Worship Guide - First Sunday in Lent

Worship Guide

March 6, 2022

First Sunday in Lent

Creating Disciples of Jesus who Transform the World

 

ENTRANCE WITH PRAISE

 

Greetings:

 

Minister:    The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

People:     And also with you!

 

Special Music: “Be Strong in the Lord”  Donna

 

Centering Words:

 

The one who led the Israelites into a land flowing with milk and honey, the one who ministered to Jesus in the wilderness, cares for us today in times of trial.

 

*Call to Worship:

 

Leader:   When disasters strike, where can we go?

People:   God is always there.

Leader:   When enemies surround us, whom can we trust?

People:  Christ is always with us.

Leader:   When life is hard, who can ease the load?

People:  The Spirit is always there to sustain us.

Leader:   Come! Let us worship the God of our salvation, as we pray.

 

ALL: Faithful One, the promises you made to our ancestors continue even to this day. We too share the bounty of your blessings, dwelling in a land flowing with milk and honey. Burn the truth of Paul’s words into our very souls: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Amen.

 

Hymn: Jesus, Tempted in the Desert”  

 

Jesus, tempted in the desert,

lonely, hungry, filled with dread:

"Use your power," the tempter tells him;

"Turn these barren rocks to bread!"

"Not alone by bread, " he answers,

"Can the human heart be filled.

Only by the Word that calls us

is our deepest hunger stilled!"

 

Jesus, tempted at the temple,

high above its ancient wall:

"Throw yourself from lofty turret;

angels wait to break your fall!"

Jesus shuns such empty marvels,

feats that fickle crowds request:

"God, whose grace protects, preserves us,

we must never vainly test."

 

Jesus, tempted on the mountain

by the lure of vast domain:

"Fall before me! Be my servant!

Glory, fame, you're sure to gain!"

Jesus sees the dazzling vision,

turns his eyes another way:

"God alone deserves our homage!

God alone will I obey!"

 

When we face temptation's power,

lonely, struggling, filled with dread,

Christ, who knew the tempter's hour,

come and be our living bread.

By your grace, protect, preserve us

lest we fall your trust betray.

Yours, above all other voices,

be the Word we hear, obey.

 

PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD

 

Words of Assurance

 

All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Trust the promises of God. Believe in Christ Jesus with your whole heart.

Confess what the Spirit has done for you and you will abide in life everlasting.

Amen

 

*Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

 

1When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard    labor on us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

 

Leader:   This is the Word of God, for the People of God

People:  Thanks be to God!

 

WORD AND RESPONSE

 

Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me

 

Children’s Message: “Not by Bread Alone”

 

Hymn: “It Is Well with My Soul”           

 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

when sorrows like sea billows roll;

whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

it is well, with my soul,

it is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

let this blest assurance control,

that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

and hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

it is well, with my soul,

it is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,

it is well, with my soul,

it is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

And Lord, haste the day

when my faith shall be sight,

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

the trump shall resound,

and the Lord shall descend,

even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

it is well, with my soul,

it is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

 

Sermon: “An Opportune Time” Luke 4:1-13

 

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”

5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.’ ”

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

 

‘He will command his angels concerning you,

    to protect you,’

11  and

   ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

           so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

 

RESPONSE TO THE WORD

 

 Prayers of the People: Joys and concerns

Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer

 

THE SACRAMENTS OF HOLY COMMUNION

 

Invitation, Prayer of Confession and Pardon:

 

Christ our Lord invites to his table

all who love him,

who earnestly repent of their sin

and seek to live in peace with one another.

Therefore, let us confess our sin before God

and one another.

 

Merciful God,

we confess that we have not loved you

with our whole hearts.

We have failed to be an obedient church.

We have not done your will,

we have broken your law,

we have rebelled against your love,

we have not loved our neighbors,

and we have not heard the

cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray.

Free us for joyful obedience,

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

 

Hear the good news:

Christ died for us while we were yet sinners;

that proves God's love toward us.

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

Glory to God. Amen

 

 The Great Thanksgiving  

 

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

It is right, and a good and joyful thing,

always and everywhere

to give thanks to you,

 

Father Almighty, creator of

heaven and earth.

You formed us in your image and

breathed into us the breath of life.

When we turned away, and our love failed,

your love remained steadfast.

You delivered us from captivity,

made covenant to be our sovereign God,

and spoke to us through your prophets.

And so,

with your people on earth

and all the company of heaven

we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

 

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,

God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

 

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son

Jesus Christ.

Your Spirit anointed him

to preach good news to the poor,

to proclaim release to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

and to announce that the time had come

when you would save your people.

He healed the sick, fed the hungry,

and ate with sinners.

By the baptism of his suffering,

death, and resurrection,

you gave birth to your church,      

delivered us from slavery to sin and death,

and made with us a new covenant

by water and the Spirit.

When the Lord Jesus ascended,

he promised to be with us always,

in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.

 

On the night in which he gave himself up for us,

he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread,

gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Take, eat; this my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

 

When the supper was over, he took the cup,

gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Drink from this all of you;

this is my blood of the new covenant,

poured out for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me."

 

And so,

in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving

as a holy and living sacrifice,

in union with Christ's offering for us,

as we proclaim the mystery of faith

 

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

 

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,

and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,

that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,

one with each other,

and one in ministry to all the world,

until Christ comes in final victory,

and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,

all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father,

now and forever.   Amen

 

And now with the confidence of children of God, let us pray:

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever.    Amen

 

As we share in the bread of life,

is it not a sharing in the body of Christ.

 

And as we share in the cup of Salvation,

Is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ.

 

Moment of Prayer and Meditation

 

Prayer of Thanks

 

Eternal God, we give you thanks

for this holy mystery

in which you have given yourself to us. 

Grant that we may go into the world

in the strength of your Spirit,

to give ourselves to others,

in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen

 

SENDING FORTH

 

Hymn: “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart”

 

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought

since Jesus came into my heart!

I have light in my soul for which long I had sought,

since Jesus came into my heart!

 

Since Jesus came into my heart,

since Jesus came into my heart,

floods of joy o’er my soul

like the sea billows roll,

since Jesus came into my heart.

 

 

I have ceased from my wandering and going astray,

since Jesus came into my heart!

And my sins, which were many, are all washed away,

since Jesus came into my heart!

 

Since Jesus came into my heart,

since Jesus came into my heart,

floods of joy o’er my soul

like the sea billows roll,

since Jesus came into my heart.

 

I’m possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure,

since Jesus came into my heart!

And no dark clouds of doubt now my pathway obscure,

since Jesus came into my heart!

 

Since Jesus came into my heart,

since Jesus came into my heart,

floods of joy o’er my soul

like the sea billows roll,

since Jesus came into my heart.

 

There’s a light in the valley of death now for me,

since Jesus came into my heart!

And the gates of the City beyond I can see,

since Jesus came into my heart!

 

Since Jesus came into my heart,

since Jesus came into my heart,

floods of joy o’er my soul

like the sea billows roll,

since Jesus came into my heart.

 

I shall go there to dwell in that City, I know,

since Jesus came into my heart!

And I’m happy, so happy, as onward I go,

since Jesus came into my heart!

 

Since Jesus came into my heart,

since Jesus came into my heart,

floods of joy o’er my soul

like the sea billows roll,

since Jesus came into my heart.

 

Benediction