Sunday Worship Bulletin
For Sunday, March 17, 2019
The Second Sunday of Lent
—————————————————-
Chapel Time
Breath Prayers (or come up with one of your own):
Breath of God, breathe on me
Jesus, let me know Your love
Speak Lord, Your servant is listening
In Christ, I find my rest
Jesus, be the center
Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner
Creed: St. Patrick’s Lorica
I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today,
through God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s shield to protect me,
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart
of every person who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth
of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen.
Prayer of Confession
We join together with the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 51,
confessing our sin and shortcomings before God
and our need for restoration through the Lord.
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation
And renew a right spirit within me
Prayers of the People – A Prayer of Lament
Introduction from Emmanuel Katongole and Christopher Rice, Reconciling All Things
Prayer adapted from PMA’s prayers for France (2016) and Christchurch (2019)
Lament is not despair. It is not whining. It is not a cry into a void.
Lament is a cry directed to God.
It is the cry of those who see the truth of the world’s deep wounds
and the cost of seeking peace.
It is the prayer of those who are deeply disturbed by the way things are… The journey of reconciliation is grounded in the practice of lament.
God, whose presence we yearn toward in the stillness
after our shaken, broken voices and the fires of violence fall silent:
we have no words left.
There has been too much terror,
and not enough answers,
too much violation of the ordinary
and not enough glimpse of the holy to hold us fast.
But You, oh God:
beyond our words, beneath our hope:
be the creative breath that orders our chaos,
the mercy and justice that compels us to action,
the Love that is stronger than death.
We pray for our neighbors in Christchurch
and for our whole broken and heartbroken world
in this hard season of violence, death, and extremism
each one lost is a child made in Your image,
each survivor is beloved to You,
each afflicted community is part of Your commonwealth.
We lift our prayers for each life lost,
each family bereaved,
the worshiping communities
whose fabric has been violently torn asunder
by bullets and hatred and fear.
Make us ceaseless in our resistance
to xenophobia, intolerance, and fear.
Make the waters of our tears
nourish the river that flows
through the city of God,
and the tree of life
that is for the healing of the nations.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Songs:
Stronger Than
Everything
Family Praise:
Your Love is Deep
Invitation to the Lord’s Table:
Lent is a journey to Jerusalem with Jesus,
to the cross where Jesus died.
Dear friends, we are going to Jerusalem with Jesus.
He is our pardon, our healing, and our peace!
We will suffer the trial with Him, resisting evil.
With Him, we will walk the path to life.
But come first to the table where there is food for the journey.
With hearts full of joy we come,
giving thanks to God, our Maker, and offering our praise!
Announcements:
Today is the second Sunday in Lent. For the Church, this season is a time of reflection and repentance. Many followers of Jesus find it helpful to fast during Lent. We will have Lent Devotionals and Activity Guides available. Here is a link to Awakening to God’s Beauty in Korean.
Presbyterian Urban Ministries is hosting their quarterly “Undie Sunday” event — a socks and underwear drive — on Sunday, March 31st. From our friends at PUM, “Clean undies are something that we take for granted but are a blessing for someone who has been living on the streets or cannot afford this very basic of human dignity. Please encourage church members to bring clean underwear (any size, either gender, the guys prefer boxers to briefs) or pairs of socks. All sizes needed, children to adults.”
Scripture Reading:
Discussion Questions:
When have you chosen safety over bravery or bravery over safety? Did it make a difference? In what way?
In what ways are you being called to be bold in speaking God’s truth? In what ways is God calling Anchor City to be bold?
Closing Song:
The Joy of the Lord
