The Order of Worship – March 23, 2025
This is the 82nd Day of 2024.
There are 283 days remaining in 2024.
Filled with the Holy Spirit,
we are a people of prayer
committed to love one another
and equipped to share Christ’s love throughout the world.
Third Sunday of Lent
Prelude:
Welcome & Announcements:
This month’s mission focus is the Delta State Wesley Foundation
Bible Study is at afaithtalk.com
Five Loaves tonight.
Call to Worship: I Want a Principle Within w/verse 3 of Promises
Responsive Reading: Psalm 63:1-8
O God, eagerly I seek you
1 God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Praise The Lord
Opening Hymn: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah…No. 127 (G)
Verse 1
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
(want no more)
feed me till I want no more.
Verse 2
Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield;
(strength and shield)
be thou still my strength and shield.
Verse 3
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death and hell’s destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee;
(give to thee)
I will ever give to thee.
Affirmation of Faith:
The Apostle’s Creed..No. 881
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
dead,
and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge
the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Gloria Patri…Page 70
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Praise Song: Swing Low Sweet Chariot…No. 703 (E)
Refrain
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home;
swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.
Verse 1
I looked over Jordan and what did I see,
coming for to carry me home?
A band of angels coming after me,
coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home;
swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.
Verse 2
If you get there before I do, coming for to carry me home;
tell all my friends I’m coming too, coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home;
swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.
Verse 3
I’m sometimes up, I’m sometimes down,
coming for to carry me home;
but still my soul feels heavenly bound,
coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home;
swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home;
swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.
coming for to carry me home.
Extra Ending
O when the saints go marching in
O when the saints go marching in
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Pastoral Prayer
Contact us here to add your concern to our prayer list.
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.
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 thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
Anthem: Anthem: Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service
Offertory
Doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen
Children’s Moment
Children’s Song (Do Lord)
Verse 1
I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun.
I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun.
I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun;
Way beyond the blue.
Chorus
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord, Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord, Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord, Oh do you remember me
Way beyond the blue
Verse 2
I took Jesus as my Savior, you take him too.
I took Jesus as my Savior, you take him too.
I took Jesus as my Savior, you take him too;
Way beyond the blue.
Chorus
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord, Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord, Oh do you remember me?
Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord, Oh do you remember me
Way beyond the blue
Prayer for Illumination
Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9
Come to the water
1 Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Leader: The Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God
Gospel Reading: Luke 13:1-9
The parable of the fig tree
1 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them–do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Leader: The Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Israel, baptized in cloud and seas
1 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Leader: This is The Word of God for the people of God
People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon: “Endurance”
Closing Hymn: A Charge to Keep I Have…No. 413 (1&4) (C)
Verse 1
A charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify,
a never dying soul to save,
and fit for the sky.
Verse 2
To serve the present age,
my calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage
to do my Father’s will!
Verse 3
Arm me with jealous care,
as in thy sight to live,
and oh, thy servant, Lord,
prepare a strict account to give!
Verse 4
Help me to watch and pray,
and on thy self rely,
assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.
Filled Up and Poured Out
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