PreludeLord of the Dance

traditional Shaker melody arr. Mark HayesKelly Truax, piano

Welcome & AnnouncementsRev. Dr. Sherrie Ilg

Call to Worship

one: Again and again,all: We come to this time.

one: Again and again,all: We gather as a community.

one: Again and again,all: We move closer to God.

one: And again and again,all: God is here.one: We are met.

all: We are heard.one: We are shown the way.

all: So again and again,one: Let us worship holy God.

Opening Hymn Lord of the Dance

UMH 261 Lori Montgomery, Song Leader

I danced in the morning when the world was begun, and I danced in the moon and the stars and the

sun, and I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth.

At Bethlehem I had my birth. Dance, then, wherever you may be;

I am the Lord of the Dance, said he. And I’ll lead you all

wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee, but they would not

dance and they would not follow me; I danced for the fishermen,

for James and John; they came to me and the dance went on. Dance,

then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he. And I’ll lead you all

wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

Third Sunday in LentMarch 7, 2021 | 9:00 am Worship

Informational graphics at the end of worship guide.

Worship Attendants:Rev. Dr. Sherrie Ilg, Lead Pastor

Rev. Jonathan Heifner, Associate Pastor of DiscipleshipKelly Truax, Pianist

Lori Montgomery, Song Leader Anna Ridnour, Guitar & Vocals

Wes Nygren, Worship Technology DirectorLaura Azelborn, Slide Presenter

Ron Campbell, VideographerBob Lee, Audio

I danced on the Sabbath when I cured the lame, the holy people

said it was a shame; they whipped and they stripped and they hung me high; and they left me there on a cross to die. Dance, then,

wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be, and I’ll lead

you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black; it’s hard to dance

with the devil on your back; they buried my body and they thought I’d gone, but I am the dance and I still go on. Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said he. And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

They cut me down and I leapt up high, I am the life that’ll never,

never die; I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me; I am the Lord

of the Dance, said he. Dance, then, wherever you may be; I am the

Lord of the Dance, said he. And I’ll lead you all wherever

you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

Call to Confession

Prayer of ConfessionGod of Justice,

We are guilty of building tables.We have built tables

that oppression dines on,Sexism thrives on,

and racism lives on.God of Justice,

We are guilty of forgetting where we are,

Of turning faith into a negotiation tool

And the church into a place for insiders.

God of Justice,We are guilty of ignoring the point;

For you taught that the temple was for worship

And your message was for all.God of our hearts,

Be in our decision making.Draw near to our choices.

Forgive our mistakes.And as you do,

Flip every table, habit, belief, or point of view that needs adjusting.

With hope we pray for a better day. Amen.

Words of Forgiveness

Prayer for Illumination

Scripture Lesson I Corinthians 1:18-25

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of

God for those of us who are being saved. It is written in scripture:

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the intelligence of the intelligent.

Where are the wise? Where are the legal experts? Where are today’s debaters? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? In

God’s wisdom, he determined that the world wouldn’t come to know him through its wisdom. Instead,

God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching. Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, which is a scandal to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are called—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s power and God’s

wisdom. This is because the foolishness of God is wiser than

human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than

human strength.

Hymn of Preparation Turning Over Tables

words and music by John Arndt, David Gungor, Matt Maher & Alex Pappas

Anna Ridnour, vocalist

Gospel ReadingJohn 2:13-22

Rev. Jonathan Heifner

It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover, and Jesus went up to

Jerusalem. He found in the temple those who were selling

cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging

currency sitting there. He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered

the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency. He said to the dove sellers, “Get these things out of here! Don’t

make my Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered

that it is written, Passion for your house consumes me.

Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? What

miraculous sign will you show us?”Jesus answered, “Destroy this

temple and in three days I’ll raise it up.”

The Jewish leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build

this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” But the temple Jesus

was talking about was his body. After he was raised from the dead,

his disciples remembered what he had said, and they believed the

scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

HomilyAgain & Again:

We Are Shown the Way

Response to the Word: Affirmation of FaithWe believe in a God

who knows holy rage—A God who stands with the underdog,Who passionately

protects the suffering,And who overturns

systems of corruption.We believe in a God

who leads by example—Feeding the hungry,

Welcoming the children,Offering water to the Samaritan,

Eating with the tax collector,Healing the sick,

Preaching from the mountaintop,And offering second chances.

We believe in a God who knew that we would lose our way,

And still said, “This is my body broken for you.”

We believe in a God who knew our capacity for mistakes,And still said, “I’m going

to prepare a place for you.”And because of this love,

We believe that God shows us the way,

Again and again and again.Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayers of the People

Invitation

The Peace of Christ

The Great Thanksgiving UMH 12; TFWS 2257 (b, c, d)

The Lord be with you.And also with you.Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.Let us give thanks

to the Lord our God.It is right to give

our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing,always and everywhere to give thanks to you,Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth.

And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heavenwe praise your name and join

their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

Blest is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection,

you gave birth to your Church, de-livered us from slavery

to sin and death,and made with us a new covenant

by water and the Spirit.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us,he took bread, gave thanks

to you, broke the bread,gave it to his disciples, and said:

“Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me,”

When the supper was over, he took the cup,

gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:“Drink from this, all of you;

this is my blood of the new covenant,

poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

And so,in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving

as a holy and living sacrifice,in union with Christ’s

offering for us,as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died, Christ is risen;

Christ will come again.Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,

and on these gifts of bread and wine.Make them be for us the

body and blood of Christ,that we may be for the

world the body of Christ,redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,

one with each other,and one in ministry to all the world,until Christ comes in final victory

and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ,with the Holy Spirit

in your Holy Church,all honor and glory is yours,

almighty Father, now and forever.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Hosanna in the highest!Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

The Lord’s PrayerOur 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 trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

and the glory, forever. Amen.

Giving the Bread & Cup

Sending HymnWhere Cross the

Crowded Ways of LifeUMH 427 (stanzas 1, 2, 4-6)

Where cross the crowded ways of life, where sound the

cries of race and clan, above the noise of selfish strife, we hear

your voice, O Son of man.

In haunts of wretchedness and need, on shadowed thresholds dark with fears, from paths

where hide the lures of greed, we catch the vision of your tears.

The cup of water given for you still holds the freshness of your grace; yet long these multitudes

to view the sweet compassion of your face.

O Master, from the mountainside make haste to heal these hearts

of pain; among these restless throngs abide; O tread the city’s streets again.

Till all the world shall learn your love and follow where your

feet have trod, till, glorious from your heaven above, shall

come the city of our God!

Benediction

PostludeLamb of God with What Wondrous Love Is This and Jesus Paid It All

Twila Paris, arr. Llyod Larson

Publishing Credits: The liturgy is reprinted with permission from The United Methodist Book of Worship, © 1992 The United Methodist Publishing House. A Sanctified Art “Prayer by Sarah Are | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org.”

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License A-714641; CCLI 435430 and CRL030829.