Snowy Day Worship

If you missed worship this morning because you're too busy shoveling out, here's an at-home devotion you can use.

Call to Worship

Our Lenten journey has begun. 

This is the season of reflection and repentance.

We come in search of deeper faith and more authentic discipleship.

We come, seeking to draw closer to Jesus.

We come, longing for a more meaningful life,

We come, hoping to find what it is we are looking for.

Opening Song

     "40 Days" by Matt Maher

Opening Prayer

Loving God, as we journey through this holy season of Lent, give us the strength and courage to look at ourselves honestly and to make the changes that are needed in our lives. Open our hearts and minds to your steadfast presence and help us to abide in you.  Amen.

Scripture Reading: John 1:35-42

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Message

"What Are You Looking For?" (Click here to listen)

Reflection

What are you most in search of in life?

How would you define "the meaningful life"?  

What spiritual practices or attitudes help you to "abide" in Jesus?

Sharing

If you are worshiping with others, share your reflection. If you are worshiping by yourself, take a few moments to give thanks for Jesus' invitation to "come and see" and to abide in him.

Praying

Receive God’s gift of time to be in prayer, offering God any burdens or joys that you are aware of for yourself, others, and the world. Then join in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples:

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, and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen. 

Closing Song

"Eagles Wings" performed by Hillsong

Lent at Bangor First

Worship
We invite you to join us for worship during this holy season of Lent. Our non-traditional worship service is held in the Fireside Room at 8:30 on Sunday mornings. Traditional worship is in the sanctuary at 10:30. Here's what we're focusing on this year:

8:30 Worship

We'll be taking a look at some of the often overlooked characters in the final week of Jesus' life. Although they may have had small parts, they teach big lessons.

     February 22: Thomas - The Trouble with Following Jesus

     March 1: Judas - When Convictions Get in the Way of the Truth

     March 8: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus - Real Friends

     March 15: Caiaphas - The Ends Justify the Means?

     March 22: Pontius Pilate - Compromised Principles

     March 29: The Palm Sunday Crowd - What We Want from Jesus
     April 5: The Young Man in the Tomb - Go and Tell

10:30 Worship
The theme of our Lenten series is “The Questions of Jesus”. Each Sunday in Lent we’ll examine one of the probing questions posed by Jesus in the Gospel of John and consider our own answers to those questions.
     February 22: "What Are You Looking For?" (John 1:35-42)
     March 1: "Do You Want to Be Made Well?" (John 5: 1-9)

     March 8: "Do You Wish to Go Away?" (John 6:56-69)

     March 15: "Has No One Condemned You?" (John 8:2-11)

     March 22: "Will You Lay Down Your Life for Me?" (John 13:1-2a, 31-38)

     March 29: "Who Is This?" (Matthew 21:1-11)
     April 5: "Woman, Why Are You Weeping?" (John 20:1-18)

Study
There are two opportunities for study this Lent:

Sunday Mornings - "24 Hours that Changed the World" 
Begins February 22 at 9:15 AM. 
This study, which guides participants through the last 24 hours of Jesus' life, includes video filmed in the Holy Land that enables us to virtually walk where Jesus walked and see what he may have seen.

Thursday Evenings - The Gospel of Mark
Begins February 26. 
Join us for the Community Meal at 5:30, followed by Bible study at 6:00.

Lenten Devotion for February 28

Come and Stay at My House Today
by Joyce Rupp

Jesus, this Lent I am yearning to wear a Zacchaeus heart.
I am wanting to hear you call my name just as you did his.
I am anxious to know that you are inviting yourself to my home.
I am humbled, amazed, excited, and astounded, just as he was.
But that is where the desire to wear a Zacchaeus heart stops,
because I know what happens when you visit someone’s house.
Conversations occur. Choices are presented. Changes happen.
That’s because you look for more than dust when you come to visit
and you talk about things more vital than the weather.
You move into the heart’s dimension. You gaze deeply.
You don’t just dwell. You interact. You activate.
You dwell so lovingly that the truth cannot be resisted.
This Lent help me to welcome you and yearn for your love.
Give me a Zacchaeus heart that turns around and sees the truth.
I need the gaze of your love to remind me of my truest self.
I, too, need the strong call to make amends and start anew.
Hurry, Jesus, come and stay at my house today.

Lenten Devotion for February 27

You Are With Me

by Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Holy One,

Light of my shadows and Way of my wandering,

you are the desert in whom I find myself;

you are the presence in whom, in solitude, I am not alone.

