GLORIOUS DAY
Call to Worship: Psalm 24:7-10
We get to do this as we gather - lift our eyes, lift our hearts, lift our lives to behold the King of Glory. But that only occurs when the Holy Spirit does what only the Holy Spirit can do - lead us in all truth, and reveal more of the character and identity of Jesus. We have been in the Gospel of Mark for several weeks, and we have seen the question about Jesus’ identity come up several times - ‘who then is this…’ this is the King of Glory. And this morning we will learn a new song that both asks and answers the question of Jesus’ identity - the one and only, the Holy God. We’ll teach you the chorus first, it goes like this:
ONLY A HOLY GOD
COME THOU FOUNT
More than words we sing, that song is really the testimony of every follower of Jesus, because we all are prone to wander, we all are faithless. And still, God always remains faithful. We are entering the third week of Lent. And if the whole of your journey of faith has been as a part of churches that look and feel like ours, the season of Lent and its rhythms may feel unfamiliar to you. Because in Lent we pause, we reflect on our sins, we look to the cross, we confess our sins to God, and one another, we repent and turn from our sins, and turn to Christ. These rhythms and practices do not belong to a specific denomination, but they belong to the people of God. So we are going to spend some time now in quiet reflection, as you find your story in those words we have just sung - prone to wander - and we look with joy to the cross. Then we will confess our sins to God and one another:
Corporate Confession
Merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against You
in thought, word, and deed,
By what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.In Your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
And direct what we shall be,
So that we may delight in your will and walk in Your ways, To the glory of Your holy name.Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. [From the Book of Common Prayer]
Brothers and sisters, hear the good news - God does not treat us as our sins deserve. He is faithful when we are faithless.
Sermon: Mark 5:1-20
No true encounter with Jesus ever leaves us the same. And if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you were not a good person made better by Jesus, you were not even a demon-possessed person freed by Jesus, you were a dead person who has been made alive in Christ. Let’s behold the power, wonder, grace, mercy, and kindness of the Lord. Would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing together:
RAISE UP THE CROWN (ALL HAIL THE POWER)
GRAVES INTO GARDENS
Benediction: Jude 1:24-25