Sunday Feb 18, 2007

Approaching God
Announcements & A Word of Welcome

Prelude, Gathering

Acclamation (based on words from Psalm 140)

Pastor: O Sovereign Lord, our strong deliverer, we dedicate this time of worship to You.
People: We know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.
Pastor: We will praise Your Name forever. We will seek to please You with our lives. Amen.

First Hymn:

Prayers of Confession

Guide: Everlasting God, whose power upholds our lives and whose word sustains the universe, we worship You majestic ways and adore Your mighty deeds .
People: Loving Lord, You have called us to this house of prayer and we are hoping to receive Your peace. Come among us and bless our worship; be present in our hearts and minds.

Guide: Heavenly Father, we confess our complacency towards our faith. We admit to moments of doubt and times of temptation. We have surrendered to our desires and wants; we have been overcome by sinful and selfish ways.
People: Gracious God, we shudder to think how often we have offended You. We have placed our security in our own passions, power, and possessions. We have allowed greed, pride, and anger to overrule our hearts and damage our souls. Hear us now as we personally seek forgiveness by silently confessing to You alone.

- SILENCE -

Guide: Almighty Lord, we are guilty of sin and fall short of Your standards. We look to Jesus as our Savior and seek His mercy. He alone has the power to forgive our past mistakes; we place our lives and souls in His hands.
People: We make our confessions in Christ’s Name and with His sacred words, we continue to pray, saying, “Our Father, saying, "Our Father, Who art in heaven...THE LORD'S PRAYER” debts/debtors (Isaiah 32:11)

Promise of the Gospel:
Guide: Jesus challenges our ways and changes our lives. When we ask for mercy and beg His forgiveness, He redeems us by His grace and restores us through His blood. In Christ’s Name, let us rejoice and pray. Amen. (John 9:8)

Gloria Patri: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.

Family Sermon (parents and all children, including Elementary school students come forward)

Encountering God

Anthem

Prayers for Health and Healing

Pastor: Have mercy upon us, O God, have mercy upon us, for in You our souls take refuge.
People: We cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills the purposes of our lives.

Pastor: Loving Lord, send forth Your mercy from heaven; release us from our fears through the power of Your faithful love.
People: In the midst of our anxieties and troubles, grant us peace. From the discomfort of our illnesses and the suffering we endure, heal us, O Lord.

Pastor: Let Your goodness and grace, greatness and glory be experienced in our lives and of all our loved ones as we seek healing from all that harms us in body, mind, heart and spirit.
People: Deliver us, and all whom we pray for, from distress, disease and despair. Hear us now as we silently pray.

Silent Prayers for ourselves and others. A candle is lit

Pastor: Great is Your love, O Lord, reaching from the farthest heavens into the very substance of our lives. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
(Healing Prayer based on words & phrases from Psalm 57)

Singing of '"Jesus Draw Me Close." (Choir leads this)

Prayer of Illumination:
Reader: Holy Spirit, help us to put into effect all of the lessons we learn from these scriptures today. Grant us open hearts and minds to Christ’s words and may we continually obey His teaching. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen. (Acts 7:53)

Scripture Readings & Sermon & The Apostles' Creed

Serving God

Offering & Offertory

Dedication: Lord Jesus, fill our hearts with the joy of cheerful giving. Move our spirits so that we may best support Your work. Take our tithes and gifts, and use them for the preaching of the Gospel, the teaching of Your truth, and the healing of Your people. In Your Holy Name, we give and pray. Amen. (1 Corinthians 15:46)

Closing Hymn:

Benediction: May the Son inspire us to do His ministry in this community; may the Father use us as servants of His glorious kingdom; and may the Holy Spirit continually inspire us to worship, praise, and adore the One, triune and Living God, both now and always. Amen. (2 Corinthians 3:7)

Doxology May God's Blessing & Postlude