Worship Resources for February 28th
Second Sunday in Lent
Gathering
Silent Remembrance
On Thursday, February 25, long-time member of our church family Lois De Boer died at Vista Springs Nursing Facility at the age of 93. As we will do at our in-person service, please begin with a moment of silence, using the prayer below to commit Lois to the Lord’s care.
Loving God, your beloved Son took children into his arms and blessed them.
Give us grace, we pray, that we may entrust Lois to your never-failing care and love,
and bring us all to your heavenly kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, Hebrews 12:2-3
the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.
Let us consider him who endured such opposition from sinful people,
so that we will not grow weary and lose heart.
We have come to fix our eyes on Jesus, and it is God himself who calls and greets us.
To those who are called, Jude 1-2
who are beloved in God the Father,
and kept safe for Jesus Christ:
May mercy, peace, and love be yours
in abundance.
Amen.
Song
O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
how great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
how great thou art, how great thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Refrain
But when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin;
Refrain
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim, “My God, how great thou art!”
Refrain
Text: Stuart K. Hine, 1949 © 1949, 1953, The Stuart Hine Trust, USA print rights admin. Hope Publishing Company. All other USA rights admin. by EMICMBPublishing.com All rights reserved, OneLicense.net 734287-A
Prayer of Adoration
God, our Creator,
you made a remarkable world for us.
You formed us, love us,
and give us all that we need.
How great you are.
God, our Redeemer,
you rescued us from sin.
You have given us new life
and hope of healing to the world.
How great you are.
God, our Comforter,
you are with us always.
You comfort us, renew us,
and guide us into your truth.
How great you are.
Almighty God, for your gracious love for us,
we praise you. Amen.
Psalm 104:1-13, 24-31
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers.
You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.
Service of Confession & Assurance
Call to Confession Exodus 20:1-2, 13
Then God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery.
Do not murder.
In Matthew 5, Jesus radicalizes the sixth commandment. Not just murder itself, but all unjust anger, hatred, and belittling is a betrayal of our call to love our neighbor (5:21-22). Let us confess our sin together before almighty God.
Prayer of Confession —based on Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 107
Gracious God,
you have called us to love our neighbors as ourselves—
all of our neighbors.
Yet in our thoughts and words,
by suspicious looks and subtle gestures,
with our lips and in our actions,
we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves.
In the quiet of our hearts or the gossip of our lips,
we have belittled, hated, insulted, and so killed
those for whom Christ died.
Unwilling to stand apart,
we allow others to do the same,
party to their hatred,
complicit in our silence.
Envy, hatred, anger, and vindictiveness
have taken deep root in the soil of our hearts.
Apart from your grace, there is no health in us.
In Christ, and by the power of the Spirit,
uproot our sin and turn over the soil of our lives.
Make us patient, peace-loving, gentle,
merciful, and friendly to our neighbor—
to protect them from harm,
and to do good even to our enemies.
In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Assurance of Pardon Psalm 103:8, 10, 13-14, 17-18
Hear these words of assurance from Psalm 103:
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The Peace
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Call to Holy Living
As God’s beloved and forgiven children, here is the call God has placed on our life:
Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.
Song
Word
Prayer of Illumination
Lord God,
at the beginning of time your Spirit moved over the waters.
Send your Spirit to us now to open our hearts and minds
to receive the re-creating power of your Word.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Scripture Reading
Genesis 1:1-2; 2:1-3
1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
A Remarkable Nursery
Sacrament
Song
Spiritual Communion
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).
For those worshiping with us online, and not able to partake of the sacrament, we invite you to pray the following prayer of Spiritual Communion and listen to the song below, knowing that God himself is with you, that Jesus himself feeds you, and that your union with Christ remains unbroken.
O Christ, we love you above all things,
and we desire, at all times and in all ways, to be fed by you.
And since we cannot now come to your Table,
we ask you to come by your Spirit into our hearts.
Unite us to you, together with all your faithful people,
and help us to embrace you with all our affections, body and soul.
Never permit us to be separated from you.
By your goodness we pray, Amen.
Song
Praise
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
—Ephesians 3:20-21
Offering
In addition to our various funds (General, Building, Mission, Benevolence, Christian Education), online giving is also now available for today’s special offerings (Positive Options, World Renew & Cornerstone Youth Ministry) through the Give button below.
Sending
Blessing
May God go before you to lead you.
May God go behind you to guard you.
May God go beneath you to support you.
May God go beside you to befriend you.
Do not be afraid.
Let the blessing of God—the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit—
come upon you today and settle in around you.
Do not be afraid.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.