Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
March 8, 2015
Worship 10:00 am          Sunday School 11:10am

Third Sunday of Lent

  Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)      “Behold what God has made”    (insert)
  Announcements
  Prelude                     "All Creatures of our God and King"
                                               (17th century melody)

*Call to Worship

*Invocation Litany

*Hymn                                “Spirit of God! descend”                             502

   Affirmation                                                                                           712

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

   Hope Jam                               Romans 8:18-27          (JB Phillips, adapted)

  Hymn                               “Spirit of the living God”                               349

  Pastoral Prayer

  Scripture                                       Psalm 19

  Message                   “Creator of heaven and earth”

  Song                             “Behold what God has made”                      (insert)

  Responding with our Tithes and Offerings

  Offertory                               "O Rest in the Lord"                   Mendelssohn
                              (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

*Hymn                              “This is my Father’s world”                             154

*Benediction

*Postlude                               "God Be With You"                            Williams

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the sky proclaims the Creator's work.
Each day to the next conveys God's word;
    night to night imparts divine knowledge.
Let the words that we speak receive God's blessing;
    let the songs that we sing praise God's sacred name.

by Eugene F. Roop
Anderson, IN Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085,
"The Living Word" Series
    

Invocation Litany

One:  The Lord's training is perfect,
                 reviving the soul.
           God's law is trustworthy,
                 making the immature wise.

 All:  The Lord's instruction is vibrant,
                 satisfying the heart.
           God's commands are clear,
                 giving light to the eyes.

One:  We are educated by God's instruction,
                 empowered to minister in Jesus' name.

  All:  Cleanse us from our sin,
                 forgive us through your steadfast grace.
           That we may be good and faithful servants,
                 sharing the gospel in word and work. Amen.

by Eugene F. Roop
Anderson, IN Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085,
"The Living Word" Series
  

Affirmation
(The Apostles' Creed)

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
         creator of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus, God's only Son, our Lord,
         who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
                  born of the Virgin Mary.
                  suffered under Pontius Pilate.
                  was crucified, died, and buried;
         he descended to the dead.
         On the third day, he rose again;
         he ascended into heaven,
         he is seated at the right hand of the Father
                  and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
         the holy catholic* church.
         the communion of saints,
         the forgiveness of sins,
         the resurrection of the body,
         and the life everlasting.

* universal

Hymnal #712, English translation of The Apostle's Creed,
prepared by the English Language Liturgical Consultation ELLC, © 1988.
     

Hope Jam
Romans 8:18-27 (JB Phillips, adapted)

1 - In my opinion,

2 - (writes the apostle Paul)

1 - In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now

2 - (“we,” as in “all who suffer,” but especially those whose hardship is connected to trying to follow Christ)

1 - (these troubles are) less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us.

2 - The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons and daughters of God coming into their own.

1 - (What a sight that will be!)

2 - (What a sight that is, even now!)

1 - The world of creation cannot as yet see reality,

2 - not because it chooses to be blind,

1 - but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited –

2 - yet it has been given hope.

1 - And the hope is that in the end

2 - in the end

1 - in the end the whole of created life will be rescued

2 - rescued from the tyranny of change and decay,

1 - and have its share in that magnificent liberty

2 - which can only belong to the children of God!

                  (Pause)

1 - It is plain to anyone with eyes to see

2 - that at the present time all created life

1 - groans in a sort of universal travail.

2 - And it is plain, too, that we

1 - who have a foretaste of the Spirit

2 - are in a state of painful tension,

1 - while we wait for that redemption of our bodies

2 - which will mean that at last we have realized

1 - our full sonship

2 - that we are daughters and sons of God

1 - in Christ.

2 - We were saved by this hope,

1 - but in our moments of impatience let us remember

2 - that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got.

1 - But if we hope for something we cannot see,

2 - then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.

                  (Pause)

1 - The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us,

2 - but helps us in our present limitations.

1 - For example, we do not know how to pray worthily as sons and daughters of God,

2 - but the Holy Spirit within us is actually praying for us

1 – yes!, praying for us in those agonizing longings which never find words.

2 - And God who knows the heart’s secrets

1 - understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention

2 - as this holy

1 - holy

2 - Holy Spirit prays for those who love God.

adapted from J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English"
1962 edition, published by HarperCollins
  

Pastoral Prayer

written closer to the time (if not at the moment)

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

1 - God saw everything that he had made,

2 - and indeed, it was very good.

1 - And there was evening

2 - and there was morning, the sixth day.

1 - Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,

2 - and all their multitude.

1 - And on the seventh day

2 - God finished the work that he had done,

1 - and he rested on the seventh day

2 - from all the work that he had done.

                           (pause)

1 - As you respond with your tithes and offerings,

2 - to the goodness of the One who made heaven and earth,

1 - the One made you,

2 - be still and know that the Lord is God,

1 - and that you are not God.

2 - That is very good news.

1 - Rest in the Lord.

2 - O Rest in the Lord.

Genesis 1:31-2:2 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
  

Benediction

1 - I believe

2 - I believe in God

1 - I believe in God the Father

2 - I believe in God the Father, Almighty

1 - I believe in God, Maker of heaven

2 - I believe in God, Maker of earth

1 - I believe in God

2 - I believe

                      (pause)

P - May all that has been spoken this hour,

1 - (along with the things we say and do this week)

P - May everything we have mulled over in our hearts and minds this morning,

2 - (along with where our meditations will take us this week)

P - May all of this be our offering
         to the One who is the bedrock of our lives,
         to the One who gets us to where we need to be.

1 - I believe

2 - I believe

P - Amen