Worship Resources for March 14th
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Gathering
Call to Worship and Gathering
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.
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
Prayer of Invocation
Almighty God,
to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy Name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some were sick through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
he sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.
Service of Confession & Assurance
Call to Confession Exodus 20:1-2, 15
We continue our journey through the 10 Commandments in our services of confession and assurance this Lent with the eighth commandment. But first, the good news that the God to whom we come to confess has already redeemed us.
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.
You shall not steal.
Prayer of Confession —based on Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 110-111
Merciful and generous God,
so often we pretend that this commandment doesn’t apply to us.
But we can only pretend.
We are endlessly good at rationalizing and justifying our theft,
but in the end, we so often take what doesn’t rightfully belong to us.
We are thieves:
from our work,
from the poor,
from our families,
from our church,
from our government,
from you.
We have put our wants above what you want,
and above our neighbor’s good.
Come, teach our souls to love your truth.
Open our hearts to a desire to follow Jesus
in full obedience to your will and your way.
Open our hands in generosity
and help us let go of holding tightly to your gifts.
We pray, trusting in your forgiveness
and in the power of your Holy Spirit
to lead and guide us in paths of love and service,
for your name’s sake. 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.
Song
Affirmation of Faith:
St. Patrick’s Breastplate
Shortly after the pandemic began a year ago, Pastor Benj shared St. Patrick’s Breastplate with us—the famous prayer attributed to St. Patrick, the Roman/British missionary who evangelized Ireland—and encouraged us to use it in the face of the spiritual, physical, and emotional vulnerability we faced. Today, on the anniversary of our first online service, we use this prayer again as our affirmation of faith.
What the psalmist confessed has also been true of us: “You, O Lord, are a shield about me” (Psalm 3:3).
I bind unto myself today
the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three.
I bind this day to me forever,
by power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
his baptism in the Jordan river;
his death on the cross for my salvation.
His bursting from the spiced tomb;
his riding up the heavenly way;
his coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself today
the virtues of the star-lit heaven,
the glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
the whiteness of the moon at even,
the flashing of the lightning free,
the whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
the stable earth, the deep salt sea
around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
God’s eye to watch, God’s might to stay,
God’s ear to hearken to my need,
the wisdom of my God to teach,
God’s hand to guide, God’s shield to ward,
the Word of God to give me speech,
God’s heavenly host to be my guard.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, the One in Three,
of whom all nature has creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ, the Lord. Amen.
Word
Prayer of Illumination
Father of mercies, we so often lose our way.
Through your Word we learn that you love your people dearly.
Through your Word we learn that we are your people.
Thank you that your Word shapes our identity,
and leads us home when we lose our way.
As your Word is read and preached,
send your Spirit so that we will hear and respond to your call.
May all we hear lead us home to you.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture Reading
Genesis 3:1-13
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
Lost Adults
Sacrament
Song of Response
Spiritual Communion
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
Offering
In addition to our various funds (General, Building, Mission, Benevolence, Christian Education), online giving is also now available for today’s special offerings (Sisters House 1, World Renew, Bethany Christian Services) through the Give button below.
Sending
Blessing
Who might you pray for that is lost and hiding from their gracious Father? Who do you know that needs deeper communion with the triune God of grace?
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
If someone comes to mind, receive this blessing not only for yourself, but say it over them as well.
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.
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.