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The Baptism, Temptation, Preaching of Jesus

Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series II, Cycle B
Suggestion
Continue to cover the cross and communion table throughout all of Lent, and the Easter season. (I can assure you that you will receive all kinds of comments, some positive, some negative. Please remember that God in Christ is here to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Much of the church has invested, "infested," itself with "God is love," and neglected "God is holy.")

We Offer Ourselves In The Spirit Of The Living Christ

Pastoral Invitation (Pastor and Ministers)

In the name of the Living God, welcome to the first Sunday in Lent. We would like to say that we come ready to celebrate God's Presence and Power. We often come seeking, not God's will, but our own. We come with our own agendas -- give me what I want, Lord. Today, I invite us to think about our expectations, and how they compare, or contrast, with God's expectations of us.
P: Come, celebrate Life with our whole being.
M: Praise be to God for our minds that we will know the mind of Christ, for our emotions that we will love in his name, for our wills that we will choose to serve in our daily life.
P: Do you know that you are God's person, and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
M: We come to worship to learn what this means.
P: You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free!

Response
"Let the Spirit In," words and music by Richard Blank.

An Affirmation Of Faith (Pastor and Ministers)
P: We have listened to the words. Have you heard them?
M: We have, yet we are reluctant to integrate them. They are scary. They push us out of our slavery.
P: Remember! God is with us; God will sustain and empower us.
M: We believe. Help us in our unbelief.

Hymn of Praise
(Hymn for the first three Sundays of Lent): "God of Grace and God of Glory," Harry Emerson Fosdick, 1930; alt.; John Hughes, 1907.

Prayer of Praise
Focus on God as the One who prepares us for Lent and Easter.

We Receive New Life

Introduction to the Act of Recognizing Our Humanity (Pastor and Ministers)

Today, we will use a litany, literally, an anti-celebration, of the way we often think, speak, behave. Here is the first response:
P: O God, we have considerable doubts in our minds about the way you are running the universe.
M: Is there any chance that you will show your mercy to us, O Lord?

(This litany appears in David Head's book, He Sent Leanness, published by the Macmillan Company, in 1962) The litany concludes with this line: "We believe there are times, even if not frequent, when we deserve your blessing. Do not let us down." (If this litany, plus the newspaper on the cross and communion table, fails to urge people to celebrate Lent differently, I have no idea what will.)

Introduction to the Word of Acceptance and New Life
Take two minutes to write down your thoughts about this litany, not about whether or not you liked it, for that has nothing to do with anything. How does it affect your thoughts, feelings, words, and behavior? (After two minutes): Now invite the congregation to sing this song, "Let the Spirit In," once more. When finished, before going on to the next act of worship, ask the people to write down their response, and to compare that response with the first time they sang it.

We Are Listening

Message with the Children of All Ages
Explain the meaning of Lent, and the usual response of giving up something. Ask if any have ever given up anything for Lent. Today, I invite you to think about taking on something. What do you think you might be willing to take on without Mother and Father nagging you to do it?

Response
Chorus only, "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love." Make certain that people know that love is an active verb (something we do), not a passive noun (not something we only think about or talk about doing).

Reading of the Scripture
This provides an easily-dramatized two-part drama, at two locations.

Proclamation of the Good News
You may want to emphasize one or more of these ideas: (1) Our baptism is our ordination into the Kingdom and mission of Christ. (2) In what ways do you allow yourself to be tempted? (3) Explore Harvey Cox's definition of repentance as the responsible use of power. (See The Secular City.)

We Respond In Faithful Obedience

Stewardship Challenge

Robert Bolt, Monday Morning magazine (February 22, 1993) points out that the past tense of "lend" is "lent." He suggests that something has been given to us temporarily on the condition that it be returned. He goes on to say that we could spend the days in Lent working to return what has been lent to us by God. One of the best ways of doing so is to make ourselves available to others in service and ministry.

Response
"For Your Gracious Blessings," a round, source unknown; harm. by David Smart, from Folk Encounter. (See Appendix I for address.)

Hymn of Commitment
"My Song Is Love Unknown," Samuel Crossman, 1664; John Ireland, 1919. (Hymn for the first three Sundays in Lent.)

Charge to the Congregation
To recognize that life and growth are change is (1) to rejoice in our creation, rather than complaining about the way God made us and the world; to rejoice about where we are now, rather than to complain about where we were then; (2) to appreciate the challenges; for we grow through challenges and confrontation, pain and frustration; (3) to thank God for calling us as the church, the church at worship, study, prayer, fellowship, ministry, stewardship; (4) to say "good-bye" to the past, to receive what we have learned, to let go of the old animosities, liaisons, jealousies, hurts, illusions, backbiting, gossip; because when we do, we will discover a new future -- a congregation full of new goodies, new possibilities, new ministries, new hopes, new relationships. The old is finished and gone; behold, all things are new, brand, spanking new!

