Worship Order for Sunday

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
June 5, 2011
Worship 10:00 am              Sunday School 11:10am
 

      Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
                                  
(John 17:11b)

  Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)              "Shine, Jesus, Shine"             (see insert)
  Announcements
  Prelude                           "From Thy Throne So High"                             Gluck

  A Beginning Word              Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

*Hymn                              "Rejoice, the Lord is king!"                                 288

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture Story                           Acts 1:6-14

  For Children                          "What goes up"

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

  Hymn                           "I heard the voice of Jesus say"                              493

  Pastoral Prayer

  An Encouraging Word       1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

  A Prayer of Jesus (in video)            John 17

  Message    "Safe in the Son while walking in the Light" (mp3)

*Hymn                                   "Beyond a dying sun"                                     323
                                                     (join in the refrain and verses 2-3)

*Benediction

*Postlude


*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

A Beginning Word

1 - Let God rise up,

2 - let his enemies be scattered;

1 - let those who hate him flee before him.

2 - As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;

1 - as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God.

2 - But let the righteous be joyful;

1 - let them exult before God;

2 - let them be jubilant with joy.

1 - Sing to God, sing praises to his name;

2 - lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—his name is the Lord— be exultant before him.

1 - Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

2 - God gives the desolate a home to live in;

1 - he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land.

2 - O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness,

1 - the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,

2 - at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

1 - Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;

2 - you restored your heritage when it languished;

1 - your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God,

2 - you provided for the needy.

1 - Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;

2 - sing praises to the Lord.

1 - O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.

2 - Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel; and whose power is in the skies.

1 - Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel;

2 - he gives power and strength to his people.

1 - Blessed be God!

1 - Blessed be God!

Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 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.
 

Opening Prayer

            Accept our prayers and praises, God of power and might, in whom all creation has its source.  The magnitude of such power is difficult for us to grasp, yet it extends in care for the weak and powerless in our societies.  To increase our understanding of such power, you linked our lives with yours in the most wonderful way when you took on our flesh as a helpless and powerless baby in Jesus Christ.  Your desire to make us truly one with you came at the cost of his beautiful life. But the transforming words you spoke through him give us life now and for all time.  In him you are glorified and we pray that you will continue to be glorified through the worship, witness and service we offer in his name.  Amen

by Rev Moira Laidlaw, Uniting Church in Australia.
  

Scripture Story

We’ve been led into worship by a psalm. Now we turn to the story of the first followers of Jesus in the book of Acts, and hear about the moment he left and the stage was set for the birth of the church. We’ve enjoyed using this “Laughing Bird” paraphrase of the scriptures many times. It comes to us from our brothers and sisters in Australia, and is named after the infamous Kookaburra. Listen, and be drawn “down under” into the story.


........
When they were all together for the last time, the apostles had one burning question for Jesus: “Lord, is this the time? Will you regain our freedom now and give us our own king to reign over Israel?”
........Jesus replied, “Only the Father can decide such things and the timing is none of your business. Just focus on this: the Holy Spirit will flood over you and drench you with power, giving you the passion and courage to be my witnesses. Then you will be able to tell everyone about me, in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”
........That was it - his last words. Right before their eyes, he was carried up into the air where he soon disappeared into the clouds. They just stood there stunned, staring into the sky. Suddenly two men appeared next to them, dressed in white robes! They said, “You Galileans! What are you standing here for, staring into the sky? Jesus has been taken into heaven, but don’t worry. He’ll be back, just as surely - and just as mysteriously - as he left.”
........This happened at the Mount of Olives, about a half an hour’s walk outside of Jerusalem. When they returned to the city, they gathered again in the upstairs room that had become their regular meeting place. The remaining eleven apostles were all there: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. Along with a wider group, which included many of the women who had followed Jesus, they committed themselves to a shared life of fervent prayer. This group included Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts 1:6-14 from the Laughing Bird Version,
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
     

For Children
"What goes up"

            We'll use a helium filled balloon to talk about the ascension story in Acts 1:6-14. Adapts what Ruth Gilmore shared in Saving the Ants (Matthew/ year A), ©2001, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, pp 68-69.
     

Pastoral Prayer

 

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

 

An Encouraging Word

1 - Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you,

2 – Yes, do not be surprised as though something strange were happening to you.

1 - But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

2 - If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

1 - Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.

2 - Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.

1 - Discipline yourselves, keep alert.

2 - Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.

1 - Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

2 - And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

1 - will himself restore,

2 - support,

1 - strengthen,

2 - and establish you.

1 - To him be the power forever and ever.

2 - Amen.

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 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.
    

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

As our God of all grace restores, supports, strengthens, and establishes us, we then become part of this restoring, supporting, strengthening, and establishing work. That’s what our tithes and offerings are all about. It’s not a tax we pay. It’s a mission into which we are called. God gives to us what we need to accomplish it, or at least to get one further step down the road towards its fulfillment. That’s not just money, my friends. It’s also time and ability and energy and a sense of purpose that our Lord provides. It’s amazing what can happen as we let go of our anxiety and step into God’s active caring for us. What then surprises us are not all the bad things that can and do happen in this world. What takes our breath away, instead, is what God is doing all around us in this world, if only we have eyes to see and hands ready to become involved.

As you give your offering today, think beyond what you place in the plate. What might God be doing in your neck of the woods this week? Are you ready and willing to get your hands dirty in the Lord’s work?
  

A Prayer of Jesus (in video)
John 17

 

Benediction

            How appropriate, this image of God’s people - those for whom Jesus died and lived - as a ship upon the sea. Yes, to be honest, we are all in the same boat, adrift upon uncertain waters. Think, however, of the wind picking up and how that is the time when sails are unfurled and this ship is propelled forward.

            In the church year, next Sunday is Pentecost, the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit which blew through the followers of Jesus like a mighty wind. And they unfurled the sails and became the church.

            That wind still blows, sisters and brothers. But, as always, we need to work together to sail this ship, and thus fulfill Jesus’ prayer. We don’t sail alone, no matter where the next seven days take each one of us, whether we are salty old seahands, or still wet-behind-the-ears sailors; those familiar with the ship’s rigging, or those just learning the ropes.

            Mates, the wind is coming, so let down the sails, that God may move us toward the kingdom. Amen.

  

(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)

 

Interested in Sunday School?
Below is a growing list of possible sites to visit. As you discover others, please let us know.

International Lesson:
Faith and Life Resources

Mennonite Publishing House

International Lesson:
Mennonite Weekly Review

(scroll down on left to "Sunday School lessons)

International Lesson:
Christian Standard
(one week ahead)

International Lesson:
Living Web Sunday School Project

 
International Lesson:
Adult Bible Studies
from The United Methodist Publishing House
(click "supplemental resources" and "current events supplement" under both the "Student" and "Teacher" sections in the left hand column)
  

While one of our adult classes follows the International lesson above (see also), using
A Guide for Biblical Studies,
published quarterly by our denomination,
another class often uses one of the
Good Ground series.

For children and youth, we use the new
Gather Round curriculum
(developed jointly by the Church of the Brethren and the Mennonite Church)

 

©2010 Peter L. Haynes
(unless otherwise stated, worship resources were written by him)

 

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