Fifth Sunday in Lent
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series IV, Cycle B
Call To Worship
A general Call To Worship.
Leader:
God is very near to us.
People:
Always near to us.
Leader:
And we come here each week
People:
To celebrate his nearness,
Leader:
To praise his goodness to us,
People:
And to heighten our awareness of his presence,
Leader:
That we might enjoy him all the more,
People:
And witness to his love more truly.
Leader:
Let us praise him,
People:
Amen.
Psalm 51:10-12
Leader:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
People:
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Leader:
Do not cast me from your presence
People:
Or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Leader:
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
People:
And grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Leader:
Amen.
People:
Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Dying to self is hard. This Confession reminds us that often all we do with faith is give it lip service.
Leader:
Lip service.
People:
Lip service.
Leader:
All over the place
People:
We give lip service.
Leader:
We give it to fitness,
People:
But rarely exercise.
Leader:
We give it to being devoted parents,
People:
Then we spend all our time at work.
Leader:
We give it to our spouses,
People:
But neglect them.
Leader:
We give it to you, Lord,
People:
But then live as if you didn't even exist.
Leader:
Forgive our lip service.
People:
And do whatever it takes
Leader:
To turn us from lip servers,
People:
To heart servers!
Leader:
For we ask it with passion and desire.
People:
Amen.
If you did not use the Prayer Of Confession based on Psalm 51, which you will find included in the resources for Ash Wednesday, this might be a good place to use it.
Option three.
Leader:
Holy and merciful God,
People:
In your presence we must face our sin.
Leader:
You alone know how often we have failed by wandering from your path,
People:
And wasting your gifts,
Leader:
And underestimating your love.
People:
Have mercy on us, for we have strayed.
Leader:
Humble us with your truth and raise us up to become the people you meant us to be,
People:
That we might witness to you in all the earth. Amen.
Assurance Of Pardon
This Assurance Of Pardon should follow a Prayer Of Confession in which the people make a commitment to transformation of one sort or another. This one is designed to follow the Confession on lip service.
If you prayed that prayer from your heart, there is good news and bad news for you.
First, the good news: God has forgiven your lip service, and God will answer your prayer.
Now the bad news: God will answer your prayer.
If you really want to be a fully devoted servant of God, God will do everything he can to make you one. And while that will lead to great beauty and deep joy, it will also mean pain.
There is good news and bad news. Let us embrace both. For, good and bad, this news leads to life everlasting. Amen.
The good news is that all things are possible with God. Even we who fail him can be reconciled. This Assurance reminds us of that. It is based on the Jeremiah passage.
Leader:
In our relationship with God,
People:
Though we fail to be faithful on our part,
Leader:
God is faithful on his part.
People:
"The time is coming," declares the Lord,
Leader:
When we will form a new relationship,
People:
A new covenant instead of the old.
Leader:
God will put his laws in our minds,
People:
And write them on our hearts.
Leader:
There will be no need to teach each other to know the Lord,
People:
For all will know him from his Holy Spirit within.
Leader:
"I will be their God," says the Lord,
People:
And we will be his people.
Leader:
"I will forgive their wickedness,
People:
And remember our sins no more."
Leader:
In this new covenant, God imparts his forgiveness and his faithfulness.
People:
In Christ, we receive his forgiveness and faithfulness.
Leader:
Amen.
Prayer Of Dedication
Based on the Hebrews passage.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, appointed by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, you are our high priest forever, the source of salvation for all who obey you. We bring our gifts and offerings to you, not out of obligation or expectation, but out of love and honor of you. We dedicate ourselves and all that we have into your service. From you we have received the greatest gift of all, eternal life. For this, you are most worthy of all. Jesus, high priest, blessed be your name. Amen.
Prayer For Illumination
Pray with me: Lord, it's not the words on these pages that bring life, it is the deepening of our relationship with you that these words enable. We beg you now to fill them with your truth, your self, that as they are read, sung, and preached we will know you more. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Father in heaven, in like manner, we offer up our prayers and requests to you with honesty and urgency. You alone have the power to save and deliver. We humbly come to you, bow before you, give over our wills to you, and wait in hope for you. Hear and answer our prayers, gracious God. Amen.
Benediction
John 12:23-26
Jesus said, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
Hymns
I'll Live For Him
Lead Me To Calvary
Living For Jesus
'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
We Come, O Christ, To You
Contemporary Choruses
Lord, Reign In Me, Brenton Brown
More Love, More Power, Jude Del Hierro
Open The Eyes Of My Heart, Lord, Paul Baloche
Sanctuary, John W. Thompson
Take My Life, Scott Underwood
Other Music
Crucified With Christ, Phillips, Craig, and Dean
To be truly Christian means to be crucified with Christ. This song is included as an option for several of the Sundays of Lent.
The Greatest Story Ever Told, 4Him
Tells us that faith is costly but worth it.
