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Ponder Purpose People

PainPraiseProclaim

A Series of Services for the Season of Lent

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Leader’s Guide

A Series of Special Services for the Season of Lent

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Orders of service and prayers by Walt Schoedel. Sermons by Tom Grevlos. Children’s sermons by Carol Geisler. Art and design: Lindsay Galvin. © 2015 Creative Communications for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026. 800-325-9414. www.creativecommunications.com. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

IndexNotes/Ordering Information ...................................................................................................... 5-8

Newsletter/Bulletin Notices .......................................................................................................9-14

Ash Wednesday Service: Ponder ............................................................................................. 15-36

Week One Service: Purpose ......................................................................................................37-57

Week Two Service: People ........................................................................................................ 58-78

Week Three Service: Proclaim ............................................................................................... 79-101

Week Four Service: Praise ....................................................................................................102-124

Week Five Service: Pain ........................................................................................................125-147

Music Guide ............................................................................................................................148-232

A Series of Special Services for the Season of Lent

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About “Living Lent”Each service in this series focuses on a word to consider while living Lent as Easter people. Orders of service

by respected preacher Rev. Walt Schoedel highlight the ways in which the passion narratives of Christ take on more significant meaning for us when we see them through the lens of the empty tomb. Each service helps us

see that we are always alive in Christ, who died and was raised.

For each service the kit contains: sample bulletins with complete orders of service • sermons • prayers • music for the accompanist and contemporary music song suggestions.

Ordering InformationAdditional resources are available from Creative Communications for the Parish. Contact us for current

pricing and availability. Call us at 1-800-325-9414. Or visit our website: www.creativecommunications.com.

A Series of Special Services for the Season of Lent

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Bulletins For The Six-Week Kit:

Code LXP • Pre-printed bulletins • 8.5” x 11”

Code LX2 • Blank bulletins • 8.5” x 11”

Code LXR • Blank bulletins • 8.5” x 14”

Holy Week Services To Complete The Series:

Those who desire may supplement this series with other services that continue the series format and theme. Each is ordered separately and includes all the Leader’s Guide features described above, except

the CD.

Or, order all four service kits together. As a bonus, orders for all four kits include a CD-ROM (Mac/PC) with text of services and of bulletins in .rtf (rich text format). All four kits • Code LX9

Palm Sunday

Palms • Luke 19:28-30 We who know the resurrection is on the horizon

welcome the King of glory, now humbly riding a donkey.

Code LXZ • Kit

Code LXT (printed) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXW (blank) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXX (blank) • 8.5” x 14” bulletins

Maundy Thursday

Prayer • Luke 22:14-23, 39-46 We watch as Jesus prays in anguish that this cup might pass

from him, yet aware that God’s plan for him is glorious.

Code LX4 • Kit

Code LXC (printed) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXG (blank) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXM (blank) • 8.5” x 14” bulletins

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Good Friday

Passion • Luke 23 We witness the passion and death of Christ on the cross,

knowing that by his death we have life everlasting.

Code LX5 • Kit

Code LXD (printed) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXH (blank) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXN (blank) • 8.5” x 14” bulletins

Easter Sunday

Paradise • Luke 24:1-12 As Easter people, we rejoice in the end of the story: paradise is ours through the resurrection of Christ.

Code LX6 • Kit

Code LXE (printed) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXJ (blank) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXO (blank) • 8.5” x 14” bulletins

Ash Wednesday Alone

Ponder • Luke 5:27-31 Lent is a time to ponder our relationship with God and with one another,

to discover the love of God seen in the cross and empty tomb.

Code LX3 • Kit

Code LXB (printed) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXF (blank) • 8.5” x 11” bulletins

Code LXK (blank) • 8.5” x 14” bulletins

Other Resources:

Code LX1 • Bookmark • 7” x 2 1/2”

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Code LX7 • Promotional Bulletin Insert

Code LX8 • Display Posters • 11” x 17”

Code PHLX • Cloth Banner Suitable For Worship

Bible Study Resources:

Code LXS • Living Lent Student Guide

Code LXL • Living Lent Leader’s Guide

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Week One: Purpose

Complete Script For Worship Leaders• The Converging section of the service begins. The pastor may say the words, “We

begin this service by converging. We come together to worship our Lenten Lord.”

• The Opening Litany is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation:

P We continue our Lenten journey focusing our eyes on Jesus, the One who came to seek and save the lost. That’s his purpose in coming into the world as a human being.

C That’s our purpose in sharing the faith that we have in him.

• The Opening Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Evan CM, or a selection from the contemporary music song suggestions list on p. 176 can be sung instead:

Oh, that the Lord would guide my ways to keep his statutes still! Oh, that my God would grant me grace to know and do his will!

Order my footsteps by your Word and make my heart sincere; Let sin have no dominion, Lord, but keep my conscience clear.

