We held virtual worship on Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 10:00AM! You may watch a recording on Facebook by clicking here, or you may watch below.
WELCOME
CALL TO WORSHIP
Every week is a new week
Another chance to say:
“Here I am. Use me.”
Every day is a new day,
Another chance to say:
“Thank you for yesterday. Thank you for tomorrow.”
Every hour is a new hour,
Another chance to say,
“Again and again, make me new.”
We do not come to this place to stay the same.
We come to this place to be changed.
So let us worship holy God,
Who created yesterday, will create tomorrow,
and even now is creating something new.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
CALL TO CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Gracious God,
We want to see you.
We want to be known as the people who looked for Jesus;
But not only that, we want to be people
who have your covenant written on our hearts.
Why do we feel so far away from that at times?
What went wrong?
Where did we lose our way?
Could you, would you, once again, write on our fragile hearts?
We would be so grateful. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Friends, despite our wonderings,
Despite our distractions,
Despite wrong turns time and time again,
We are known and loved by God.
Like a lighthouse keeper by the sea,
God will never stop waving us home.
So hear and believe the good news of the gospel:
Our fragile bones are held by the Great Creator.
Our fragile hearts are loved by the Great Creator.
Our tender spirits are forgiven by the Great Creator.
Today is a new day.
Again and again, we are forgiven;
Again and again, we are reformed.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Holy God,
Scripture tells us that your word is written on our hearts,
But we struggle to hear it.
Is it possible that we have covered up your words with our own self-narratives?
Is it possible that we have erased your truth to write our own?
Is it possible that we have forgotten your words entirely?
Take us back to the beginning.
Remove the self-talk that distracts.
Clear away the cobwebs of doubt.
Show us how to look inside ourselves for your truth,
And then write on our hearts once more.
We are listening.
We are hopeful.
We are here.
Speak now.
Amen.
HEBREW SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 31:31-34 Kathy Wilson
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
GOSPEL John 12:20-25 Dana LaClair
Among those who had come up to worship at the Passover festival were some Greeks. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put forth this request: “Please, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew, and together the two went to tell Jesus.
Jesus replied,
Now the hour has come
for the Chosen One to be glorified.
The truth of the matter is,
unless a grain of wheat f
alls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
If you love your life
you’ll lose it;
if you hate your life in this world
you’ll keep it for eternal life.
REFLECTION You Can’t Trust a Daffodil Barb & Mitchell
MUSIC In Christ there is no East or West Music & photos by Kathryn Parker
PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
No pretending, God.
Help me see myself clearly.
Help me be faithful
to your gift of my self.
I do not need to lie to myself,
I do not need to pretend for others.
The “me” you give me is beautiful enough.
Help me be true
all the way from the inside out.
SHARING PRAYERS & LORD’S PRAYER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
LENT BENEDICTION
As you leave this space,
May your mouth speak of God’s goodness.
May your arms hold those in need.
May your feet walk toward justice.
May your heart trust its worth.
May your soul dance in God’s grace.
And may this be your rhythm—
Again and again and again,
Until God’s promised day.
In the name of the Lover, the Beloved, and Love itself,
Go with courage, go with heart, go in peace.
POSTLUDE This Lonesome Valley music & photos
by Kathryn Parker
Liturgy by Sarah Are | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
