The Presbyterian Church at Woodbury
First Sunday in Lent
March 6, 2022
Worship Notes
WELCOME
OPENING PRAYER
God of revelation, unveil your Kingdom in our midst. Show us who we truly are in you: expose the illusions that distort our vision, deliver us from temptations that contort our living, open our eyes in this time of trial – that resistance may be the secret of our joy and our joy a sign of your shalom. Amen.
PRELUDE Song of Contemplation Louis Vierne
CALL TO WORSHIP
We come to Jesus, the author of a new and different way.
We confess that He is not the Messiah we want: not a CEO, not a General, not a Senator, not a Genie, not a Fairy Godmother, not Santa Claus.
We come to Jesus, who leads us in the Way of the Cross:
a path we would rather not walk, for we are uncomfortable with sacrifice, reluctant to abandon ourselves in self-giving love.
We come to Jesus, who is not the Messiah we want.
We come to Jesus because he is the Messiah we need.
*HYMN No. 664 “Morning Has Broken”
1 Morning has broken
like the first morning;
blackbird has spoken
like the first bird.
Praise for the singing!
Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing
fresh from the Word!
2 Sweet the rain’s new fall
sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall
on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness
of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness
where God’s feet pass.
3 Mine is the sunlight!
Mine is the morning,
born of the one light
Eden saw play!
Praise with elation;
praise every morning,
God’s re-creation
of the new day!
*CALL TO CONFESSION
God begs us to turn from those words, those acts, those obstacles which keep us from being God’s people. As we begin our Lenten journey, I invite you to join with me, with words and in silence, as we bring our brokenness to God who desires to make us whole.
*CONFESSION OF SIN
Too long have traveled our own ways, Approaching God, too long have we sought to satisfy our hidden desires. We have trusted the falsehoods of the world, and relied on the power which would consume our souls. We have sought healing from impostors, and rejected the One who was broken for our wholeness. Have mercy on us, God whose love overflows our deepest hopes. Let our hearts be a sanctuary for your Spirit; let our lives abound in service to others; let our spirits reflect the One we call our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
*SILENT PRAYER
*DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
God lets go of the punishment we deserve and gives us mercy in its place. Willingly, God puts a new spirit into us, the spirit of hope and joy.
We will sing to the One who has delivered us from our sins. We will praise God with cleansed hearts. Thanks be to God. Amen.
*RESPONSE No. 565 “Holy Holy Holy”
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power, God of 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,
hosanna in the highest.
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
ANTHEM “The Twenty Third Psalm” arr. Jay Althouse
CHILDREN’S SERMON
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Mighty God, you spoke to your people in the pillar of cloud as they walked together in the wilderness. Speak to us through your Word today, that we may hear you calling us out of the wilderness places in our lives and into new places you have promised to show us. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
SCRIPTURE Matthew 6:7-15
7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.[a]
SERMON “Daily Bread”
And so we begin … again. Lent 2022. This time last we year we had no idea how our Lenten journey would end – socially distanced due to a strange new virus we have since come to know all too well. Almost a year later, we are still apart, relying more deeply than over on the grace of God to provide for us.
This year for this season we are using a devotional book published in 2020 entitled “Lent in Plain Sight” to better understand our dependence and to more fully accept that need for “God”. We’ll need to expand our understanding of “God”, itself – “God” Godself, to do this. The author of our book, Jill Duffield, explains in her introduction that “God works through (and so, is found in) the ordinary. Ordinary people, everyday objects, things we bump up against moment by moment. She chose ten such every day, ordinary objects for us to explore this year. She, we, actually began four days ago on Ash Wednesday when Lent began with an invitation to observe the Lenten disciplines, and understand more about the ordinary ashes, or as Duffield says in “the first ordinary object”, dust.
We will explore nine more objects on Sunday mornings this season and on a few special days of Holy Week. Beginning this morning we seek an encounter with God in bread, cross, coins, shoes, oil, coats, towels, thorns, and finally on Easter morning, stones.
