Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
June 24, 2012
Worship 10:00 am
A
great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat,
so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was
in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him
up and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
(Mark 4:37‑38)
Beginning with Praise
(9:50 am)"Wonderful
grace of Jesus"
150
Announcements
Prelude
"Larghetto"
Beethoven
1 - O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast
love endures forever.
2 - Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from
trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from
the west, from the north and from the south.
1 - Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the
mighty waters;
2 - they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the
deep.
1 - For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up
the waves of the sea.
2 - They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
1 - they reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their
wits’ end.
2 - Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought
them out from their distress;
1 - he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were
hushed.
2 - Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought
them to their desired haven.
1 - Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his
wonderful works to humankind.
2 - Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and
praise him in the assembly of the elders.
I invite those in
our fellowship who have graduated from high school or college
this year to come forward… Congratulations! It’s good to
celebrate important steps you have made in your life, and this
is one of them. Because you are important to us, we want to
rejoice with you. As is our practice, I invite you to share a
bit about this achievement of yours and what might be your next
steps. When and from where did you graduate and where are you
headed? Why don’t we start with _____.
(graduates share, one at
a time)
For a gift we have the book by Frederick Buechner from which the
video quoted. Before handing it to you, let me read the entire
quote:
Vocation: It comes from the Latin
vocare, to call, and means the work a man is
called to by God.
There
are all different kinds of voices calling you to all
different kinds of work, and the problem is to find
out which is the voice of God rather than of
Society, say, or the Superego, or Self-Interest.
By and
large a good rule for finding out is this. The kind
of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work
(a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world
most needs to have done. If you really get a kick
out of your work, you've presumably met requirement
(a), but if your work is writing TV deodorant
commercials, the chances are you've missed
requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is
being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably
met requirement (b), but if most of the time you're
bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have
not only bypassed (a), but probably aren't helping
your patients much either.
Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do.
The place God calls you to is the place where
your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.
With
open minds and hearts we receive, O Lord. With open arms we give.
Bless the giving and receiving, In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Benediction
As you push out from this “dock” and head forth into the
uncertain sea of this week, remember: your life preserver is
with you always, just as he promised. Be bold and unfurl your
sails.
Interested in Sunday School? Below is a growing list of possible sites to visit.
As you discover others, please let
us know.
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)