The Celebration of the Gospel
March 10, 2019 — First Sunday in Lent
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
where for forty days he was tempted.
—Luke 4.1-2
________ We Gather as the Body of Christ______
GREETING
PRELUDE All Creatures Of Our God And King – arr: Molly Ijames
[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]
* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: In the desert, God, all is laid bare.
All: You are our life, our only hope.
With you, O Christ, we face our brokenness.
You are our life, our only hope.
Holy Spirit, lead us through the wilderness, to find springs of water in our hearts.
You are our life, and our only hope. We worship you.
* SONG – Jesus, Tempted in the Desert – Black hymnal # 2105
____________We Attend to the Word__________
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG – This Lonesome Valley – arr. Don Besig
PRAYER
God of love, as Jesus went into the desert to pray and face his temptations, lead us with him, into solitude with you, into that place laid bare where we may see ourselves through your eyes and reclaim the love you give us. We pray in the love and the company of Jesus. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT 2 Corinthians 3.12-18, 4.6-7
[Moses veiled his face because it was shining; likewise we veil the light of God that shines in us when we turn away from God.]
Because we have hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. For our minds are hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when we hear the reading of the covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever scripture is read, a veil lies over our minds; but when one turns to Christ, the veil is removed. Now God is Spirit, and where the Spirit of God is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of God as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
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(10:30) * PSALTER – Psalm 51
[A penitential Psalm in which we open ourselves to God’s transformation, so that there may be truth, and a new spirit, in our “inward being.”]
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
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GOSPEL Luke 4.1-13
[Jesus faces his temptations. He responds with quotations from Deuteronomy 8.3, 6.13 and 6.16, material related to the Shema, the great commandment (Dt. 6.4-5): “Hear, O Israel: Yahweh is our God, Yahweh alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”]
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
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SERMON In the desert you see everything
SONG – Dear Lord and Father of Mankind – Blue hymnal # 358
SILENT MEDITATION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see all that is in us that is loving, and all that is not loving.
Open our eyes to your love living in us,
and to all those things that hinder that love.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE – Bless the Lord – Black hymnal #2013
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer at the microphone.]
RESPONSE: This is my prayer. All: This is our prayer.
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
__________We Share at Christ’s Table__________
OFFERING OUR GIFTS – Give Me Jesus – Spiritual, arr: Robert Lau
* COMMUNION SONG
Pastor: O God, Creator of each thing,
in thanks and praise to you we sing.
All: In hunger sore we come to you:
Creator God, make us anew.
Our wounds you heal, our sins forgive.
You serve this feast that we may live.
You set us free; you make us new.
In us shines love that comes from you.
How blessed is Christ, who loved and healed,
who by your grace, your love revealed.
For Christ has died. And Christ is risen.
And Christ will come in love again
[The Blessing and Covenant…]
Pour out your Spirit on this meal:
let us in Christ your love reveal,
as in your perfect love we’re held,
your love in us for all the world.
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
SHARING THE HOLY MEAL [Everyone is welcome at the table of Christ’s self-giving love.
The bread is wheat-, soy- and dairy free. We dip the bread in the juice.]
PRAYER OF BLESSING
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Reclaiming the love in which and for which you create us, may we love and serve the world as the Body of Christ, in the power of your Spirit. Amen.
___________ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World___________
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – It’s Me, O Lord – Blue hymnal #352
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE We stand and sing to our neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
POSTLUDE – Piano Sonata #8, Second Movement – L. von Beethoven, arr: Lee Evans
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]