Order of Service / February 23, 2025 / Epiphany 7

 

*Gathering Hymn Let All Things Now Living (#242 VU)

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

All: And also with you.

One: Our Lord has called us to worship and now greets us.

All: Welcome, Jesus, to our worship today.

*Sue Webb. Gathering ACE 2024-2025. Page 46.

Opening Prayer

*Opening Hymn Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love (#574 VU)

Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison)

Merciful One, we are not what we wish we were; we are often only what we desire.

We are love, when we love one another. We are strife, when we judge the other as less

worthy than ourselves. We are how we consider the other. Help us, O God, to be so much more.

More in who we are. More in how we act. More in what we dream. More in how we love.

Let us become the more that you intended in your divine image. a time of silent confession) Amen.

Words of Assurance

One: God is the salvation of the righteous.

All: Our refuge in the time of trouble, God helps us, rescues us, and leads us into the bright day of justice and mercy. Amen.

*Seasons of the Spirit ACE 2018-2019. Page 194.

Announcements and Minute for Mission

Time for God’s Children (VU #577)

I‘ve got joy like a fountain, I‘ve got joy like a fountain,

I‘ve got joy like a fountain, in-a my soul. (Hallelujah) x2

Prayer for Illumination

Proclaiming the Scriptures

Genesis 45:3-11, 15 Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers.

Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40 (VU p.763) Do not fret; trust in God.

Luke 6:27-38 Love your enemies, be merciful.

This is the Good News from the Bible.

  Thanks be to God.

Anthem

Sermon

*Hymn Spirit of the Living God (#376 VU)

*Offering

*Offertory Hymn (#540 VU | Grant Us, God, the Grace)

Grant us, God, the grace of giving, with a spirit large and free,

That ourselves and all our living we may offer faithfully.

*Offertory Prayer (Unison)

We offer these gifts that voyages of discovery may be embarked upon, questions asked, answers sought and found, and life embraced with all its beauty, challenge, and mystery. Amen.

*Karen Boivin. Gathering ACE 2024-2025. Page 50.

Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer

*Closing Hymn I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me (#575 VU)

*Commissioning

One: Go now and follow the way of Jesus.

All: We will love, even when it is hard.

One: Show kindness to all, even to those who hurt you.

All: We will do good and pray for others.

One: Give freely, forgive fully, and be merciful.

All: We will live as God's children. Amen.

*Commissioning Song Walk with Me (#649 VU|Refrain)

Walk with me, I will walk with you and build the land that God has planned where love shines through (x2)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message: Like Mom's Food / Luke 6:17-26

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.  Then he looked up at his disciples and said:      “Blessed are you who are poor,      for yours is the kingdom of God.      “Blessed are you who are hungry now,      for you will be filled.      “Blessed are you who weep now,      for you will laugh.  “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the...
Read more

Message: Fragrance of Love / John 12:1-8

Have you ever smelled something and, all of a sudden, it reminded you of a special memory? Maybe it was the smell of cookies baking, and it made you think of your grandmother’s kitchen. Or maybe the smell of grass after it was cut reminded you of summertime when you played outside as a child. Or perhaps the smell of fresh coffee made you feel calm, like a slow and peaceful morning. Smell is powerful. It does not just enter our nose; it reaches into our heart. This happens because, unlike our other senses, smells go directly to the part of the brain that stores emotions and important memories. In this way, a scent can take us back to moments we have experienced before. This is known as the Proust Phenomenon. The term comes from the French writer Marcel Proust and his novel In Search of Lost Time. In one scene, the main character, Marcel, dips a small madeleine cookie into warm tea and takes a bite. At that moment, a vivid memory of his childhood at his grandmother’s house suddenly retur...
Read more

Message: Dance of the Wind / Acts 2:1-21

Today is Pentecost Sunday. This is the day we remember when the earliest followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit and the Church came into being. It is the day when a new community of faith was born through the breath of God. It is a day full of mystery, courage, and hope. According to the book of Acts, on the 40th day after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. Before he left, he told his followers not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of God. He said, “This is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4–5). So they stayed. About 120 people remained in Jerusalem. They waited and prayed. They did not know what would happen, but they trusted what Jesus had told them. Several days later, it was the day of Pentecost. This was a Jewish festival when people from many different places came together in Jerusalem to worship and celebrate. The city was filled wit...
Read more