This service, prepared for the fourth Sunday in Lent, was submitted by Dick Stravers, pastor of the West Park Christian Reformed Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He wrote, "As you will see, the entire morning order was based on Psalm 107. I fell in love with that psalm while convalescing from surgery a year ago. Every verse appears in order except verse 42. Six readers were used. The service was well received."
Prelude
"Through Adam's Fall" (Prelude for Lent) Buxtehude
Call to Worship
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say this—those he redeemed
from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
—Psalm 107:1–3, NIV 1984
Hymn
"Praise the Lord, for He Is Good" (st. 1, 5) Psalm 107, anon
OR
"Thanks Be to God Our Savior" (st. 1, 6) Psalm 107, Diephouse
Greeting from God
Grace to you and peace...
Amen
Psalm Reading: Selections from Psalm 107
Reader 1: Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.
Reader 2: Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
for they had rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.
Reader 3: Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.
Reader 4: Others went out to the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
They reeled and staggered like drunken men;
they were at their wits' end.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.
Reader 5: [God] turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.
Reader 6: Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity, and sorrow;
he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.
Sermon: Then They Cried Out to the Lord
Prayer of Supplication
Hymn
"Praise the Lord, for He Is Good" (st. 2–4) Psalm 107, anon
OR
"Thanks Be to God Our Savior" (st. 2–5) Psalm 107, Diephouse
Psalm Reading: Selections from Psalm 107
Reader 1: He delivered them from their distress
and led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,
for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
Reader 2: He saved them from their distress
and brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,
for he breaks down gates of
bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
Reader 3: He saved them from their distress
and sent forth his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
Reader 4: He brought them out of their distress
and stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
Reader 5: God turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
He blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
Reader 6: He lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
Hymn
"Praise the Lord! Sing Hallelujah!" Psalm 146, Psalter 1887
Apostles Creed
A Prayer of Thanks
Psalm of Praise
"Give Thanks to God, for Good Is He" Psalm 136, Psalter 1912
Offering of Gifts
Doxology
Offertory Prayer
Response: Whoever is wise, let them heed all these things and consider the great love of the Lord.
Hymn
"Forever I Will Sing of Your Great Love, O Lord" Psalm 89
