Worship Order for Sunday

Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
September 21, 2014
Worship 10:00 am          Sunday School 11:10am

 

      live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that … I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents… This is Gods doing. (Philippians 1:27-28)

  Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)        “All creatures of…” (vs. 1,3,5,7)        48
  Announcements
  Prelude

*Call to Worship                                                                  (back of bulletin)

*Hymn                       “Lord, whose love in humble service”                     369

*Opening Prayer

  In the wilderness                  Exodus 16:2-5, 9-16

  Antidote (read responsively)                  Psalm 145:1-8                      (insert)

  In Ninevah                               Jonah 3:10-4:11

  Antidote (read responsively)                  Psalm 145:1-8                      (insert)

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

  Hymn                          “We are people of God’s peace”                        407

  Pastoral Prayer

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

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

  In the vineyard                        Matthew 20:1-16

  Message                          Gratitude Challenge (mp3)

  Antidote (read responsively)                  Psalm 145:1-8                      (insert)

*Hymn                             “For the beauty of the earth”                              89

*Benediction

*Postlude


*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

Leader:  Our faith is not based on a theology of scarcity,

People:  but on joy from sharing abundantly.

Leader:  As the Israelites received an abundance of manna
              and quail in the wilderness,

People:  we trust in God's provision.

Leader:  As Jonah experienced the God of abundant love in
              Nineveh,

People:  we depend on God's overflowing compassion.

Leader:  As Paul looked forward to sharing abundantly with
              the Philippians,

People:  we anticipate sharing Christ in our neighborhood.

Leader:  As Jesus taught, the kingdom of heaven is like a
              generous landowner,

People:  so we rejoice in God's steadfast love.

Leader:  We have this joy to share as followers of Jesus Christ.

All:        Let us share abundantly in praise and worship.
              Let us share abundantly in grace and peace.
              Let us share in this, the day the Lord has made!
              May we live to serve, abundant life to teach.

by Tara Lea Hornbacker
Professor of Ministry Formation,
Missional Leadership, and Evangelism
Bethany Theological Seminary

 

Opening Prayer

O God,
from your providing hand
even the dissatisfied and grumbling
receive what they need for their lives.
Teach us your ways of justice
and lead us to practice your generosity, with gratitude,
so that we may live a life worthy of the gospel
made known through your Son
Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

revised from Vanderbilt Divinity Library
from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers
copyright © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts
admin. Augsburg Fortress.
   

In the wilderness
Exodus 16:2-5, 9-16

 

1 – Preface/Postlude and the Israelites
2 – Narrator
3 – God (from an unseen place)
4 – Moses

 

1 - Our worship today revolves around three Bible stories which share a common theme. The first is from the book of Exodus. God’s people have been delivered from slavery in Egypt, and rescued by the parting of the sea. Wandering in the wilderness, they begin to long for the life from which they had been set free. Listen.

2 - The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them,

1 - “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

2 - Then the Lord said to Moses,

3 - “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”

2 - Then Moses said to Aaron,

4 - “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’”

2 - And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said,

3 - “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

2 - In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,

1 - “What is it?”

2 - For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them,

4 - “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.’”

1 - (pause) Perhaps you have guessed the theme, an attitude for which there is an antidote. Turn to it in your bulletin, and let us read responsively the first eight verses of Psalm 145. Where is says “left” and “right,” that is your left and right, dividing the congregation into half. By the way, you’ll be speaking this more than once.

responsive reading

scripture text 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
      

Antidote
Psalm 145:1-8

One: I will praise you, my God and King, and always honor your name.

All:  I will praise you each day and always honor your name.

Left: You are wonderful, Lord, and you deserve all praise, because you are much greater than anyone can understand.

Right: Each generation will announce to the next your wonderful and powerful deeds.

Left: I will keep thinking about your marvelous glory and your mighty miracles.

Right: Everyone will talk about your fearsome deeds, and I will tell all nations how great you are.

One: They will celebrate and sing about your matchless mercy and your power to save.