Response
"Here I Am, Lord," chorus only. Daniel L. Schutte, 1981; alt.; harm. Michael Pope, Daniel Schutte, and John Weissrock, 1983.

Meditation
"What do we prefer -- popularity or obedience, the power that comes from demanding, or the power that comes from serving?" (WHK).


Music Possibilities In Addition To Those Already Suggested
Music for Preparation: Medley of Lenten hymns.

Response to the Word of Acceptance and New Life: "O Christ, Whose Love Has Sought Us Out," John Edgar Park, 1953; alt., 1972.

Response to the Message with the Children: "Passed Thru the Waters," Richard Avery and Don Marsh, from The Avery and Marsh Songbook. (See Appendix I for address.)

Response to the Proclamation: "Jesu, Word of God Incarnate," Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791); arranged and edited by Ivan Trusler.

Response to the Stewardship Challenge: "What Signs Has God Revealed to Us?" Jane Parker Huber, from A Joy In Singing. (See Appendix I for address.)

Hymn of Commitment: "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go," George Matheson, 1882; Albert Lister Peace, 1884.

Music for Dismissal: Medley of Lenten hymns.
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John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity.

Note: You will need to select six children to play roles in this activity. If you have a smaller group, you might ask some older youth or even adults to play the parts of the two attackers and the man being attacked. I will give suggestions for how they can play their roles, but feel free to help your children make the story as fun and memorable as you can. I have used boys and girls in the various roles, but you can change those however you want to change them.

* * *

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
For July 13, 2025:
  • Samaritans Among Us by Dean Feldmeyer based on Acts 2:1-21. Samaritans were despised and dismissed by the original audience who first heard Jesus tell this parable. Who are the Samaritans in our lives and how does this parable apply today?
  • Second Thoughts: The Helpers by Katy Stenta based on Amos 7:7-17.

StoryShare

Frank Ramirez
I say, “You are gods,
    children of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals
    and fall like any prince….”
(vv. 6-7)

There have been any number of brother-sister acts that achieved a measure of fame. Take the Carpenters, famed for their singing, musicianship, and songwriting skills. Also worthy of mention are John and Joan Cusack who have acted together in over sixteen films.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
An ancient legend tells of a remote mountain village where people used to send their senior citizens out into the woods to die. The villagers had an eye to the future; they felt that those beyond a certain age would only slow down progress or use up valuable resources to no economically profitable end. Those who reached a certain age weren’t “put out to pasture” or “put out of their misery”; they were simply put out of other people’s way.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82
The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is more than 2,700 feet high—over half a mile tall. It has 160 floors and is twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City. It is home to the world’s fastest elevator which reaches speeds of forty miles an hour. The Burj Khalifa also hosts the world’s highest outdoor observation deck (on the 124th floor) and the world’s highest swimming pool (on the 76th floor).

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Mabel hummed a familiar hymn tune as she made her way to church. She always enjoyed her Sunday morning walk. It was one of the few times she felt safe to walk alone through the inner city, for she knew nobody would be up at 7.45 in the morning. Today was a particularly beautiful morning, with blue sky, warm sunshine, and the song of a few intrepid blackbirds who still inhabited the city.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Often, a distinction is made between the pastoral or priestly work of the church and the prophetic work. Pastoral care has to do with the care of souls, the offering of comfort in times of loss. The priestly character of pastoral work seeks to mediate the presence of God to those who are hurting.

Schuyler Rhodes
Trusting is never easy. Even in the best of relationships, people step into trust slowly. There is wariness -- questioning -- worry. What happens if trust is betrayed? What if this doesn't work? Sometimes it's like a dance. We step in and out of trust, moving to the rhythms of fear. For many, the routine is achingly familiar. Indeed, it's not easy to trust.
John Jamison
It was back in the days when the railroad was the most common mode of transportation. There were automobiles, and some airplanes, but the steam locomotive was the way most folks traveled and the way that most of the goods were distributed around the country. After dinner, people sat in the drawing room and listened to the radio programs, fading in and out from some faraway location, over the magical broadcasting signal.
Robert Leslie Holmes
Not many tourists to Washington, D.C., look for the Federal Bureau of Standards offices. It's the Capitol and the White House, the Supreme Court Building or the Smithsonian most of us want to see when we go there. Yet, at the Bureau of Standards offices something very important is stored, something that impacts your life and mine every single day. Have you ever bought the materials for a new project? When you did, most likely you purchased so many inches or feet or yards. Or, you stopped to buy gasoline for your car and purchased it at a certain price per gallon.
David O. Bales
I have the two best jobs in the world. I teach social studies at Leon Griffith Junior High School (a fairly small junior high) and I am Sunday School Superintendent at Calvary Presbyterian Church (an enormous church school). Each job is my vocation. I tell people that at school they'll find my room where the halls cross. At church they can look but probably won't find me. I'll be in someone's classroom. At each job I practice what I most deeply believe: it's how you see the world that determines how you respond to it. I'll give you an example, actually, two examples.
Erskine White
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
(Stuart K. Hine)

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