Second Sunday in Lent
February 25, 2024 | 10:00am
Rev. Jeremy Campbell, Temporary Pastor | Larry J. Carey, Director of Music
Thought for Worship: IN AN OLIVE GROVE
Imagine yourself before an expansive, ancient olive tree, its gnarled branches casting shadows at your feet. Looking through the branches, you can just make out the wall of the Temple gleaming in the moonlight. Somewhere you can hear a voice pray-ing. What else do you hear? What else do you see? What thoughts are running through your mind?
GATHERING
Welcome
Prelude Be Thou My Vision | arr. Wytzen
Call to Worship
Votum
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Amen
Opening Sentences
Every time we gather in God’s name, we learn something new.
What will be God’s gift of revelation to us today?
We enter this time of worship joyfully, assured of God’s new mercies.
Celebrating these blessings to come,
we bring our love to God.
Salutation
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Amen.
*Hymn of Praise Great is Thy Faithfulness
Call to Confession
Let us approach God with our confessions,
trusting that even before we speak,
God knows us and loves us.
Prayer of Confession
God of glory and righteousness,
we confess that we do not live as citizens
of your kin-dom.
We give allegiance to earthly thrones.
We ignore the neediest in our midst.
We discount our own worth.
We forsake the justice due your kin-dom.
Take from us the spirit of isolation, greed,
lust for power, and false pride.
Give us instead the spirit of interdependency,
generosity, humility, and love. Amen.
Silent Confession
Assurance of Pardon
Beloved in Christ, you are blessed by God
to inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
you are refashioned every day
to live according to God’s reign,
in the freedom of Christ Jesus.
Friends, know that you are forgiven
and be at peace.
Thanks be to God.
Invitation to Discipleship
Come and pray; search your heart.
In the stillness of this hour, Jesus is with us.
He is standing at the door knocking,
calling us not because of who we think we are
but because of whose we are
and who we can be, disciples of Jesus Christ.
Will we answer?
God has chosen us by grace.
We respond by choosing life in Jesus Christ.
Come and pray; search your heart.
Come and pray, saying together:
Triune God, we choose life;
we desire to abide in you.
All honor and thanks to God.
The Law of God:
*Gloria Patri | #579
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.
*Commitment to Peace Keeping and Peace Seeking
One: May the peace of Christ be with you!
All: And also with you!
Share a sign of peace with one another. After sharing the peace, let us all sing together:
Together, by grace, we witness and work, remembering Jesus, in whom we grow strong. Together we serve in Spirit and truth, remembering love is the strength of our song.
THE WORD OF GOD
Anthem O, My God, Bestow Thy Tender Mercy | Pergolesi/Hopson
Prayer for Illumination
Gracious God, our way in the wilderness, guide us by your Word through these forty days, and minister to us with your Holy Spirit, so that we may reformed, restored, and renewed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
First Reading: Psalm 31
We proclaim Christ crucified—
the wisdom and power of God.
Thanks be to God.
*Hymn: We Walk By Faith
Second Reading: Mark 14:32-52
We proclaim Christ crucified—
the wisdom and power of God.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon: “The Garden of Gethsemane” | Rev. Campbell
Silent Reflection
THE RESPONSE TO GOD
*Affirmation of Faith (Apostles’ Creed)
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Offering I Have Decided to Follow Jesus | Carter
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen!
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession (ending with 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, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.
SENDING
*Hymn Standing On the Promises
Benediction
Congregational Response
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small;
love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
Postlude Standing On the Promises | arr. Peterson
DEAR FRIENDS
Welcome to worship here at Peapack Reformed Church! If you are visiting with us, welcome! If you are a member, welcome back! Our mission is to be a congregation called by God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world. This mission is the catalyst for all that we do, and is our aim for who we want to be.
If you are visiting with us via Facebook Live and would like more information about our church, send us a message on Facebook or email office@peapackreformed.org and we will be in touch with you. Even under these odd and anxious circumstances, we would love to be your church home. Our virtual doors are always open wide and our hearts are always ready to welcome new faces into our fellowship.
FOOD PANTRY NEWS
Many thanks for all those who have shared their abundance with neighbors in need.
Our church refrigerators have plenty of space to hold even more!
Mark your calendars now to pick up these important items
and bring to church by the dates listed:
Sunday, February 25 - gallon(s) whole milk
Sunday, March 3 - eggs
Sunday, March 10 - gallon(s) whole milk
Peapack Reformed Church is a congregation called by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world.
CALLED • EMPOWERED • COMMITTED