Morning Worship Text
February 21, 2021
The Season of Lent: A Time to Prepare Our Hearts for Easter
Before
we begin, gather a candle or small light, your Bible, a cross, a piece
of bread and a cup of juice or water. Place them at the center of a
calm area in your home and gather comfortable seating for all who will
join you. Place your phone, tablet or computer where you can see and
hear it. You may want to connect a charger, rather than rely on battery.
Since we are in the season of Lent you may want to add a purple cloth
to your worship center.
Welcome
Musical Mediation:
" I Want Jesus to Walk with Me", African American Spiritual, Mary Bondurant
-public domain
Focus: "Icy Landscape - When a Familiar Place Becomes a Wilderness"
Lighting the Christ Candles We light our candles or lights.
Voice One: In the beginning, God said,
Voice Two: Let there be light, and there was light!
Voice One: We light these candles today,
Voice Two: Because God is with us in this time and in all these places!
Call to Worship
Voice One: After he was baptized by John, Jesus went by himself to the wilderness
where he was tempted.
Voice Two: Forty days in the desert, Jesus was tempted to become relevant, spectacular, and powerful.
Voice One: Today, we begin to journey with Jesus through the season of Lent,
which brings us to face some of our own weaknesses and temptations.
Voice Two: Let us worship God and walk the journey together,
seeking the spirit as our guide and companion along the way.
Invocation
God,
you know our hearts. You have knitted our inmost being and you know
our deepest desires, fears and worries. Help us to journey during this
Lenten season into a new awareness of your presence in our lives. Save
us from our own temptations and teach us in times of weakness, so that
we may more freely follow you.
Amen
— adapted from a prayer by
copyright © Chris Heckert, and posted on his website, Heckert
Resources...which doesn't seem to exist anymore. His new blog (I think!)
is at Chris Heckert Blog http://chrisheckertblog.com/
Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10 & Mark 1:10-17
Psalm 25:1-10
To
you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
do not let
me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let
those who wait for you be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are
wantonly treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me
your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God
of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Be mindful of your
mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of
old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O
Lord!
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners
in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the
humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and
faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
Mark 1:10-17
And
just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn
apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came
from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in
the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild
beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was
arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and
saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news.”
-New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 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.
Meditation
Invitation to the Table The bread and cup and placed on the table for the Lord’s Supper.
Prayer of Communion Elders this month are Linda Blair and Kathy Sharp.
Words of Institution We break the bread and lift the cup as the words are spoken.
The Lord's Supper We share in the bread and cup as we hear the music.
Communion Mediation:
"Table of Love" Chris Teesdale, pianist/vocalist
-comp. Moran and Elsinore, Chalice Praise, p168
Prayer of Thanksgiving: The 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.
Prayers of the People:
Lord, there are trials that trouble us.
Though devoted to you, we still suffer distress.
Yet we can say with confidence:
Our trust is in you.
Our hope is in you.
Our refuge is in you.
With confidence today, we offer to you
the trials of our hearts and minds, (PAUSE)
the struggles of friends and family, (PAUSE)
the challenges faced by our neighborhood and community, (PAUSE)
the efforts of our church to respond to need, (PAUSE)
With confidence, we lift all these concerns to you. Why?
Because your mercy and love are older than the hills.
You are good.
You are upright.
You are faithful.
So, show us your ways Lord.
Teach us your paths.
Make clear to us how to live in this wilderness time.
Our trust is in you.
Our hope is in you.
Our refuge is in you.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
— adapted from a prayer written by Chris Altrock, and posted on his True North blog. http://chrisaltrock.com/
Challenge for Discipleship
Blessing We speak in unison.
The Light that was in one place and at one time, is now in all places and all times, for God has placed the light in us. We abide in peace! And we go forth into the world as children of God!
Postlude:
, used the church licensure
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