This is a bulletin from one of our recent Sunday services.

MOUNTAIN VIEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT

March 28, 2004

8:30am and 10:30am

“The cross, whether it is full with the burden of a Christ in agony, or empty as the symbol of a Christ in triumph, is a reminder of the last ordeal of love, which is always the ordeal of suffering.”

Prelude to Worship

Organist

Welcome and Greetings

Announcements

Passing the hope

Leader: Let the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ rule in your hearts.
People: To this hope we are called as disciples of Christ.
Leader: The hope of the Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

Hymn Sing

“I Surrender All”

No. 596

“Have Thine Own Way, Lord”

No. 591

“Here I Am, Lord”

No. 589

Call to Confession

Sometimes it seems like a meaningless ritual: on Sundays we come here and confess our sins, and we go back to our homes, our work, and our schools unchanged. Then the next week we repeat the cycle. Forgive us, Lord, if our repentance is superficial and without heartfelt sorrow. Not only cleanse us, but also strengthen our resolve to live for you, in the name of the Savior who gave his all for us.

Prayer of Confession (Unison)

Lord God, as we near the hallowed ground of Gethsemane and Golgotha, we confess a sense of unworthiness and shame. Our deprivations are so few. Our scars so scarce. Our suffering for righteousness sake so rare. Our courage so seldom summoned. Our passion so wasted on self. Who are we that we should bear your name or claim to be your people. Forgive us, O God, for we know not what we do. Expose the games we play with you to stave off the moment of full surrender. Help us to come as the sinners we are, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This prayer we offer in faith and with thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Moment of Silent Confession

Prayer of Confession

Leader: God, the God I love and worship, reigns in sorrow on the Tree,
People: Broken, bleeding, but unconquered, very God of God to me.
Leader: All that showy pomp of splendor, all that sheen of angel wings,
People: Was not borrowed from the baubles that surround our earthly kings.
Leader: For thy glory is the glory of love's loss,
People: And Thou hast no splendor but the splendor of the cross.
Leader: For in Christ I see the martyrs and the beauty of their pain,
People: And in him I hear the promise that my dead shall rise again.
Leader: High and lifted up, I see him on the eternal Calvary,
People: And two pierced hands are stretching east and west o'er land and sea.
Leader: On my knees I fall and worship that great cross that shines above,
People: For the very God of Heaven is not power, but power of love.,

G.A. Studdert-Kennedy, "The Sorrows of God and other Poems"

*Gloria Patri

No. 813

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.

*Litany

Leader: The Maker of the universe,
People: As Man, for man was made a curse;
Leader: The claims of laws that He had made
People: Unto the uttermost He paid.
Leader: His holy fingers made the bough
People: That grew the thorns that crowned His brow.
Leader: The nails that pierced His hands were mined
People: In secret places He designed.
Leader: He made the forest whence had sprung
People: The tree on which His body hung:
Leader: He died upon a cross of wood,
People: Yet made the hill on which it stood.
Leader: The sky that darkened o'er His head
People: By Him above the earth was spread:
Leader: The sun that hid from Him its face
People: By His decree was poised in space.
Leader: The spear that spilled His precious blood
People: Was tempered in the fires of God.
Leader: The grave in which His form was laid
People: Was hewn in rocks His hands had made.
Leader: The throne on which He now appears
People: Was His from everlasting years;
Leader: But a new glory crowns His brow
People: And every knee to Him shall bow.

Sacratment of Baptism (10:30am)

Tyler Jeffrey

Bradley and Catherine
Great-gandson of Winnie

Congregational Welcome

Tyler Jeffrey, it is with joy and thanksgiving that we welcome you into Christ’s church, for we are all one in Christ. As god has ignited the spark of life within you, so let us help to kindle that spark into a dancing flame. We promise to love, encourage and support you, to share the good news of the gospel with your, and to help you know and follow Christ.

Anthem

"Calvary"
Chancel Choir

John Carter

Scripture

Mark 12:1-9

SERMON

THE PARABLES OF JESUS

"V. THE VINEYARD TENANTS"

Rev. Vernon W. Towne

Hymn of Reflection

"Beneath the Cross of Jesus"

No. 320

Pastoral Prayer and 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

"Come Holy Spirit"

William Gaither

Presentation of Tithes and Offerings

Offertory

*Doxology

No. 813

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

*Prayer of Dedication

*Hymn of Commitment

"The Old Rugged Cross"

No. 327

*Benediction

*Congregational Response

"Blessed Assurance"

No. 572

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a fore-taste of glory devine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of the spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my savior all the day long.

*Postlude

Organist