A Series of Special Services for the Season of Lent

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Make me to walk in your commands, a most delightful road; Nor let my head or heart or hands offend against my God.

• The Celebrating section of the service begins. The pastor may say the words, “In the Celebrating section of the service, we rejoice in what our Lord has done for us.”

• This Litany is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation:

P Welcome, fellow disciples of the resurrected Lord. We begin our celebration as we begin all celebrations: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

P We listen as Jesus explains why he must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise on the third day.

C We recognize his purpose for coming into the world.

• The Hymn of Response is sung by the congregation to the tune Rathbun 87 87, or a selection from the contemporary music song suggestions list on p. 176 can be sung instead:

In the cross of Christ I glory, tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time. All the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’er take me, hopes deceive, and fears annoy, Never shall the cross forsake me; lo, it glows with peace and joy.

• The Confessing section of the service begins. The pastor may say the words, “In the Confessing section of the service, we ask forgiveness for the ways we have strayed from the Lord.”

• The Confession is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation:

P We pause now to confess our sins:

C Forgive us, O Lord, the thoughts, words and actions which spring from our sinful heart. Fill us with your purpose for coming into the world, by which the guilt of sin is covered and doubt is sent fleeing. Show us your ways, O Lord, and teach us your paths.

• The Absolution is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation:

P Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, you are a resurrected person. I announce the forgiveness of all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

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C Amen.

P We are Lenten people.

C And “Lord, have mercy” is our cry.

• The Hymn of Response is sung by the congregation to the tune Aberystwyth 77 77 D, or a selection from the contemporary music song suggestions list on p. 176 can be sung instead:

By thine hour of dire despair, by thine agony of prayer, By the cross, the nail, the thorn, piercing spear, and torturing scorn,

By the gloom that veiled the skies, o’er the dreadful sacrifice, Listen to our humble sigh; hear our penitential cry!

By thy deep expiring groan, by the sad sepulchral stone, By the vault whose dark abode held in vain the rising God, O, from earth to heav’n restored, mighty, reascended Lord, Bending from thy throne on high, hear our penitential cry!

• The Conversing section of the service begins. The pastor may say the words, “In the Conversing section of the service, God speaks to us through his Word and we respond in word and song.”

• The Reading, Luke 19:1-10, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader:

P He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

• The Response is spoken by the congregation, led by the pastor or other worship leader:

C These words, O Lord, are written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing in him we will have eternal life.

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• The Reading, Luke 15:1-2, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader:

P Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

• The Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune New Britain CM, or a selection from the contemporary music song suggestions list on p. 176 can be sung instead:

Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see!

The Lord has promised good to me, his Word my hope secures: He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

• The Children’s Message is delivered by the pastor or other worship leader:

Needed: Picture of Jesus praying in Gethsemane

P (Show the picture of Jesus at prayer.) On the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested, the night before he died on the cross, he went with his disciples to a garden called Gethsemane. Jesus went to the garden to pray. He knew that on Friday, the very next day, he would be nailed to the cross and die for the sins of the world. All of God’s anger against sin would fall on Jesus. He knew how terrible and painful that would be. Jesus prayed and asked his Father that, if it was possible, Jesus might not have to suffer like that. He called the suffering a “cup,” a cup full of God’s anger that Jesus would have to drink. But in his prayer Jesus also said to his Father, “Not my will, but yours be done.” That means Jesus wanted everything to happen the way God the Father wanted it to happen, because that was why Jesus came.

Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for our sins. That was his purpose—his reason—for coming. He came to be our Savior. Did Jesus accomplish his purpose? Did he do what he came to do? (Let children respond.) Yes, he did! Jesus did what he came to do. He obeyed his Father’s will. When his prayers in the garden were done, people came to arrest Jesus. He was put on trial and condemned to death. On the next day, the day we call Good Friday, Jesus died for the sins of the world. On the third day after that, on the first Easter Sunday, he rose from the dead so that we will live forever with him. That was his purpose—that was why he came!

Now we have a purpose too! We are to trust in Jesus as our Savior. We are to follow Jesus and love and serve others. Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, you did what you came to do. You died on the cross so our sins can be forgiven. Help us to trust in you and to love others just like you love us. Amen.

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• The Sermon is delivered by the pastor:

P Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now, I’m found. ’Twas blind, but now I see.

It was the 1700s. John Newton was a nasty human being deeply involved in slave trade. A ruthless businessman, he was the master of a slave ship and a callous participant in the evils of slavery. One could stand back and say Newton was “lost”… lost in a life purpose that was contrary to God’s will. But our story does not end on this sad note. John Newton was also “found” by the life-changing grace of God! Claimed by a new purpose, his conversion led him to follow Christ by becoming an Anglican priest, a witness to the horror of slave trade, and a major influence on the great abolitionist, William Wilberforce. Newton would go on to write our much beloved hymn entitled “Amazing Grace,” articulating the human struggle of being lost in the world, but being found by the all-encompassing grace of God. Lost becoming found! Callous participant finding Christian purpose!

