Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
July 27, 2014
Worship 10:00 am          Summer in Spirit 11:10am

  Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)             “Lord, with devotion we pray”           79
  Announcements
  Prelude

*Call to Worship                                                                   (back of bulletin)

*Hymn                           “Holy Spirit, come with power”                               26

*Opening Prayer

  Scripture                                 Romans 8:26-39

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

  Responsive Prayer                                                                                    721

  Scripture                          Matthew 13:31-34, 44-52

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

*Dedication hymn                   “God, whose giving”                                     383

  Scripture                                   1 Kings 3:5-12

  Message   “An understanding mind and a listening heart” (mp3)
                                              Sue Ellen Wheatley

*Hymn                          “God of grace and God of glory”                           366

*Benediction

*Postlude

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

Leader: The Spirit is always present to help us,

People: in the good and the bad, in the wonder and the worries of life.

Leader: The Spirit prays tenaciously for our well-being,

People: when we know with clarity what we desire, and when muddled yearning remains unexpressed.

Leader: The Spirit works diligently within us,

People: binding us to the purpose and promise of God.

Leader: The Spirit reminds us of God's primary love in Jesus,

People: from which nothing in all of creation can separate us.

Leader: Through the Spirit's movement, God is always at work,

People: for everyone who loves God and works for the good of all in Jesus' name.

by Paul Roth, pastor
Linville Creek Church of the Brethren
Broadway, Virginia
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085,
"The Living Word" Series
      

Opening Prayer

Most wonderful God, we approach you with our small lives,
            our tiny minds and our large ignorance,
but also with our purest longings and hopes. 

We want to worship you with all that we have and are,
            but unless you encourage and assist us,
            we will fail in this our holiest intention. 

Therefore please let your Spirit move in our hearts and minds,
            lifting us above things of secondary importance,
            and concentrating our whole being on your wisdom and truth. 

Through Christ Jesus who is the source of our confidence
            and the joy of our hearts desiring.

Amen!

by Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church in Australia,
from Resources: Based on the Revised Common Lectionary
slightly adapted
    

Responsive Prayer

           Almighty God,
                    from whom comes each good gift of life,
                    we remember your loving kindness and your uncounted mercies
                             as we join in grateful praise.
           For all your gifts to us and to our human race;
                    for our life and the world in which we live,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For the order and constancy of nature;
                    for the beauty and bounty of the world;
                    for day and night, summer and winter, seed-time and harvest;
                    for the varied joys which every season brings,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For the work we are enabled to do,
                    and the truth we are permitted to discover;
                    good there has been in our past,
                    and for all the hopes which lead us on toward better things,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For all the joys and comforts of life;
                    for homes and families;
                    for our friends;
                    for the love, sympathy, and goodwill of persons near and far,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For all cultures, wise government and just laws which order our common life;
                    for education and all the treasures of literature, science, and art,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For the discipline of life;
                    for the tasks and trials which train us to know ourselves
                    and which bring us to accept one another,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For the desire and power to help others;
                    for every opportunity of serving our generation in ways large or small,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For the gift of Jesus Christ, and everything which is ours as his disciples;
                    for the presence and inspiration of your Holy Spirit throughout our days,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
           For the tender ties which bind us to the unseen world;
                    for the faith which dispels the shadows of earth
                    and fills the closing years of life with the light of hope,
                    we give you thanks, O God.
ALL:  God of all grace and love,
                    we have praised you with our lips
                    for all the richness and meaning that life holds for us.
           Now send us into the world to praise you with our lives,
                    through Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN

Hymnal #721, taken from
The Hymnal of the United Church of Christ, ©1974.
United Church Press, 700 Prospect Ave., E.,
Cleveland, OH 44115-1100
        

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

             A farmer sowed seeds all over the place: along the beaten path, in shallow soil, amid thorns and thistles, and upon good ground. We heard that parable of Jesus two weeks ago.
            Last Sunday, the gospel story mentioned weeds that were intentionally sown along with good seed, with harvest being the time to separate wheat from weed.
            Today, we have heard Jesus compare God’s kingdom to a tiny mustard seed which grows into the greatest of shrubs, along with several other parables that seem to point in the direction of discerning what is most important in life:
                        yeast that cause a loaf of bread to rise,
                        treasures that lay hidden in a field,
                        a pearl of great value,
                        a net thrown in the sea…
            Aha! Two weeks ago Pastor Pete wondered in his sermon if Jesus told a sea story. There it is!

             Okay, it is time for the ushers to cast a net and take in our offering. As you return your monetary gifts (no fish, please), pray for today’s preacher, that the seeds she will plant in her message will grow in us. Furthermore, pray for wisdom, that we, as listeners, might engage our own gift of discernment, and seek what is most important in what she says, for the living of these days.

Ushers?

Benediction

to be chosen and delivered by the preacher