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Asbury United Methodist Church
April 6, 2025
Welcome!
Prelude
Joys, Concerns, Announcements
Please stand as you are able at *.
Greeting (Liturgist)
Come to this sanctuary, this house, this home, Holy Christ,
And let us receive you with lavish welcome.
You are the Restorer of our fortunes,
The Promise of new life –
We pour out our praise to you.
Fill this room with your Spirit:
The sound of wind, the warmth of flame, the scent of perfume
And fill our hearts with your compassion,
Not just in this time and place,
But in all times and in all places,
So that as we celebrate the great things you have done for us,
We may also embody the love you give to all. Amen.
(Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/02/opening-prayer-psalm-126.html.)
*CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) (Liturgist)
One: We come to worship, remembering God’s goodness that has carried us and sustained us to this present moment.
ALL: We remember the days when God covered us in love and filled us with joy.
One: We come to worship, weary from stress, heavy with grief, and wondering when relief will come.
ALL: We long for the days God covered us in love and filled us with joy.
One: We come to worship to remember and remind one another that God’s love has never left us, and God’s joy cannot be extinguished.
ALL: God, restore us that we know your love and your joy once again.
One: We come to worship to remember and become the Body of Christ, a community called to restore the world around us.
ALL: God, empower us to be your restoration people who fill the world with love, laughter, and abundant life. Amen.
(Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2024.)
*Hymn #2210 TFWS “Joy Comes with the Dawn”
Joy comes with the dawn;
Joy comes with the morning sun;
Joy springs from the tomb and
Scatters the night with her song,
Joy comes with the dawn.
Weeping may come;
Weeping may come in the night,
When dark shadows cloud our sight.
Joy comes with the dawn;
Joy comes with the morning sun;
Joy springs from the tomb and
Scatters the night with her song,
Joy comes with the dawn.
Sorrow will turn,
Sorrow will turn into song,
And God’s laughter make us strong.
Joy comes with the dawn;
Joy comes with the morning sun;
Joy springs from the tomb and
Scatters the night with her song,
Joy comes with the dawn.
We will rejoice,
We will rejoice, and give praise,
To the One who brings us grace.
Joy comes with the dawn;
Joy comes with the morning sun;
Joy springs from the tomb and
Scatters the night with her song,
Joy comes with the dawn.
1st READING Isaiah 43:16-21 NRSVUE Peggy Johnson
Thus says the LORD,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down; they cannot rise;
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
Psalm 126-with sung response 2, UMH page 847 Peggy Johnson
Response: For the night weeping may tarry; with the morning light comes joy.
R
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
Then they said among the nations.
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad. R
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb!
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy!
Those who go forth weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves. R
Anthem
2nd Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14 NRSVUE Peggy Johnson
Even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Gospel Reading: John 12:1-8 NRSVUE Pastor Alison
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
“Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
Pastor: The word of God for the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God!
SERMON: “Fill me with laughter” by Pastor Alison
Hymn #103 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible is from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Un-resting, un-hasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rule-st in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou live-st, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught change-th thee.
Thou reign-est in glory; thou dwell-est in light;
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
‘tis only the splendor of light hide-th thee.
Prayer Time
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 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, the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen
Offering
*Doxology # 94 (To the tune “Lasst Uns Erfreuen”)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise god, all creatures here below:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ, whose power up-lifts!
Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Prayer Of Dedication (Unison)
Loving God, source of all joy, we come before you with hearts full of gratitude. As Mary poured out her love for Jesus with costly perfume, so we pour out our gifts before you, seeking to honor you with all that we have. During this reflective Lenten period, may our offerings remind us of the abundance you’ve poured into our lives. Help us to give extravagantly, not out of duty, but from hearts filled with joy and gratitude. Bless these gifts and use them to bring your hope to the world. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Hymn #170 “O How I Love Jesus”
There is a name I love to hear,
I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear,
The sweetest name on earth.
Refrain:
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because he first loved me!
It tells me of a Savior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of his precious blood,
The sinner’s perfect plea.
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because he first loved me!
It tells of one whose loving heart
Can feel my deepest woe;
Who in each sorrow bears a part
That none can bear below.
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because he first loved me!
*Benediction
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Today 4/6
9:30 am Choir Practice
9:30 am Bible Study
10:45 am Worship
Tuesday 4/8
9:30 am Quilters-Crafters
Next Sunday 4/13
9:30 am Choir Practice
9:30 am Bible Study
10:45 am Palm Sunday
Thursday 4/17
5:00 PM Maundy Thursday at Asbury UMC with Kenwood Park joining us.
Pastor Alison Dix Cell: 319-573-4801
Email: Alison.dix@iaumc.net
Website: www.theasburymethodistcr.com
Phone: 319-364-3188
Church office hours: Tue – Thurs 9am-1pm
To view live streaming or recordings please visit www.youtube.com and search for Asbury UMC CR and subscribe.
Prayer for at home:
