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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Call to
Worship
First Peter calls us to be born again:
Born again ...
by the precious blood of Christ the lamb.
Born again ...
not of the perishable, but of the imperishable.
Born again ...
so that our faith and hope are in God.
Born again ...
to be holy, separating ourselves from the sins of
our past.
Born again ...
for action, moving in righteousness.
Born again ...
to be living stones built into a spiritual house.
Born again ...
to be a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God.
May we heed the call, opening ourselves to the mercy that is
ours in Jesus Christ, and praise the One who calls us into the
light. by
Carol Scheppard
Lebanon Church of the Brethren
Mount Sidney, Virginia
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"
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Opening
Prayer
When a child is born there is a
mother's cry of both pain and joy, followed by a baby's first
breath and a wail of new life. It is you, O Lord, who have given
us birth, not only on the day in which we each arrived naked in
this world, but also on our rising day in Christ. As a mother
willingly is transformed in body and spirit for the birth and
raising of her child, so Christ Jesus chose the cross and the
tomb that these might became the womb of our resurrection to new
life. We have gathered once again to celebrate this birth day,
and to willingly grow as you raise us to maturity, O God.
As children do not always take
to discipline; as adolescents have their times of rebellion
along the way to becoming real persons and not carbon copies of
their parents, so we press the boundaries of your instruction, O
Lord. We ask your forgiveness for our transgressions, knowing
that, like a good mother, you have our best interests in heart,
and want us to grow to full stature.
Bless this time of worship. In
it, may we become more aware of your abiding presence, more
conscious of your direction, breathing in your Spirit, like we
did on the day of our birth. May our song be our birthing cry,
our prayer be like the often unspoken communication between
mother and child. May we hear what you would say to us this day.
And when we go on our way, may it be with joyful hearts, knowing
that our redeemer lives. Amen!
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Pastoral Prayer
A choir greeted us this morning as we stepped outside, O Lord.
They were singing a rising song to the sun, a beckoning song to
one another, a happy song for the dawning of a new day, a
freedom song. Sitting up in the trees, sparrows and other birds
are watchful eyes in this world. They often are the first to
notice changes in the environment. By paying attention to them,
we may see the coming changes of seasons, or warnings of pending
danger.
Your Son spoke of your attentiveness to the little sparrow, a
common bird, how not one of them is forgotten by you. Your "eye
is on the sparrow," we just sang, affirming that if you pay
attention to them, you surely watch over us, as Jesus said.
Thank you.
We can't imagine what it really means for you to oversee us all,
sparrows and humans alike, along with all creation. The
scriptures reveal to us that yours are active eyes. You do not
simply watch without caring, allowing the world to simply turn
under your benevolent gaze. You are moved to action by what you
see, though our limited eyes do not often behold all that you
do. We have raised up our concerns to you just now, persons we
know, the things we see which we draw to your attention. Of
course, you know them before we even mention them. As we lift
them up, we become overseers also. For those facing difficult
times, we sing a rising song to the Son. We beckon one another
through our prayers to you. Joy transforms our tears and fears,
and a new sense of freedom in you is born ... again. We lift up
our wings of faith, feeble though they may be at times, and fly.
You have already spoken to us this morning in a multitude of
ways. Most of them are simple and down to earth, like the things
mothers do on a daily basis. Keep speaking to us this hour.
Perhaps we should say, help us to keep listening. As we do, we
notice a heavenly choir singing, your eternal Word being spoken
through the all-too-inadequate words we utter, as well in the
pauses and silences of our time together.
Your eye is, indeed, upon the sparrow and upon us... and we
can't help but sing for joy - which we do in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
It is time to give
back to God our tithe or offering from what we have so richly
been given. Let's allow the words of the Psalmist to become our
thanksgiving. Listen prayerfully.
12What shall I return to the
Lord for all his bounty to me? 13I will lift
up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the
Lord, 14I will pay my vows to
the Lord in the presence of all his
people. 15Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
16O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have
loosed my bonds. 17I will offer to you a thanksgiving
sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord.
18I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people, 19in the courts of
the house of the Lord, in your midst, O
Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
(Psalm
116:12-19)
scripture text from the New
Revised Standard Version,
copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States
of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Dramatic Reading
Luke 24:13-35
N (narrator) reads from the
lectern. C (Cleopas) and D (unnamed Disciple) walk
down the center aisle as reading starts, coming upon J (Jesus),
who is standing up front, about the time he is first mentioned
in the text.
N - The actual day of our Easter celebration is now two weeks
past, but the story continues - how the risen Christ appeared to
those first disciples and they came to life, and how the same is
true for us today. Listen to the following resurrection story
from Luke's gospel. It takes place on that first day of a new
creation, when our Lord rose from the dead. Listen, and may your
hearts burn within you also.
(pause)
-----------------------
N - Now on that same day two of them were going to a village
called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking
with each other about all these things that had happened. While
they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and
went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
And he said to them,
J - "What are you discussing with each other while you walk
along?"
N - They stood still, looking sad.
(pause as C&D
"stand still and look sad") Then one of them, whose
name was Cleopas, answered him,
C - "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know
the things that have taken place there in these days?"
N - He asked them,
J - "What things?"
N - They replied,
D - "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet
mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how
our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to
death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to
redeem Israel.
C - "Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since
these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group
astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when
they did not find his body there, they came back and told us
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he
was alive.
D - "Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found
it just as the women had said; but they did not see him."
N - Then he said to them,
J - "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that
the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his
glory?"
N - Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he
interpreted to them the things about himself in all the
scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were
going, (J starts to walk away, then is stopped by C&D) he walked
ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly,
saying,
C - "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is
now nearly over."
N - So he went in to stay with them.
(pause as all 3 sit down on the
top step, with J in the middle, who takes out a loaf of bread at
the appropriate moment, and does as the text says)
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and
broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and
they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.
(pause as J quietly stands walks
away - wait until he is gone before continuing) They
said to each other,
D - "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking
to us on the road,
C - "while he was opening the scriptures to us?" Yes!
(C&D get up and walk down steps
and stand facing congregation just before the first occupied
pew)
N - That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and
they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.
They heard from these others that the Lord had, indeed, risen,
and had appeared to Simon. Then they told what had happened on
the road to Emmaus, and how the risen Christ had been made known
to them in the breaking of the bread.
C - Amen!
D - Amen!
N - Amen!
Text (with vs. 34 slightly amended for clarity) is from
the New
Revised Standard Version,
copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States
of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Benediction
In the
simplicity of breaking bread:
in sharing what you have;
in reaching across an airplane seat
to discover beside you a brother or sister;
in walking with another disciple and
together inviting a stranger into your circle;
in a thousand other common,
everyday experiences,
may you encounter the risen Christ this week.
Go now as witnesses of the resurrection,
your hearts burning within.
Be born anew through the living
and enduring word of
God.
Amen.
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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