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

Mother’s Day 

  Morning Praise (9:45 am)
  Announcements
  Prelude

  Call to Worship

*Hymn                             "Now thank we all our God"                                  86

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture                                   1 John 4:7-21

  For Children

  Song                                            "Beloved"                                   (see insert)

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

  Hymn                                    "Lord of the home"                                       490

  Pastoral Prayer

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

*Hymn                   (stand on vs. 2) "Thou true Vine, that heals"                      373

*Dedication

  Scripture                                    Acts 8:26-40

  Message                      "Unless someone guides me" (mp3)

*Hymn                                 "I love to tell the story"                                    398

*Closing Unison Prayer                                                                               752

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

We begin worship this day with the final seven verses of the 22^nd Psalm. Jesus quoted the very first verse of this lament when he prayed upon the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Perhaps he continued the psalm with whispered words that were not heard by others, praying "yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved."
            The whole psalm is like that, moving between thoughts of abandonment and an abiding sense of trust in the faithfulness of God. We learn much about walking with the Lord in good times and bad, as we pray though this scripture. For now, however, we begin with its ending. Pay attention to the very first words, for they indicate where our worship really begins. Listen, and draw near to the source of Life:

            "Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices." Please rise in body or in spirit, and turn to #86 in your hymnal, as we sing together this song of faith and gratitude.
  

Opening Prayer

            We, like the Psalmist, cry out in praise and thanksgiving in response to your eternal loving-kindness, Lord God - holding us, guiding us, enfolding us with grace. And, as we gather here as people of God, we pray that our worship will reflect your divine love. We offer our worship today with the remembrance of Easter still filling us with joy, and with the anticipation of Pentecost firing our devotion.  Let our praise for all that you have done, are doing and will do, truly resound within our hearts and our homes, within these walls and beyond. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

adapted from a prayer written by Moira B Laidlaw.
  

For Children

         The exact route of what we'll do with this time has yet to be determined. The given is that the children will be invited forward. If inspiration strikes, Ed Lewis will share a good word with our little ones. If not, Pastor Pete will teach them the song which follows: "Beloved" (which we will sing, regardless).
  

Pastoral Prayer

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

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

Read John 15:1-8, then:

It is not time for harvest, at least not in this corner of the world. Now is, instead, the season for planting. We can't see whether or not our seeds will bear fruit, except through the eyes of faith. We long for that first tomato, the fresh peas straight out of the pod, or biting into a crisp apple. Our mouths water at the thought, but we must wait until the time is right to fully enjoy God’s bounty.
            Now is "abiding" time. According to Webster's dictionary, to "abide" is to "wait,"  "to endure without yielding,"  "to withstand,"  "to bear patiently,"  "to continue in a place."  On this Mother's Day, this fifth Sunday of Easter, I invite you to "abide" in a special way. With an extra offering, beyond your regular offering, would you share a gift to help another family through a difficult time?
            The Family Crisis Center, a ministry we have supported for many years, provides a place where battered mothers and their children, as well as troubled husbands, can turn to help them withstand rough days. Consider your extra offering a seed planted that will one day bear fruit. Give in honor, or in memory, of a beloved mother in your life who gave of herself, waiting and watching through the eyes of faith for a harvest of good in your life.
           "I am the vine, you are the branches," Jesus said. "Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit…" Chew on that as the ushers receive what we have to share.
  

Dedication

            Lord, we give for many reasons - chief among them being our gratitude and our desire to obey and serve you as best we can.  We pray, O God, that you would bless all that we offer to you at this time - and that you would make it fruitful and result in ever greater praise being given unto your name.  Amen.

written by Richard J. Fairchild
  

Closing Unison Prayer

Gracious God,
         grant that the words we have heard this day
         may be so grafted within our hearts
         that they bring forth fruit
         to the honor and praise of your name,
         through Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN.

Hymnal, #752
adapted from "Order of Worship," Worship the Lord.
©1987, Reformed Church in America & Eerdmans Pub. Co.