Walk with me into the wilderness of my sin.

Expose what is hidden that I need to see;

receive what is broken, that it may be healed;

forgive what is hurtful,

and bless what returns me to life.

By your grace may I find in my shadows your glorious image,

and in my broken heart your crucified Christ.

For you are my only power, my only security,

and the source of my truest self.

Gracious and Loving One,

I walk through a valley of shadows and death:

you are with me, and I trust you. Amen. 

Lenten Devotion for February 26

Alone
by Maya Angelou

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Lenten Devotion for February 25

Lead Us on Our Journey
by Ruth Harvey

God, our God,
you have called us to be a people
on the move;
traveling light,
dying to live,
ready to lose ourselves for the sake of the world.

You have called us to be a people
with a purpose;
traveling without a map,
traveling to where we are led,
sustained by your Spirit,
committed to the gospel for the hope of the world.

You have called us, your people,
to be the church.
But we are a church with problems:
too strong for the weak,
too staid for the young,
too respectable for the poor,
too divided for mission,
too obsessed with our own lives to think of the lives of others,
too unsure of our message to speak to the world.

Move us on our journey
from where we are to where you want us to go.
Open our eyes on the way
to the people of different cultures, continents and countries,
who can bring color to our lives.

Take us on our journey
from where we are to what you want us to be;
so that we become a community
where all are welcomed and no one is excluded,
all are valued and no one is made to feel inadequate,
all are forgiven and no one is ashamed to belong,
all are encouraged and no one is too hurt to come among us.

Lead us on our journey
from who we are to who you want us to be;
so that patience is built into us,
kindness is assumed in us,
gentleness is part of us,
compassion flows from us,
truth is second nature to us,
and the commitment of love is part of us.

Let us go gladly on the journey towards Easter –
the journey towards death and resurrection.
Let us journey in the peace and power of the Spirit.

Lenten Devotion for February 24

Prayer of One Who Feels Lost
by Joyce Rupp

Dear God,
why do I keep fighting you off?
One part of me wants you desparately,
another part of me unknowingly
pushes you back and runs away.

What is there in me that
so contradicts my desire for you?
These transition days, these passage ways,
are calling me to let go of old securities,
to give myself over into your hands.

Like Jesus who struggled with the pain
I, too, fight the “let it all be done.”
Loneliness, lostness, non-belonging,
all these hurts strike out at me,
leaving me pained with this present goodbye.

I want to be more but I fight the growing.
I want to be new but I hang unto the old.
I want to live but I won’t face the dying.
I want to be whole but cannot bear
to gather up the pieces into one.

Is it that I refuse to be out of control,
to let the tears take their humbling journey,
to allow my spirit to feel its depression,
to stay with the insecurity of “no home”?

Now is the time. You call to me,
begging me to let you have my life,
inviting me to taste the darkness
so I can be filled with the light,
allowing me to lose my direction
so that I will find my way home to you.

Lenten Devotion for February 23

The Fast I Choose
Isaiah 58:3-12

“Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

Lenten Devotion for February 22

A Lenten Prayer

by Augustine of Hippo

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Guard me, O Holy Spirit, that I myself may always be holy.

Lenten Devotion for February 21

Lent Reflection
by Shane Claiborne

In a world filled with clutter, noise and hustle, Lent is a good excuse to step back and rethink how we think and live.  In a world of instant gratification, it's a chance to practice delayed gratification -- to fast -- so that we can truly appreciate the blessings we have.  In a world where virtual friends are replacing real ones, it is an invitation to turn off TV and computer screens so we can spend time with real people again.

It's an opportunity to give up something that is sucking the life out of us so that we can be filled with God, with life, with love again.  

Lenten Devotion for February 20

A Prayer for Lent

Henri J. M. Nouwen

How often have I lived through these weeks without paying much attention to penance, fasting, and prayer? How often have I missed the spiritual fruits of the season without even being aware of it? But how can I ever really celebrate Easter without observing Lent? How can I rejoice fully in your Resurrection when I have avoided participating in your death?

Yes, Lord, I have to die--with you, through you, and in you--and thus become ready to recognize you when you appear to me in your Resurrection. There is so much in me that needs to die: false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess.... I see clearly now how little I have died with you, really gone your way and been faithful to it. O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again. Amen.

