Have you ever lodged a complaint with God? It’s not necessarily a comfortable thing for us, as itty bitty humans, to say to the Creator of All Things, “WHY ARE THINGS THIS WAY?” But you may want to consider this form of prayer—yes, prayer! After all, isn’t dissatisfaction-to-downright ire very much within the human state of being? Listen today as Jesus lodges a complaint, and laments over the city he loves.
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Lent 2
Lament!
Psalm 27; Luke 13:31-35
Union Presbyterian Church
March 16, 2025
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Doug Moore Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Welcome
Announcements Doug Moore
Prelude Choir
“I Have Loved You,” Michael Joncas
©1979, OCP, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
Seek the face of the Lord and long for him:
He will bring you his light and his peace.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
Seek the face of the Lord and long for him:
He will bring you his joy and his hope.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
Seek the face of the Lord and long for him:
He will bring you his care and his love.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
* Call to Worship Psalm 27:4-5—adapted from The Message
I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing:
To live with God, in God’s beautiful house, my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate God’s beauty; I’ll study at God’s feet.
That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy, chaotic world.
This one thing I ask, Lord God:
That you would hold me close. That you would be my home.
* Hymn # 466 PH
“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
(Public Domain)
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My dear Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of God's grace!
Jesus, the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.
Christ breaks the power of reigning sin,
And sets the prisoner free;
Christ's blood can make the sinful clean,
Christ's blood availed for me.
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.
* Call to New Life
We come before God in a time of anxiety and alienation. We come for the healing we so badly need. Let us open our hearts and cast our cares upon the Lord.
* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace
Loving God, we know or can imagine what it is to be displaced, to gaze at a place that used to be home, and know we no longer belong there. Or to remember a place that was our secure haven, and feel that we can never go back. This can be true of the heart as well: to find ourselves alienated even when surrounded by all that is familiar; to awaken and find ourselves in a world we don’t recognize. We cry out to you, O God. Find us. Help us. Bring us back.
(Silent prayer)
And we pray,
In you, O God, we find our haven, and our rest. In you, O Christ, we find our brother and our companion on the Way. In you, O Spirit, we are held and we are led. We trust you. We thank you. We are home. Amen.
* Words of Assurance
There is one body, and one Spirit; in Christ we are one.
By our baptism we have been welcomed into this one body.
God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting.
We believe we shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
We are healed. We are forgiven. We are welcomed home. Thanks be to God.
* Sharing of the Peace
Each of us seeks a place of rest and comfort.
Each of us seeks a place of quiet and peace.
May the peace of God be with you.
And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.
Scripture Psalm 27 (NRSVUE)
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
One thing I asked of the Lord; this I seek:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off; do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube
Music: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” (Public Domain)
Anthem Choir
“The Power of Your Love,” Geoff Bullock, Jane Holstein
©2001, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Lord, I come to you;
Let my heart be changed, renewed,
Flowing from the grace that I’ve found in you.
And Lord, I’ve come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away by the power of your love.
Hold me close, let your love surround me.
Bring me near, draw me to your side.
And as I wait, I’ll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with you;
Your Spirit leads me on in the power of your love.
Lord, unveil my eyes;
Let me see you face to face,
The knowledge of your love as you live in me.
Lord, renew my mind,
As your will unfolds in my life,
In every living day by the power of your love.
(2x:)
Hold me close, let your love surround me.
Bring me near, draw me to your side.
And as I wait, I’ll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with you;
Your Spirit leads me on in the power of your love.
And I will soar with you;
Your Spirit leads me on in the power of your love.
Scripture Luke 13:31-35 (NRSVUE)
A reading from the gospel according to Luke, beginning at chapter 13, verse 31.
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Sermon
Affirmation of Faith From the Confession of 1967 (Section 9.31)
To be reconciled to God is to be sent into the world as God’s reconciling community. This community, the church universal, is entrusted with God’s message of reconciliation and shares God’s labor of healing the enmities which separate us from God and from each other. Christ has called the church to this mission and given it the gift of the Holy Spirit. The church maintains continuity with the apostles and with Israel by faithful obedience to this call.
* Hymn # 312 PH [in a round]
“When Jesus Wept”
(Public Domain)
(Sing three times:)
When Jesus wept, the falling tear
In mercy flowed beyond all bound;
When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
Seized all the guilty world around.
Minute for Mission: Self-Development of People Peg Corwin
Prayers of the People (Responsive)
Jesus remember us when we come into your kingdom. Hear our intercessions.
For your church around the world,
we ask new life.
For all who carry out ministries in your church,
we ask grace and wisdom.
For people who have accepted spiritual disciplines,
we ask inspired discipleship.
For Christians of every land,
we ask new unity in your name.
For Jews and Muslims and people of other faiths,
we ask your divine blessing.
For those who cannot believe,
we ask your faithful love.
For governors and rulers in every land,
we ask your guidance.
For people who suffer and sorrow,
we ask your healing peace.
God of mercy, you are full of tenderness and compassion,
slow to anger, rich in mercy, and always ready to forgive.
Grant us grace to cling to Christ,
that in every way we may learn to be your loving children;
The Lord’s Prayer
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 the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Prayer Response # 461 W & R (verse 1)
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
(Public Domain)
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love whate'er you love,
And do what you would do.
Call for Offering
* Doxology # 244 W & R (verse 6)
“O Love, How Deep, How Broad”
(Public Domain)
All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad–
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
* Prayer of Dedication
* Hymn # 404 PH
“Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” Thomas A. Dorsey
©1938, ©1966, Hal Leonard Corporation, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, help me stand:
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light;
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near;
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall;
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
* Benediction
Postlude Chris Bartlette
“Near to the Heart of God,” John Innes
©1985, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.
“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal
“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal
Intercession for Lent taken from the Book of Common Worship (PCUSA), 1993.