Beacon Worship 3/21/2021

We hope you join us for worship, either live-streaming on our Youtube Channel or via zoom. Email info@thewordatbeacon.org for zoom info.

Gathering Time (unmuted)

Feel free to say hi and check in with others before the service begins!

Welcome/Announcements

We will be continuing our Anti-Racism Discussion Group this Thursday (7pm-8pm).

Facing God (from Psalm 51)

(Remain muted and read liturgy aloud at home)

Leader: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.

All: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Leader: Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from

me.

All: Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Leader: Let us worship God.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer

Hither by Thine help I've come

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wandering from the fold of God

He, to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be

Let that grace now, like a fetter

Bind my wandering heart to Thee

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart, O take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

Here's my heart, O take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

Laying Down Our Burdens & Assurance

(Remain muted and read liturgy aloud at home)

All: Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you by what we have done and what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen.

Leader: The Good News is that Christ has come and Christ will come again.

All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

Refrain: Beautiful Things

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

Children's Bible Story

Lectio Conversation (John 12:20-33)

(Hold onto these questions while we read our scripture.)

What stands out to you about this text?

How does this passage challenge your life, your work, your community?

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say — ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Discussion

Sharing Our Faith with One Another

Sharing questions:

1. What spiritual practices have been helpful for you, in general or especially in this season?

2. What is something you struggle with in your faith?

3. What is something you believe that you cannot be argued out of?

Homily

For You, My God, I Wait

For you, my God, I wait

With hope born of the Word.

Like sleepless ones who long to dream

I wait and call my Lord.

Lord, hear my pleading voice,

And let me know you hear!

As sleepless ones feel rest approach,

I know my God is near.

If you should list my faults,

The sins of heart and hand,

Like sleepless ones who groan at dawn

I know I could not stand!

O God, you are my hope;

I know that you forgive.

Your love redeems me from the depths

So I may rise and live.

Prayers of the People

Now is the time when we share the prayers on our hearts and minds. If you have a private prayer, you can email them to us throughout the week and the pastoral team will pray over them.

If you have a prayer, please unmute your mic to share.

After each prayer, I will lead our response on mute:

Lord in your mercy // hear our prayers

***

Now I will offer a prayer for the greater community and world. We will end by saying the Lord’s Prayer together in whatever language you prefer. Let us pray.

(muted)

Leader: Just as God/Christ taught us to pray...

All: 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.

Offering

To give online, click here: https://www.thewordatbeacon.org/donate

To give your prayers, email us at info@thewordatbeacon.org

This Road

All heavy laden acquainted with sorrow

May Christ in our marrow carry us home

From alabaster come blessings of laughter

A fragrance of passion and joy from the truth

Grant the unbroken tears ever flowing

From hearts of contrition only for You

May sin never hold true that love never broke through

For God’s mercy holds us and we are His own

This road that we tra----vel

May it be the straight and narrow

God give us peace and grace from You

All the day

Shelter with fi----re

Our voices we raise still higher

God give us peace and grace from You

All the day through

Sending/Blessing (from Ephesians 2)

(Remain muted and read liturgy aloud at home)

As we close this time together, let us read this word from the letter to the Ephesians:

All: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Leader: The steadfast love of God goes with you, the deep and abiding peace of Christ goes with you, and the comfort and guidance of the Holy Spirit goes with you, now and always. Amen.

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Feel free to hang out a little longer and catch up with others! Please also leave us feedback in the chat so we know what's working well and what to tweak for the future.