All: You are merciful, Lord! You are kind and patient and always loving.

from the Contemporary English Version
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

the idea of identifying
the complaints in the texts

and linking them to Psalm 145
came from a seed planted by
Carolyn Brown in her blog,
Worshiping With Children

   

In Ninevah
Jonah 3:10-4:11

 

1 – Preface/Postlude
2 – Narrator
3 – Jonah
4 – God (from an unseen place)

 

1 - Our second Bible story is from the book of Jonah, the reluctant prophet. Perhaps you remember that God called Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah and call the people there to turn from their evil ways. Jonah didn’t want to go. He boarded a ship bound in the opposite direction, only a great storm led to his being tossed into the sea and swallowed by a big fish. His life was spared when that fish (forgive me) ‘puked’ him up on the beach. He figured he couldn’t escape the task God wanted him to do, so he went to Ninevah half-heartedly, and called the people there to repent. This is where we pick up the story. Listen.

2 - When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said,

3 - “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

2 - And the Lord said,

4 - “Is it right for you to be angry?”

2 - Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said,

3 - “It is better for me to die than to live.”

2 - But God said to Jonah,

4 - “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?”

2 - And he said,

3 - “Yes, angry enough to die.”

2 - Then the Lord said,

4 - “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

1 - An interesting tale of an ‘about face’ – several turning points, in fact: 1) Jonah’s reluctant shift toward, rather than away from Ninevah, 2) that great city’s turn from sin toward God, and 3) God’s change of mind toward them. Our focus just now, however, is on Jonah’s attitude, which needed some major readjustment. Do we need an antidote for similar attitudes on our part today? … Let’s turn again to Psalm 145. Perhaps it can also serve to inoculate us for our own journey ahead.

responsive reading

scripture text 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

Pastoral Prayer
(a prayer for International Day of Prayer for Peace)

God of Peace,
May we live with peace in our hearts
May we live with peace in our homes
May we be bearers of peace to our neighborhood and community.
May we be builders of peace in our nation.
May we seek peace and pursue it
In all we say and do.

We pray for peace in every nation,
In every city and village,
In every neighborhood.
May we begin by living in peace with each other,
May we covenant that, as far as it depends on us
May we live in peace.

Prince of Peace,
We cannot pray for peace without justice
We cannot pray for peace without mercy
We cannot pray for peace without love.

May we seek justice that restores;
May we seek justice for the oppressed,
For all who are on the margins.

May we grant mercy as You have given us mercy,
May we forgive as we have been forgiven,
May we see each other’s humanity;
May we see the face of Christ in each other.

May we love our neighbor as ourselves.
May we love others as Christ loves us.
May we welcome strangers as friends.

Spirit of Peace,
Descend upon us, mold our hearts
To be full of your love.
May we seek peace and pursue it.
May we strive for peace in all we do.
May we be peacemakers.
May we build up the reign of God
On earth, as it is in heaven.

May we bring peace in all we do.
May we speak peace in all we say.
May we be peace to each other.

In the name of our God
Who covenants with us in the name of peace.
In the name of Christ
Who is the Prince of Peace.
In the name of the Spirit,
Who breathes into us peace.
May we be peace.
Amen.

by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell
pastor at Burien Community Church in Burien, WA and
serves on staff at Open Gathering in Bellevue, WA

    

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

             Thus far in our worship, we have heard the complaints of both the children of Israel in the wilderness and Jonah in Ninevah. However, we have also heard the mercy, patience, and steadfast loving kindness of our gracious God…

             “Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,” the apostle Paul encouraged the church in Philippi. This good news flows from the same God who gives manna to the hungry and a fresh start to those who turn from evil toward good. May our lives flow from the same source. From beginning to end, “this is God’s doing.

Ushers, please assist us as we return our tithes and offerings.

   

Benediction

You have been challenged
      to live in gratitude the next three weeks.
   May God’s Holy Spirit both
         help you to recognize when you are entering
               the land of complaint, and
         empower you to step out
               with thankful hearts, instead,
                           one day at a time,
                     toward the promised land.
Ready,
Set,
GO!

    

 

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:
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)

International Lesson:
International Bible Lesson
a weekly column by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
in "The Oklahoman" newspaper
also found
here

International Lesson:
Living Web Sunday School Project

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)

 

©2014 Peter L. Haynes
(unless otherwise stated, worship resources were written by him)

 

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