnal #821   (Revised Standard Version)
   

Opening Prayer

            Gracious God, draw us close to you in this holy hour of worship. Empty our hearts and minds of the agitation that comes with calendars that are too full, the worry that comes from long hours of work, and the fear that comes from lives focused on misplaced priorities.
            As we sang “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” we lifted our voices in praise for your mighty works, and we are here to learn from Your Word.  Holy God, may this time of worship, renew our desire to walk closer and obey more closely Your commands for our life.
            Breathe on us your holy calm so that in the stillness of your presence we may open ourselves to trust and be transformed.  AMEN

by Janet Bowman, worship leader
 

Father’s Day Moment

"Dan West" & friends

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

"What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?" … That's a good question. Don't ask it only once and then forget about it. Ponder it every day… "What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?" …  It's called 'passing on the gift.' Don't let God's generosity end at your doorstep. You are not the end of the line. It doesn't stop with you. Allow God's grace to flow through you. Think of it as a refreshing "cup of salvation" that you pour out and share with someone else, like you would with a guest in your home… Ushers, please serve by receiving what we have to share.
  

Dedication

            Thank you, Lord, for your gracious hospitality to us. You provide refreshment all along our journey through life, and we anticipate the day when we will sit at your table in heaven. Because you have spread your feast before us, even through "valley of the shadow of death" times, and filled our cup to overflowing, even in the presence of enemies, we live today with hope for tomorrow. May your hospitality overflow in us as we pass along the gift. In Jesus' name. Amen.
  

Tercentennial Minute
   Kurtis Naylor Turns the Other Cheek

In 1959 Kurtis Friend Naylor was called to be the director of the Brethren Service Commission in Europe and also to be a representative to the World Council of Churches.  He had already succeeded in establishing a relationship with Christians in the Soviet Union.  In 1961 he was present at the All-Christian Peace Assembly in Prague, and worked to reach out to another enemy of the United States.  At midnight before the assembly opened he was visited by Bishop K.J Ting of China who was cordial but delivered a stinging attack on the US.  At 2:30 in the morning another visitor gave him a copy of the speech Ting would deliver the next day in the assembly, which was even more fierce than their conversation.  Naylor would speak after Ting.

Times being what they were, with the Cold war in full swing, Naylor knew that Ting would have to deliver the official position of the Communist Chinese government.  Ting himself had said to him privately in their midnight meeting, "We’re political people – you and me," showing he assumed that Naylor would be delivering the official position of his government as well. Only one of them was right.

The speech by the Chinese representative was given on June 13, 1961.  A report later noted that the assembly was "thunderstruck" at Ting’s address which labeled the United States as the leading obstacle to peace in the world.  Naylor then rose.  In the midst of a "ghastly dead silence" he commended Ting for quoting Matthew 18, a favorite of the Brethren, and assuring him that everyone would listen carefully to his address and where they were wrong they would ask for forgiveness.  But he also listed several ways that both the churches of the United States, as well as the government, had worked for peace.  He ended by commending the Bishop from Russia for quoting from Ephesians 2:14 ("For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility").

Naylor finished to sustained and thunderous applause.

No one else but Naylor saw Bishop Ting wink as the two shook hands.

And that’s the tercentennial Minute for June 15, 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)
    

Pastoral Prayer

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

Benediction

            Another word for hospitality is "graciousness." God is "gracious" to us - "grace" (in Greek, "charis") a word that is linked to so many things, like "joy" ("chara") and laughter. With that in mind, let me end with a simple, one sentence benediction which concludes the letter to the Hebrews:

                       "La gracia sea con todos vosotros. Amén."       (note: we had some hispanic visitors this day)
                               "Grace be with all of you. Amen."
                                                             (Hebrews 13:25)