The questions we ask of ourselves this year are: Do we have the eyes to see God’s near presence? Do we have the ears to hear the word of the Lord spoken in and through the ordinary? Will we open ourselves to the holy not only in heaven but also on earth and right in front of us? Can everyday objects remind us to stay awake and pay attention?
So, after the dust of Ash Wednesday has settled, we find ourselves together this morning on the first Sunday of Lent, seeking to answer our questions and discover our God in … bread. The bread we need, the bread we receive, the bread we consume, and the bread we don’t even notice. Our bible is full of actual bread and bread imagery. I turn to the Old Testament book of Exodus, however, and the Israelites’ wilderness journey for reasons that should be obvious. Listen now, for the Word of God: Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” So, Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?”
Here’s where begin our discoveries: What the children of Israel encounter in this morning’s reading is what we have been encountering all year this past year and what we will be exploring more deeply this season as we make our way slowly and steadily to the cross and beyond: Our dependence on God and our inability to accept it, let alone understand it.
In this passage, the people have been out of Egypt and wandering in the wilderness for about a month and half. They are hungry. They’re frightened. They’re angry. They’re complaining. Both of the preaching commentaries I turn to most regularly noted that “preaching this text may require pastoral restraint in comparing the Israelites complaining to congregational complaining.” But even as I smiled at that caution, I pretty immediately thought, “My congregation, this congregation, has not complained once about the exile we’ve been in for the past two years, when complaining has been happening in every other corner of our lives. That’s not to say we haven’t been disappointed or sad. That’s not to say we haven’t complained in the past or won’t again in the future, but it is to say that a lack of faith, in the form of complaint, has not been our response to this exile and so will not be the message shared this morning. That’s why I began at verse four, not including verse two that notes the “the whole congregation’s complaining.” And that’s why I stopped before the end of verse seven that notes, again, the complaining. It is to the bread, the “bread from heaven” as chapter sixteen is sub-titled, that we turn our focus.
The most intriguing thing about this divine provision is how it will happen, and how it does happen, “every day” with just enough for the day. In our reading, on the sixth day there will be twice as much so no gathering will be done on the Sabbath, but enough bread will be supplied. The people will be given bread, sufficient for the day. The daily bread that Jesus will instruct his followers to pray for. Nothing more, but nothing less.
Let us consider now our own “daily bread.” That which is intended to sustain us for the day. What does it consist of? Think beyond literal bread. (The Israelites got Quail at night, too!) What have you decided meets your daily requirements? How much in excess is what you “have” as opposed to what you “need”? And who else is required to provide you your “bread”? Because, of course, even a basic food like bread is a product of plowers, planters, tenders, harvesters, processors, bakers, packagers, marketers, buyers, and preparers!
As this first full week of Lent begins consider the many other ways in which “bread” is shared in our scriptures: In our Lord’s prayer, as mentioned earlier; at the Communion table in First Corinthians; as breadcrumbs that fall from the table in the Gospel of Mark; as Christ himself, the bread of life, in the Gospel of John; as abounding loaves that feed us all in all four Gospels.
Bread is our “lent in plain sight” this week. Notice it everywhere and ask yourself where you have gotten complacent and comfortable enough in your life to forget that everyday “bread from heaven” is worth rejoicing over every single day. How and when have you forgotten that everything, absolutely everything, from dresses and suits, to job offers and promotions, from a day at the beach and even a day shoveling out your driveway is, in fact, bread from heaven? A gift, a blessing, something worth celebrating, full of others who have helped it to happen.
Take time this week to consider who prepares and provides your daily bread and give thanks for them, most of whom you’ll never know. Think back to some of the most memorable meals you have had and identify what made them so. Turn outward when you’re ready and consider all those you have been responsible for feeding. Where are they now? Still at your table or providing for others now, because you provided for them?
