March 13, 2022 – 2nd Sunday in Lent
Morning prayer: Everlasting God, Because of Your tender mercy toward all people, You sent Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all should follow the example of His great humility. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His patience and also be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (The Book of Common Prayer)
Call to Worship – Psalm 27
L: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
P: When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh-- my adversaries and foes-- they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
L: One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.
For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high on a rock.
P: Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
"Come," my heart says, "seek His face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek.
L: Do not hide Your face from me. Do not turn Your servant away in anger, You who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.
P: Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
L: I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
P: Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Hymn #89 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
- Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day! - All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain, call us to rejoice in Thee. - Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
well-spring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our brother, all who live in love are Thine;
teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine. - Mortals, join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began;
love divine is reigning o'er us, binding all within its span.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife;
joyful music leads us sunward, in the triumph song of life.
Children’s Time: Exodus 3:1-15
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
Shoes come in all types and sizes. There are dress shoes like we might wear to church. There are athletic shoes like we wear when we play sports. There are sandals or flip-flops for summer. We have all kinds of shoes!
But why are we talking about shoes you might be wondering. Well, shoes protect our feet, but they can also serve another purpose. Raise your hand if you wear your shoes inside most of the time. Raise your hand if you take your shoes off when you’re inside.
People might take off their shoes to keep from tracking dirt inside. And in some places, people always take off their shoes and leave them at the door when they enter a house as a sign of respect. Respect means to show someone you think that person is important. And that reminds me of today’s Bible lesson.
God told a man named Moses to take off his shoes. To get ready to hear about what happened to Moses, let’s take off our shoes now. I think that’ll help us understand why God told Moses to take off his shoes. I'm going to do that. If you wish, join me.
God called Moses from a burning bush to get his attention and talk to him. God had an important job for Moses. He told Moses to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. Let’s hear what happened.
At first, Moses was confused and wasn’t sure God could really be speaking to him. God wanted Moses to lead His people, but Moses wasn’t sure he was the right guy for the job. But God wanted to get Moses to pay attention.
Why did the burning bush get Moses to pay attention to God?
God gave Moses important instructions. Just like God spoke to Moses, God speaks to us, too.
God, thank You for giving us instructions. Thank You for speaking to Moses and for speaking to us. Help us remember to listen to You. In Jesus’ name, amen. (www.sermons4kids.com)
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You most gracious and forgiving Father for hearing the cries of our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: 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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Together Time entrees, including the main course for today’s breakfast, are paid by your tithes and offerings. Thank you.
Offertory prayer: Generous God, as we travel this Lenten journey, allow us to walk beside Jesus as He makes His journey into Jerusalem. As we offer our gifts this morning, may it be our way of saying we won’t turn away from the problems and conflicts of this world; but like Jesus, we will walk toward them. All we take for the journey is the compassion, mercy, and sacrifice that He carried—moving toward what waited in the Holy City. We journey in Christ’s steps and pray in Christ’s holy name. Amen.
Hymn of Preparation #451 Be Thou My Vision
- Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. - Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, great God of heaven, my treasure Thou art. - Great God of heaven, my victory won, may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Message scripture: Luke 13:31-35
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to Him (Jesus), “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for Me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish My work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on My way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Message: Today, Tomorrow and the Third Day Pastor Becky Cuddeback
Do you write out “to-do” lists? I do. It is a practice I learned from my grandmother. Nanny would get up each morning and while she had her morning coffee and cigarette, she would plot out her day. It was always a little yellow legal pad and blue ink. She would add the mundane and the extraordinary – like 1. make a list, 2. get a shower and then 3. go to dinner with whomever. She literally wrote down every single thing she was going to do that day and the funny part was, if she did something that wasn’t on the list, she would write it on the list and then cross it off. She did this right up to the day she died. Her lists made for some moments, like for instance when my uncle would be home on a visit and add things to the list, ridiculous things – take a trip to the moon, paint the barn – that kind of thing or when a grandchild would scratch off something as done and it hadn’t happened yet. Messing with the list brought humor and anger, humor for us and anger from my Nanny.
The point of the list was to remind her of everything she was to do. This is the point of any list really, grocery lists, bucket lists…
And Jesus had a list also. It is a short list, but incredibly important – casting out demons and performing cures – today and tomorrow and on the third day I finish my work. Now before you go jumping ahead, the third day isn’t that glorious day of resurrection, it’s His death. Jesus is saying, I’m going to do this and this – then I am going to die. But now I’ve jumped ahead. Let’s talk about this focused list of Jesus’ to dos. He is going to be doing His list, while He is on the move. He is headed to Jerusalem, maybe this will take a week, maybe ten days to get from here to there – but the list is focused, today and tomorrow I’ll be casting out demons and healing people. Now, today is today, and tomorrow is tomorrow – but tomorrow will be today, then there is tomorrow – Jesus isn’t going to stop His list until that third day, His last day.
Jesus’s to-do list is short, but not simple. Casting out demons could be anything from actual exorcisms to chasing off those that would lead the faithful astray, like false teachers or traders of idols. Performing cures could be restoring health to resurrecting friends, to reconciling families. The work is vast and valuable. His to-do list changed the world.
Can we come back to our to-do lists? Our “what are we going to do today” list is probably lacking compared to Jesus’ list. Do we even consider placing either of those two things on our to-do list? Have we ever thought about Kingdom work going on the to-do list? What would that even look like? I know we have designated times of mission/service work we add to the to-do list, my calendar is marked for every 4th Saturday morning for the food pantry. I have carved out time of devotion and prayer every day and maybe that can be seen at Kingdom work – but mostly that’s “me” work, work on my relationship with Jesus, fortification for the work of my calling. But to be honest, if I cast out demons or perform cures, that’s by accident, I didn’t set out to do that, God used me. But imagine if I had or you had – that our to-do list had deliberate Kingdom work planned in our day, like I wrote on my to-do list to heal someone or you wrote on your to-do list to cast out a demon. We can, you know. Jesus promised us an Advocate, the Holy Spirit – that would teach us and remind us of all that He taught, not you for our good, but for the work of the Kingdom.
John 14:12 “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” Beloved, we are called to this to-do list, but we have to make it a priority, we have to put it on our list, right there alongside pick up the dry cleaning. Kingdom work isn’t about accidental things happening, Jesus didn’t accidentally die, He was focused and deliberate to see the Kingdom brought near and we have to be focused and deliberate as well.
Let us pray: Holy God, support us in our commitment to Your Kingdom. You give us today, tomorrow and the third day to accomplish Your Kingdom. Move our hearts to focus on Your world, to seek out divine encounters for the transformation of Your world. Amen.
Closing Hymn #593 Here I Am, Lord
- I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save.
I, who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Refrain: Here I am, Lord. Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.
- I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them. They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak My word to them. Whom shall I send?
Refrain:
- I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give My life to them. Whom shall I send?
Refrain:
Benediction: Go into this week with the blessings of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.