Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
June 7, 2009
Worship 10:00 am, Sunday School 11:10 am
 

  Morning Praise (9:45 am)
  Announcements
  Prelude                                "Prelude in C Major"                                   Bach

  Call to Worship

*Hymn                                   "Fairest Lord Jesus"                                      117

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture                                  2 Timothy 1:1-7

  For Children

  Hymn                         (vs. 1) "I know not why God’s wondrous"                     338

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

  Hymn                         (vs. 2) "I know not why God’s wondrous"                     338

  Pastoral Prayer

  Scripture                         Leviticus 25:8-55 (selections)

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

  Offertory                      "Just a Closer Walk with Thee"         traditional folk song
                                        (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

*Response                 (vs. 1) "O Master, let me walk with thee"                      357

*Dedication

  Hymn                                 "I love to tell the story"                                    398

  Scripture                                    Luke 6:17-26

  Message                         "Incomes and Outcomes" (mp3)
                                                    ("Plain Truth" sermon series - 1)

*Hymn                          "My hope is built on nothing less"                           343

*Benediction

*Postlude                                 "None but Christ"                         McGranahan

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship
Isaiah 61:1-4

Worship Leader: We begin worship, this Sunday after our celebration of Pentecost, with a reading from the prophet Isaiah. Gospel storyteller Luke remembers Jesus reading these very words in his home synagogue in Nazareth (4:16-30). As we hear them, we realize that this is what he came to do. Perhaps, as his followers empowered by the Holy Spirit, this is our mission statement as well. Listen and be drawn into his story, which is our story…

1- The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

2 - because the Lord has anointed me;

1 - he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

2 - to bind up the brokenhearted,

1 - to proclaim liberty to the captives,

2 - and release to the prisoners;

1 - to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

2 - and the day of vengeance of our God;

1 - to comfort all who mourn;

2 - to provide for those who mourn in Zion –

1 - to give them a garland instead of ashes,

2 - the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

1 - the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

2 - They will be called oaks of righteousness,

1 - the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

2 - They shall build up the ancient ruins,

1 - they shall raise up the former devastations;

2 - they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

Worship Leader: Brothers and sisters in Christ, rise in body or in spirit and sing of "Fairest Lord Jesus," #117 in your hymnal.

Opening Prayer

Lord, we would offer worship this morning that is heart-felt and true.
Help us be awake to what is really important and realize what really lasts.
Tell us again that life is precious and your love a gift.
Help us to turn our gratitude into obedience, our words into deeds, and our willingness into service.
Work in us today until we are more alert to your promises and pay greatest attention to your leadings.
In Jesus’ name we pray and seek your guidance. Amen.

by Timothy K. Jones
from Church of the Brethren publication
Agenda, "Celebration" section
April 1981
 

For Children

            Ed Lewis will share more with our little ones from his own childhood, remembering his grandmother once again - about how he overheard her pray for all the people in her life, including "little Eddie."
  

Pastoral Prayer

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

Scripture
Leviticus 25:8-55
(NRSV selections)

1 - A "jubilation" is an expression of great joy. To be "jubilant" is to be filled with a deep happiness which cannot be taken away, like those disciples of Jesus had on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit blew open the doors of the room in which they were gathered and propelled them into the streets to speak good news.

2 - This English word (Jubilee) comes from the Hebrew word "yōb-hĕl," which is a ram's horn. When blown like a trumpet, a ram's horn in the Bible indicates that an important event has begun, so pay attention. God is on the move, folks. Rejoice!

1 - Consider that as we turn to Leviticus, chapter 25. Verses 8-55 tell of a "Jubilee year" intended by the Lord to level the playing field of God's people, to restore them to the way things should be. Think of it as an eternal "reset" button to be pressed every 50 years when the accounts of both rich and poor are settled. As far as we know, this "button" was never pushed. That is, the Jubilee year, commanded by God in the Torah, was never really practiced by God's people. However, when Isaiah spoke of "proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor" (61:2), this is what he meant. When Jesus read those words of Isaiah in Nazareth, he was blowing the ram's horn of God's Word, and calling out a "Jubilee."

2 - Listen to this scripture from Leviticus 25. We won't read it all, just some selections. Sit up and pay attention. God is on the move, folks. Rejoice!

1 - You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years… Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud … throughout all your land. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines… It shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces…When you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another… but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God. You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live on it securely…

2 - The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants. Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land. If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold… But if there is not sufficient means to recover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser until the year of jubilee; in the jubilee it shall be released, and the property shall be returned… If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens. Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you. You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.

1- If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves. They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God.

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

We don’t have the loud sound of a ram’s horn to lead us into this time of offering, just Eva on the organ. Even so, hear God calling you into a closer walk, one that is headed in a Jubilee direction. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us all to continue this work of Jesus, peacefully, simply, and together.

Ushers?
  

Dedication

            Bless, O Lord, these offerings. With some of it, help us bring good news to the oppressed. Earmark more of this money for binding up the brokenhearted; still more for liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, comfort for those who grieve, along with every other job you have called us into in proclaiming your Kingdom. Through it all, build up your people with the oil of gladness and mantle of praise, that we might truly be called oaks of righteousness. In Jesus. Amen.
  

Benediction