For Sunday March 19, 2017
Year A, Third Sunday in Lent
Third Sunday in Lent :: Purple ::
Exodus 17:1-7:: Psalm 95 :: Romans 5:1-11 :: John 4:5-42
Call to Worship (Responsive)
Adapted from Psalm 95
L: O Come, let us sing to the LORD;
P: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
L: Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving;
P: Let us make a joyful noise to God with songs of praise!
L: For the LORD is a great God.
P: The sea and the dry land were formed by God’s hands.
L: Let us worship and bow down,
P: Let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Invocation:
We cry out to you O God: “how long?” and “why have you brought us to this place in our life?” We agonize for a sense of your vision and purpose. We come seeking the rock of our life. We come, and we find you. We find you among the believers gathered here with us. We find you ready to quench our thirst, and feed our souls. We come because we find you in the community of believers. Guide our hearts and souls once again, O God. Lead us in your goodness and majesty. Accept our praise and petitions, for we offer them in the name of Christ our Lord.
Stewardship Moment:
Welcome to the well. For us Christians, church is where we come to renew our supply of living water. I know, I know, you’re saying to yourself: “Jesus said ‘those who drink of the water I give them will never be thirsty.’” That’s true. We come because we need to replenish the living water each of us have given away in the prior week. One of the reasons we bring tithes and offerings is to make sure this well is always here, ready to replenish any Christian who has given all she has, and needs to be refilled.
Offertory Prayer:
Giving God, whose loves flows over us and through us like living waters, we bring our gifts to the well: our river of everlasting life. Use these gifts to empower many to share your good news with everyone they meet. We ask not on in the name of Christ, but for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Communion Meditation:
From time to time I catch myself thinking about Judas when I come to the table. I cannot help but think about the upper room and the last supper, when Jesus is telling the Disciples “drink of it, ALL of you, for this cup is the new covenant poured out for the forgiveness of sin.” I think it is the epitome of what Paul later says: “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us.” As we come to this table, none of us are Judas. Yet Christ still died for us. That’s love! Come and receive God’s ultimate gift of love.
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Scripture Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version. Online Scripture links a service of the Jean and Alexander Heard Divinity Library, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Check out all of the awesome resources there at http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu