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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
May 6, 2012
Worship 10:00 am
Sunday School 11:10am
Fifth Sunday of Easter
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“I
am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me
and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you
can do nothing.”
(John 15:5) |
Beginning with Praise
(9:50 am)
"Where
cross the crowded ways"
405
Announcements
Prelude
*With hands raised "Awake, arise, O sing a new
song"
56
*And hearts open
(see insert)
*Sing to God
"Praise, I will
praise you, Lord"
76
*And pray
Listening
1 John 4:7-21
And
speak what needs to be spoken
(please be brief, and aware of God's listening presence)
Praying for one
another
Listening
John 15:1-8
A “seagoing cowboy”
tells his story
A resurrection
song "Who
are these"
270
Responding with our
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory
(Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)
*Hymn "God, whose giving"
383
*Benediction
*Postlude
*Rise in body or in spirit #'s are from Hymnal:
A Worship Book
Worship leaders - see basic
guidelines |
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And
hearts open
A
Call to Worship from Psalm 22:25-31
One - Whenever people gather to worship, LORD, my heart
overflows and I sing your praises. Out in the open for all to
see I’ll do all that I promised.
All - At your table, God, the needy will feast; those who
hunger for you will be fed till they burst with praise! They
will be able to live it up, now and forever!
One - In every corner of the earth people will wake up to
themselves and turn back to you, LORD.
All - Every race, nation, tribe and family will offer
themselves to you in worship, for you have the last word on
everything; what you say goes.
One - Even the dead will bow down to you, LORD; those who are
trampled in the dust will look to you in hope, and I will live
for you and you alone.
All - Our kids and their kids will serve you, LORD; as we
pass the message down from one generation to the next. People
not even born yet will hear the story; they will be told of what
you have done to set us free.
text from the
Laughing Bird Version
©2001 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
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And
pray
We, like the
Psalmist, cry out in praise and thanksgiving in response to your
eternal loving-kindness, O God, as you hold, guide, and enfold
us with your grace. And, as we gather here as your people, we
pray that our worship will reflect your divine love. We offer
our worship today with the remembrance of Easter still filling
us with joy, and with the anticipation of Pentecost firing our
devotion. Let our praise for all that you have done, are doing
and will do, truly resound within our hearts and our homes,
within these walls and beyond. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
by Rev Moira Laidlaw, adapted
Uniting Church in Australia,
from
Liturgies Online,
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Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
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A “seagoing
cowboy” tells his story
(audio
file)
As part of a month-long emphasis, Ellis Shenk will share today
about his experience transporting cattle to Europe after World
War II, as a young adult working with Heifer Project. A panel of
three persons, Sara Shenk, Jean Sack, & Mike Hanna, will be
sitting up front with him to ask questions along the way of his
testimony. The congregation will be asked to participate,
sharing any questions they might have using 3x5 cards placed in
their bulletins, passing them to ushers who will bring them
forward to the panel members.
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A
resurrection song
Amid the carnage
of the Spanish civil war, which preceded a much larger conflict
that left Europe in ashes, Dan West had a vision. Common,
ordinary heifers from farming communities like the one in which
he grew up, could be a part of the restoration and rebuilding of
distant lands. We have just heard from our brother Ellis, how he
- along with many others - stepped into that vision. There were
additional Brethren who saw further possibilities for helping
people rise from the ashes of war.
I marvel at the
creativity of our own denomination after World War II, working
in cooperation with people of different faiths to make a
difference, one heifer or one person at a time. By the way,
don’t think that there weren’t naysayers back then, Brethren who
didn’t buy into all this ‘service’ stuff. I’ve read of Dan West
being described as a thorn in the flesh of some Dunker leaders.
You will always
have disagreement among the faithful, just as war,
famine, and sickness are always with
us in this world. The last book in the Bible symbolically refers
to these things as “horsemen” arriving on the field of battle.