A number of years ago a book took the entire nation by storm…and surprise! Did you read it? The Purpose Driven Life written by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California, became a bestseller not only in religious circles, but across the country. And while some might argue our theological differences, we cannot argue the raw nerve it seemed to touch. People were craving a sense of purpose and deeper meaning to life. Feeling a sense of “lost-ness” and aimlessness due to a lack of felt or identified purpose, this book addressed an expressed need. No matter one’s success or economic stature, emptiness and lack of purpose can haunt the busiest of souls. The cry of the heart is often a cry for meaning.

The beginning of Chapter 15 in the Gospel of Luke sets up the stories Jesus tells in dramatic fashion! “Outsiders”—those folks on the fringe of society—needing a sense of belonging and meaning were all drawing close to listen to the words Jesus spoke. As we read the brief opening in Chapter 15 we picture a crowd hungry for God, thirsty for words that could soothe exposed nerves. The energy is palpable as people long for God’s healing grace! Jesus clearly extends a heart full of compassion for those whose hearts feel lost.

Sometimes, the perceived outsiders are the very ones Jesus lets “in.”

Michael Yaconelli articulates this powerfully in his book, Messy Spirituality—God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People. Chronicled during World War II, he recounts the actions of a group of soldiers and one old priest in the rural countryside of France:

“During an intense battle, one of the American soldiers was killed. His comrades did not want to leave his body on the battlefield and decided to give him a Christian burial. They remembered a church a few miles behind the front lines whose grounds included a small cemetery surrounded by

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a white fence. After receiving permission to take their friend’s body to the cemetery, they set out for the church arriving just before sunset.

“A priest, his bent-overback and frail body betraying his many years, responded to their knocking. His face, deeply wrinkled and tan, was the home to fierce eyes that flashed wisdom and passion. Our friend was killed in battle,’ they blurted out, ‘and we wanted to give him a church burial.’

“Apparently the priest understood what they were asking, although he spoke in very broken English. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘but we can only bury those of the same faith here.’ Weary after many months of war, the soldiers simply turned to walk away. ‘But,’ the old priest called after them, ‘you can bury him outside the fence.’

“Cynical and exhausted, the soldiers dug a grave and buried their friend just outside the white fence. They finished after nightfall. They next morning, the entire unit was ordered to move on, and the group raced back to the little church for one final good-bye to their friend. When they arrived, they couldn’t find the gravesite. Tired and confused, they knocked on the door of the church. They asked the old priest if he knew where they had buried their friend. ‘It was dark last night and we were exhausted. We must have been disoriented.’

“A smile flashed across the old priest’s face. ‘After you left last night, I could not sleep, so I went outside early this morning and I moved the fence.’”

Yaconelli goes on to write: “Jesus did more than move the fence; he tore it down! No wonder he made the Scribes and Pharisees nervous. Fence makers do not like their fences torn down” (Messy Spirituality: pp. 126-127).

In some ways we’re all outsiders! We’re all outsiders drifting, lost, looking for a life filled with purpose! And then, Jesus demonstrates his “annoying love” by extending God’s grace to outsiders—to the likes of the John Newtons of the world, to old priests and exhausted soldiers, to you, to me!

The purpose of Jesus’ earthly ministry was to usher in the kingdom of God. To seek and to save the lost, to bring the outsiders in—to help the blind see, to save us all from the wretchedness of a life lived apart from God!

Jesus moves fences. Jesus breaks down walls. Jesus appears to exclude no one! He appears not to be too concerned with the company he keeps. All are welcome to be found, to find one’s place with all others because of God’s amazing grace. Indeed, Jesus moves the fence as often as it needs to be moved.With that assurance, we find new energy and purpose, saved by grace and created to love. That is what living Lent with purpose as people of the resurrection is all about.

• The Apostles’ Creed is spoken in unison at this time:

C I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered

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Tune .......................................................................................................................................Evan CM

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Week One: Purpose

Contemporary Music Song Suggestions• The following song suggestions can be used for a more contemporary worship service

in place of the more traditional hymns included in this kit. Rights to use these songs in the service must be purchased by your parish through CCLI or other copyright licensing agencies.

“My Life Is In You” by Daniel Gardner

“My Savior My God” by Aaron Shust and Dorothy Greenwell

“The Potter’s Hand” by Darlene Zschech

“Wonderful Merciful Savior” by Dawn Rodgers and Eric Wyse

“He Who Began a Good Work in You” by Steve Green

“Here I Am, Lord” by Dan Schutte

“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Craig Philips and Dean Philips

A Series of Special Services for the Season of Lent

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