Liturgy March 16, 2008

Scripture Reading
John 12:12-15
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

Call to worship
Leader: If you keep quiet the stones will cry out
All: We have not kept quiet
Leader: Our king is coming
All: Yes he is coming again and He will not be on a donkey.
Leader: He will come on the clouds and reign forever
All: Let us continue to worship our King now, remembering what He has done for us!
Leader: He will come on the clouds and reign forever

Responsive Reading (Catechism)
Leader: How does Christ execute the office of king?
All: Christ executes the office of a king by subduing us to Himself
Christ executes the office of a king by ruling and defending us
Christ executes the office of a king by restraining and conquering all of His and our enemies

Liturgy March 09, 2008

Call to Worship
Leader: Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters; and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

All: We are thirsty for you Lord. We are poor and hungry. We need a drink, a taste of You. Only you can satisfy.

Leader: Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

All: We have squandered your gifts on things that do not satisfy, but we want what is good. Teach us how to delight in you, Lord.

Invocation
Father come now and give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to love you as you have loved us, that we may worship you as you have asked us to. With truth that comes from your written word, sometimes hard to hear, but none the less, what we need. And with the Spirit who is our intercessor before the Father and is also working inside us stirring our affections and keeping our hearts soft and moldable that we might love you as you have loved us. In our precious Savior’s name, Jesus. Amen.

Confession
The psalmist testifies:
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "—and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.

Liturgy March 02, 2008

Invocation
God of freedom. We need you to loosen the shackles that have held us. To free us from the evil that has clung to our hearts and even souls this week. To remind us as you did Ezra that you have not deserted us in our bondage and to proclaim to us as Paul did the Romans, we are no longer slaves to sin.

Liturgy Feb 24, 2008

Call to Worship
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that our King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors, that our King of glory may come in.
Who is our King of glory? --The LORD of hosts, he is our King of glory!
~From Psalm 24

Liturgy Feb 17, 2008

Call to Worship
Leader: Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
People: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Leader: He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
People: Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

Leader: The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
People: Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.

Leader: His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;
All: The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Psalm 147

Confession
Forgive us Lord for thinking that other things are more beautiful than You. We confess that we have looked wrongly at what we thought was attractive but we have been deceived and we have deceived ourselves. Nothing is more captivating than You. No one is worthy of adoration but You. Forgive us. We want You to break our hearts for the things that break Yours.

Liturgy Feb 10, 2008

Call to Worship
Leader: Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.
People: Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

Leader: Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
People: Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty- He is the King of Glory.

Leader: Let us worship God, our light and our salvation. The Lord is the stronghold of our lives.
People: We desire to live in God’s house together and to seek God in his holy temple.

Leader: We have come with shouts of joy, to sing and to make music to the Lord.
People: Let us worship God in spirit and in truth. Teach us your ways and make straight our paths in this hour of worship and always

Liturgy Feb 03, 2008

Call to Worship
Leader:The work of the Creator is visible.
All:Let us respond with praise.

Leader:The example of Jesus is apparent.
All:Let us respond with obedience.

Leader:The wind of the Spirit is blowing
All:Let us respond with joy.

Leader: The word of God is calling.
All:Let us worship in spirit and in truth.

Confessional Reading
Leader: Lord, even as we sing that You are a mighty fortress, our sins are hidden in the dark dungeons of our own fortresses.
All: We stand opposed. But we do not want to.

Leader: Would you, with one little word, overwhelm and correct us?
All: God we admit today that we bear the guilt of our actions, and now we see that the walls we have built up are not able to withstand the power of your love.

Leader: We receive that love now. As best we can, we open up the gate and invite you to flood into every corner of our lives.
All: Forgive us Lord Jesus and heal us by the power of your Spirit.

Liturgy Jan 27th, 2008

Call to Worship
Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth”

Confession (Responsive Reading)
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth,
Have mercy upon us.

O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy upon us.

O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful,
Have mercy upon us.

O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God,
Have mercy upon us.

Remember not, our offenses; forgive us our sins, spare us, Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and by thy mercy preserve us forever.
Spare us, O Lord.

Deliver us from all evil and wickedness; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; and from everlasting damnation,
God, deliver us.

Liturgy Jan 20th, 2008

Call To Worship
The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth;
And 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, dead and buried;
He suffered the agony of hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand
Of God the Father Almighty;
From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
The holy Christian church;
The communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting. Amen.

