4th Sunday in Lent March 14, 2010 DEEPLY ROOTED IN FAITH (* for those able to stand)

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1 First Presbyterian Church encourages people to live their lives faithfully, daily, where they are, and with what they have been entrusted, to the glory of God. Our mission is to let our light shine and be beacons of hope, equipping people for life in the world. 4th Sunday in Lent March 14, 2010 DEEPLY ROOTED IN FAITH (* for those able to stand) PRELUDE OPENING RESPONSE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Leader: Deeply rooted in faith, People: We choose to live in hope! CHORAL INTROIT AND CALL TO WORSHIP * PROCESSIONAL HYMN 464 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee Hymn to Joy * PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison) God of compassion, you are slow to anger, and full of mercy, welcoming us sinners who return to you with penitent hearts. Receive in your loving embrace all who come home to you. Seat us at your bountiful table of grace, that, with all your children, we may feast with delight on all that satisfies the hungry heart. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. (silent prayers of confession) * ASSURANCE OF PARDON Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel: People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. * RESPONSE TO PARDON Hymn No. 171, St Columbia The King of love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever.

2 (Children in the balcony may now come down to be ready for Children s Time.) PRAYER FOR THE DAY (unison) (see Lenten insert) CHILDREN S TIME Andrew Davis (Children may now be seated with their parents or leave for the nursery. There is no Sunday Enrichment this morning.) OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Psalm 32:1-5 The Word of the Lord. (pg. 683, OT) Thanks be to God. ANTHEM Chancel Choir GOSPEL LESSON Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 The Word of the Lord. (pg. 107, NT) Thanks be to God. SERMON Leaving Home, Returning Home Andrew Davis CHOOSING TO LIVE IN HOPE * SONG Home On the Range Lomax Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play, Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day. Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play; Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day. Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free, the breezes so balmy and light, That I would not exchange my home on the range for all of the cities so bright. Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play; Where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day. * AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (unison) (see insert) PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD S PRAYER (debts/debtors) Congregational Response (sung) In the Lord I ll be ever thankful, in the Lord I will rejoice! Look to God, do not be afraid; lift up your voices, the Lord is near. Lift up your voices, the Lord is near. CALL TO OFFERING OFFERTORY (Please sign the Act of Friendship pad and pass it down the pew.) * DOXOLOGY (No. 592)

3 * PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING (responsive) Leader: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Leader: Lift up your hearts. People: We lift them to the Lord. Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. People: It is right to give our thanks and praise. * HYMN 415 Come, Labor On Ora Labora * CHARGE AND BENEDICTION Congregational Response (unison) Hymn No. 81 Lord, who throughout these forty days for us didst fast and pray, Teach us with thee to mourn our sins, and close by thee to stay. * POSTLUDE Welcome! We are delighted for your presence in worship today. If you do not have a church home, we hope you will consider becoming a part of this church. Please come to the parlor for refreshments and fellowship following worship. The flowers in the chancel are given by Sarah, Dave, Amanda & MacKenzie Morris in honor of Abby s 18th birthday. The carnation in the chancel is in memory of Earl Furnace. Today s bulletin contains the fourth of six Lenten Devotion inserts. The hope is that you will take the insert home with you for use as a daily devotion each day of that week, as you INVITE God into your life in the morning, and ASK where you have experienced God in the evening. By joining together in worship on Sunday, and praying together these prayers during the week, we can all prepare ourselves as a church, for Easter and the Resurrection of our Lord. SING PRAISE TO THE LORD! Next Sunday, March 21, our exceptionally gifted Chancel Choir, accompanied by some of Salina s finest musicians, will present Sing Praise to the Lord, a new cantata by Dan Goeller. Sing Praise to the Lord is a musical exploration of the Book of Psalms. This work is both contemplative and celebratory in nature, giving the listener the opportunity to reflect on Jesus trials during Lent while remembering joyously God s redeeming, unwavering grace. Please be sure to attend! A meeting of the congregation has been called for today and will take place immediately following the last hymn. The purpose of the meeting is to hear the Nominating Committee report on filling a vacancy on the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee.

