First Sunday of Lent
Worship Theme: New Beginnings
Psalm 25:1-2a, 4-5 NRSV Bible
Genesis 9:8-17 NRSV Bible
1 Peter 3:18-22 NRSV Bible
Mark 1:9-15 NRSV Bible
A Time to Begin
I am so glad that spring is coming. I really love to see the backyard come alive with color. The old drab yard of winter becomes a vibrant place of color and hues. The birds come back to the feeders and their songs are almost deafening in the morning as the sun rises. I can take and hang the sheets out on the line so that they get that fresh scent. . . sort of a newness to them. Spring is a time of new beginnings. The oldness of winter gives way to a newness of life. A new beginning has begun.
As I think of things having a new beginning I think also of Lent. Lent is a time begin a new. . . to look at our lives and our walks with God. . . to reflect on our relationship with God. . . to repent of the things we need to change and begin a new, renewed and restored. How awesome it is that our God gives us the grace we need so that we can begin a new walk. It’s not that we go back to the beginning of our walk and start over, the things in our past shapes us and our walk with God, it is a chance to begin a new chapter of our walk, one that is closer to the book that God has written for us.
Last week, we talked about how good God is. . . about how God loved and loves us so much that He sent His Son to die in our stead. . . how God is there witing to heal our every hurt. . . our every scar. . . how God is there and waiting to wipe away every tear and to help us fight every battle. Lent is a time to begin to reflect and thank God for His goodness. . . Lent is a Season of new beginnings. Praise God for His love and praise Him for He is a God of new and renewed beginnings.
This is the first Sunday of Lent and we are beginning our pilgrimage, with Christ, to the cross, to the place that God did His most awesome work of all. As I said, “We have a God of new Beginnings.” He longs for us to repent and change and when we do. . . all of heaven sings a song of joy.
In the Genesis scripture this morning, we see God giving humanity a second chance. . . a new beginning but this beginning has something new in it. . . this beginning comes with a promise from God. God made with Noah. . . and with us. . . a new thing. . . A covenant with us and with Him. Now God is a God of integrity. . . He has kept up on His part of the deal but have we kept up our part? Has humanity acted in ways that would make God sorry that He made this covenant? Have we ourselves, you and me, done things that would make our Creator weep? It’s time for a new beginning. . .
In the 1 Peter scripture from this morning, we learned that we are given a new life in Christ. We are able to begin anew and redeemed. We are given the gift of a “do over” with God. We are washed clean. . . not of the body but of the Spirit. . . a spiritual cleansing. Through Christ’s death and resurrection we are restored to praise God and share the Good News of Christ’s death on the cross for all of humanity. We are redeemed and esteemed to share the gospel of Christ. We are given a do over for a new life with Christ. How have we as humanity honored that gift? Have we embraced it or have we set it aside? Have we even opened that gift that was given to us and shared it with our neighbors? It is a time for a new beginning. . . a renewed faith and song on our hearts to sing to the nations.
After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, He began a new chapter in His life. Jesus began a ministry that was so far from the norm that even His closest friends didn’t get it. Jesus taught a new way of living. . . a new way of life. Let’s hear about the beginning of His ministry. Let’s hear what the Gospel of Mark has to say about this day that changed humanity for ever. . . it is found on page 910 in the pew bible. We will be reading Mark 1 verses 9-15. . . Read from the Gospel of Mark. . .
Jesus was proclaimed. . . from God. . . that He was God’s son and that God was well pleased with Him. We too become sons and daughter when we are baptized and we need to go “into the family business” as Jesus modeled for us. Now His ministry didn’t begin with all fun and games. . . His ministry began with temptation which He overcame. We too may come up against opposition as we follow Christ’s example of ministry but we too can overcome with the strength of God on our side. It is God who gives us strength to begin and it is God who walks with us along the way. We need to also proclaim the Good News of God, we also must share the message “the kingdom of God has come near, repent, believe in the Good News. Have we, as Christians, been out there doing all we can to share the Good News? Have we always shown the love of God through Christ in our lives? It is time for a new beginning. . . a renewed purpose. . . a renewed urgency to our message. . . the kingdom of God is near, repent and believe. . .
Lent has begun and it is a time for new beginnings. . . a time to renew and revise what we do. . . or don’t do. . . a time to begin anew our ministry, our purpose in life. It is a time to look deep within ourselves and make the changes that need to be made. It is a time to leave our old ways at the foot of the cross of forgiveness and come away with the renewed vision we find there. How will we, you and me, spend these forty days? Will we begin anew or will we stay with the old? The choice is up to you and to me. . . How will you honor the Cross of Calvary?
Let us pray
Forgiving God, full of compassion and redemption, as we enter this season of Lent we pray that we would emerge renewed by your Grace. As we search our lives and our hearts, help us to see the changes we need to make to walk closer to and with you. Create in us a clean heart, O Lord, and a steadfast Spirit within us so that we may be a light that shines in the darkness of the world in which we live. May we focus on the eternal and not the external things in our lives. Speak to us in new ways and may we have a new revelation of your love that was shown on the cross. . . the love that came down in the form of your Son, Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Amen.
March 5, 2012
Worship Theme: New Beginnings
Mark 1:9-15
1 Peter 3:18-22
Call to Worship (Psalm 25:1-2a, 4-5)
Unison Prayer (Genesis 9:8-17)
Prayer of Dedication (GBOD Mark 1:9-15)
and sermon, “A Time to Begin”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
https://twitter.com/PastorRuthFoss
http://www.facebook.com/pastorruthfoss
http://www.ahandmaidenofthelord.blogspot.com
http://pastorruth.posterous.com/
A Handmaiden of the Lord
http://www.suncookumc.org
Suncook United Methodist Church
http://www.suncookumc.org
http://facebook.com/groups/136632035559/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suncook-United-Methodist-Church/102221356487965
Suncook, NH
First Sunday in Lent
February 26, 2012
&
Worship Theme – “Ash Wednesday”
Prelude
Unison Prayer
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (CEB)
Joel 2:12-17a (CEB)
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 51:3)
Pastoral Prayer
Word of Assurance (GBOD 2012)
Thanksgiving over the ashes
Distribution of the Ashes
hymn, “Sunday’s Palms Are Wednesday’s Ashes” TFWS #2138
and Ash Wednesday Meditation,
“The Math of Lent”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
https://twitter.com/PastorRuthFoss
http://www.facebook.com/pastorruthfoss
http://www.ahandmaidenofthelord.blogspot.com
http://pastorruth.posterous.com/
A Handmaiden of the Lord
http://www.suncookumc.org
Suncook United Methodist Church
http://www.suncookumc.org
http://facebook.com/groups/136632035559/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suncook-United-Methodist-Church/102221356487965
Suncook, NH
Ash Wednesday
February 22, 2012
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