Crandall United Methodist Church

Worship Guide

March 20, 2022

Third Sunday in Lent

Creating Disciples of Jesus who Transform the World

ENTRANCE WITH PRAISE

Greetings:

Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

People: And also with you!

Special Music: “How Much” Stefanie

Centering Words:

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no money, come, buy wine and milk without money, without price. Come, weary and worn, and God will fill your soul. For God brings blessing, even in the midst of pain.

*Call to Worship:

Leader:    O God, my God, we seek you.

People:   Our souls thirst for you.

Leader:    Our spirits long for you.

People:    for we are parched and weary in these desert times, these wilderness places.

Leader:    But your love, O God, is better even than life.

People:    Our words will praise you, our actions bless you.

Leader:    Let us seek the Lord where God may be found.

People:    Call upon the Holy One, who is near.

Leader:    We will bless you as long as we live.

People:    We will lift up our hands and call on your name.

Leader:    Let us pray.

ALL: Holy One, when we are alone in the desert, wandering through the wilderness, we call to you, for you are our help. Our souls cling to you. Come, God, and hold us up. Come, bring your presence and fill us with your peace. In the shadow of your wings, we will sing for joy. Amen.

Hymn: “Be Thou My Vision”

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;

naught be all else to me, save that thou art.

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;

I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;

thou and thou only, first in my heart,

great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.

Great God of heaven, my victory won,

may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD

Words of Assurance

Anything we have done, God knows already. Anything we have hidden, God has already seen.

God’s love for us and grace to us are higher than we have imagined, deeper than we have guessed. Before we have asked, God’s mercies are already given.

For God does not waste our struggles, but uses them to grow joy.

All praises be to God. Amen

*Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9

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:    This is the Word of God, for the People of God

People:    Thanks be to God!

WORD AND RESPONSE

Time with Young Friends:  “Jesus Loves Me”                            

Children’s Message: “Protected by God”

Hymn: “Rock of Ages”

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee;

let the water and the blood,

from thy wounded side which flowed,

be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands can fulfill thy law’s demands;

could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,

all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling;

naked, come to thee for dress; helpless look to thee for grace;

foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

when mine eyes shall close in death,

when I soar to worlds unknown,

see thee on thy judgment throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.

Sermon: “If It Bears Fruit” Luke 13:1-9

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.’ ”

RESPONSE TO THE WORD

Prayers of the People: Joys and concerns

Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer  

THE SACRAMENTS OF HOLY COMMUNION

Invitation, Prayer of Confession and Pardon:

Christ our Lord invites to his table

all who love him,

who earnestly repent of their sin

and seek to live in peace with one another.

Therefore, let us confess our sin before God

and one another.

Merciful God,

we confess that we have not loved you

with our whole hearts.

We have failed to be an obedient church.

We have not done your will,

we have broken your law,

we have rebelled against your love,

we have not loved our neighbors,

and we have not heard the

cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray.

Free us for joyful obedience,

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Hear the good news:

Christ died for us while we were yet sinners;

that proves God's love toward us.

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

Glory to God. Amen

 The Great Thanksgiving  

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing,

always and everywhere

to give thanks to you,

Father Almighty, creator of

heaven and earth.

You formed us in your image and

breathed into us the breath of life.

When we turned away, and our love failed,

your love remained steadfast.

You delivered us from captivity,

made covenant to be our sovereign God,

and spoke to us through your prophets.

And so,

with your people on earth

and all the company of heaven

we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,

God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son

Jesus Christ.

Your Spirit anointed him

to preach good news to the poor,

to proclaim release to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

and to announce that the time had come

when you would save your people.

He healed the sick, fed the hungry,

and ate with sinners.

By the baptism of his suffering,

death, and resurrection,

you gave birth to your church,

delivered us from slavery to sin and death,

and made with us a new covenant

by water and the Spirit.

When the Lord Jesus ascended,

he promised to be with us always,

in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us,

he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Take, eat; this my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

When the supper was over, he took the cup,

gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Drink from this all of you;

this is my blood of the new covenant,

poured out for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me."

And so,

in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving

as a holy and living sacrifice,

in union with Christ's offering for us,

as we proclaim the mystery of faith

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,

and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,

that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,

one with each other,

and one in ministry to all the world,

until Christ comes in final victory,

and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,

all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father,

now and forever.   Amen

And now with the confidence of children of God, let us stand and sing the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

hallowed be thy name.

On earth as it is in heaven. hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread. hallowed be thy name.

Forgive us our trespasses hallowed be thy name.

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

hallowed be thy name.

And lead us not into temptation hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from all that is evil.

hallowed be thy name.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory

hallowed be thy name.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory

hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, it shall be so hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, it shall be so hallowed be thy name.

As we share in the bread of life,

is it not a sharing in the body of Christ.

And as we share in the cup of Salvation,

Is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ.

Moment of Prayer and Meditation

Prayer of Thanks

Eternal God, we give you thanks

for this holy mystery

in which you have given yourself to us. 

Grant that we may go into the world

in the strength of your Spirit,

to give ourselves to others,

in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen

SENDING FORTH

Hymn: “I’ll Fly Away”

Some glad morning when this life is o'er I'll fly away;

to a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O glory, I'll fly away.

When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have gone, I'll fly away;

like a bird from prison bars has flown, I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O glory, I'll fly away.

When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away.

Just a few more weary days and then, I'll fly away;

to a land where joys shall never end, I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O glory, I'll fly away.

When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away.

Benediction