March 15, 2026

CHIMING OF THE HOUR

WELCOME

PRAYER

God, you loved the world so much
that you embraced it in all its suffering
in your beloved Son Jesus Christ,
who sought the way of the cross
that he might come to Easter
and offer us the way back to you.

We thank you for this space apart,
not just on this Sunday morning
but in the weeks that are to come –
space to become more receptive
to the incredible promise of new life:
life to challenge all that is deathly in our world,
life to challenge all that is dull in our hearts.

Help us to use this time,
not just in prayer at worship,
but in the thoughtfulness
in which we go about these coming days,
listening for your voice in all we do,
as you challenge the habits that restrict us
and the assumptions that close our minds.
Help us also to be aware of others
who at this time are examining themselves,
whether from religious duty
or because they have reached a turning point,
in a career, or in a relationship, or in a crisis.
Give us an ear that listens
that we may find the words to sustain
and the openness to learn
through Jesus Christ,
our deliverance and our hope. Amen.

PRELUDE “Lamb of God” George Bizet

CALL TO WORSHIP

We are children of light,
rejoicing in everything good and right and true.
We worship the Lord who heals, liberates,
and raises us from the dead.
In the dream of the beloved community of God,
we are awake,
and we stand in the light of Christ.

*HYMN No. 163 “Wild and Lone the Prophet’s Voice”

1 Wild and lone the prophet’s voice
echoes through the desert still,
calling us to make a choice,
bidding us to do God’s will:
“Turn from sin and be baptized;
cleanse your heart and mind and soul.
Quitting all the sins you prized,
yield your life to God’s control.

2 “Bear the fruit repentance sows:
lives of justice, truth and love.
Trust no other claim than those;
set your heart on things above.
Soon the Lord will come in power,
burning clean the threshing floor:
then will flames the chaff devour;
wheat alone shall fill God’s store.”

3 With such preaching, stark and bold,
John proclaimed salvation near,
and his timeless warnings hold
words of hope to all who hear.
So we dare to journey on,
led by faith through ways untrod,
till we come at last like John
to behold the Lamb of God.

CALL TO CONFESSION

How do we know when our actions are right?
When the fruits of our labors are good and true.
Christ is the light that exposes all we keep hidden,
but offers us healing and renewal instead of judgment.
Therefore, let us hold up our sins to Christ’s gaze.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of compassion and mercy,
we sometimes fail to see
what you are doing in the world.
We want you to act in ways we predict,
but we forget:
you do what is good, not what is expected.
Forgive us when we do not recognize your miracles.
Forgive us when we doubt the wisdom of your actions.
Most of all, forgive us
when we do not respond to your call,
ignoring what we need to do
to show the world your love and grace.

This we pray, in Christ’s name. Amen.

Silence is observed

RESPONSE AFTER CONFESSION NO. 575 “Lord, Have Mercy Upon Us”

Choir Lord, have mercy upon us;
Christ, have mercy upon us;
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Congregation Lord, have mercy upon us;
Christ, have mercy upon us;
Lord, have mercy upon us.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Jesus restores our souls
and leads us in right paths for his name’s sake.
Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow us all the days of our lives,
and we will dwell in the house of the Lord
our whole lives long.

RESPONSE AFTER ASSURANCE NO. 603 “Lamb of God”

Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy, have mercy on us.

Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
grant us, O grant us your peace.

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Before the foundation of the world Christ forgave us, and forgives us still today. Let us forgive as we have been forgiven and share the peace of Christ.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

And also with you.

Worshippers are invited to briefly “pass the peace” of Christ to those directly seated around them thus keeping our worship time “decent and in order” with a focus upon being part of God’s community.

ANTHEM “O Lamb of God” Mark Peterson

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Gracious God, our way in the wilderness,
guide us by your Word through these forty days,
and minister to us with your Holy Spirit,
so that we may be reformed,
restored, and renewed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SCRIPTURE Ephesians 5:8-14
⁸For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— ⁹for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. ¹⁰Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹²For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; ¹³but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Pause…

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

SERMON

Have you noticed any evil in the world recently?

