Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
February 20, 2011
Worship 10:00 am              Sunday School 11:10am
 

  Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)             "Blessed Jesus, at your word"            13
  Announcements
  Prelude                                         "Allegro"                                          Franck

  Call to Worship                       Psalm 119:33-40                     (from The Message)

*Opening Prayer

*Hymn                                     "Holy, holy, holy!"      120

  The Holy Way (part 1)          Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

  Offertory                              "Prelude in B Minor"                                 Chopin  
                                        (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

*Response                                "Lead me, Lord"                                         538

*Dedication

  The Holy Way (part 2)              Matthew 5:38-48

  For Children                      "An eye for an eye"

  Hymn                                      "O day of peace"                                        408

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

  Prayer Song                                "Sanctuary"

  Pastoral Prayer

  Scripture                             1 Corinthians 3:10-23

  Message                                "A real temple" (mp3)

*Hymn                            "The church's one foundation"                                311

*Benediction

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship
(Psalm 119:33-40)

1 - God, teach me lessons for living
         so I can stay the course.

2 - Give me insight so I can do what you tell me -
         my whole life one long, obedient response.

1 - Guide me down the road of your commandments;
         I love traveling this freeway!

2 - Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,
         and not for piling up loot.

1 - Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
         invigorate me on the pilgrim way.

2 - Affirm your promises to me -
         promises made to all who fear you.

1 - Deflect the harsh words of my critics -
         but what you say is always so good.

2 - See how hungry I am for your counsel;
         preserve my life through your righteous ways!

taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993,
1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.
Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
  

Opening Prayer

Holy God, you have revealed yourself to us in a trinity of ways:
                    as our powerful Creator,
                        our dying Savior, and
                        our comforting Spirit.
            But we also know you
                    as a loving parent;
                        a risen Lord; and
                        a dynamic breath of fresh air.
      We're never really sure of how
             you are able to be all these things to us,
                  but you are. And we praise you.
Holy God, lead us down your Holy Way
      that we may grow in becoming
            who you have created and redeemed us to be.
      As we hear what may seem to our limited minds
            to be an impossible call,
                  teach us the grace to place our limitations
                        within the wonder of your unlimited hands.
                                    In Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

adapts previously written Opening Prayer D-9
  

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

            “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” … I guess Jesus wasn’t the first person to say that, was he? He was quoting the Law of Moses, God’s Holy Way. It sounds like down-to-earth wisdom from a heavenly source. Of course, this holy way is not always the easy way, is it? For instance, consider what Leviticus says about not harvesting everything in our field or vineyard. According to the Torah, we’re to leave part of it behind so that those who have less than we do might step onto our property and take what we have not harvested. That almost sounds like leaving yourself open for someone to steal from you, doesn’t it? It’s hard to figure out the difference between gleaning and stealing, especially in an age where few of us are farmers. What does it mean for us today to leave space for others to glean from our wealth? Let me ask that again. What does it mean for us today to leave space for others to glean from our wealth? That’s a good question to ask as we approach this time of returning our tithes and offerings. Think about it as you put your envelope in the plate. Ushers?
  

Dedication

            We realize, O Lord, that it’s easy to say that we love our neighbor as ourself. The doing of it is much more difficult. Help us to grow in living out your holy way. After all, we are your field, O God. This is your vineyard. Amen.
  

For Children
"An eye for an eye"

            Telling the true story of Nicholas Green, a seven year-old boy from California who was killed by highway robbers in 1994 while vacationing in Italy with his family. His parents agreed to donate his organs and corneas, which went to seven Italians waiting for transplants. Reg and Maggie Green spoke openly to the media, with no bitterness, about their loss and decision. The world took the story--and the Greens--to its heart. Organ donations in Italy have quadrupled since Nicholas was killed so that thousands of people are alive who would have died. The world's response to the Green's personal tragedy is called "the Nicholas effect." Idea borrowed from Saving the Ants (©2001, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, p. 56-57) by Ruth Gilmore, p. 38.
  

Pastoral Prayer

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

Benediction

Let me close with a prayer by the French priest/writer, Michel Quoist. It is simply entitled,

"The Brick."

The bricklayer laid a brick on the bed of cement.
Then, with a precise stroke of his trowel, spread another layer
And, without a by-your-leave, laid on another brick.
The foundations grew visibly,
The building rose, tall and strong, to shelter men. 

I thought, Lord, of that poor brick buried in the darkness
          at the base of the big building.
No one sees it, but it accomplishes its task, and the other
          bricks need it.
Lord, what difference whether I am on the rooftop or in
          the foundations of your building, as long as I stand
          faithfully at the right place? 

from Prayers, by Michel Quoist, ©1963, Avon Books, p. 23.