Prelude: Voluntary, James J. Richardson - Steven Frank, organ WE APPROACH OUR GOD Welcome and Announcements Call to Worship – Based on Psalm 29 (NLT) L: Honor the Lord for his glory and strength. P: Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. L: The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. P: The Lord reigns as king forever. L: The Lord gives his people strength. P: The Lord blesses them with peace. Hymn of Praise: All Creatures of Our God and King, Lasst Uns Erfreuen KIMBERLY IANNUZZI AND IZABELA GRAJNER-PARTYKA All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! Chorus Chorus: O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou rushing wind that art so strong, ye clouds that sail in heav’n along, O praise him! Alleluia! Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice; ye lights of evening, find a voice! Chorus Dear mother earth, who day by day unfoldest blessings on our way, O praise him, Alleluia! The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,let them his glory also show! Chorus NOTE: The words of this hymn are a translation of Francis of Assissi’s "Canticle of the Sun”. You might say he was one of the first ecologists. Call to Confession If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. 1 John 1:8-9 (GN). In humility and faith, let us confess our sin to God. Prayer of Confession Lord, we are so like Nicodemus. We come to you, hiding in the shadows of our own fears. We want you to give us peace and hope in our hearts. We want to know that everything will be all right; that the world will cease to be a place of terror and war. We want to be born again in a spirit of hope. But when we come it is for our own sake, and not to learn what you would have us be and do in this world. Forgive our selfishness, Lord. Calm our fears and heal our spirits. Let us truly listen to you so that we may be witnesses to your peace and justice which you seek for the world. Saturate us with your light and wisdom. Empower us to be those who bring peace and promote an attitude of love. Clear away the clutter in our lives and place us on paths of service to you. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen. Words of Assurance L: Jesus died with his arms wide open as an everlasting reminder of our pardon for our sins. P: All who believe in him have received forgiveness of sin and are freed to live a whole and lasting life. All: Thanks be to God! The Christian Way – Romans 13:8-10 (NCV) Do not owe people anything, except always owe love to each other, because the person who loves others has obeyed all the law. The law says, “You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not want to take your neighbor’s things.” All these commands and all others are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Love never hurts a neighbor, so loving is obeying all the law. Passing the Peace Welcome your brothers and sisters with the peace that God has given us through Christ Jesus. Children’s Sermon - Pastor Albert WE LISTEN TO GOD’S WORD Hymn of Preparation: His Name So Sweet, Hal Johnson CHERYL WARFIELD Refrain: Oh Lord, I jes’ come from de fountain, I’m jus’ from de fountain, Lord,I jes’ come from de fountain, His Name so sweet. Class Leader, do you love Jesus? Yes, yes, I do love my Jesus. Sinner, do you love Jesus? His name so sweet. (refrain) Class leader, do you love Jesus? Yes, yes, I do love my Jesus. Leader, do you love Jesus? His name so sweet. (refrain) Zidh’ Elder, do you love Jesus? Yes, yes, I do love my Jesus. Elder, do you love Jesus? His name so sweet. (refrain) Scripture Reading – John 3:1-17 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Message: Stop the Bleeding - Pastor Albert The moral dilemma we face when we are wounded by sin is the question of, “How can we stop the bleeding?” “Make a snake out of bronze and place it on top of a pole. Anyone who gets bitten can look at the snake and won’t die.” Moses obeyed the Lord. And all of those who looked at the bronze snake lived, even though they had been bitten by the poisonous snakes.” (Numbers 21:4-9) “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14-15 (NRSV) We are challenged to lift our heads and believe that God is at work in a new place and in a new way. That God is at work to heal us and to save us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." John 3:16 (NRSV) Jesus is lifted up on the cross to stop the bleeding caused by our sin. He is lifted up on the cross to bring us healing. He stops the hemorrhaging and heals the wound of sin. And he does it by some bleeding and suffering of his own. He achieves our salvation through the cross. Because we have been healed, we are able to offer this same healing to others. To do what God requires of us in Micah 6:8, “…to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.” Micah 6:8 (GN) WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD Time of Offering and Thanksgiving https://tithe.ly/give?c=1332203 Offertory Music: O Blessed Reign, Johannes B. Litzau - Steven Frank, organ Prayer of Dedication/Offering The Lord’s Prayer in unison: 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 power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Closing Hymn: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Nettleton REUVEN ARISTIGUETA Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious measure, sung by flaming tongues above; O the vast, the boundless treasure of my Lord’s unchanging love. O, to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; take my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above Blessing