Second Sunday in Lent Order of Service | 2-25-24
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
02-25-2024 10:00AM “Hybrid” Worship
+ Repentance Through God’s Mercy +
CONFESSION OF OUR SINS / DECLARATION OF GOD’S FORGIVENESS:
L People of God, during these 40 days of Lent we are on a “trust walk”, a journey with Jesus toward his death on a cross, a journey that calls for denial of self and taking up our own cross. Are we willing, are we able, will we be his disciples?
Would you still follow Jesus if it means losing your closest friends and family ties?
Would you still follow Jesus if it means losing your reputation, your job, or your resources?
Would you still follow Jesus if it means some serving, suffering, or sacrifice toward others?
Would you still follow Jesus if it means, literally, losing your life for the sake of the gospel?
C Eternal God, I come to you as a weak and unfaithful and unwilling disciple.
I confess that I am only human, created by you.
I have come from dust, and someday I will return to dust. My physical life on earth will end.
I confess that I am also a sinner.
My thoughts and my words, my attitudes and my actions all reveal my failures. I pray for your mercy.
I confess that I am also an unsure saint.
I sometimes look for an easier gospel, a lighter cross, a less demanding Savior, and a cheaper ticket to heaven. I need your renewal as I seek to be faithful.
Here I am, Lord. Forgive my sins. Revive my spirit. Give me new life. Amen.
L We have not earned it, we do not deserve it, and we dare not expect and demand it! Salvation has come to us through the life, death, and resurrection of (+) Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world You are forgiven, be at peace, try again, take up your cross and follow, walk the Jesus walk of faith and love. The journey leads to everlasting life. Amen.
OPENING SONG: “At the Cross” Brown #71
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Steadfast, faithful, covenant God, through the self-sacrifice of your Son you have transformed the cross from a shameful instrument of death into our salvation and hope. Help me walk with Jesus this day. Give me courage to carry my cross without shame, to accept the cost of my discipleship. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
+ Renewal Through God’s Word +
FIRST READING: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
[God’s second covenant: promise of ancestors to Abraham and Sarah.]
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.”
17:3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,
17:4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
17:5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
17:15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
17:16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
A READING:
SECOND READING: Romans 4:13-25
[Faith is trusting God’s ability to accomplish God’s purposes.]
4:13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
4:14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
4:15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
4:16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
4:17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) –in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
4:18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.”
4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.
4:20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
4:21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
4:22 Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
4:23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone,
4:24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
4:25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of your word.
Lord, let my heart be good soil, where love can grow and peace is understood.
When my heart is hard, break the stone away.
When my heart is cold, warm it with the day.
When my heart is lost, lead me on your way.
Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart be good soil.”
THE GOSPEL: Mark 8:31-38 [Following Jesus has both costs and promises.]
8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
8:32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
8:33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
8:34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
8:35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
8:36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
8:37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
8:38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
SONG SELECTION: ALL SAINTS CHOIR
THE SERMON: Pastor David Maddox II
SONG RESPONSE: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, verse 3 Brown #296
A CREEDAL STATEMENT DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH (together):
We believe that God has been present with us in our past. In the challenges and triumphs of our individual and collective narratives, God has been there, God has seen us through, and God has done some mighty good things. God calls us to retell both the pleasant and the unpleasant, our whole story, lest we forget whose we are and where we have come from and how we got through.
We believe that God is present with us here and now as we seek to hold onto our identity as God’s children and our purpose as God’s anointed. We are called to be bearers of light, makers of justice and peace, and heralds of the good news to all the world. No matter this world’s many trials, tribulations, and temptations, we will not give in, we will not give up, we will not worry about failure. We are somebody, created by God, saved by Jesus, and guided by the Spirit… with something to share, special gifts for service, compassion to offer, a story to live. We don’t believe God brought us this far just to leave us.
We believe that God will be with us as we go forward to shape our story in the days ahead. We will seek to stay in the path of faithful living and fervent loving that Jesus has demonstrated and commanded. We will hold onto the promise that, no matter what, everything is gonna be alright… that, one day, hatred and sin and suffering will cease… and that, now and forever, we are held in the strong, loving, and tender arms of our God. Amen.
THE PRAYERS… We pray that THE WAY OF THE CROSS will continue to impact our lives and transform the world!
+ Revival Through God’s Meal +
OFFERING [In this season of Lent we remember that Jesus risked all so that we might know the power of God’s steadfast love and mercy. Let us also risk giving freely – even sacrificially – of our money, our time, and our abilities to share God’s love and mercy with the whole world. Dare to respond with gratitude and generosity!]
SONG SELECTION: ALL SAINTS CHOIR
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “I Know It Was the Blood”
- I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood for me.
One day when I was lost, he died upon the cross… I know it was the blood for me.
- It was my Savior’s blood…
- They pierced him in the side…
- He’s coming back again…
OFFERING PRAYER (from PSALM 51) by the Communion Assistant:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain me with your bountiful spirit.
Then I will teach other sinners your ways; and I will eagerly sing of your goodness. Amen.
THE PREFACE:
L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.
L Lift up your hearts! C We lift them up in love for God!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C It is right to give God our thanks and praise.
L The Lord delivers us from sin and death… C … and grants us salvation and eternal life!
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken)
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and either wine or grape juice. CHRIST IS PRESENT IN BREAD AND WINE – HIS OWN BODY AND BLOOD – TO SAVE YOU FROM YOURSELF!
COMMUNION SONGS: Brown #237 Brown#240
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.
+ Righteousness Through God’s Spirit +
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God calls us to “return home” to faithful discipleship!
CLOSING SONG: “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” Brown #66
- I want Jesus to walk with me… I want Jesus to walk with me.
All along my pilgrim journey, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- In my trials, Lord, walk with me… In my trials, Lord, walk with me.
When my heart is almost breaking, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
- When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me… When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me.
When my head is bowed in sorrow, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.