BEFORE THE THRONE
Call to Worship: Psalm 16:7-11
Welcome to worship on this fifth Sunday in Lent. I learned this week that Eastern Orthodox Christians call Lent the Season of Bright Sadness. It is bright because we know that the tomb is empty. It is sad because we know that it is our sin that Christ took upon Himself at the cross. The majority of the American Church is really good at the brightness - really good at the celebration. The majority of the American Church is not as good at sadness. We don’t like to sit in the loss, grief, lament, and mourning. But I think that is one of the gifts of the season of Lent to us - that we are forced not to rush the Resurrection. We spend these forty days considering our sins, confessing our sins, and repenting of our sins - looking ahead to the hope of the life of Christ. But truthfully, bright sadness is not just true of how we live during the season of Lent, but it is how we live every moment of our lives. Because we know that Jesus has defeated satan, sin, and death - but we still live in a fallen and broken world. We still feel the effects of sin in our lives. But we sit in this sadness knowing that there is a day coming when Christ will fully banish all darkness and sadness, and it will always, only, and forever be bright - because the Lord Himself will be our light. And this morning we’re going to teach you a new song that I think will help us acknowledge the bright sadness of this life, but also how we will respond on that day, and today. This is All Hail King Jesus - we’ll teach you the chorus first:
ALL HAIL KING JESUS
GREAT ARE YOU LORD
Sermon: Mark 6:1-13
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]
Communion
IS HE WORTHY
Benediction