How do we as Christians react to this evil? There are various options. For example, we can join in on the outrage and denounce everybody around us. Or we can react in fear and withdraw from the world, hiding from the horribleness of it. Or we can react by just trying to be like everyone else: by assimilating and adapting so far that we are no different from the world. What does the Bible have to say about our life in this world? The Apostle Paul proclaims in Ephesians 5:7: “Do not become partners with them”. We shouldn’t become partners with a world under God’s judgment. That is, we shouldn’t just become like the world in this regard. That’s vital to hear. But if we just stop there, we might think that the Christian attitude to the world is all about avoidance and withdrawal. After all, isn’t that the safest way to avoid partnership with the world? We might think that way. Yet that’s not where God’s word takes us. Rather, it takes us to a very different place. The answer to the question about how to react to the evil in the world isn’t about hiding. Instead, it has to do with a powerful image: the image of light. Paul says: For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light: the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. Ephesians 5:8–9

Paul says, “once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Our world is so often a dark place. It’s full of evil, and often doesn’t even know it or care to admit it. People want to be optimistic about human nature. Yet that optimism so often turns out to be a vain hope, flying in the face of the facts. When we honestly face the facts about our world and even our own lives, we can see that there’s so much darkness. There is envy, jealousy, hatred, exploitation, greed, broken relationships, lust, drunkenness, pain, abuse, and worse. That is darkness. But in Jesus Christ, says Paul, we are light. How are we light? It’s not because we are good in ourselves. In fact, tragically, so often the darkness in the world is in our own lives as well. Yet, Paul says, we are light. Why? Because, as he says earlier in his letter, we have been forgiven through the blood of Christ. We have been raised with Christ and so given security now and hope for the future. This, says Paul, means that we have been changed by God from darkness into light. Notice that Paul doesn’t just say that we have changed locations. He doesn’t say we’ve moved from being in darkness to being in light, as he says in Colossians. Rather, here in Ephesians, he’s focusing on something different. Here, Paul’s focus is on who we are, in Christ. This is a change of identity. We were once darkness, but now we are light.

If you are in Christ, is that how you see yourself? You are light in the Lord. So, Paul says, “walk as children of light”. The word “children” reminds us of verses 1–2, where Paul spoke about us as “dearly loved children” for whom Christ died. Because we are God’s dearly loved children, we are also children of light. That means we should live in the world as children of light. If this is who we are, then this is how we must walk, day by day. It’s not easy. It can be a long and slow process. It involves identifying the darkness in our lives, and confessing it, and dealing with it. But it’s something that we can do, and something that we must do. God has changed us from darkness to light, and that means we have the strength to live as children of light.

What does it look like to walk as children of light? Paul spells out what light produces in our lives: “the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.” Firstly, light produces what is “good”. At the most fundamental level, living God’s way is good. This isn’t an arbitrary set of rules we must live by because somebody made them up. It is “right”. It is in line with God’s standards in creation, as revealed in God’s word to us. It is also “true”. In Ephesians, the fundamental “truth” is the truth of the gospel: the truth that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. But this “truth” is not just a set of bare facts to memorize. It’s a truth that is lived. In chapter 4, Paul talks about “speaking the truth in love”. Here, what is good and right and true all come together.

Do you believe that is who you are in Christ? Do you believe that you were once darkness, but now you are light? Often, we hear the opposite story. It’s a common story: the story about Western Civilization, in two ages. First, there were the Dark Ages. They were the ages of ignorance and religion. Then, the Enlightenment happened. The Enlightenment was the time where people were freed from their ignorance, and escaped from the concept of God and the restrictions of society. This story of civilization, we’re told, must also be the story of our own lives. We must all remove the dark restrictions and oppression of living God’s way or society’s way, to the light of freedom, living our own way. That’s the world’s story: darkness to enlightenment.

Is it a true story? Has it worked? Does it work?

The true story according to Paul is in fact the opposite of the world’s story. If you are in Christ, then once you were darkness, but now you are light. That doesn’t mean that you are superior to others. The darkness of sin is still there in your life, and you need to work to put it to death. And yet, in Christ, your very identity has changed to something far, far better. And it is better. It is good, and right, and true. Even in the midst of your own sin and pain, in Christ, you are light. Do you believe that? If you do, what are you to do?

For the moment, it’s worth taking a step back and reflecting on the bigger question: you were once darkness, but you are now light in the Lord. Do you believe it? Because if you do believe it, it gives you the strength, and the reason, and the hope, to continue to live and walk as children of light.

