Lord's Supper

This is part of the worship series, "The Way of the Cross”Series Introduction | Lent 1 | Lent 2Lent 3 | Lent 4 | Lent 5 | Palm Sunday | Good Friday  | Easter | Pentecost Fourth Sunday of LentGathering Song “Be Still, for the Presence” EvansCall to Worship Friends of God, believe this—God loved the world,God loves the world,we are the beloved!May the truth of this great love storyshine through our worship today,and renew our sense of calling.So come, with your tiredness,your frustrations and your discouragements;come with your doubts, your fears,and your longings;come, to discover yet againhow Jesus reveals God’s love and mercy.Come, in friendship to Godand to each other,and in friendship to the world,to listen for God’s Word to us,to offer our prayers,and to renew our calling.Friends of God, let us worship!—Ann Siddall © 2020. Inspired by John 3:14-21. Stillpoint Spirituality Centre, stillpointsa.org.au. Churches are given permission to reprint or reproduce for noncommercial use in worship services only.Songs “Holy God, We Praise Your Name” Walworth, LUYH 540, GtG 4, SSS 431“Christ, Be All Around Me” Leeland and SmithConfession and Assurance Gracious God,as those who strive to follow Jesus in our livingand to trust your power in our dying,we gather to reflect upon the life that ended on a cross.We recognize in ourselvesthe strengths and weaknesses of Jesus’ disciples:although they loved him,they disappointed and failed him.And yet, gathering with these imperfect friends at this last mealJesus washed their feet in service,and then extended the bread and cup to each.Jesus called them to love one another,and invited them to share in his very lifeand in his acceptance of the road ahead.We are humbled, honored and inspiredby the deep love Christ extended to the world,and we take seriously the calling to be the body of Christ today.Forgive us when we disappoint and fail you,and guide us back to a place of trust and faithful living.Grant us the vision to see the world as you see it,with love and compassion for each creature and all of your creation.We ask this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray to you . . .Our Father. . . . —Written by the Rev. Kelly Burd, © 2020 Local Church Ministries, UCC. Published in Worship Ways, www.ucc.org/worship_worship-ways. Used by permission.Song “Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer” BeckerMessage Mark 14:12–26; Exodus 12:1–14; 1 Corinthians 11:17–34, “The Lord’s Supper”Song of Response “Cornerstone” Mote, Liljero, MorganOffering “Your Love Defends Me” Kerr and MaherPrayer of the PeopleClosing Song “Reign in Us” Glover and NeufeldBlessing

This is part of the worship series, "Grounded and Growing—Bearing Fruit”Series Introduction | Ascension Sunday | PentecostLove | Joy | Peace | Patience | Generosity & Kindness | Faithfulness | Gentleness | Self-Control | Communion LiturgyAlso in this year-long Grounded and Growing series: Advent and Christmas | Epiphany | Lent and EasterOpeningLeader:The Lord be with you. All:And also with you. Leader:Lift up your hearts. All:We lift them up to the Lord. Leader:Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. All:It is right for us to give thanks and praise. Thanksgiving Giver of Life,it is indeed right for us to give you thanks and praise.You created the world out of nothing,calling forth flowers that blossom,rain waters that nourish,and bumble bees that pollinate.In great joy and love you created humans to tend the garden; you made us co-creators of beauty and flourishing.When we abandoned this calling,you did not abandon us.When we sought to grow wild and to bear poisoned fruit,you did not cut us down, but tended to us faithfully,cutting away that which leads to death and decay.We give you thanks for Jesus Christ,who dwelt among us, died for us,and who, having been raised from the dead,appeared to his followers as a gardener,bringing new life to all those who place their trust in him.Therefore, we join our voices with all the saints and angelsand all creation to proclaim the glory of your name:Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and 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.InstitutionWe give thanks to God our Father that our Savior, Jesus Christ, before he was betrayed, gave us this memorial of his sacrifice, until he comes again.At his last supper, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”In the same way, he took the cup after the supper and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this in remembrance of me.”For whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.—1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NIVMemorial AcclamationTherefore we proclaim our faith as signed and sealed in this sacrament:Christ has died;Christ is risen;Christ will come again. Prayer for the Work of the SpiritLord our God, send your Holy Spirit so that this bread and cup may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we be united with Christ, as branches to a vine, bearing the fruit of the Spirit as we live together with all God’s people in faithfulness and love. InvitationPeople of God, come to this table.Be nourished by the bread of lifeand filled with the water of life.Here let your faith be strengthenedand your soul renewed.Here let the Spirit assure you of God’s graceand empower you to bear good fruit.Distribution