What are you packing?
ST. ANDREW’S
March 20, 2022 – Lent Three
Lighting of the Christ Candle
Welcome and Announcements
We welcome you to this service of worship on the Third Sunday of Lent, lead by Shannon Bell and accompanied by husband Jon Wyminga of the Cariboo House Churches. May this service bring you peace and a respite from the cares and concerns of your world; may it fortify you for the days ahead and bring glory to God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Call to Worship:
Seek the Lord while God may be found. Call upon God who is near.
We will return to the Lord our God.
God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. God’s ways are not our ways.
We come, seeking new paths to follow.
As the heavens are higher than the earth so are God’s ways higher than ours.
We come as pilgrims on the journey, praising God along the way. Let us worship God with thankful hearts!
Hymn: #384 O Breath of Life
Prayer of Invocation
God, our Creator and Sustainer,
in you we live and move and have our being.
In your depths we find meaning; in your heights we find light and joy.
You are the source of peace and hope for all who turn to you.
You alone have been our help and our guide;
you give us strength and courage when we face challenges.
In you we find rest and welcome along the way.
We praise you, O God, for your steadfast love.
Draw near to us once more in this time of worship.
Reveal your purposes for us
and prepare us for the days ahead
so that our lives may witness to your mercy and grace
as we follow Jesus.
Unison Prayer of Confession:
God of grace and mercy,
We confess that our thoughts are so often not your thoughts;
our way are rarely your ways.
Our tempers are short and we fail to act with kindness.
Our confidence is weak and we treat others without respect.
Our faith falters and we lose track of you.
Forgive the many ways we fail you,
and inspire us to follow you more faithfully.
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn us? Only Christ –
And Christ died for us; Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us.
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. By Christ’s mercy, we can make a fresh start following him.
Hymn: #461 Be Thou My Vision
Scripture Reading:
Luke 9: 1-10a
1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him. 10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,
Sermon – Shannon Bell
Outline: What are you packing?
Questions for reflection:
What is Jesus sending you out to do? What specifically is he calling, empowering and giving you authority to do to share the good news and demonstrate it tangibly to those far and near to you? That is your mission as a church.
What is he telling you not to take on the journey? What things do you think that you need, but you may need to let go of in order to receive what God has for you as you engage in God’s mission? What seems essential to who you are as a church? Do any of those things get in the way of truly going where Jesus calls you?
How will you move forward in mission relinquishing a position of power or control, making yourselves vulnerable and yet dependent upon God’s provision?
Are you ready to face rejection but shake it off, choosing instead to live in the love of Jesus for those who reject you?
What new ways is God sending you out into the world as old ways are stripped away by this pandemic?
Offering
Drum Doxology –
Traditional hymn
Arrangement & chant by Cheryl Bear
Praise Him from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Hey, hey ya-a, hey ya
Hey, hey ya-a, hey ya
Hey, hey ya-a, hey ya, hey.
CCLI #710966
Offertory prayer
God has given us life and breath, and created a world of beauty and order.
In Christ we know God’s generous mercy.
Our gifts are tokens of gratitude for all that we have received in Christ and in creation.
May our gifts speak for our thankful hearts this day.
Loving God, accept these our gifts, we pray.
Bless them and use them to inspire peace in places of unrest,
love in places of resentment, joy in places of fear, and hope in places of loss,
all for the sake of Jesus Christ, our friend and Saviour. Amen
Prayers of the People
God of Hope,
When the world is confusing and frustrating,
you bring light and hope.
We give you thanks for lessons learned, for changes of heart,
for fresh discoveries made, and new paths followed,
even during these months of pandemic.
We pray this day for those who are confused or afraid.
for those who feel anger or despair.
Keep a brief silence.
O God, give us hope in our time.
Turn our hearts to you.
God of Peace,
there is so much conflict, hostility, and antagonism
around us and within us.
Personal relationships are often tense; the world community at odds.
We pray for understanding to prevail
in relationships at home and at work,
in our community and our country.
And we pray for diplomacy to end conflict and threat among nations
especially holding before you the Ukraine and its people
… (add names of other conflict zones in the world)
Keep a brief silence.
O God, give us peace in these times.
Turn our hearts to you.
God of Joy,
we give you thanks for moments of joy and celebration in our lives,
for small pleasures given and received through times of isolation.
We remember those who feel left out or bitter,
those who are anxious or in distress.
We pray for those who face loss and hardship in these uncertain times,
and all who know sorrow and suffering,
naming before you those on our hearts this day.
Keep a longer silence.
O God, give us joy in our time.
Turn our hearts to you.
God of community and compassion,
we thank you for your steadfast presence
in the face of all that brings uncertainty and worry these days.
Bless our congregation and every church that is struggling;
inspire us to consider renewed ministry and mission
after months of restricted gatherings.
Reawaken our love for one another
and our desire to worship and serve together in Jesus’ name.
Sustain leaders who feel exhausted by the challenges they’ve faced
and renew our stewardship with gratitude for your love.
Keep a brief silence.
O God, give us strength in our service.
Turn our hearts to you.
God of grace,
Receive these prayers and the unspoken prayers of our hearts.
Deepen our trust in you for the days ahead, for we offer ourselves as Jesus’ friends and followers in the words he taught us:
The Lord’s prayer
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. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Hymn: Send us out
John Michael Talbot
Chorus
Send us out to proclaim the reign of Your kingdom,
Send us out to proclaim and to heal,
Send us out with Your power and Your authority
To overcome and to heal the world. (2x’s)
Taking nothing for your journey
For God will give you His bread.
And for ev’ry house that you enter
Pray the peace of God descend.
I send you out before me
Into ev’ry town I intend.
The harvest is rich but few are the workers.
To the fields of harvest you I send.
Baptize in the name of the Father,
In the name of the Spirit and of the Son.
Go making disciples of many.
I will be with you until your work is done.
ã 1984 Birdwing Music/Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co.
C.C.L.I. #710966
Benediction
Closing song: