Welcome To Worship Today’s Theme: Walking In New Directions

Lent Has Arrived March 8 and March 22 will be our next Lenten services at church. Worship will start at 5:00 pm and will be followed by homemade soup and sandwiches. Volunteers are needed to make the soup. See the sign-up sheet in the Fellowship Hall.

Emergency Homeless Shelter We host the homeless shelter for our final turn beginning the evening of March 1. Please see George Petry if you are willing provide a hot dish for an evening meal or to bring food supplies needed for this week.

As We Gather As we gather may Your Spirit work within us. As we gather may we glorify Your name. Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship, we’ll be blessed because we came. We’ll be blessed because we came. Repeat verse a second time.

Forever Reign You are good. You are good when there’s nothing good in me. You are love. You are love on display for all to see. You are light. You are light when the darkness closes in. You are hope. You are hope. You have covered all my sin. You are peace. You are peace when my fear is crippling. You are true. You are true even in my wandering.

You are joy. You are joy. You’re the reason that I sing. You are life. You are life. In you death has lost its sting. Oh I’m running to your arms. I’m running to your arms. The riches of your love will always be enough. Nothing compares to your embrace. Light of the world forever reign.

You are more. You are more than my words will ever say. You are Lord. You are Lord. All creation will proclaim. You are here. You are here. In Your presence I’m made whole. You are God. You are God of all else I’m letting go. Oh I’m running to your arms. I’m running to your arms. The riches of your love will always be enough.

Nothing compares to your embrace. Light of the world forever reign. My heart will sing no other name. Jesus, Jesus, my heart will sing no other name. Jesus, Jesus. Oh, I am running to your arms. I am running to your arms. The riches of your love will always be enough. Nothing compares to your embrace. Light of the world, forever reign.

Great I Am You are the Great I Am. Forever You shall be. Let every angel sing of Your perfect authority. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess, You are the Great I Am. The first and last. You are the Great I Am. Forever you shall be. Let every angel sing of Your perfect authority.

Every knee will bow and every tongue confess, You are the Great I Am, the first and last. Mighty, mighty, eternal, eternal, immortal, immortal, awesome One. Mysterious, mysterious, the wonderful, the wonderful, the holy One, the holy one, the beginning and the end.

Sermon Notes Many people gloss over Jesus calling of his first four disciples found in our scripture from Mark. But in glossing over these verses they miss catching the essence of Jesus ministry. Mark sets the stage of Jesus ministry in use of two phrases; “the kingdom of God has come” and “repent and believe” The word repent meant to walk in a new direction.

Mark uses the kingdom of God to describe coming into God’s presence. Many times Jesus calls us to walk in new directions and when he follow his advice and walk in those new directions we experience God’s presence in our life. But it is hard to walk in a new direction especially if we currently like the direction we are going. Sometimes its hard to leave our old direction because we don’t like the change that will come with a new direction.

Change is hard but growth can not come to us if we are not open to change. In what ways might God be asking you to “repent” to change direction so that you can grow spiritually or emotionally? We know that Jesus disciples certainly walked in a different direction when they said yes to Jesus and change. We also know that each of these disciples would grow spiritually because of their yes. Their yes also brought them to see God.

We are in the season of Lenten. This season can be a fertile time of growth for us. What might God be calling us to change or do during this time that can help us come into God’s presence? Novelist Dan Wakefield once wrote: “It was in church that I discovered a depth and strength to life. I also discovered that I am on a journey. A journey of leaving and reaching, of losing and finding, a journey that I believe will ultimately lead me to God.”

Let It Rise Let the glory of the Lord rise among us. Let the praises of the King rise among us. Let it rise. Let the songs of the Lord rise among us. Let the songs of the Lord rise among us. Let the joy of the King rise among us. Let it rise. Oh let it rise, oh let it rise. Repeat whole song again.

Thanks For Worshipping With Us This Morning For those in choir, remember there will be choir practice for you this coming Wednesday night. Let’s keep our service personnel and those who protect us here at home in our prayers this week.