ORDER FOR WORSHIP
PRELUDE: Prelude and fugue in Bb Minor J.S. Bach
SALUTATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
* PASSING OF THE PEACE
* SANCTUS (pew card)
* CALL TO WORSHIP Patrick Syms
Let us worship God, who has done great things.
We rejoice in our God, who made a way through the desert of this world.
Let us worship God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.
We are new creations; the old has gone, the new has come!
Let us worship God as Christ’s ambassadors.
Through us and through our worship, may we announce the good news to all.
* HYMN No. 610 Through the Love of God Our Savior
PRAYER OF CONFESSION Carlos Rivera
God of mercy, whose Son, Jesus Christ,
longs to gather us in the wide embrace of his love:
We confess that we have been wayward children.
We have disobeyed your commands;
our ears have been deaf to your call;
our hearts have been cold to your love.
In thought, in word, and in deed
we have hurt others and dishonored your name.
(Prayers of Silent Confession)
Kyrie (sung): Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON/WISDOM FOR LIFE
In our baptisms, we have been adopted by God.
We are God’s beloved children, and brothers and sisters to one another.
In our baptisms, we have been washed by Jesus Christ.
We are forgiven; our shame and guilt are wiped clean.
In our baptisms, we have been anointed with God’s Spirit.
We are temples of the Holy Spirit and signs of God’s restorative work.
In our baptisms, we have been called to God’s mission.
We are disciples, followers of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, called to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.
JUNIOR SERMON
ANTHEM: David Stanley York
Lord, Make Me Thine Instrument
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, Let me sow Love.
Where there is doubt, Let me sow Faith.
Where there is despair, Let me sow Hope.
Where there is darkness, Let me sow Light.
Where there is sadness, Let me sow Joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Congregational Response:
The Lord is my light and my salvation,
of whom should I be afraid,
of whom should I be afraid?
Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
* HYMN No. 486 There's a Wideness in God's Mercy
Prayer of Illumination
All-knowing and all-caring God,
We are like a parched desert, empty and in need of replenishment.
Visit us with your presence, saturate us with your Spirit,
And bathe us in the streams of living water.
Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES:
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 p. 487
John 3:16-21 p. 864
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON Loving the World Rev. Blaine Crawford
* CONFESSION OF FAITH:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 88-90
Q. What is involved in genuine repentance or conversion?
A. Two things: the dying-away of the old self, and the rising-to-life of the new.
Q. What is the dying-away of the old self?
A. To be genuinely sorry for sin and more and more to hate and run away from it.
Q. What is the rising-to-life of the new self?
A. Wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a love and delight to live according to the will of God by doing every kind of good work.
OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS
Offertory: When Jesus Wept William Billings
When Jesus wept, the falling tear
In mercy flowed beyond all bound;
When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
Seized all the guilty world around.
* The Doxology (pew card)
* Prayer of Dedication
* HYMN No. 227 Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
* BENEDICTION
Response: Jesus Remember Me
Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom
POSTLUDE: Variation Serieuses (selections) Felix Mendelssohn
Announcements
MARCH 11, 2018
Lenten Offering Envelopes
The special Lenten offerings will be given to the refugee family that COTH has adopted in this season of Lent. This family will be arriving in New Jersey this Thursday.
No Sunday School next Sunday, March 18.
Adult Sunday School Opportunity
Sunday mornings, 9:45-10:30 a.m., Library
Adults are invited to join a Sunday morning class entitled, "Ripped from the Headlines - Integrating your Faith with Current Events!" Led by seminary intern Carlos Rivera, the class will extend through the end of April with a new headline discussed every few weeks. No class on March 18.
Weekly Calendar
Tuesdays, Bible Study, 7:30 p.m., Folensbee Lounge
Wednesdays, Yoga, 7:30 p.m., Gessner Hall
Thursdays, Prayer Group, 6:00 p.m., Folensbee Lounge
Queens Discipleship Retreat
March 17, 9:30am-2:00pm, Gessner Hall
Being with God and each other strengthens our faith and helps us live it out. But we get so focused on finishing our to-do lists that sometimes we don’t leave enough space in our lives for those relationships. If you can relate, you're invited to set aside space for God and one another by participating in a discipleship retreat next month. Join with other RCA churches in Queens to:
Explore current models of discipleship
Grow your capacity to participate in God's work both personally and as a community
Share a meal and time of fellowship
This is a free event but registration is required. Call the church office or register at: http://www.churchonthehill.org/discipleshipretreat/
Prayer List
Remember the following individuals in your daily prayer:
Bermudez family, Diane Blagburn, Jose, Gracinda and David Cerqueira, Rosemarie Dappio, Dombrowski family, William Duchemin, Joan Dwyer, Angela Edward, Lynne Johnson, Kathy Kissane, Jason Knese, Ginny Marsico, Ann McCaffrey, Alda Muyskens, Denise Moran, Stacey Muller, Joan Pearson, Keith Pearson, Megan Peters, Isabelita Rueda, Kook Ryo, Debra & Greg Sparrow