This is where we begin: understanding our dependence on the provisions of God, accepting them, giving thanks, and giving back. Let us pray …
Lord, give us this day our daily bread and keep us mindful of those who need to be fed. As we eat and drink, serve or are served, help us to be thankful for giving and receiving. We remember with gratitude all of those who nourish us with food, care and support. May the daily bread we receive enable us to nurture others in your name. Amen. And amen.
Commentary and Liturgy provided by David Lose, Joel Weible, Jill Duffield, and Sara Koenig
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
A portion of the Brief Statement of Faith
We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. Amen.
*HYMN No. 523 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
Refrain:
You satisfy the hungry heart
with gift of finest wheat;
come give to us, O saving Lord,
the bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
they know and heed his voice,
so when you call your family, Lord,
we follow and rejoice. (Refrain)
2 With joyful lips we sing to you
our praise and gratitude
that you should count us worthy, Lord,
to share this heavenly food. (Refrain)
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
the blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
our oneness in the Lord? (Refrain)
4 The mystery of your presence, Lord,
no mortal tongue can tell:
whom all the world cannot contain
comes in our hearts to dwell. (Refrain)
5 You give yourself to us, O Lord;
then selfless let us be,
to serve each other in your name
in truth and charity. (Refrain)
THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
Invitation
Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God! They will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at a table in the kingdom of God. According to Luke, when our risen Lord was at the table with his disciples, he took the bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. This is the Lord’s table. Our Savior invites those who trust him to share the feast which he has prepared.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Jesus, the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation, despite our lack of spiritual creativity, faith, and obedience, you once again renew the invitation to eat at your table. When we are willing to accept it, you eliminate the hunger and thirst of our souls. You satisfy us in ways that we cannot understand but so desperately need. For your faithfulness, we give you thanks.
God, in whom we believe, you graciously fed our ancestors in the wilderness despite their complaining. With the same graciousness, you provide the Bread of Heaven to feed your Church. You have invited us into a relationship with you not only in this life, but in life eternal. For your generosity, we give you thanks.
Holy Spirit, our Comforter and our Corrector, you gather us together so that we may know God’s Word is true. You teach us how to see our sin and receive our Savior. For your intercession, we give you thanks.
Now as we prepare to enter into communion with you once again, we pray that you would transform this simple loaf and common cup into that which satisfies. May we receive with our earthly bodies your heavenly meal so that we may abide in you and in one another.
As those gathered in your name, we join our voices in prayer, praying with the words we learned as children, saying: Our Father…
The Lord’s Prayer
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Communion
The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me. Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord, until he comes.
Closing Prayer
Faithful, generous, abiding God, we give you thanks for the Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Salvation. May the taste of this meal linger so that we will be strengthened in our Lenten journey. Give us the courage to hear what may seem harsh so that we can find a deeper relationship with you. To your glory, amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
TITHES & OFFERINGS
We worship a generous God whose son Jesus was both a gift and a great giver. As followers of Jesus, we find our deepest joy in giving, and that’s why we give this offering cheerfully!
OFFERTORY
*RESPONSE
Praise God, from whom all blessing flow, Praise God, all creatures here below. Alleluia, Alleluia Praise God in Jesus fully known; Creator, Word and Spirit one. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Generous God; Over and over your grace sustains us, over and over your love provides for us, over and over your arm steadies us. We give you these gifts, with gratitude and joy, thankful that you are God over all. Amen.
*HYMN No. 435 “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
1 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
like the wideness of the sea.
There’s a kindness in God’s justice,
which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
are more felt than up in heaven.
There is no place where earth’s failings
have such kindly judgment given.
2 For the love of God is broader
than the measures of the mind.
And the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful,
we would gladly trust God’s Word,
and our lives reflect thanksgiving
for the goodness of our Lord.
*BENEDICTION
Whatever wilderness the Spirit has brought you to:
walk in boldness, as a beloved child of God
walk in peace, under the shelter of the Most High
walk in faith, knowing Christ walks with you. Amen.
The Presbyterian Church at Woodbury
67 S. Broad Street
Woodbury, NJ 08096
856-845-1244
www.pcwoodbury.com
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