Trust that all of Christ is ENOUGH for
all of us to become all we are meant to be.
As you enter, please take a few pebbles from the bowl at the back of the sanctuary.
All of
Christ makes
Prelude
Words of Preparation: We begin our
worship tonight, as we begin our Lenten journey, with Christ, who
embodied God's love for us all in life, in death and in resurrection.
Hear the words of faith from the ancient hymn which Paul inscribed
into a letter to the church of Philippi.
Scripture
Proclamation: Philippians 2:1-11
Reader 1: Therefore if you
have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort
from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness
and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing
out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value
others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each
of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one
another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Reader 2: Who, being in
very nature God,
did not consider equality with
God
something to be used to his own
advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a
servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance
as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to death— even death
on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the
highest place
and gave him the name that is
above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under
the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge
that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the
glory of God the Father.
Song of Praise: They'll Know We
Are Christians by Our Love.......................Page 284....Red
Hymnal
The candles are lit to
remind us of the light of Christ with us on this Lenten Journey.
Please light your
tea light and bring it forward to place on the table as we sing.
All of
us
Responsive Reading: from Matthew 11:28-30
Leader: Let us share now the words of
Christ--
People: Come to me, all
you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you
rest.
Leader: Let us speak humbly, and hear
these words anew.
People: Take my yoke upon you,
and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in
heart:
Leader: Let us listen together and
speak together, this truth--
People: You will find
rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.
Leader: So says our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Naming the Burdens We Carry
Take
the pebbles you have selected and hold them in your hands.
Let
each pebble represent a burden, a struggle, a weakness, a sin, a
challenge, or an attitude
that
God is calling you to lay down this Lenten time.
Give
them names that only you will hear.
Chalice Chimers Instrumental Meditation "Near the Cross" with "Nearer My God"
Consider, what will it mean to you to release these pebbles,
to let go of these burdens and let Christ take them up and carry them
for you.
What will Christ ask you to carry instead?
Prayer of Release
Holy God, we love you, even though we cannot put that love fully into
words, any more than we can count all the ways we know you love us.
We know it. We confess it.
We don’t have the words that speak of you clearly
.
We have language
but we let it limit you.
We have ideas
but they are too small, and we try to stuff you into
them anyway.
We have no way to speak fully of you,
So sometimes, when we're tired and frustrated, we stop trying to
speak to you.
We skip over what's really going on in order to get on to the next
most urgent thing.
But not tonight.
Tonight, we have spoken honestly to you.
We have named the pebbles in our hands and we are ready to give them
to you.
In a moment we will drop them, let
them go, lay them down. And they will be yours.
We will not have them to burden us or
busy us or hide us anymore.
But we will have ourselves, our being
and all
our living,
and the ashy sign of your love and
sacrifice upon our heads.
May that be enough
to say to each
other: Christ lives among us!
Enough to say to the world:
Hope is
alive!
Enough to say: let go and live!
In the name of the one whose great
sacrifice we now claim, we ask for these mercies. Amen.
--adapted
from a prayer by Roddy Hamilton.
Enough
to become
Assurance of Forgiveness and Relief
With these ashes,
come back to earth.
Wonder at the gift
of life, your life, my life, our life
with the earth,
the shared body of our existence.
These ashes were
once trees and shrubs, the palms from a processional
and places where
life was lived to its fullest.
Once they were
full of life.
Now they are black
and grey.
Dry. Lifeless.
But mixed with the
waters of our baptism and the oil of healing and anointing
they make good
fertilizer:
to help the seeds
of the gospel take deeper root in us
and bring forth
the fruits,
the harvest of
justice, peace, and generosity.
These are ashes
worth wearing.
May we accept this
gift. And be blessed.
And be assured we
will be different at the end of this season.
For from the burnt
ashes will spring the green shoot of life
and the purple
flower of attentiveness to God.
Leader:
Friends, believe the Gospel and proclaim:
People:
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
— from
A Liturgy for Ash Wednesday, on the Rex A.E. Hunt website.
http://www.rexaehuntprogressive.com/
Offering Our Burdens to God
As
the music plays, we come forward to place our pebbles
in
the glass vases on either side of the table.
As
they leave our fingers, we release the burdens of our hearts to God.
Receiving God's Promise in the Sign of the Cross
At
the side stations, we receive the sign of the cross
on
either hand or foreheads from our elders.
With
this sign we carry,
we
remember that this is the new yoke Jesus promised,
the
privilege and responsibility of knowing that all our burdens
were
carried away to the cross of Christ.
All we
are meant to be
Scripture
Blessing: Philippians 1:3-6
I
thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of
you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel
from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who
began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day
of Christ Jesus.
Congregational Musical Response: “Enough” (Does this work, Lisa??? -Amy)
All of You is more than enough for all of me
For ev'ry thirst and ev'ry need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough
All of You is more than enough for all of me
For ev'ry thirst and ev'ry need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough
CCLI Song # 3599479
Chris Tomlin | Louie Giglio
© 2002 worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
For use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com
CCLI License # 1947489
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