Words for Worship – February 28, 2021

Prelude – Be Still My Soul, Natalia Peterson, Arranged by Lee Evans 

Welcome

Gathering Song – Lord Jesus You Shall Be My Song Worship 808
1     Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey;
I’ll tell ev’rybody about you wherever I go:
you alone are our life and our peace and our love.
Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.

2   Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.
May all of my joy be a faithful reflection of you.
May the earth and the sea and the sky join my song.
Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.

3   As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant,
to carry your cross and to share all your burdens and tears.
For you saved me by giving your body and blood.
As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant.

4   I fear in the dark and the doubt of my journey;
but courage will come with the sound of your steps by my side.
And with all of the family you saved by your love,
we’ll sing to your dawn at the end of our journey.

Call to Worship – Pastor Joy
Today in worship, we will be reminded that again and again, we are called to listen. This is part of our invitation as people of faith—to not only speak, pray, and sing, but to listen. And I will be the first to say, listening is hard. From our toddler years on up, we struggle to listen, particularly when we don’t know what we’re listening for or we don’t agree with what we’re hearing.

So for just a moment, as we gather ourselves for worship, I want to invite you to join me in a kinesthetic call to worship by embodying our prayer as I prompt you. Let us listen, let us pray: Family of faith, I invite you to close your eyes. Rest your feet on the floor beneath you. Release any tension you are holding— In your jaw, your neck, your shoulders, your hands, your legs, your feet. ake a deep breath in and slowly let it out. The Hebrew word for breath (ruach) is the same word for Spirit. So as you breathe, imagine that it is God who is filling up your lungs with energy and love. Trust that God is as lose as your very breath. Now I invite you to still your mind. Imagine your mind as a river. Thoughts will drift into view; they always do. However, instead of holding onto those thoughts, allow yourself to let them float by. And listen. Listen deep. Listen far. Listen wide. Listen. The sound of your breath is the sound of the Divine. This is a holy space. Let us worship God.

Lent Lament –  – Again & Again by The Many

Call to Confession
Often the first step to change is listening. We have to listen to those we’ve hurt. We have to listen to creation as she cries. We have to listen to the voice of the oppressed, If we ever hope to make things right. So today as we begin our prayer of confession, We will start with a moment of silence— A moment to listen. And then we will pray together trusting that God is always listening to us, And that God’s ears listen with love. So let us confess, silently and then together…

Prayer of Confession
Listening God,
Take what is closed in us and open it.
Take what is distracted in us and settle it. Take what is hurting in us and hold it. Take any and all parts of us that create distance from you. For we are like Peter, O God. We argue what we don’t know. We fear what we cannot see. And we almost always speak sooner than we listen.
So open us, settle us, hold us, and forgive us. We long to hear you more clearly. We long to know you more fully. With hope we pray, And with gratitude we confess. Amen. 

Words of Forgiveness
Family of faith, no matter what we do, where we go, or what we tell ourselves— God is love, and God is loving us. Again and again, we are claimed, held, forgiven, and cared for. In the name of the Lover, the Beloved, and Love itself—thanks be to God. Amen!

Prayer for Illumination
Creator God, We cannot hear the trees growing—seeds pushing up through the dirt into the sun. And we cannot hear a single drop of rain, missing one in the many. We cannot hear the weight of people’s grief, a burden that so often is silent. And we cannot hear when hearts are changed, but you can. You hear it all. So once again, we come to you with bowed heads and hopeful hearts, Asking that you would lend us your ears. Help us to hear as you hear so that we can live as you lived. We are listening. Amen.

Reading – Psalm 22: 23-31
A reading from Psalm 22 – ²³You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory. Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel. ²⁴For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither is the Lord‘s face hidden from them; but when they cry out, the Lord hears them. ²⁵From you comes my praise in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord. ²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied, Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever! ²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of nations shall bow before God. ²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord, who rules over the nations. ²⁹Indeed, all who sleep in the earth shall bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust, though they be dead, shall kneel before the Lord. ³⁰Their descendants shall serve the Lord, whom they shall proclaim to generations to come.
 ³¹They shall proclaim God’s deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying to them, “The Lord has acted!”
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation –    Create in Me

Gospel – Mark 8:31-9:8
³¹[Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
  ³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Message- Pastor Joy

Song – Mothering God You Gave Me Birth Worship 735
1   Mothering God, you gave me birth in the bright morning of this world. Creator, source of ev’ry breath, you are my rain, my wind, my sun. 

2   Mothering Christ, you took my form, offering me your food of light, grain of life, and grape of love, your very body for my peace.

3   Mothering Spirit, nurt’ring one, in arms of patience hold me close, so that in faith I root and grow until I flow’r, until I know.

