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Beatitudes in Lesson and Song: March 9, 2008
Springwater Presbyterian Church
Greeting, Welcome, Announcements
Prelude
Pouring baptismal water and lighting candles (Psalm 130)
*Hymn: # 56 (kids) “Joy of the Lord”
*Prayer of adoration
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“At the basis of Jesus Christ’s Kingdom is the unaffected loveliness of the commonplace. The thing [we are] blessed in is [our] poverty. If I know I have no strength of will, no nobility of disposition, then Jesus says—Blessed are you, because it is through this poverty that I enter his Kingdom. I cannot enter His Kingdom as a good man or woman, I can only enter it is a complete pauper.”
(from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers)
Hymn: “Blessed Are the Poor Among You” (vv 1, 2; insert, tune #17 Voice of Praise)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Beatitude Litany of Confession
[from P. Jacob, Santiago, Chile, as quoted in Bread of Tomorrow]
The Beatitudes are Jesus’ self-portrait, the most personal description we have of him in the gospels. The Beatitudes are his hopes for how we may live. Knowing they are invitation and not commandment, let us confess our need of God, using the litany printed in your bulletin:
Blessed are the poor . . . not the penniless but those whose heart is free.
Blessed are those who mourn . . . not those who whimper but those who raise their voices.
Blessed are the meek . . . not the soft but those who are patient and tolerant.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice . . . not those who whine but those who struggle.
Blessed are the merciful . . . not those who forget but those who forgive.
Blessed are the pure in heart . . . not those who act like angels but those whose life is transparent.
Blessed are the peacemakers . . . not those who shun conflict but those who face it squarely.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice . . . not because they suffer but because they love.
Hymn: #386 PH “O for a World” (vv 1, 4, 5) [A moment for silent reflection]
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. .
Words of assurance
“The Beatitudes are not so much ethics of obedience as ethics of grace. They imply God as a gracious giver and [humans as humble receivers]. They do not mean: you must do these things in order to deserve and win the divine approval. Rather do they say: God gives his blessedness to those who claim no merit for themselves but, knowing their own heart’s needs, are content to rest
wholly on the mercy of God.” (from A Pattern for Life, by Archibald Hunter)
*Hymn: # 276 PH “Great is Thy Faithfulness” (v 3)
*Passing of the peace
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
The prophet Isaiah describes the messianic kingdom as a feast that would include all peoples. The apostle Paul writes that the effect of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is that righteousness was “transformed from something we are supposed to do to something that God gives. Righteousness is a gift from God, achieved by Jesus.” When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, it is Jesus
himself for whom we yearn. (from The Beatitudes for Today¸ by James C. Howell
Hymn: “97 Lift Up, “What Does the Lord Require?” (sing twice)
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Mercy is not something we define so much as something for which we cry out in desperation. . . . How hard is it to be merciful? Mercy is not doing nothing. The Greek word eleos suggests the connotation of pouring out, the way we might pour out a flask of oil. Mercy is a pouring out. Mercy is when I unscrew the lid on what is precious to me and pour it out on you.” (From The Beatitudes for Today, by James C. Howell)
Hymn: “Blest Are They” (insert, all verses)
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Purity of heart is to will one thing. . . . [It is] about our relationship that is really more than love. . . . But if purity of heart is to will one thing, that thing can’t be just any old thing. . . . The pure in heart will the one thing that is genuinely and
enduringly good.” (From The Beatitudes for Today, by James C. Howell)
Hymn: #8 (kids) “Behold What Manner of Love”
Joys and Concerns
Pastoral Prayer
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“All this makes complete sense if we think of the Beatitudes as a ladder. For who is more able, more eager, more willing to make peace than the poor? Or those who mourn (who see through tears the futility of fighting)? Or the meek (who have no turf to protect)? Or the merciful (who embrace forgiveness)? Or the pure in heart (who only want one thing and don’t get distracted)?” (from The
Beatitudes for Today, by James C Howell)
Hymn: “God, Your Gift of Peace is Precious” (vv 3, 4, 5; insert Carol Winfrey Gillette, tune #420)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a [person] his life, and it is grace because it gives a [person] the only true life. Above all it, is costly because it
cost God the life of his Son.” (from The Cost of Discipleship, by C.S. Lewis)
Hymn: “Be Still, My Soul” (v 1, insert)
Offering
*Doxology and prayer of dedication
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, “Nothing worth doing can be achieved in a single lifetime; therefore we are saved by hope.” Thomas Merton warns a friend not to depend on
the hope of results.
*Hymn: “How Could a God Whose Name is Love” (vv 1, 2, 3; Ruth Duck insert, tune: #172 Resignation)
*Benediction
*Response to Benediction: #432 PH “Song of Hope” |