A New Way of Life

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

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.

God of the universe, you sit above the circle of the earth, and so we

pray for the oceans and mountains, inland water and the air we

breathe.

Save and protect them, we pray.

Since the beginning of our faith, we have looked to you to gather the

outcasts, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

So we pray for the poor of the world, the sick and the lonely.

God, you build up Jerusalem,

and so we pray for our country, for all the countries of the world,

and for all of our leaders. May we all come to see that your

delight is not in the strength of the military but in those who

hope in your steadfast love.

How good it is to sing praises to you, O God.

We pray for your church, here and around the world. Empower

us to go from mutual to mutual, living the love of Christ.

Everlasting God, Creator of the ends of the earth, we bless you,

for you are gracious.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all

glory and honor are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Holy God, speak to us what has been told from the beginning, your Word that is the foundation of the world. Amen.

Mark 1:29-39 29As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in- law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹ He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³ And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴ And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. ³⁵ In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and his companions hunted for him. ³⁷ When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Questions for Reflection: Rev. Johan Dodge

In the Gospel lesson Jesus takes Simon’s mother-in-law by the hand

and lifts her up. She who is nameless, even as Jesus and the first

disciples are named then rises, is healed and begins to serve them.

Here again the author of Mark’s Gospel uses the miracle of healing to

transform lives. Where have you experienced healing in your life?

Has your healing prompted you to live differently? What was the

difference? How might you share your story with a neighbor this

week?

INVITATION TO THE OFFERING — Virginia Olejnik

Gracious God, you call us to follow Christ and spread the good news

of your love for all people. Help us to offer all things to all people that

we might become many through your good news.

We are pleased to offer both white and red grape juice. If you are

afraid of spilling red grape juice, a limited number of cups with white

grape juice are provided.

Invitation to Communion (Pastor Johan Dodge)

Here at Community Church we celebrate “Open Communion’.

Anyone who wishes to commune may come to our Lord’s Table. You

do not have to be sinless; God forgives you. You do not have to be

perfect; but God is encouraging you to grow. You need not belong to

this or any church; God Invites all people to this meal. It is enough to

love the Lord and follow Him with all your heart. This is what God

asks us to do. Come to our Lord’s Table in faith this day. Go from

this place to live, and never be the same again. Let us commune as

brothers and sisters in Christ.

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Lift up your hearts.

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Pastor: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and

everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of heaven

and earth. Before the mountains were brought forth, or you had

formed the earth, from everlasting to everlasting, you alone are God.

You created light out of darkness and brought forth life on the earth.

You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life.

When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained

steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our

sovereign God, and spoke to us through your prophets. And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your

name and join their unending hymn:

People: (Sung Response)

oe qi) ee

Ho — 2 ho — ly, ho — ly Lord, is : pow-er, God of might,

oo

Heav-en and Earth are full of your glo-ry.___— Ho-san-na_ in _ the

I ee ee

Bless-ed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

high-est,

eee S522. SS

— Ho-san-na_ in the high-est,__ ho-san-na in the high — est.

Pastor: Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ, in whom

you have revealed yourself, our light and our salvation. In his baptism

and in table fellowship he took his place with us. Your Spirit anointed

him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the

captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those

who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when

you would save your people. By the baptism of his suffering, death,

and resurrection you gave birth to this, your Church, you delivered us

from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by

water and the Spirit.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave

thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:

“Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in

remembrance of me.”

When the supper was over he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave

it to his disciples, and said: “Drink from this, all of you; this is my

blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the

forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance

of me.”

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living

sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the

mystery of faith. People: (Sung Response)

Repeat after Cantor: x

ee ee ee

Christ has died, Christ is ri — sen, Christ will come a — gain.

Pastor: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these

gifts of bread and fruit of the vine. Make them be for us the body and

blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one

in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we

feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son Jesus Christ, with

the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours,

almighty God, now and for ever. Amen.

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we

all partake of the one loaf.

The bread which we have eaten is a sharing in the bread of Christ.

The cup over which we give thanks is the sharing in the cup of Christ.

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We sing to you, God, with thanksgiving, making melody to you with our praise. Use these gifts to spread your gospel near and far, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the Spirit of Jesus take your hand and lift you up so that you may spread the Good News of God’s love for all of God’s creation. Blessed Be the Tie that Binds Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.