Worship - January 25, 2009

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
January 25, 2009
Worship 10:00 am, Sunday School 11:10 am

“…for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

Morning Praise (9:45 am)
Announcements
Prelude

Call to Worship

*Hymn "Brethren, we have met to worship" 8

*Opening Prayer

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

Hymn "Joys are flowing like a river" 301

Responsive Prayer of the People 720

Returning our Tithes and Offerings Hebrews 13:1-16

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

*Hymn "We give thee but thine own" 384

*Dedication

Scriptures Jeremiah 2:12-13
John 4:4-15

Message "Living Water and Cracked Cisterns" Ben Barlow

*Hymn "Come, thou fount" 521

*Responsive Benediction 766

*Postlude

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship
(Based on Psalm 81:1,10-16)

One: Sing aloud to God our strength; who delivered the people from slavery in Egypt. People who turned away and followed the desires of their own hearts. But God’s yearning to nourish them - to feed them with the finest of wheat, and the sweetest of honey - never changed.

All: We praise God who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

from Liturgies Online, by Moira B Laidlaw

Opening Prayer

Holy God, we praise you as the one who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Your yearning to shower blessings on your people has not changed. As you delivered the people of old from slavery in Egypt, so you deliver us from whatever enslaves us through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. He endured death so that he could nourish us with the sweetest gift of all - his life Accept our praise and adoration, we pray, for we offer them in Jesus’ name and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

from Liturgies Online, by Moira B Laidlaw

Responsive Prayer of the People

ALL: Listening God,
               you hear our prayers before we speak,
                     yet welcome our praying;
               therefore we come with confidence
                      to lay our requests before you.

Leader: We pray for Christian everywhere,
                   for our denomination and our congregation,
                   for faithfulness and strength to persevere in righteousness.
             We pray for the whole people of God.

People: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: We pray for the nations of the world,
                   for all leaders
                   and for those who make policy decisions.
             We pray for the commonwealth of our global community.

People: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: We pray for those who are overcome by violence,
                   for victims of injustice or oppression,
                   and for those in poverty or pain,
             We pray for all who need healing and peace.

People: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: We pray for those who endure trials,
                   for those who are dying,
                   and for those who mourn.
             We pray for all who need comfort and hope.

People: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: You have heard the prayers of your people, O God.
We rest in the comfort of your care,
as we pray in Jesus' name.

ALL: AMEN

Dedication

Giving God:
We give to you everything, real and imagined; tangible and intangible. We offer sacrifices of praise, and the joy of sharing even with strangers. We give you the pain of the absence of our loved ones; the bankruptcy of our souls and the fullness of life. All that we have, do, and are belongs to you; and we humbly lay these things at the foot of the cross. Use us, fortify us, and sanctify us, we pray, in the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

from 21st Century Africana Liturgy Resources, by Rev. Anne Daniel,
pastor of Madison Avenue United Methodist Church in New York City.
She is from the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas.

Benediction

Leader: Now may the Lord Jesus bless your soul
                   and strengthen your faith.
              Let this hour of worship grow within you
                   and bear fruit which will remain for life eternal.
People: We will together praise and glorify our God forever.

Hymnal #766
by Alexander Mack, Sr., 18th century, Rites and Ordinances, 1713,
translated in European Origins of the Brethren, copyright © 1958 Brethren Press.