Order of Worship
Opening Announcements — Rev. Johan Dodge
Good Morning and Welcome to Worship!
Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact
with this growing community of faith. And so if you are joining us for
the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday. You are
welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is
the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation.
From water to wilderness: God’s covenant continues; God’s kingdom comes near.
On stone and in hearts: God’s covenant continues; God’s kingdom comes near.
From the ancestor of nations to the Son lifted up:
God’s covenant continues; God’s kingdom comes near.
We follow Jesus on the Lenten path, for where he is, we would be also.
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.
Merciful God, we confess that we have not always been sincere in our faith. We claim to follow Jesus but have not always taken his path of sacrificial love. We profess to be disciples, but we are not willing to bear the cost of discipleship. We affirm the virtue of self-denial, but we indulge our selfish desires and seek earthly gain. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for sincere transformation through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hear the good news: God judges with loving kindness and God’s
judgment of you and everyone else is love. In the name of Jesus
Christ, we are loved. Thanks be to God.
God, you blessed Abraham and Sarah and promised to make
them the ancestors of many nations. In Jesus Christ you have
opened your covenant to everyone who lives by faith in you. For
all the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, both Jews and
Christians, that they may trust in your promise, dwell together in
peace, and be a sign of your abiding love,
Holy God, hear our prayer. God, Jesus your Son called disciples to follow his way of sacrificial
love. For all pastors and teachers, that they lead the church by
humble example, take up their cross in faithful service, and live
for the sake of the gospel,
Holy God, hear our prayer.
God, your reign encompasses all the earth, though many do not
remember your gracious sovereignty. For peace among the
nations and for integrity within governments, that your will be
done on earth as in heaven,
Holy God, hear our prayer.
God, you hear the cry of the poor, and you satisfy the hungry
with good things. For the poor and the oppressed, that they may
find deliverance, and for all who voluntarily take up the cross of
self-denial to serve the poor and alleviate human misery,
Holy God, hear our prayer.
God, you know the needs of the afflicted and you hear their
cries. For those who suffer illness of mind or body, that they
may find relief from suffering and be restored to wholeness,
Holy God, hear our prayer.
Grant these prayers, Holy God, by your grace. Stir up in us the will to
seek out and build your kin-dom with the dedication of our lives in
ministry to the world, for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
through whom we pray. Amen.
Holy Spirit, open our hearts to receive your Word, reveal to us the good news, and enable us to trust in the promise of salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Mark 8:31-38 31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” 34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Questions for Reflection: Rev. Johan Dodge
Jesus asks his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and
follow him. How do you practice self-denial for the sake of the
gospel? Is every instance of self-denial an act of obedience to Jesus?
Can some forms of self-denial foster oppression?
John Fluker, pianist
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING -— Taylor White
What will it profit us to gain the whole world and forfeit our life? With
all humility let us make our offering to God, trusting not in worldly
gain, but in God’s sustaining grace.
Almighty God, we thank you for the covenant you established with Abraham and Sarah, which you have opened to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Accept these offerings with the dedication of our lives, that we may be for the world a sign of your abiding love and a testament to your enduring promise. In Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory are yours, Almighty God, now and forever. Amen.
May the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, uphold you on the way to your cross and encourage you to follow wherever our Lord may lead. 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.