March 17, 2024
Lent 5:
Christ Among Us, the New Covenant
First Mennonite Church
Sugarcreek, Ohio
March 17, 2024
Worship: 9:30-10:30
Fellowship Time: 10:30-11:00
Sunday School: 11:00-12:0
We believe in Jesus and take his life, teachings, death and resurrection
as the model for how we live and the message we proclaim.
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We seek to be a caring and discerning community,
the gathered body of Christ.
that welcomes all to join in worship, study, and service.
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We embody God’s transforming and redeeming Spirit in the world
through our prophetic witness and action.
THE CHURCH WORSHIPS TOGETHER
~Gathering~
Prelude
Welcome & Announcements
Focus Statement:
Whenever God lets something fade away, it’s because He has something better to replace it. This is why the old covenant died with Jesus’ death so he could bring in the new covenant. The old covenant wasn’t bad. It was beautiful, but not as wondrous and glorious as the new covenant. Using flowers as a metaphor, the old covenant is the flower, but what comes next is even better. Flowers must die, not because they aren’t good but because they must fade away so the next thing can come. Then, and only then, will it bear much fruit. To have Christ within us, we must die to self. We must throw off all the external things that get in our way and look within. Patiently and lovingly, God waits for us to surrender.
Gathering Litany
Right: We are a covenant people, called to God by God.
Left: We are a covenant people, called to Jesus by Jesus, losing one
life to gain our life.
Right: Renamed.
Left: Reborn.
All: Renewed. We gather ourselves in the community of
believers. We gather ourselves unto you.
Time of Meditation
Call To Worship:
Leader: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I
will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel. No longer will they teach their neighbors, or
say to one another, ‘Know the Lord!’ because they
will all know me, from the least to the greatest.”
People: This new covenant is being offered to us.
Leader: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of
wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a
single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
People: Death must come before resurrection. A seed
fallen to the soil and broken open can become life
for many.
All: This new covenant is being offered to us: to lay
down our life and follow.
Leader: The life-giving ways of God placed within our minds
and written on our hearts, where we are forgiven and our sins remembered no more, where we are God’s people and God is our God.
Invocation
Hymn of Gathering VT 34 We Praise You O God, Our Redeemer
~Praising & Praying~
Psalm Reading: 119:9-16
Hymn of Praise VT 103 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Prayers of the People
~Hearing God’s Word~
Scripture: John 12:20-33
Message “The New Covenant, Written On Our Hearts”
Time of Introspection (to be read silently)
God of innumerable mercies,
give us the grace to be daily buried in the love of Christ,
like the seed that is buried in the earth,
and thereby may we begin to live more abundantly.
With his help, may we learn of that fruitful life
which spent in loving others
can glorify your name throughout the world.
Then may the earth know its Saviour,
who with you in the unity of the Spirit
are loved and worshipped, world without end.
Amen!
Guitar Interlude: “In the Bulb There Is a Flower” (VT 670)
~Responding~
Prayer of Confession:
Leader: O God, we gather before you, seeking your mercy. Hear us, we pray.
People: We confess that we sin against you.
Leader: O God, wash us, make us clean, create in us a new spirit.
People: Stay close to us, restore us to your truth.
All: So that we can cry out with joy, cleansed in your abundant mercy. AMEN.
Hymn of Response VT 670 In the Bulb There Is a Flower
(the offering will be brought forward)
Offering Prayer
~Sending~
Sending Hymn ”My Presence Will Go with You”
(printed in bulletin) – Joungmin Kim
Postlude
Sending Words
Visuals: Our journey toward God leads us on a path. We may stray
from time to time, but God is always with us, gently guiding us back.
The symbols on the altar represent our journey. The brown cloth
represents our path, and the side-by-side footprints represent those
we walk along side. Along with the empty bowl which reminds us of
God’s never-ending love for us and how God wants to fill us, the cross
reminds us that to follow Jesus, we must take up our cross daily.
