3 March 2024
Lent 3
God Invites Us To Gather
Words of Welcome
Acknowledgment of the Land –
Lent is a journey we are called to walk,
So too is the path to reconciliation with the first peoples of this land.
And so we acknowledge that the land upon which we are worshipping, creating our church home, and making our Lenten walk, is the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the credit. We give them thanks for welcoming us on this common journey toward peace and reconciliation.
Our Christ Candle is lit. We give thanks for the light of Christ in our life and in the work and worship we do together. If you are at home I invite you to light your own candle to celebrate the light that lives in our world. Let us prepare our hearts and minds for our worship, as we listen to our prelude.
Prelude:
Call to Worship.
When God speaks, all creation answers:
the pale winter moon cries points to light in darkness
the sun hums a song as it warms the earth.
When God speaks, lives are changed:
those held hostage by oppression are set free;
the voiceless shout the story of hope.
When God speaks, everything is turned inside out:
the wise learn the language of grace from little children;
the strong take lessons from the powerless.
When God speaks, our lives are refreshed, renewed, reborn.
God speaks.
God speaks.
Let us listen, let us sing, let us share the Good News!
Let us worship God!
*Hymn: Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights VU 108
Prayer of Approach & The Lord’s Prayer
What a gift this is God, to take time out of the busyness of our lives to worship you and reconnect with you and be together. May this time remind us of your love for us, love more nourishing than anything we can buy or achieve on our own. May we hear your voice, shaking us from our complacency, challenging us to draw nearer to you, and may this time of worship remind us of how present you are for us, guiding us, calling us, encouraging us. May we live with hearts open to your call, your voice, your love as we continue our Lenten journey together.
This we pray in Jesus’ name and in the words he taught us we pray
Our Creator
in heaven
Hallowed be your name
Your kindom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
for yours is the kindom
The power and the glory
Forever and ever
Amen.
Anthem:
Prayer of Confession
Gracious and merciful God,
we confess to you our reluctance to see where we need to repent
to recognize the mistakes we have made
and the changes that need to happen in our lives.
Too often we are tempted to put ourselves and our wants
before you, others, and our care for Your creation.
Too often our hunger for comfort
can greater than our hunger for seeking and doing your will:
Forgive us, God,
as we silently confess the mistakes that weigh heavy on our hearts
Silent prayer
Guide us through the wilderness of our own making
help us to hear you speak,
increase our trust in you
and guide us to your new life.
Amen.
Sung Response: Kyrie MV 67
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie elei – Kyrie eleison (sing 2 x)
Assurance of Pardon
God’s love is constant. Over and over again we are offered a way out, a way through, a way back to God. We are offered second chances. Be assured we are loved and forgiven. Let us walk the way of Christ, let us not fear change, let us begin again.
The Word of God Proclaimed
Prayer of Illumination (Brenda Lewis)
God of love and wisdom, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love, and strength to follow on the path you set before us; through Jesus Christ, Amen.
Reading: John 2: 13-22
p. 93 in the New Testament of your pew bibles
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”[a]
18 They responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
Sermon: Spring Cleaning
Hymn: Jesus Christ is Waiting VU 117
Our Response to God
Offering: We take time to recognize and dedicate all that has been offered to our church this week, gifts of money to help us pay our bills and keep this building safe and warm for our user groups and activities, gifts of time, your talents and skills, and of course your prayers. Let’s stay seated and sing …
Offering Hymn: Giver of the Perfect Gift. VU 116 v. 1 & 4
Giver of the perfect gift,
Only hope of human race,
Hear the prayer our hearts uplift,
Gathered at thy throne of grace.
Oh may these our Lenten days,
blest by thee with thee be passed,
that with purer, nobler praise
we may keep they feast at last.
Offering Prayer
Your risen life is in us, Gracious God, and we find so much joy in what you have done in our lives and in the world. Receive these gifts and offerings, given with joyful and grateful hearts, and use them, we pray, to proclaim the good news of the risen Christ, bringing hope to those who need new life. Amen.
Meditative Music
Prayers of the People
God of the journey. We are looking for direction and guidance. We look to Jesus and we know that in him we can find peace, strength and nourishment, but sometimes it is hard to listen, hard to follow when the call from Jesus is not all peaceful, when it is not all comfort, when we are stretched and pulled and challenged.
Because so often God we get pulled in many different directions, already –
We are distracted by the demands of work, by the need to succeed and the stress of money and power.
We worry about the future, our loved ones
We are distracted by the frailties of our bodies, health challenges
We are overwhelmed by the needs in our world.
Help us God to have the courage and the confidence to take time apart
From the stresses that could consume us
Help us to reconnect with you
Help us to learn what it is we need to learn on this Lenten path.
Let this season of Lent be a powerful experience for us as we seek to grow in faith and discipleship
So that we may face the world and others with joy, patience and a clear sense of our mission as your faithful followers.
God of hope and new life,
We offer our prayers for all whom we love.
Especially we pray for:
Those who mourn this day,
Those who are experiencing difficult anniversaries
We pray for those with strained relationships
Those impacted by the challenges of high inflation and high interest rates
We pray for those who are underhoused, underfed, those without hope.
We pray for those who are impacted by war and occupation,
We pray for those who are struggling with health challenges, awaiting medical care and living with changes to their mobility.
We pray for those who worry about the future.
We pray for our planet and the climate that we may be led forward in wisdom, and have the courage needed to make the change that is needed.
We also God can’t help but thank you for the gifts of new life that we already see around us – for the turning of the seasons, the lengthening of days, the warmer feel of the sun and the buds slowly but surely beginning to show on the trees. We thank you for the new life hidden growing up from our soil.
As we leave this time of worship guide us, lead us, prod us, encourage us and challenge us. May we each find ways to point to your love and hope as we go into this world.
In the name of Christ we pray and journey onward.
Amen
*Hymn: Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery VU 121
*Benediction
Sung Blessing: Love Us Into Fullness MV 81
Love us into fullness, touch us with your grace;
Jesus in your mercy, draw us to your face.
Love us into fullness, hold us in your care,
Cheer us with your presence, here and everywhere.
Love us into fullness, and we will be strong;
Jesus walk beside us, fill our hearts with song.
