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©Order of Worship for Sunday March 16, 2025
Second Sunday in Lent
For the Avent Ferry UMC Worship Video Click Here (Link opens in a new window)
The worship video will be available live at 11:00 am
Prelude………….The Old Rugged Cross/Holy, Holy, Holy…………Greg D.
Lyrics: George Bennard/Reginald Herber; music by John Bo. Dykes
Coming of the Light
Greetings…………………………………………Pastor Steven
Announcements………………………………………..Lorri B.
Women’s History Moment……………………Elizabeth B.
Call to Worship……………………………………………….Kelly G.
Children of God, when you are surrounded on every side by shadows that frighten and voices that deride and confuse, what do you say?
God is our light and our salvation! Whom shall we fear?
When threats bombard you from every corner, stealing the security and peace you long for, what do you say?
God is the stronghold of our lives! Of whom shall we be afraid?
When anxiety and loneliness overwhelm and you do not know who or what to trust any more, what do you say?
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Because God knows our suffering. God makes a home among us, welcoming us to come home to God and one another.
Come! Let us worship God who hides us in the day of trouble and conceals us together under the cover of the tent of Love.
Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2024.
Opening Prayer……………………………………………………Kelly G.
Opening Hymns…Praise to the Lord, the Almighty………..UMH 139
Author: Joachim Neander 1680
1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,
join me in glad adoration.
2 Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;
sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!
Have you not seen all that is needful has been
sent by his gracious ordaining?
3 Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend thee;
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriends thee.
4 Praise to the Lord, who doth nourish thy life and restore thee;
Fitting the well for the tasks that are ever before thee
Then to the need God as a mother doth speed,
Spreading the wings of grace o’er thee
5 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.
On Eagle’s Wings…………………………….143 UMH
And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of His hand.
Passing of the Peace……………………………………………..Pastor Steven
Let us offer signs of reconciliation and peace to one another.
Gloria Patri………………..Glory Be to the Father………….#71 UMH
Words: Lesser Doxology, 3rd-4th century
Music: Henry W. Greatorex, 1851
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.
Giving of our tithes and offerings……….Pastor Steven
AFUMC Giving Link: https://afumc.com/give/
Offertory………I was There to Hear Your Borning Cry…….Greg D./Mark B.
Text and Tune: John Ylvisaker, arr by John Helgen
“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (The Doxology) #95 UMH
Words by Thomas Ken, 1674
Music attributed to Louis Bourgeois, 1551
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Prayer After Receiving………………………..Pastor Steven
Prayers of the People………………………….Pastor Steven
Anthem:…………..Jesus, the Very Thought of You…………..Greg D./Mark B.
Hymn of Preparation:…….“Gather Us In”………………….#2236 TFWS
Words and Music: Marty Haugen © 1982 GIA Publications, Inc.
1. Here in this place new light is streaming,
now is the darkness vanished away,
see in this space our fears and our dreamings,
brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in the lost and forsaken,
gather us in the blind and the lame;
call to us now, and we shall awaken,
we shall arise at the sound of your name.
2. We are the young our lives are a myst’ry,
we are the old who yearn for your face,
we have been sung throughout all of hist’ry
called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in the rich and the haughty,
gather us in the proud and the strong;
give us a heart so meek and so lowly,
give us the courage to enter the song.
3. Here we will take the wine and the water,
here we will take the bread of new birth,
here you shall call your sons and your daughters,
call us anew to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion,
give us to eat the bread that is you;
nourish us well, and teach us to fashion
lives that are holy and hearts that are true.
4. Not in the dark of buildings confining,
not in some heaven, light years away, but
here in this place the new light is shining,
now is the Kingdom, now is the day.
Gather us in and hold us forever,
gather us in and make us your own;
gather us in all peoples together,
fire of love in our flesh and our bone.
Gospel Lesson:…………Luke 13: 31 – 35…………..Kelly G.
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me,[c] ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
Sermon:……..Why do you keep moving forward?………….Pastor Steven
Closing Hymn………..Lord of the Dance….…………#261 UMH
1 I danced in the morning
When the world was begun
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had My birth
Dance then wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
And I’ll lead you all
Wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all
In the Dance said He
2 I danced for the scribe
And the Pharisee
But they would not dance
And they wouldn’t follow Me
I danced for the fishermen
For James and John
They came with Me
And the dance went on
Dance then wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
And I’ll lead you all
Wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all
In the Dance said He
3 I danced on the Sabbath
And I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame
They whipped and they stripped
And they hung Me on high
And they left Me there
On a Cross to die
Dance then wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
And I’ll lead you all
Wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all
In the Dance said He
4 I danced on a Friday
When the sky turned black
It’s hard to dance
With the devil on your back
They buried My body
And they thought I’d gone
But I am the dance
And I still go on
Dance then wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
And I’ll lead you all
Wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all
In the Dance said He
5 They cut Me down
And I leapt up high
I am the life
That’ll never never die
I’ll live in you
If you’ll live in Me
I am the Lord
Of the Dance said He
Dance then wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
And I’ll lead you all
Wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all
In the Dance said He
Dismissal with Blessing………………Pastor Steven
Postlude………………………………………….Greg D
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Sunday March 16th Worship Service