Worship - July 11, 2010

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
July 11, 2010
Worship 10:00 am

At the Lord’s table along the way

He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)
Announcements
Prelude

Carrying

Call to Worship

*Hymn "All things bright and beautiful" 156

*Opening Prayer

Proclaiming

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

Pastoral Prayer

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

Scripture Luke 10:25-37

Message "Love along the way" (mp3)

Communing

Hymn "I come with joy to meet my Lord" 459
(Deacons distribute the bread)

Unison Blessing 790

Communion

Response (vs. 1) "Bless'd be the tie that binds" 421

Sending

NYC Participant Commissioning (insert)

Prayer of Consecration

*Song "Christ be in my mind" (insert)

*Prayer of Sending

*Benediction Song "You shall go out with joy" 427

*Postlude

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

One: The Apostle Paul wrote: “We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives.”

All: There’s far more here than meets the eye.

One: We are afflicted in every way

All: But not crushed

One: Perplexed, but not driven to despair

All: Persecuted but not forsaken

One: Struck down, but not destroyed

All: God has not left our side! There is far more here than meets the eye!

written by the National Youth Conference Spiritual Directors
from NYC Prayer Day Resources

Opening Prayer

O Lord, our God,
     who was before all beginnings,
     who will be present beyond all endings, and
     who is present with us today;

Grant us the sensitivity to
     sense your presence with us now,
     hear what you have to say,
     understand what we hear,
     receive what we most need, and
     love you as you deserve. Amen.

by Harold Z. Bomberger
from Living Waters, #31, July 1996

Pastoral Prayer

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

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

Our offerings are an attempt to put our prayers into action.
Listen to Proverbs 3:5-6, as paraphrased in The Message:

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”

Let’s put our prayers into action through our offerings, trusting the Lord.

Ushers?

Unison Blessing

You hold in your hand the bread of new covenant. Soon will follow the cup. When we gather for a full Love Feast, these elements are joined by the basin and towel as we wash each other’s feet. Though today we further simplify this simple meal, we know that love involves not just what has been done for us, but what we do in response. Thus, as we prepare to receive the bread and cup, we include the basin in our prayer of blessing. Please join your voice to mine as we pray in unison #790 from the back of your hymnal.

Blessed are you, O God.
You set aside
      this bread as a sign of your Son’s broken body,
      this cup as a sign of his shed blood,
      this basin as a sign of his servanthood.
Through them you have made us partakers of Christ
      and of one another.
As we go forth, give us grace
      to count others better than ourselves,
      to love our enemies,
      to seek peace.
Send the Spirit of truth to keep alive in us
      what Jesus taught and did,
      who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
      one God, forever and ever. AMEN

Hymnal #790
©1991, John D. Rempel

Take and eat.

NYC Participant Commissioning

Leader: Creator God, you have been shaping, molding, and filling each one of these young people for an experience of a lifetime in the next few weeks. They stand here together, ready to embrace what is laid out before them.

Participants: Our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

Congregation: Help us to understand God in the face of Christ.

Leader: Lord, you have created each one of them to be unique. Each of their vessels carries its own troubles, joys, blemishes and beauties.

Participants: If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness.

Congregation: Help us to see their brightness.

Leader: Sometimes we all feel ordinary and trudge through our every day routines. But we know that nothing You do is ordinary. You take the most ordinary of things, water, bread, fish, and clay pots, and make them extraordinary!

Participants: We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives.

Congregation: Help us to see the precious in the ordinary.

Leader: Mountaintop experiences, such as National Youth Conference, change our body of believers. The youth will learn and experience You in new ways. We will learn from them.

Participants: God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.

Congregation: Help us to be a part of this new life.

Leader: Our young people are excited about what lies ahead. We know you have something ready for each one of them. Bless their travels, keep them safe and open their minds to participate fully in National Youth Conference.

Participants: There’s far more here than meets the eye.

Congregation: There’s more than meets the eye about each one of us.

by Emily LaPrade, NYC Coordinator
from NYC Prayer Day Resources

Prayer of Consecration

Loving God, we are excited about this opportunity and experience called National Youth Conference. We are grateful that our young people have the opportunity to gather with other young people from around the country, even globe. We are grateful, too, for those adults who will travel to Fort Collins and participate in National Youth Conference with our youth. Thank you for their willingness to give of themselves and their time to help make this possible for our young people. Give each adult wisdom and patience as they relate to, guide, and give supervision to the youth.
            Bless those from the denomination who have worked so hard to make this conference possible. Guide their continued planning and leadership during the conference. May the many last minute details come together and may their dreams become reality!
            We pray for safety in travel and activities for all. We pray that each person might meet you in a new way and experience your loving presence. May there be new and rich opportunities to worship, to learn, to grow and to play together. May your gentle Spirit nudge, challenge, and empower each one as they discover that there is more than meets the eye as they choose to follow in Jesus’ way.
            We pray, O God, that as all who attend NYC return to families and faith communities, that there would be a sense of spiritual deepening and renewal in our churches. Grant that we might be a stronger and better community for their having gone. Help us to listen and to learn from them, and enable them to integrate this incredible experience in their everyday living. May we all grow together, as we continue the work of Jesus… peacefully, simply, and together.

written by the National Youth Conference Spiritual Directors
from NYC Prayer Day Resources

Prayer of Sending

Eternal God, as we leave this place, may we go in health and in strength.
Equip us with your wisdom and insights, that we may find more than meets the eye.
Keep us in your loving care and help us to live your love by serving one another.
Send us in your peace.

written by the National Youth Conference Spiritual Directors
from NYC Prayer Day Resources