Text: Jean Janzen, b. 1933; based on Julian of Norwich, c. 1342- c. 1413
Text © 1991 Jean Janzen, admin. Augsburg Fortress  

Affirmation of Faith
We believe.
Sometimes our belief is confident,
Like a child on a dance floor—
Unashamed and wildly genuine.
We believe.
Sometimes our belief is distant,
Flickering and calling out to us
Like a lighthouse on the sea.
We believe.
Sometimes our belief shows up as passion,
Guiding the way we vote, shop, give, live, trust, and hope.
We believe.
Sometimes our belief is like a shadow—Faith stitched to our heels, unmoveable, unloseable,
A gift for winding journeys.
We believe.
Sometimes our belief exists like growing pains.
We step forward. We fall back. But again and again, Jesus invites us to listen,
To grow, and to take another step.
So again and again,
We speak these truths out loud:
We believe. We believe.
Again and again, we believe.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayers of the People
Relying on the promises of God, we pray boldly for the church, the world, and all in need.
A brief silence.
Your gift of grace is for all people. Give confident faith to all the baptized, that they may follow you wholeheartedly. Give new believers joy in your promises; give hope and courage to those who suffer for their faith. Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.
All the ends of the earth worship you. From galaxies to microorganisms, preserve your creation. Teach humanity to wonder at your works and to join you in tending to creation’s well-being. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You rule over the nations. Raise up advocates for peace and justice within and between nations. Give life where hope seems dead; call into existence new realities we cannot even imagine.  Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In Jesus, you joined humanity in suffering and death. Reveal to all the depth of your love shown on the cross. Accompany all who suffer in body, mind, and spirit. Restore all who are sick or grieving. Bring vindication for victims of injustice, exploitation, and oppression (especially those we think of now………………………………………..). Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You made Abraham and Sarah the ancestors of a multitude of nations. Bless grandparents, parents, and foster parents, and the children who look to them for care and guidance. Console those who deal with infertility, parents who have entrusted their children to adoption, and children longing to be adopted. Equip ministries and services to families. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
We await the day of Christ’s coming in glory. Lead us by the example of all the saints whom you have called to take up their cross and follow you, that together we may find our lives in you. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
We entrust ourselves and all our prayers to you, O faithful God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Peace
Johm riab sua.
Selam.
The peace of Christ be with you all. And also with you.

Offering – Shall We Gather at the River, Natalia Peterson, Arranged by Lee Evans

Offering Prayer
Faithful God, you walk beside us in desert places, and you meet us in our hunger with bread from heaven. Accompany us in this meal, that we may pass over from death to life with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Meal
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that, renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty, 
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal: we praise and glorify, worship and adore you. You formed the earth from chaos; you encircled the globe with air; you created fire for warmth and light; you nourish the lands with water. You molded us in your image, and with mercy higher than the mountains, with grace deeper than the seas, you bless your people and cherish them as your own. That we, estranged and dying, might be adopted to live in your Spirit, you call to us through the life and death of Jesus.
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Together as the body of Christ, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
With this bread and cup we remember your Son, the first-born of your new creation. We remember his life lived for others, and his death and resurrection, which renews the face of the earth. We wait for Christ’s coming, when, with the world made perfect through your wisdom, all our sins and sorrows will be no more. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Holy God, holy and merciful one, holy and compassionate, send upon us and this meal your Holy Spirit, whose breath revives us for life, whose fire rouses us to love. Enfold in your arms all who share this holy food from home to home, table to table. Nurture in us the fruits of the Spirit, that we may be a living tree, sharing your bounty with all the world. Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.
Holy and benevolent God, receive our praise and petitions, as Jesus received the cry of the needy, and fill us with your blessing, until, needy no longer and bound to you in love, we feast forever with you, O God, O Living One, now and forever. Amen.

Invitation
Jesus draws the whole world to himself. Come to this meal and be fed.

Now, if you are gathered with others, when the music begins, please share with one another first the bread and then the cup with the words, 

The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, poured out for you.

If you are by yourself, I offer this invitation…
Receive the body of Christ, given for you.
Receive the blood of Christ, poured out for you.

And if for any reason you will not receive Communion bread & cup today, a blessing for you…
May God fill you up with the Holy Spirit and give you all that you need.

Communion Song – Beautiful Things – All Creation Sings 925

Communion Prayer
God of steadfast love, at this table you gather your people into one body for the sake of the world. Send us in the power of your Spirit, that our lives bear witness to the love that has made us new in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Cambodian Lord’s Prayer

Blessing
You are what God made you to be: created in Christ Jesus for good works, chosen as holy and beloved, freed to serve your neighbor.
God bless you ☩ that you may be a blessing, in the name of the holy and life-giving Trinity. Amen.

Sending Song – Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus Worship 802
1   Let us ever walk with Jesus,  follow his example pure,
through a world that would deceive us and to sin our spirits lure.
Onward in his footsteps treading, trav’lers here, our home above,
full of faith and hope and love,  let us do our Savior’s bidding.
Faithful Lord, with me abide; I shall follow where you guide.

2   Let us suffer here with Jesus, and with patience bear our cross.
Joy will follow all our sadness;  where he is there is no loss.
Though today we sow no laughter,  we shall reap celestial joy:
all discomforts that annoy shall give way to mirth hereafter.
Jesus, here I share your woe;  help me there your joy to know.

3   Let us gladly die with Jesus. Since by death he conquered death,
he will free us from destruction, give to us immortal breath.
Let us mortify all passion that would lead us into sin;
and the grave that shuts us in shall but prove the gate of heaven.
Jesus, here with you I die, there to live with you on high.

4   Let us also live with Jesus.  He has risen from the dead
that to life we may awaken. Jesus, you are now our head,
we are your own living members;  where you live, there we shall be
in your presence constantly, living there with you forever.
Jesus, let me faithful be;  life eternal grant to me.

Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626-1681; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, alt.
Text © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, admin. Augsburg Fortress.

Charge
Go in peace. Share the good news. Thanks be to God

Postlude – Abide with Me, Natalia Peterson, Arranged by Lee Evans