However, there is another already on the scene, the risen Christ
on a white horse. In my mind, I connect the prayerful
imagination of John in the book of Revelation to the vision of
persons like
Dan West and
M.R. Zigler. These persons saw Jesus ahead of them and
sought to follow him, not with swords and chariots, but with
heifers and seagoing cowboys, among many other creative options.
When evil runs rampant, God’s people
pray and sing, according to Revelation, and prayer and song
weave their way into action. The sixth chapter of Revelation,
which pictures
Christ calling forth *
the red horse of war,
the black horse of famine,
the pale horse of disease, and
the unfolding of horrors similar to what was witnessed once
again in war-torn Europe seventy years ago; this chapter ends
with the question, “who
is able to stand?” amid all of this.
The next chapter
reveals that
the angels stand, as do God’s people – first described as “144,000,”
and then as “a
great multitude that no one could count, from all tribes and
peoples and languages.” “Robed in white, with palm
branches in their hands” (sound familiar?), they cry out a
salvation prayer and sing a song of thanksgiving. The question
is then asked, “Who
are these?” The answer? “These are they who have come
out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb.
For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and worship him day and night
within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne
will shelter them.
They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
for the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them
to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.”
This passage lies
at the heart of the resurrection song we are about to sing. I
think it’s appropriate that this song originated in Poland, the
words derived from an old Latin Easter vesper hymn. Poland was
torn apart by both world war and cold war, but Brethren have
been active there. Over the years, many BVS’ers worked in this
country, and they had a role in the collapse of the iron curtain
and the resurrection of a people, one person at a time.
As those who are helping to lead us
in singing this song come forward, please turn in your hymnal to
#270. We’ve been learning this refrain the last two Sundays.
There are seven verses, of which those of us who are up front
will only sing three, each followed by the refrain you are
invited to sing along. Let’s begin with that refrain.
"Who are these"
(with verses 1, 2, & 7)
*the lamb -
through one of the
four living creatures (the four gospel writers?)
surrounding the throne. The first horse called
forth, a white one, has variously been interpreted
as Christ, or the proclamation (or, I'd add, the
living out) of the gospel, or even the anti-Christ,
tho' the latter seems improbable with the usage of
"white" everywhere else in this book. The above
interpretation does not make tribulation only a
future event. This book was meant for all ages, not
just our own, giving hope to every generation going
through tribulation, especially those who originally
received this letter from their overseer/bishop,
John. I have greatly appreciated Eugene Peterson's
work,
Reversed Thunder, in making sense of this work.
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Responding with our Tithes and Offerings
You are invited this month to
participate in our special offering emphasis on
Heifer
International, the worldwide effort continuing the
vision of Dan West. On your bulletin insert are descriptions of
various living things you can help send to places where they are
needed, and how much they cost. This ministry involves more than
heifers. In fact, our own Outdoor Ministry Center,
Shepherd’s Spring, has a growing “Global
Village,” where persons of all ages can come and learn what
it’s like to live in places around the world where
Heifer
International is at work. Go and visit sometime. Feel
free to place your special offering, above and beyond your
regular offering, toward
Heifer
International in the plate as it is passed any Sunday
this month. You can even designate which animal or plant (or
portion thereof), toward which you’d like your offering to go.
Before the ushers come forward to
collect our offering, please pray with me. I’ll be praying the
song of God’s resurrection people found in Revelation 7, verse
12:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and
honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Ushers?
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Benediction
How will this new week unfold for each of
us?
There may be new opportunities; there may
be setbacks and dangers.
If we cherish our place in the vine of
Christ,
receiving the very sap of his abundant life,
some things might frustrate us but nothing shall defeat us.
Thanks be to God!
Go cheerfully then, and live boldly.
The grace of the Savior,
the love of the Creator,
the friendship of the Lover,
is yours forever!
Amen!
by Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church in
Australia
from
Resources: Based on the Revised Common Lectionary.
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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