March 15, 2009
Third Sunday in Lent
Gathering of God's People
Announcements
Joys and Concerns
Greeting one another in Christian Love
God Calls Us
Prelude and Lighting of the Altar Candles
Greeting:
L: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
P: And also with you.
*Hymns of Praise and Worship: What a Friend We Have in
Jesus UMH 526
* Invocation (Ruth C. Duck in Touch Holiness p. 61)
Most holy God, we do not take off our shoes for worship, nor
do we set you apart in a holy of holies visited only by priests.
Still, we come to you with awe and wonder, aware of the mystery
of life, reverent before your holy love and power. Sharpen
our awareness of the sacred; startle us with the joy of discipleship
and strengthen us to accept the cost of following Jesus Christ.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
God Calls Us to Care for Our Neighbors
Lesson from the Hebrew Bible Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Unison Prayer (Ruth C. Duck in Touch Holiness p. 66
Holy God, breathe your Spirit of life into us. We are
creatures of earth, and we are your children, created in your
image. We are frightened sometimes in this world full of
risk and confusion. Sometimes things happen too fast, and
we find it hard to make good decisions. We need your help.
God, as you created life at the beginning of time, create
and shape us anew. We want to be clay once more, shaped
by your hand, touching earth, contemplating heaven, loving, working,
and playing on this good earth. We want to be a part of
the circle of love you began in Jesus, reaching to embrace the
whole world-a circle where the sick are healed, the dying are
comforted, the oppressed achieve new dignity, and all live in
peace. Through your Spirit, let it be!
Hymn
The Gift of Love
UMH 408
Prayers of the People
Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us
not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Prayer Response The First Song
of Isaiah TFWS 2030
Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,
And he will be my Savior.
*Hymn I'm Goin'a Sing when the Spirit Says Sing
UMH 333
God Calls Us to Share
Preparation for giving
O God, you have given us the greatest gift, the gift of yourself
and your abounding love. Help us to show our love as freely
as you show yours to us. Amen.
Offertory
*Doxology UMH 95
*Prayer of Thanksgiving
Gracious and glorious God, filled with joy and light, we bring
our tithes and offerings to you, and pray that in some way they
may be used to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the poor
and set free those who are oppressed. Each of us know,
Lord, that we cannot do these things alone, and so we thank you
that we belong to a connection and that our offerings are added
to others to provide for the least among us. Thank you
that you have given us such grace. Amen.
God Calls Us to Tell God's Story
Anthem
Sermon Texts
Mark 12:30-31
John 15:15-16
Sermon
Happiness and Relationships
*Hymn
Marching to Zion UMH 733
God Calls Us to Go Into the World as the Changed and Redeemed
People of God
*Benediction
Lectionary readings for next week:
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21
Passages for Lectio Divina:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love
the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The
second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There
is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not
know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends,
for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known
to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed
you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the
Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John
15:15-16
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries
up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in
Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I know that there is nothing better for people than to
be happy and to do good while they live. Ecclesiastes
3:12
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give
to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid. John 14:27