Worship Service
February 21, 2021
We are RECEIVED as the Beloved of God
SONG – Old Rugged Cross (remembering Priscilla Killian)
WELCOME
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Dear Lord,
On this first Sunday in Lent, as we embark on our Lenten journeys, help us to release our past, our sorrows and all we carry with us so that we may experience anew God’s mercy and compassion. Our faith journeys take twists and turns but with every turn help us to discover Christ’s Love and spread that love by helping those in need, by showing kindness, and by promoting justice in our faith community and around the world. By your grace may we find joy in being on the Lenten path as a disciple of Christ. Reawaken our spirits, just as nature bursts forth each spring time with new buds and blossoms. Each new day is a gift from you, an opportunity for a new beginning, and we thank you, O Lord.
In Jesus ’name we pray.
Amen
SONG – Take Time to Be Holy (UM Hymnal # 395)
CHILDREN’S TIME
SONG – Bread for the Word
We are TRANSFORMED by the Word of Jesus Christ
JOHN 2:13-22
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body.22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
GOOD NEWS – How Am I Doing as the Body of Jesus Christ?
SONG – Sacred the Body (FWS #2228)
THE HOLY COMMUNION
RESPONSE TO GOD’S GRACE (OFFERING)
Pastor: God wants our love more than God wants our offerings; God cares about our hearts not the amounts of our offerings. (Hosea 6:6).
All: As we count all the blessings God has already given to us, we cheerfully give our offerings to God, the Provider, with grateful hearts. Amen! (2 Corinthians 9:7).
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
We are SENT in the Power of the Holy Spirit
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BLESSING AND SENDING
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you, my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
CLOSING SONG – Pass it On