Smithville United Methodist Church
PO Box 293, 505 N Hwy 169
Smithville, MO 64089
816-532-3200
Celebrating Life through Divine Worship
Second Sunday of Lent
10:00 am, March 20, 2011
The time of centering: Now the time of reflection and stillness is upon us. Now is the season for inward searching. Close your eyes. Be still. Listen. We are entering a holy time, the time of Lent. We are journeying to the sacred center of our faith. We are entering the depths of our own hearts. At the center of our faith, in the depth of our hearts, God is waiting for us, reaching out to us, inviting us to leave ordinary time and to follow him along the journey that brought Jesus to the Cross. God is calling you. Listen.
PRELUDE Worship begins with the playing of music
ENTRANCE OF THE LIGHT
INVOCATION
Most Holy and Gracious God - you who are the wind that brings new life and the breath that sustains us - blow upon this day. Inspire the words we hear and speak and sing. Sweep away the dullness of our minds that we may know you more fully. Clear our hearts of those things that clutter them that we may love you more deeply. Banish from our wills any weakness that prevents us from doing your will. Amen.
WELCOME Education Moment
*SONGS OF PRAISE “Spirit of the Living God” 393
“On Eagle’s Wings” 143
CALL TO WORSHIP
LEADER: Welcome, travelers, to the journey of faith.
PEOPLE: The faith journey is the best route through the land called life.
LEADER: Then come and continue the quest, acting out your faith by living life to the fullest.
PEOPLE: We will let our spirits soar like eagles;
LEADER: Taking a deep breath we will stretch ourselves to the limit like fully inflated balloons, colorful, hopeful, ready to sail and to soar,
PEOPLE: And to drink in the world’s color, absorbing in light and texture, inhaling its fragrance, dancing to its music.
ALL: The God of new beginnings, of new birth, has called us to this place. We celebrate the new life that is ours as God’s faithful people. Amen
SPECIAL MUSIC Adult Choir
CHILDREN’S SERMON
TIME OF PRAYER
Silent Prayer
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
OUR DISCIPLESHIP OF GIVING
Offering
*Doxology
*Prayer of Dedication
*HYMN OF PREPARATION "I Surrender All “ 354
SCRIPTURE LESSON: John 3:1-17
MEDITATION Blessings along the Journey: Birth
Pastor Kathy Harmon
UNISON PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you thanks for the hope that is our through your love. We thank you that you forgive us and give us power to begin anew. Therefore we pray that you will come to us and touch those secret places in our lives that we most need to change. Tear down the barriers that keep us from loving others. Root out all violence from our lives. Free us from dependency on any person or thing or substance, that we may place our full trust in you. Instill us with discipline to establish new habits. Prune away the dead leaves of our lives; through your creative power, may new shoots come forth from the barren stem. Bring new life within us. Amen.
*HYMN FOR GOING FORTH "Breath on me Breath of God" 420
TAKING THE LIGHT OF CHRIST INTO THE WORLD
BENEDICTION
God gives life. God renews life, God is life. Celebrate the life within you and let it overflow to enliven the world. May you be in a continual process of rebirth. May the peace of God dwell within the week and forevermore. Amen.
POSTLUDE
*Please stand if you are able when indicated by an asterisk