Invocation
God we have said that we believe what our fathers and mothers have believed. That you are God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. Spirit, we want to call upon you to make us believe, to change us today to be more like you. Fix what is broken, heal what hurts, change our thinking to become the mind of Christ. Come; as we worship you and as we enjoy being in your presence

Liturgy Jan 13th, 2008

Call to Worship
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—
those He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those He gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
Psalm 107:1-3

Confession
Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
for they had rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
Others went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
Psalm 107: 4,10,11,17,23

Assurance of Pardon
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for men.
Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people
and praise Him in the council of the elders.
Psalm 107: 31-32

Liturgy Jan 06, 2008

Liturgy
We will praise You, O Lord,
among the nations
and we will sing of Your love in this gathering.
For great is Your majesty,
and Your faithfulness is higher than the heavens.
We come into this year of our Lord,
with praise and adoration for You and You alone.
Based on Psalm 108

Liturgy December 30, 2007

Liturgy/Prayer
God of love, all year long we pursue power,
freedom and money.
Yet, You came in weakness,
in poverty and to be bound for our sake.
All season long we covet great material gifts,
when You alone offer what is lasting.
By the power of Jesus Christ,
who comes among us full of grace and truth,
forgive us, heal us, and correct us.
Then open our lips,
that we may sing Your praise with the angels,
and remake our lives,
that we may be witness to Your transforming love
through Christ, our Lord. Amen

Liturgy December 16, 2007

Call To Worship
From the Heidelberg Catechism

Q 33. Why is he called “God’s Only-Begotten Son,” since we are all God’s children also?
A. Because Christ alone is God’s own eternal Son, whereas we are accepted for His sake as children of God by grace.

Q 34. Why do you call him “Our Lord?”
A. Because, not with gold or silver but at the cost of his blood, he has redeemed us body and soul from sin and all the dominion of the evil one, and has bought us for His very own.

Liturgy December 09, 2007

Call to Worship
Thus says the Lord,
I will lead the blind by a road they do not know,
by the paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do and I will not forsake them.
(Isaiah 42:16, NRSV)

Invocation
Lord, we ask that you will come
and do that now as we come to worship You.
We come blind and in the dark and unleveled in our souls.
We are trusting that you will not forsake us,
but that you will come and help us to worship you. Amen.

Responsive Reading
O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Then we will go to the altar of God, to God, our exceeding joy;
and we will praise you with the harp, O God, our God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Amen.
(from Psalm 43:3-5, The Worship Sourcebook p. 427, 5)

Liturgy December 02, 2007

Advent Poem
Lo in the silent night
The Son of God is born
And all is now made right
That once was lost, forlorn

Could but your soul o man
Become a silent night?
He would then be born in thee
And set your heart aright

Invocation
Lord God Almighty,
King of glory and love eternal,
You are worthy at all times to receive adoration, praise, and blessing;
We praise you now for sending your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ,
For whom our hearts wait, and to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, three in one God,
Be honor and dominion, now and forever. Amen

Heidelberg Catechism
Q 35. What is the meaning of: “Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary”?
A. That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took upon himself our true manhood from the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary through the action of the Holy Spirit, so that He might also be the true seed of David, like his fellow men in all things, except for sin.

Q 36. What benefit do we receive from the holy conception and birth of Christ?
A. That he is our Mediator, and that, in God’s sight, He covers over with His innocence and perfect holiness the sinfulness in which we have been conceived.

Liturgy November 25, 2007

Call to Worship
Psalm 117
Praise the Lord all you nations;
extol Him all you peoples.
For great is His love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

Invocation
God now we ask.
We close our eyes and open our hearts to you.
We invite you to come as you have called us to worship you.
Come and join us now.
We will not, we can not do it unless you enable us.
So come Lord Jesus, come God the Father,
come Holy Spirit and inhabit the praises of your people.
Your name is matchless, priceless.
We sing to you Sovereign Lord.

Liturgy Novemeber 18, 2007

Call to Worship
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
"If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
“Why Are You Here?” “Are you here to worship?”

Liturgy November 04, 2007

Call to Worship
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known.
And from whom no secrets are hidden:
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 Jesus our Lord.
Amen

Confession
Lord, we often do not pray for rain or give thanks for it and You send it anyway. When we get the water it brings, we waste it.
We discount Your common grace in the form of rain and we think nothing of it until we see that it may run out.
Then we pray. We are ungrateful.
Forgive us. We confess we have not been good stewards of what you have given. Help us as we call out to You.

Liturgy Oct 28, 2007

Call to Worship
Our souls rest in God alone,
Our salvation comes from Him.
He alone is our rock and salvation;
He is our fortress, we will never be shaken.
Find rest in God alone; your hope comes from Him.
Our Salvation and our honor depend on God;
He is our mighty rock, our refuge.
We will pour out our hearts to Him,
for God is our refuge.

Assurance of Pardon
Psalm 66:17-20
I cried out to God with my mouth;
His Praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would have surely not listened;
But God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld His love from me!

Liturgy October 21, 2007

Call to Worship
Psalm 63:1-5
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen You in the sanctuary
and beheld Your power and Your glory.
Because Your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify You.
I will praise You as long as I live,
and in Your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

Confession
I am not worthy, holy Lord,
That thou shouldst come to me;
Speak but the word, one gracious word
‘twill set this sinner free.

I am not worthy; cold and bare
Is the lodging called my soul;
How can you dare to enter there?
Lord, speak, and make me whole.

I am not worthy; yet, my God,
How can I say thee “Nay!”;
Thee, who didst give thy flesh and blood
My ransom-price to pay?

O come, in this sweet and beautiful hour
Feed me with food divine;
Fill, with all thy love and power,
This worthless heart of mine.

Words: Henry Williams Baker 1875 as adapted RJS