Watchword for the Week
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory (Isaiah 6:3)
(Moravian Daily Texts 2015)
ORGAN PRELUDE
WELCOME and CALL to WORSHIP
(Psalm 29)
Praise the LORD, you heavenly beings; praise his glory and power.
Praise the LORD’s glorious name; bow down before the Holy One when he appears.
The voice of the LORD is heard on the seas; the glorious God thunders, and his voice echoes over the ocean.
The voice of the LORD is heard in all its might and majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, even the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes the mountains of Lebanon jump like calves and makes Mount Hermon leap like a young bull.
The voice of the LORD makes the lightning flash. His voice makes the desert shake; he shakes the desert of Kadesh.
The LORD’s voice shakes the oaks and strips the leaves from the trees while everyone in his Temple shouts, “Glory to God!”
The LORD rules over the deep waters; he rules as king for ever.
The LORD gives strength to his people and blesses them with peace.
Hymn 111 * Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
People’s Choice Hymns are marked with an asterisk (*)
PRAYER of APPROACH
Because God is good, and has intended us to share that goodness, we open ourselves to nothing less than transformation as together we say:
Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.
You are the Word behind all words, the calm at the core of the storm, the energy that sustains creation. You are present in the pain behind the tears, the laughter in the eyes,the yearning in the heart. All these you share, yet your gift to us is much more. So open us up, Lord, we whose lives are locked, whose thoughts are well rehearsed,whose prayer is predictable.Open us to depths we have not explored, truths we have avoided, paths we have not followed, beauty we have yet to admire. And open us up to Jesus, in whom all things are held together for God and for our good.Amen.
Hymn 641 * Seek ye first…
CHILDREN’S TIME
SHARING GOD’S PEACE
(Children may leave for Kids’ Church in the halls next door)
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Romans 8:12-17 NT p. 195
St. John 3:1-7 NT p. 119
People may stand for the Gospel reading.
The Word of God. Thanks be to God!
Hymn 619 + 620 * Spirit of the living God
SERMON Pastorin Birgit Weinbrenner
Hymn 113 * God the Father of Creation
(Offerings are gathered and brought forward)
DEDICATION PRAYER
I give myself to you, Lord; with my mind and its thinking; with my hands and their working; with my eyes and their seeing; with my body and its actions; with my heart and its loving; I give myself to you, Lord. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS See Notices overleaf
PRAYERS for OTHERS (sung response)
May your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven:
Your will be done on earth, O Lord.
(Hymn 805 *)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 283 The voice of God goes out
(Tune: Woodlands, No. 622)
BLESSING and Threefold Amen (No. 819)
ORGAN POSTLUDE
Today’s guest preacher is
Birgit Weinbrenner,
Director of the department for Fundamental Theological and Social Issues at the Institute for Church and Society of the Westphalian Church in Schwerte. Birgit is also a member of the teaching staff at the Villigst Protestant Academy where she specialises in economic and international questions.