Order of Worship

First Sunday of Lent

Bible Presentation

BOLD indicates congregational SPEAKING participation

GATHERING AS THE BODY OF CHRIST

Prelude

 "Come Out the Wilderness"

UMH #416

Welcome and Sharing of Announcements

Meditation Time

Introit

 “Holy Is the Lord" 

  Adult Choir

by Jack Schrader

Call to Worship

Liturgist: On this first Sunday in Lent, we join Jesus in the wilderness, a place of wild and dangerous things, of testing and temptation away from the security of home.

People: God, rescue us in the wilderness!

Liturgist: Once again, we watch and listen as Satan throws out temptation upon temptation, and we find our security in Jesus, who does not waver from the truth. 

People: God, rescue us within the wilderness!  

Liturgist: Once again, we face our own frailty and realize that the wilderness is not nearly as dangerous as our choices to prioritize selfish gain and hoarding of power.

People: God, rescue us through the wilderness!

Liturgist: Once again, we call upon God in the wildernesses of our lives, and we trust God’s faithful reply: 

People: Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue them and honor them. Thanks be to God! Amen.  

(Resource comes from ) 

Opening Prayer

God, you are our refuge. You are the shore in sight, you are hands that reach out, you are the ground on which to rest. God, you are our strength. You are the life we long for, you are the refusal to give up, you are the keys of home we carry with us. God, you are our help in time of trouble. We call on you from the ruins and the rubble, We call on you from the wildness and the deep, We call on you to meet us in this place! Amen. (Resource comes from ) 

Opening Hymn

  “Thy Word is a Lamp”

Based on Psalm 119:105

      UMH #601

Bible Presentation

(in-person service only)



 Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer

Lord's Prayer

Prayer Response

     “Lamb of God”    

 TFWS #2113

(Verse 1 & Refrain)

ATTENTION TO THE WORD OF GOD

*Scripture Readings

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. (NRSV)

Liturgist: The word of God for the people of God.

People: Thanks be to God.  

Message

 “Jesus in the Wordless Wilderness”

Pastor Jinyong Choi

WE RESPOND

Offertory Hymn

    “Jesus, Tempted in the Desert”

  TFWS #2105

*Doxology

UMH #95

*Offertory Prayer

Faithful God, who journeys with us through the wilderness of our lives, as we offer these gifts, we remember your sustaining presence. In this period of spiritual renewal, strengthen us to resist temptation and guide us to live in community with love and grace. May these offerings be signs of hope and acts of compassion that reflect the love you have shown us in Christ. Empower us to rise together, supporting one another on this journey of faith and transformation. In the name of Jesus, our Redeemer, we pray. Amen.

(Resource comes from )    

*Closing Hymn

  “Wonderful Words of Life”

UMH #600

*The Blessing and Sending Forth 

Beloved, you—you—who live in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty —will find in God your refuge and fortress. Go now, in the blessing of the Triune God who shelters you and rescues you, that we all might be a shelter and a rescue for and with one another. Amen.

Benediction Response

 "An Irish Prayer"

Adult Choir

    By Ruth Elaine Schram

(in-person service only)

Postlude

 "Arise, My Soul, Arise"

    arr. Dale Wood