The Celebration of the Gospel
March 31, 2019 — Fourth Sunday in Lent
“You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
But we had to celebrate and rejoice,
because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life;
he was lost and has been found.”
—Luke 15.31-32
_______We Gather as the Body of Christ_______
GREETING
PRELUDE – Out Of The Depths I Cry To You – Max Reger
[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: God of love, when we wander away it is your grace that calls us back to you.
All: You receive us with mercy, and we give thanks.
Loving Christ, when we are lost and lonely in a far land,
you accompany us in love, and guide us home.
You receive us with grace, and we give thanks.
Holy Spirit, your joy in us calls us, blesses us, and revives us.
We celebrate, for we who were lost are found!
We who were dead are alive!
By your invitation we come to your table to feast in joy.
* SONG – All Who Hunger – Black hymnal # 2126
____________ We Attend to the Word__________
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG – Wondrous Love – arr. Alice Parker
PRAYER
God of love, we hunger for your grace. When we distance ourselves from you we long for your embrace. We have sought many things, but we were truly hungry only for you. Receive us, lonely and weary, bless us with your mercy, and feed us your grace. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT Romans 3.21-24
[No one is more or less righteous,. We all have fallen short. God redeems us not because of our deserving but because of God’s goodness.]
No human being is justified before God
by any behavior prescribed by laws,
for our behavior always falls short.
But apart from any expectations,
God heals our relationship with God—
by God’s goodness, not ours.
It is God’s goodness to which the scriptures have testified:
the goodness of God that Jesus Christ believed in, that we also trust.
For there is no distinction:
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
We are justified by God’s grace as a gift,
the gift of redemption Christ Jesus offers us.
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GOSPEL Luke 15.1-3, 11-32
[A father’s two sons have both distanced themselves from him in different ways, and he goes out to each of them, asks them to accept his love, and invites them in to a celebration.]
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them some parables …
There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’”
So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”
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SERMON Three prayers
SONG – Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling — Blue hymnal #348
SILENT MEDITATION
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer at the microphone.]
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
___________We Share at Christ’s Table_________
OFFERING OUR GIFTS – Amazing Grace – Early American Tune, arr: Mark Winchester
* COMMUNION SONG – Spirit Song – Blue hymnal #347
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
Beloved, God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Faithful One, our God.
It is good to give God thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O God
You have created us in your image, called us as your people,
and embraced us in your holy Covenant.
Though we wander from you and turn away from your grace,
your steadfast love is faithful;
when we are lost and alone, still you are with us
You forgive our sin and restore us to ourselves;
and you reconcile us to yourself and to each other.
Therefore you call us to this feast to celebrate our new life in Christ.
For we once were dead and now are alive;
we were lost, and now are found.
And so with all your people on earth we praise you with one voice:
Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and love,
all Creation shimmers with your presence.
Amazing and beautiful! You save us!
Blessed are they who come in your love.
Amazing and beautiful! You save us!
Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
With love and forgiveness he taught and healed,
he ate with sinners and embraced the lonely.
He set us free from our judgments
and invited us to the table of your grace,
where all are included, and all are one, and all are beloved.
[… The Blessing and Covenant …]
God of love, in this meal we hear your gracious word:
“You are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”
In humility and gratitude we offer ourselves as a glad gift,
in union with Christ’s gift to us,
as we proclaim the mystery at the heart of our faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the Body and Blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ.
At this table God, you set a feast of joy, for we are again whole.
You unite us, neither sinner nor righteous but family.
Fill us with your gracious love, to accept and embrace all,
to forgive and to welcome all, as beloved family.
May our lives be a feast of joy for your grace,
offered to all the world in the spirit of Christ. Amen.
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. You have claimed us from our far wanderings. You have silenced our judgments of ourselves and others. Make of our lives a welcome table for all who struggle, who wander, or who are alone, in the love and the company of Jesus. Amen.
______We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – You Are Mine – Black hymnal #2218
* 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 – Now The Silence – Carl Schalk, arr: John Carter
[Following worship please join us for fellowship and refreshments.]