A general Call To Worship.
Leader:
God is very near to us.
People:
Always near to us.
Leader:
And we come here each week
People:
To celebrate his nearness,
Leader:
To praise his goodness to us,
People:
And to heighten our awareness of his presence,
Leader:
That we might enjoy him all the more,
People:
And witness to his love more truly.
Leader:
Let us praise him,
People:
Amen.
Psalm 51:10-12
Leader:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
People:
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Leader:
Do not cast me from your presence
People:
Or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Leader:
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
People:
And grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Leader:
Amen.
People:
Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Dying to self is hard. This Confession reminds us that often all we do with faith is give it lip service.
Leader:
Lip service.
People:
Lip service.
Leader:
All over the place
People:
We give lip service.
Leader:
We give it to fitness,
People:
But rarely exercise.
Leader:
We give it to being devoted parents,
People:
Then we spend all our time at work.
Leader:
We give it to our spouses,
People:
But neglect them.
Leader:
We give it to you, Lord,
People:
But then live as if you didn't even exist.
Leader:
Forgive our lip service.
People:
And do whatever it takes
Leader:
To turn us from lip servers,
People:
To heart servers!
Leader:
For we ask it with passion and desire.
People:
Amen.
If you did not use the Prayer Of Confession based on Psalm 51, which you will find included in the resources for Ash Wednesday, this might be a good place to use it.
Option three.
Leader:
Holy and merciful God,
People:
In your presence we must face our sin.
Leader:
You alone know how often we have failed by wandering from your path,
People:
And wasting your gifts,
Leader:
And underestimating your love.
People:
Have mercy on us, for we have strayed.
Leader:
Humble us with your truth and raise us up to become the people you meant us to be,
People:
That we might witness to you in all the earth. Amen.
Assurance Of Pardon
This Assurance Of Pardon should follow a Prayer Of Confession in which the people make a commitment to transformation of one sort or another. This one is designed to follow the Confession on lip service.
If you prayed that prayer from your heart, there is good news and bad news for you.
First, the good news: God has forgiven your lip service, and God will answer your prayer.
Now the bad news: God will answer your prayer.
If you really want to be a fully devoted servant of God, God will do everything he can to make you one. And while that will lead to great beauty and deep joy, it will also mean pain.
There is good news and bad news. Let us embrace both. For, good and bad, this news leads to life everlasting. Amen.
The good news is that all things are possible with God. Even we who fail him can be reconciled. This Assurance reminds us of that. It is based on the Jeremiah passage.
Leader:
In our relationship with God,
People:
Though we fail to be faithful on our part,
Leader:
God is faithful on his part.
People:
"The time is coming," declares the Lord,
Leader:
When we will form a new relationship,
People:
A new covenant instead of the old.
Leader:
God will put his laws in our minds,
People:
And write them on our hearts.
Leader:
There will be no need to teach each other to know the Lord,
People:
For all will know him from his Holy Spirit within.
Leader:
"I will be their God," says the Lord,
People:
And we will be his people.
Leader:
"I will forgive their wickedness,
People:
And remember our sins no more."
Leader:
In this new covenant, God imparts his forgiveness and his faithfulness.
People:
In Christ, we receive his forgiveness and faithfulness.
Leader:
Amen.
Prayer Of Dedication
Based on the Hebrews passage.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, appointed by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, you are our high priest forever, the source of salvation for all who obey you. We bring our gifts and offerings to you, not out of obligation or expectation, but out of love and honor of you. We dedicate ourselves and all that we have into your service. From you we have received the greatest gift of all, eternal life. For this, you are most worthy of all. Jesus, high priest, blessed be your name. Amen.
Prayer For Illumination
Pray with me: Lord, it's not the words on these pages that bring life, it is the deepening of our relationship with you that these words enable. We beg you now to fill them with your truth, your self, that as they are read, sung, and preached we will know you more. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Father in heaven, in like manner, we offer up our prayers and requests to you with honesty and urgency. You alone have the power to save and deliver. We humbly come to you, bow before you, give over our wills to you, and wait in hope for you. Hear and answer our prayers, gracious God. Amen.
Benediction
John 12:23-26
Jesus said, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
Hymns
I'll Live For Him
Lead Me To Calvary
Living For Jesus
'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
We Come, O Christ, To You
Contemporary Choruses
Lord, Reign In Me, Brenton Brown
More Love, More Power, Jude Del Hierro
Open The Eyes Of My Heart, Lord, Paul Baloche
Sanctuary, John W. Thompson
Take My Life, Scott Underwood
Other Music
Crucified With Christ, Phillips, Craig, and Dean
To be truly Christian means to be crucified with Christ. This song is included as an option for several of the Sundays of Lent.
The Greatest Story Ever Told, 4Him
Tells us that faith is costly but worth it.