4 Calendar For The Week Sunday, Mar 14 4th Sunday in Lent Multi-Age Church School, 3rd Flr - 9:00 am Faith Matters, Conf Rm - 9:00 am Worship, Sanctuary - 10:15 am (Daylight Savings Time begins!) Monday, Mar 15 Staff Mtg, Hope Ctr - 1:15 pm Tuesday, Mar 16 Cares & Concerns, Hope Ctr - 10:00 am Personnel Mtg, P Conf Rm - 2:00 pm League of Women Voters, Hope Ctr - 5:15 pm Singles Support Group, Hope Ctr - 7:00 pm Grief Support Group, Conf Rm - 7:00pm Wednesday, Mar 17 NO Wednesday Programs or WOW Choir Practice - 7:00 pm Saturday, Mar 20 Choir Practice, 9:00 am Sunday, Mar 21 5th Sunday in Lent Multi-Age Church School, 3rd Flr - 9:00 am Faith Matters, Conf Rm - 9:00 am Worship, Sanctuary - 10:15 am Special music worship service Sing Praise to the Lord (see bulletin for details!) S u n d a y V o l u n t e e r s: Worship Assistant: Ann Marie Kriss Coffee Host: Tina Ralston Mary & TJ Ralston Greeters: Judy & Clay Edmands RaMona Parks Flo Van Meter Ushers Andy & Katy England Grant, Kegan & Mary England Jerry & Carol Exline Charley & Jane Weathers Candlelighter: Rachael Hough Deacon Flower Deliverer: Bruce Pearson Manor Bus Driver: Pat Taylor Organist: Angie Koshgarian Custodian: Ed Zoch For Your Information: Bibles and large print hymnals are available in the back of the sanctuary Amplified hearing aid devices are available from an usher Worship bags for younger children are available in the lobby - please place them in the designated container as you leave Deacon Care Ministry Tan Prayer Request Cards are used for prayer requests. As requests are received, the Board of Deacons will offer prayers. Blue We Care Cards are for messages of care to persons of the congregation. Cards are available in the pew racks. Please place the cards in the offering plate. Hospitalized: Allen Dodge To address scheduling concerns, your monthly FPC newsletter will now be delivered the last Friday of each month. Look for it on March 26! Sermons are now online! Special thanks to JR Lidgett for recording services on Sunday mornings!

5 E a s t e r P l a n t O r d e r F o r m The Board of Deacons invites you to share with them in providing Easter plants as gifts to nursing home and homebound members of the church. These plants will decorate the Chancel on Easter Sunday, April 4. The cost is $13.00 per plant. You may pick up your plant for your own use after the 10:15 a.m. service IF you mark this option on the form below, OR you can have it delivered to a member or friend of the congregation designated by the church staff. Please fill out and return the form, with your payment, to the church office no later than Monday, March I would like to purchase Easter plant(s) at a cost of $13.00 each. MARK ONE: I will pick up my Easter plant YES NO Please deliver my Easter plant to a member or friend of the congregation (designated by the church staff) YES NO Name of Donor In Memory of Or In Honor of Please return this form, with your payment of $13.00 per plant, to: First Presbyterian Church, 308 South 8 th, Salina, KS 67401

6 AFFIRMATION OF FAITH We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth. Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel from the house of bondage. Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant. Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still. From A Brief Statement of Faith Book of Confessions, PC(USA).

7 Lenten Book Study begins March noon Mary Called Magdalene by Margaret George led by Jo Buchanan March 23 (pgs 3-206) March 30 (pgs ) April 9 (pgs ) Of all the women in the Bible, perhaps no one s presence has been as constantly reinterpreted as that of Mary Magdalene. Was she a prostitute? A prophet? In Margaret George s epic historical novel, Mary, Called Magdalene, Mary comes alive as one of Jesus first believers, a woman of infallible visions and a faith that earns her the title Apostle to the Apostles. This book study will meet in the Conference Room from noon to 1:00 pm on the dates listed above. If you would like help finding a source from where to purchase this book, please call the church office Faith Matters during Lent Gospel Portraits of Jesus: This study will explore a number of names and titles for Jesus that appear in the four gospels. Materials are available on the information table, or on FPC s web site: under the Adult Ministries section! Faith Matters class meets in the Conference Room Sunday mornings at 9:00 am. The nursery is available on 2nd Floor.

8 One Great Hour of Sharing As of today, FPC has collected $966 towards the One Great Hour of Sharing offering goal of $5,000. Together, our gifts bring life necessities to disaster survivors throughout the world, help refugees build new futures, and aid impoverished communities to develop dependable livelihoods and secure sources of food and water. It s remarkable what a child s gift will do! Use the Sharing Calendar (can be found online at or on the information table in the hallway) and those colorful fish banks to help your children learn about the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, as well as what it means to give. Visit to read more about the offering, and more specifically about how your contributions have helped those in Haiti and Chili.

9 Lenten Devotion Prayer for Week Four March 14 March 20, 2010 In keeping with our Lenten theme of Invite and Ask, use the following prayer this week, knowing that others in the congregation are beginning their day with this prayer as well. Loving God, as we invite you into our lives, this fourth week of Lent, grant that our heart may desire you, and that when it desires you, it may also seek you; that when it seeks you, it may also find you; that when it finds you, it may love you. Give to our hearts, the spirit of hope; to our bodies, strength; to our souls, courage; to our eyes, compassion; and to our hands the joy of working for a better world. Speak your word to us each hour of the day, and when the shadows of the evening fall, and the rush of the day is over, help us to see how you have been at work in our lives. Amen. (over)

10 The following is part of a daily devotion from d365. Go to for more information on how you can use d365 as a way to invite God into your life during Lent. Help me, Jesus, to be more like you. Help me, Jesus, to love more like you. Help me, Jesus, to forgive more like you. Help me, Jesus, to live more like you. Amen. First Presbyterian Church 308 S 8th Salina KS