Prelude
Be Still and Know That I Am God
Welcome
Call to Worship
We have started down a road that will take us to the cross.
It is a journey we take together, and a journey each makes alone.
We are invited to notice things on the way –
To notice the sharp stones, the uneven ground, the mercy of shade, the faithfulness of those who walk with us.
We carry little with us but that which is in our hearts:
Hope, trust, fear, apprehension, wonder, sorrow.
On this walk, we rest and sing and pray and listen.
In our worship, we rest and sing and pray and listen.
Friends, let us worship God, tender and just.
Opening Hymn No. 410
God Is Calling through the Whisper
Call to Confession
God is gracious and merciful and knows our needs before they even reach our lips. Still, we engage in confession, admitting to God all that rests uneasily in our hearts. Confident of God’s love, let us make our confession together, first in silent prayer.
Prayer of Confession
Holy God, giver of life and forgiver of sin, we come to you now with hope – hope that you will always love us, hope that you will not hold our sin against us, hope that you will turn us around from what is evil, toward what is good. Walk with us in this holy season, and help us
to look clearly at our lives and the world, broken and beautiful as it is, that we may embrace all people and all things with love. Through Christ, the one who goes before us, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness
Friends, God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The first and last word with God is grace—grace to heal and make new, grace to propel us forward. This is the good news of the gospel. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Choral Response
Change My Heart, O God
Change my heart, O God and restore my soul
Change my heart, O God; make it as your own.
You are the Author of true shalom.
Where peace and justice are made at home. (new lyrics by Rev. Laura Sherwood)
Peace of Christ and Common Life
Scripture Readings
Psalm 27:1-4, 13-14; Romans 8:22-28
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
Sermon
“Hope Is Our Superpower” Rev. Jeff Lehn
Hymn of Response No. 772
Live into Hope
Prayers of the People and The Lord’s Prayer
(Sung Response throughout Prayers Peggy )
Response: The Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep or words to express.
Call for Offering
In this season of Lent, we are invited to participate in God’s kingdom emerging all around us. May we offer ourselves to God with glad and generous hearts, freely giving our tithes and offerings to the ministry of this congregation. In lieu of passing the plate, we invite you to give through our church website, our smartphone app, by texting the word “Wilmette” to the number 77977, or by sending a check to the church office. As we gather our gifts together and offer them to God, may we do so in gratitude and praise.
Congregational Response - The Doxology (OLD HUNDREDTH - Hymn 606)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication
Sending Hymn No. 765
May the God of Hope Go With Us
Charge and Benediction
Postlude
Stir Thy Church, O God Our Father A.L. Butler
Worship Leaders:
Rev. Jeff Lehn, preaching
Rev. Laura Sherwood, pastoral liturgist
Beth Bishop, liturgist
Matt Peckham, hymn soloist
Mark Weston, guitar (postlude)
Sources