Lenten Devotion for February 19

To the Ocean
by Ed Happ

There was a stream
next to the house
where I spent half my childhood;
I was forever pulling leaves and limbs
from it
so the water that had backed up
behind the impromptu dam
could flow anew—
there was something about water
moving freely by
that called to my tending
as if downstream
was a place to go
without impediment.
When I can’t pray
I think about the wall of branches
that one by one needs to be pulled out
of the way;
And when I do pray,
I’m sailing to the ocean on the last golden leaf.

Ash Wednesday Devotion

Lent 2001
by Joyce Rupp

The cosmos dreams in me

while I wait in stillness,
ready to lean a little further
into the heart of the Holy.

I, a little blip of life,
a wisp of unassuming love,
a quickly passing breeze,
come once more into Lent.

No need to sign me
with the black bleeding ash
of palms, fried and baked.
I know my humus place.

This Lent I will sail
on the graced wings of desire,
yearning to go deeper
to the place where
I am one in the One.

Oh, may I go there soon,
in the same breath
that takes me to the stars
when the cosmos dreams in me.

Snowbound Worship for February 15

If "Winter Storm Neptune" has prevented you from attending church today, here is a worship service that you can use for your Sunday morning devotion.  

Call to Worship

We come, seeking spiritual refreshment, thirsting for Living Water.

We come, waiting to encounter the holy, hoping for a glimpse of God’s glory.

We come, open to the possibility of transformation, receptive to the work of the Spirit.

Centering Music 

“Transfiguration” by Sufjan Stevens 

When he took the three disciples to the mountainside to pray

His countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame

Two men appeared, Moses and Elijah came

They were at his side

The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die

Then there came a word of what he should accomplish on the day

Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place

A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade

They fell on the ground

A voice arrived, the voice of God

The face of God covered in a cloud

What he said to them, the voice of God, the most beloved son

Consider what he says to you, consider what's to come

The prophecy was put to death, was put to death

And so will the son

And keep your word, disguise the vision till the time has come

Lost in the cloud, a voice

Have no fear, we draw near

Lost in the cloud, a sign

Son of man, turn your ear

           

Opening Prayer

Light of Our Life, we gather here longing for a sense of your presence—hoping for some revelation, some experience of you that will touch our hearts and revive our spirits. Transform this place into holy ground. Startle us with your radiant love. Touch our souls in life-changing ways. Then send us forth with eyes to see your glory all around.  Amen.

Scripture Reading

Mark 9:2-9 

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Message

“Thin Places”  (Click here to listen)

Response Song   

"Show Me Your Glory" 

 Performed by Third Day

I caught a glimpse of Your splendor

In the corner of my eye

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen 

And it was like a flash of lightning 

Reflected off the sky 

And I know I'll never be the same 

Show me Your glory 

Send down Your presence 

I want to see Your face 

Show me Your glory 

Majesty shines about You 

I can't go on without You, Lord 

When I climb down the mountain 

And get back to my life 

I won't settle for ordinary things 

I'm gonna follow You forever 

And for all of my days 

I won't rest 'til I see You again

Show me Your glory

Send down Your presence

I want to see Your face

Show me Your glory

Majesty shines about You

I can't go on without You, Lord

Reflection

When have you gotten a glimpse of God's glory and wonder and mystery?

What spiritual practices or attitudes help you to be more tuned in to the presence of God?

Sharing  

If you are worshiping with others, share your reflection. If you are worshiping by yourself, take a few moments to give thanks for those times when you have been aware of the nearness of God. Ask God to help you be more attentive and receptive to God's presence.

Praying Together 

Receive God’s gift of time to be in prayer, offering God any burdens or joys that you are aware of for yourself, others, and the world. Don’t rush. Receive silence as well as words. God has all the time in the world for you! Then join in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples:
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, and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen. 

Closing Song  

"King of Heaven" by Paul Baloche

“Transfiguration”
Words and Music: STEVENS, SUFIJAN
Copyright: New Jerusalem Music

“Show Me Your Glory”
Words and Music: LEE, MARK D. / ANDERSON, SAMUEL TAI / AVERY, BRADLEY B. C. / CARR, DAVID / POWELL, JOHNNY MAC / BYRD, MARC
Copyright: Universal Music Publishing Group

“King of Heaven”
Words and Music: INGRAM, JASON/BALOCHE, PAUL
Copyright: Windsor Hill Music, Integrity Worship Music, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing, West Main Music