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Patmos Abbey—The Order of Saint Columba

We believe that our lives are held within the encircling love of God, who knows our names and recognizes our deepest needs. We believe that Christ is the divine Child of the living God, and that his grace is like living waters that can never be exhausted. We believe in the birthing, renewing, enabling Spirit of God who yearns over our welfare as a mother yearns for her child. We believe that God is in the arid desert as well as in green pastures, and that hard times and disciplines are also loving gifts. We believe that our journey has a purpose and a destination, and that our path leads to a human glory we cannot yet imagine. We believe that in the church we are fellow pilgrims on the road, and that we are called to love one another as God loves us. This is our faith and we are humbled to profess in Jesus the Christ. Amen

*HYMN No. 279 “Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove”

1 Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
with all thy quickening powers;
kindle a flame of sacred love
in these cold hearts of ours.

2 In vain we tune our formal songs;
in vain we strive to rise;
hosannas languish on our tongues,
and our devotion dies.

3 Dear Lord, and shall we ever live
at this poor dying rate?
Our love so faint, so cold to thee,
and thine to us so great!

4 Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
with all thy quickening powers;
come, shed abroad a Savior’s love,
and that shall kindle ours.

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

In Christ Jesus, we have a great high priest
who knows our weakness and suffering;
therefore, with boldness, let us seek God’s grace.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

With boldness, we pray for the church . . .

By your grace, make us children of light,
reflecting the glory of our Savior—
Jesus Christ, the light of the world.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

With boldness, we pray for the earth . . .

Renew in us a vision of the world restored,
shining with the splendor of your glory,
unstained by the sin of human greed.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

With boldness, we pray for all nations . . .
Raise up new leaders among us,
new shepherds who will defend the weak
and lead us all in paths of peace.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

With boldness, we pray for this community . . .

Help us to notice our neighbors in need.
Give us the courage and compassion
to see them all as your beloved children.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

With boldness, we pray for loved ones . . .

Accompany those who walk in darkness;
protect those who are facing danger;
comfort those who live in fear.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

To you, O God, we entrust these prayers,
knowing that you alone can provide
grace to help in our time of need;
in the name of our great high priest
who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus Christ, our Sovereign and Savior,

who taught us to pray saying…

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. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

PASSING OF FELLOWSHIP PADS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

TITHES & OFFERINGS

It is not the outward appearance or size of the gifts we have to share that matters to God. It is the loving generosity of our hearts that is closest to the heart of God. We are invited to give this day out of the abundance of our lives, from our heart, knowing that no matter the size of the gift that God knows our hearts.

We give this day from our hearts and may it be pleasing to God.

OFFERTORY ANTHEM

*RESPONSE N0. 620, v.4 “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven”

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace.

*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Generous God, you remind us that you “anoint our heads with oil” and that our “cup overflows” with your abundance. We do not take for granted all that you provide. Take these gifts and use them for the healing and tender care of your hurting world. May your cup of love overflow and abide with the hurting and heartbroken, forgotten and despised, so that we may all be made whole. Amen.

*HYMN No. 264 “ At the Name of Jesus”

1 At the name of Jesus
every knee shall bow,
every tongue confess him
King of glory now;
’tis the Father’s pleasure
we should call him Lord,
who from the beginning
was the mighty Word.

2 Humbled for a season
to receive a name
from the lips of sinners
unto whom he came,
faithfully he bore it
spotless to the last,
brought it back victorious,
when from death he passed;

3 Bore it up triumphant,
with its human light,
through all ranks of creatures,
to the central height,
to the throne of Godhead,
to the Father’s breast,
filled it with the glory
of that perfect rest.

4 Christians, this Lord Jesus
shall return again,
with his Father’s glory
o’er the earth to reign;
for all wreaths of empire
meet upon his brow,
and our hearts confess him
King of glory now.

*BENEDICTION

As you go from here into the week ahead,
with whatever joys and challenges it holds,
do not be discouraged or disheartened.
Remember the glory that awaits you as a child of God.

Hold on to that truth;
live in that hope.

And may the peace of God,
the blessing of Jesus Christ,
and the presence of the Holy Spirit
be with you and among you.

*POSTLUDE