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The United Church of Prairie Spirit Pastoral Charge Coaldale United and Trinity United Music: Lee Van Andel (CUC) Scripture reader: Marlene McCann (CUC) Worship leader: Lois Punton Lent 1 1st 2020 Prelude Words of Welcome Announcements, and Celebrations Lighting the Christ Candle No. 14MV “Where Two or Three Are Gathered” Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there, I am there. Call to Worship As we travel this Lenten pathway, we journey together, a community of faith. As we travel this Way of , we journey together, but also alone. Practising our faith: living Christ’s call to love God with all that we are, to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. Practising our faith: as stewards on the Way. Lenten – responsive 1.Today, we begin our journey through the season of Lent. Each week, as we put out the candles, we are invited to think about the scripture readings and how they relate to our living. 2.We start our journey in the wilderness. We put out one candle to remind us of our own journey. (put out one candle) 1.When Jesus was in the wilderness, he relied on God to help him. All: When we feel alone, God is always there to help us. Let us pray: Loving God, thank you for being with us when we feel alone. Help us to rely on you as we follow our journey through Lent. Amen. No. 105 VU “Dust and Ashes Touch Our Face” Children’s Time of Reconciliation Please join me in a prayer of : opening our minds to the inevitability of forgiveness. We are often unaware of the ways we cause harm and perpetuate suffering. But you, O God, see us at our worst and you are filled with compassion for all of us – victims and perpetrators. One: Today we begin a journey of exploration. We will encounter our pain and the pain of others, confessing, repenting, and seeking forgiveness. Words of Freedom People of the wilderness! We speak affirmation into the lives of those we love. We raise our voices together. We look into one another’s faces and proclaim: You are not alone, you are walking together in innocence by the power of all that is holy and always with us. You are a child of God. Sung Response: No. 90 MV “Don’t Be Afraid” Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger, my love is stronger than you fear. Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near. Hymn No. 115 VU Jesus Tempted in the Desert Scripture Reading: Genesis 2:15–17, 3:1–7 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 2 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’ Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” ’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. Matthew 4:1-11 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 4:3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 4:6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 4:7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 4:9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, ! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" 4:11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. Anthem Hymn No. 279 VU “You, God, Are My Firmament” Minute for Mission: : ‘Supporting Ministers Financially’ The Financial Assistance Committee of The oversees nine funds to support ministry personnel and lay members during times of extraordinary financial hardship, personal or vocational assessment,

3 post-secondary education, and sabbatical leave. Three funds are supported by Mission & Service. The Support and Advocacy Fund provides financial assistance for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and Two-Spirit ministry personnel who are experiencing difficulties in maintaining employment in the church because of their known or perceived sexual orientation or identity. The Personnel Emergency Fund provides financial support to a pastoral charge to fulfill their obligation of salary continuance to ministry personnel and congregational designated ministers who are on administrative leave or suspension, as part of a disciplinary process. The Fund for Survivors of Sexual Misconduct assists with the costs of counselling for two distinct groups. First, ministry personnel who are survivors of sexual abuse are supported to stay in active ministry while participating in therapy. Second, individuals who have experienced sexual misconduct in a United Church context are provided with financial contributions toward the cost of counselling to enhance their healing. One recent recipient says, “It has been a long journey. I am deeply grateful to The United Church of Canada for caring about victims of sexual abuse. I hope for my own healing and for the healing of others.” Your gifts to Mission & Service help support ministry personnel, lay individuals, and pastoral charges with important financial assistance during difficult circumstances. If Mission & Service giving is already a regular part of your life, thank you so much! If you have not given, please join me in making Mission & Service giving a regular part of your life of faith. Loving our neighbour is at the heart of our Mission & Service. Mission Prayer: from Song of Faith God is creative and self-giving, generously moving in all the near and distant corners of the universe. Nothing exists that does not find its source in God. Our first response to God’s providence is gratitude. We sing thanksgiving. Offering Invitation Doxology “VU 121 In our call to be a blessing, may we be a blessing true; may we live and die confessing Christ as Lord of all we do,

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Christ as Lord of all we do. Offering Prayer of O -filled and holy God, we give you thanks for what you have done, what you are doing now, and for the miracles you have yet to work, more wondrous than we can even imagine. We thank you that in the fullness of time, you gave us Jesus, your beloved Son, who conversed with the wind and the waves. He invited the thirsty to living waters, the unchanged into new birth, and the blind to open their eyes to what they had never been able to see. He came from love, he lived in love, and even when his friends betrayed him, he loved them to the end. He listened for the Spirit, even as its power rearranged people’s lives. That same Spirit raised him up from the bounds of death, and it pours out upon us even now, on the friends gathered here, and on what we eat and drink. O Holy One, make us one with each other, and make us one with you. Until we love our neighbours as we love ourselves, until we see you clearly, face to face, and until we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that love is strong as death. Breaking the Bread and Pouring the Cup Prayer After Communion Though this was just a bite, a sip, a sliver of experience, we made taste, sound, smell, colour and mood come together in remembrance of the one who enlivened word with flesh and then resurrected life with love. Help us, in every moment, to experience and share your redeeming love. Amen. Hymn No. 686 VU “God of Grace and God of Glory” (T. VU 651) Commissioning and Benediction As we travel this Lenten pathway, we journey together, a community of faith.

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As we travel this Way of Jesus, we journey together, but also alone. Let us go into God’s world practising our faith, living Christ’s call to love God with all that we are, to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. Let us go into God’s world knowing we are never alone. Christ’s peace, the Creator’s love, and the breath of the Holy Spirit go with us. Amen! Sending Forth – No. 117 VU vs 5 “Jesus Christ is Waiting” Jesus Christ is calling, calling in the streets, 'Who will join my journey? I will guide their feet.' Listen, Lord Jesus, let my fears be few. Walk one step before me; I will follow you. Postlude

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