We held a virtual worship on Sunday, March 29, 2020 at 10am. To watch, follow this link to watch on facebook, or watch the video below.
Quote for Reflection:
So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute.
Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it. . . .
Practice resurrection
Wendell Berry
CALL TO WORSHIP Richardson & Africana Liturgy
We gather to worship you,
O God who brings life where death has touched.
Lord, raise us up!
And breathe into us new life!
Blessed are you, O God, in whom nothing is wasted.
You salvage the remnant, the scrap, the shred.
Lord, raise us up!
And breathe into us new life!
You bless what is left from the consuming fire,
the devouring flood, the shearing wind, the shifting earth.
Lord, raise us up!
And breathe into us new life!
All that remains returns to you and is reborn from you.
Blessed are you, O God, who brings life from the earth
and will return it to the earth once again.
Lord, raise us up!
And breathe into us new life!
OPENING TO GOD from Psalm 130
Out the depths, we cry to you, Lord.
Hear our voice. Hear our cry.
Listen
Between each heartbeat.
Listen
Between each breath.
Listen
To things we don’t say,
Can’t say,
things from which we run away.
Silence
If you counted every wrong, who could stand, Lord?
But you forgive.
So we wait on you.
Our souls wait.
In your word is hope.
We long for you,
More than the endless night looks for dawn,
More than hunger looks for food,
more than isolation looks for companionship,
more than overwork looks for rest
We hope.
For God is our hope and our salvation.
HEBREW SCRIPTURE Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”
REFLECTION
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION
BIRTHDAYS
28 Mar Donna Paffrath
2 Apr Alan Nye
6 Apr Kathryn Parker
SUGGESTED MUSIC FOR TODAY
UMH 420 Breathe on Me, Breath of God
UMH 539 O Spirit of the Living God
UMH 603 Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire
UMH 311 Now the Green Blade Rises
SUGGESTED BREATH PRAYERS
Lord Jesus Christ,
have mercy on me, a sinner. The Jesus Prayer
O God, make speed to save me.
O Lord, make haste to help me. St. Cassian’s Prayer
Abba,
I belong to you. Fr. Brennan Manning
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. Psalm 23:1
Holy Spirit,
wherever I go you are with me. Psalm 139:7-12
Speak Lord,
your servant is listening. 1 Samuel 3:10
Even when I don’t know my way,
I am not lost to you, O God Psalm 139:7
