Worship Guide
February 25, 2024
Second 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: “Power to Redeem” Stefanie
Centering Words:
“Let go and let God.” This is not just a phrase; it’s a lifestyle. “Die to the old and embrace the new.” This is not just a phrase, but a promise of possibilities in God that we often cannot see.
*Call to Worship:
Leader: In promise and covenant, God calls.
People: In hope and trust, we respond.
Leader: In love and faithfulness, God saves.
People: In gratitude and joy, we come.
Leader: Let us worship and praise God’s holy name, as we pray.
ALL: Ancient of days, bring your future hope into our world. Bring your love into our lives. Bring your presence into our midst. Open our hearts and minds to your message, that we may respond with hope and trust. With our ancestors of old, may we walk in the lineage of faithful discipleship. Amen.
Hymn: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided;
great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided;
great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided;
great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
Words of Assurance
Christ’s righteousness has become our righteousness. God’s merciful love is enough to save us.
All is forgiven. All is restored. God’s beloved are made righteous in Christ’s grace.
Praise God! Amen
*Old Testament Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
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. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 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. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 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.
15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 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.”
WORD AND RESPONSE
Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me”
Children’s Message: “Empty Hearts”
Hymn: “To Know You More”
To know you in all of your glory,
to love you with all that I am.
With all of my heart,
Lord, this is my prayer:
To know you more.
To know you in all of your power,
to trust you with all that I am.
With all of my heart,
Lord, this is my prayer:
To know you more.
To know you in all of your mercy,
to serve you with all that I am.
With all of my heart,
Lord, this is my prayer:
to know you more.
To know you in all of your power,
to trust you with all that I am.
With all of my heart,
Lord, this is my prayer:
To know you more.
To know you more.
Sermon: “For the Sake of the Gospel” Mark 8:31-38
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. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 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.”
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. 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. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 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.”
RESPONSE TO THE WORD
Hymn: “Be Thou My Vision”
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Great God of heaven, my victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Psalter: The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic** church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen
Prayers of the People: Joys and concerns
Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer
SENDING FORTH
Hymn: “You Alone Are Holy”
You alone are holy; you alone are worthy;
you are filled with splendor and with awesome wonder.
For our sins you suffered, died and resurrected,
granting us salvation, giving us eternal life.
You alone are holy; you alone are worthy;
you are filled with splendor and with awesome wonder.
Send your Holy Spirit; may it shine upon us.
Let your wondrous glory with its radiance fill this place.
You alone are holy; you alone are worthy;
you are filled with splendor and with awesome wonder.
For our sins you suffered, died and resurrected,
granting us salvation, giving us eternal life.
You alone are holy; you alone are worthy;
you are filled with splendor and with awesome wonder.
Send your Holy Spirit; may it shine upon us.
Let your wondrous glory with its radiance fill this place.
Benediction
