Words for Worship – March 7, 2021

Prelude – Deck Thyself, My Soul, with Gladness, Paul Swenson, Arranged by David Johnson 

Welcome

Gathering Song – Tree of Life & Awesome Mystery Worship 334
1   Tree of Life and awesome mystery,
In your death we are reborn,
Though you die in all of history,
Still you rise with every morn,
Still you rise with every morn.

2 Seed that dies to rise in glory,
May we see ourselves in you,
If we learn to live your story
We may die to rise anew,
We may die to rise anew.

3 We remember truth once spoken,
Love passed on through act and word,
Every person lost and broken
Wears the body of our Lord,
Wears the body of our Lord.

Call to Worship – Vicar Anne
Again and again, We come to this space. Again and again, We gather as a community. Again and again, We move closer to God. And again and again, God is here. We are met. We are heard. We are shown the way. So again and again, Let us worship holy God.

Lent Lament –  – Again & Again by The Many

Call to Confession

Science tells us that a person makes about 35,000 choices in a day. 35,000 choices each and every day! In the prayer of confession, we pause to take a moment to think and to ask: How many of our decisions are choices God would have us make? How many are not? So, let us pray together, knowing that we need guidance, and trusting that even if we fall, God is showing us the way.

Prayer of Confession

God of Justice, We are guilty of building tables. We have built tables that oppression dines on, Sexism thrives on, and racism lives on.

God of Justice, We are guilty of forgetting where we are, Of turning faith into a negotiation tool and the church into a place for insiders. 

God of Justice, We are guilty of ignoring the point; For you taught that the temple was for worship and your message was for all. God of our hearts, Be in our decision making. Draw near to our choices. Forgive our mistakes. And as you do, Flip every table, habit, belief, or point of view that needs adjusting. With hope we pray for a better day. 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 don’t just want to listen. We want to hear you. We want to read scripture aloud and Know that you are as close as you have always been. We want to read scripture aloud and Feel your word resonating inside our bones. We want to read scripture aloud and Have your words stuck in our heads like a melody, Falling off our lips like a love song. Creator God, we don’t just want to listen, we want to hear you. So, turn our hearts toward you, just as you turned strangers into disciples. Turn our ears toward you, just as you turned tables in the temple. We are listening.

Amen.

Reading -1 Corinthians 1:18-25

A reading from First Corinthians –

18The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,

 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

  and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Word of God, word of life.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation –    Create in Me

Gospel – John 2:13-22
¹³ The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. ¹⁵ Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” ¹⁸ The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Message- Deacon Kari

Song – Canticle of the Turning Worship 723

1 My soul cries out with a joyful shout
That the God of my heart is great
And my spirit sings of the Wondrous things
That you bring to the ones who wait
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight
And my weakness you did not spurn
So from east to west shall my name be blest
Could the world be about to turn?
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!

2 Though I am small, my God, my all, you
Work great things in me
And your mercy will last from the Depths
Of the past to the end of the age to be
Your very name puts the proud to shame
And to those who would for you yearn
You will show your might
Put the strong to flight
For the world is about to turn
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears
For the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!

3 From the halls of power to the fortress tower
Not a stone will be left on stone
Let the king beware for your
Justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne
The hungry poor shall weep no more
For the food they can never ears
There are tables spread, ev’ry
Mouth be fed
For the world is about to turn
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears
For the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!

4 Though the nations rage from age to age
We remember
Who holds us fast
God’s mercy must deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp
This saving word that out forebears
Heard is the promise which holds us bound
‘Til the spear and rod can be
Crushed by God
Who is turning the world around
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears
For the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!

My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears
For the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!

Affirmation of Faith
We believe in a God who knows holy rage—
A God who stands with the underdog,
Who passionately protects the suffering,
And who overturns systems of corruption.
We believe in a God who leads by example—
Feeding the hungry,
Welcoming the children,
Offering water to the Samaritan,
Eating with the tax collector,
Healing the sick,
Preaching from the mountaintop,
And offering second chances.
We believe in a God who knew that we would lose our way, 
And still said “This is my body broken for you.”
We believe in a God who knew our capacity for mistakes,
And still said, “I’m going to prepare a place for you.”
And because of this love,
We believe that God shows us the way,
Again and again and again.
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.

There is no God before you. Purify the faith of your church, that your people place their trust in nothing beside you. Your name is holy. Guide your church, that in every situation your people’s words and actions honor your name. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

The heavens declare your glory. Renew your creation. Provide leaders in the struggle for clean air and water; protect creatures and crops that rely on healthy ecosystems; give all people the willingness to repent when our way of life pollutes the earth and skies. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

Your foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. Fill leaders with the foolishness of your peace and mercy. Your law defends the vulnerable. Work through legislators, judicial systems, and systems of law enforcement to protect the wellbeing and freedom of all. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

Your weakness is stronger than human strength. Protect those who are vulnerable and give courage to all who are suffering. Defend victims of crime and bring redemption to those who have harmed others. Give sabbath rest to all who labor. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

You call us to proclaim Christ crucified. Give clarity to this congregation and our leaders, so that we might follow Christ beyond our own habits and comfort. Clear out anything in our common life that would obscure the gospel or that serves our own interests. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

The cross of Christ is your power for all who are being saved. Thank you for (Perpetua, Felicity, and) all the martyrs whose witness reveals the power of the cross. Give us the same trust in life and in death. 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 – Wondrous Love, Paul Swenson, Arranged by David Johnson

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 – Lift High the Cross Worship 660

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

Postlude – Lift High the Cross, Paul Swenson, Arranged by James Holloway and Emily Porter