Worship - February 9, 2014

Worship Order for Sunday

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
February 9, 2014
Worship 10:00 am Sunday School 11:10am

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.” (Matthew 5:13)

Beginning with Praise (9:50 am) "Come, thou fount" 521
Announcements
Prelude "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" Beethoven

Call to Worship

*Hymn "Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing" 110

*Opening Prayer

Scripture 1 Corinthians 2:1-12

For Children "Black Dog" by Levi Pinfold

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

Receiving a new member

Congregational Commitment 777

Prayer of the People (back of bulletin)

Hymn "You are salt for the earth" 226

Scripture Matthew 5:13-20

Message "Salt of the Earth"

Responding with our Tithes and Offerings

Offertory Video (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

*Hymn "Renew your church" 363

*Unison Dedication Prayer

*Postlude "Let There Be Light, Lord God" Zeuner

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

One - I will bless the Lord at all times;
          his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
          My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
          let the humble hear and be glad.

All - O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

One - I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
          and delivered me from all my fears.
          Look to him, and be radiant;
          so your faces shall never be ashamed.

All - O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

One - This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
          and was saved from every trouble.
          The angel of the Lord encamps around
          those who fear him, and delivers them.

All - O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

One - O taste and see that the Lord is good;
          happy are those who take refuge in him.
          O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
          for those who fear him have no want.

All - O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 34:1-9 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

Guide our worship this day, O God most high.
     Lend angels from your heavenly choir.
          O for a thousand tongues to sing your praise!
               One just doesn't seem to be enough.
                         One tongue to sing;
                         One set of ears to hear;
                         One pair of arms to break free;
                         One heart to rejoice.
          One just doesn't seem enough.
               O for a thousand ..., a million… (pause)

Amid our foolishness, be our wisdom, O God.
Show us the way this day.
In Christ, we pray. Amen.

For Children
"Black Dog"
by Levi Pinfold

             "Those who are spiritual discern all things…we have the mind of Christ," Paul writes to the Corinthians. His teaching and preaching, and consequently their faith in those things, may seem like foolishness to the wisdom of the world, but Paul speaks “of God’s wisdom”, and that is what the Corinthians faith rests upon—a wisdom that is beyond the world’s ways.
            In Black Dog, the youngest member of the Hope family, Small Hope, shows her family a new kind of wisdom. When the family awakens one morning, there is an enormous black dog outside their house, growing by the minute. Each of them panics, until Small Hope bravely sets out to face the dog, and by playing with him, he begins to shrink until he is just the right size for their family. As they welcome him inside, Small Hope’s family members remark on how smart Small Hope was, and how she knew what to do when they didn’t. Small Hope discerns that there is another way than fear and panic, and exhibits a higher wisdom.
            Paul exhorts the Corinthians in the same way—that though the wisdom they possess may seem like foolishness, it is really a wiser and higher kind—it is the wisdom of Christ.

the above was written by Sara Anne Berger (see also),
pastor of the Whitmire Presbyterian Church, Whitmire, SC,
from Storypath, a marvelous resource for connecting children with the Lectionary scriptures!

Receiving a new member

(after being introduced to the congregation by a member
who has come to know these newcomer:)

Sister-in-Christ, you have previously made a confession of your faith and have been a member of his church. We rejoice in your decision to become a member of this congregation, in full covenant relationship with the believers who worship and serve God in this place.

Do you now reaffirm your faith in and loyalty to Jesus Christ, our Lord, and his gospel?

If so, please say: "I do."

As you unite with this church, will you worship, serve, and share in its program, supporting it by your earnest prayers, regular attendance, loyal service, and faithful stewardship, as God gives you strength?

If so, please say: "With God's help, I will."

Do you promise to live and share with us in the bonds of Christian fellowship, giving and receiving Christian love, sharing and bearing one another's joy and pain?

If so, please say: "I do."

Congregational Commitment

As we now receive you into the fellowship of the church,
     we make this covenant with you
     as we renew our own covenant with God:
          to bear each others' burdens,
          to assist in times of need,
          to share our gifts and possessions,
          to forgive as Christ has forgiven us,
          to support each other in joy and sorrow,
              and in all things to work for the common good,
          thus making known Christ's presence among us
              to the glory of God
As we unite with each other now,
     may we all be joined with Christ, our Lord.

Hymnal #777
Adapted from The Mennonite Hymnal,
©1969 Faith & Life Press/Mennonite Publishing House,
based on Anabaptist baptismal vows, 16th c.

Unison Prayer of the People
(back of the bulletin)

O God of mystery and might,
Great mover of the stars in flight,
Alert our hearts to apprehend
The silent witnesses you send.

Lord, set our ears to listening
For reasons in each season's spring;
And teach our minds to meditate
Longer on love, while passions wait.

O God of tenderness and trust,
Whose ways are merciful and just,
Lest we be overcome with gain
Bind us into each other's pain.

From pride and pretense set us free
To walk in truth's integrity.
O grant us grace to reach, to give,
To touch the dream by which we live.

by Kenneth I. Morse, 1970
Published in The Brethren Songbook Brethren Press, 1974
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series

Responding with our Tithes and Offerings

(at the end of the sermon)

As you respond to this message with your tithes and offerings, I invite you to ponder the following video. John Ness suggested it as something from his work in the hospital (which is where he needed to be this morning) that touched him deeply. Granted, the setting is that of a medical institution, and maybe not where you invest your time and talent. Try to translate it into your own setting. How does it speak to you about being the “salt of the earth” kind of person that God is empowering you to be?

Ushers, please assist us in our giving.

Offertory Video

or follow this link

Unison Dedication Prayer

Wonder-working God, make me your salt in this world.
Where life has lost its flavor, let me be your seasoning.
Where hurts run deep, let me be your healing presence.
Where values are upside down,
let me be right-side up through you.
Lord, make us your salt in this world.