The scrolls represent the Ten Commandments and serve as a guide and
reminder of God’s justice and great love for us; the candle, a reminder
that God is always shining God’s light toward us, covering us with
mercy and grace. This week, the buds on the forsythia remind us that
we must die to self so that God can bring forth the beauty inside of us;
whenever God lets something fade away, it’s because he has
something better to replace it.
WORSHIP 9:30-10:30
Minister Mike Gehman
Worship Leader: Tabatha Murphy
Song Leader: April Shupe
Organist: Margaret Cheslock
Pianist: Suzanne Stauffer
Head Usher: Leadership Team
THE CHURH GIVES THANKS
Sue Stauffer: Amy took her students to state competition, 11 students will go on to Nationals.
THE CHURCH PRAYS FOR
Bertie Showers: Dan’s wife, Susan, is not feeling well.
Tabatha Murphy: People who are fighting addiction.
FMC LIVES IN DISCIPLESHIP TOGETHER
Next Week’s Text: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Zechariah 9:9;
Matthew 2: 1-11; Mark 11: 1-11; Luke 19: 28-44; John 12: 12-16
Harbor of Hope for March: Paper Products
Mission Project for March: MCC Hygiene Kits
Reading enthusiasts, check this out---In the foyer on the bookcases by the refreshment table are a number of books from Bob Gerber's book collection that are on loan to the church library. If you would wish to look at them or take any of them out, you are invited to sign your name and put the date beside the name of the book on the sheet provided. We thank Bob for sharing with us.
Easter Flower Orders: Daffodils, Tulips and Hyacinths are $8. each
and Easter Lilies are $9.00 each. Make checks payable to First
Mennonite and earmark for flowers. Check the list by the mailboxes
to see what you ordered.
Holy Week Services and Activities:
Wednesday March 27th, 1pm: Mennonite Action Comforter Knotting
Mennonite Action is a movement of Mennonites bonded by a
common belief that we must be public about our peace values. They
believe that Mennonites have a responsibility to use our voices as
powerfully as possible for the cause of peace and justice. They are
taking public action as Mennonites, and it is in this vein that we will
gather together as a church to knot comforters in the Fellowship Hall
and send them to MCC, supporting the theme, Send Aid, Not Bombs.
Thursday March 28th, 6pm: Maundy Thursday Supper and Service
Bring a quart of vegetable soup and add it to the common pot as we
join together for a simple meal of soup, bread, cheese and fruit. This
will be followed by a communion service, remembering the Last
Supper.
Sunday March 31st: Easter Services
Sonrise Service begins at 8am in the Fellowship Hall, followed by a
breakfast provided by the kitchen committee.
Easter Service will begin at 10am in the sanctuary. There will be no
Sunday School following the service.
THIS WEEK
March 23rd Happy Birthday, Craig Maurer
March 23rd Pancake Day & Health Screening at Belden Center
March 24th Palm Sunday
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 27th Mennonite Action Week Comforter Knotting 1pm
March 28th Maundy Thursday Supper and Service 6pm
March 30th Community Easter Egg Hunt at Garaway Football Stadium
March 31st Easter Sonrise Service 8 am
Breakfast 8:30
Easter Service 10 am
NEXT WEEK
Worship Leader: April Shupe
Head Usher: Leadership Team
LAST WEEK
ATTENDANCE: 25
OFFERING: $2060
Change for a Dollar: $8
2024 Lenten Theme: Christ Among Us
Lent begins with mourning on Ash Wednesday, when we remember who we are as humans and who God is, reminding us of our brokenness and God’s grace. This is followed by passages recalling Christ’s venture into the wilderness and the 40-day journey that we are on as well. The journey starts with this moment of God speaking to God’s Son, announcing to the world who Jesus is, reminding Jesus of his belovedness, and reminding the people of God of the prophecies and promises of the coming Messiah.
This year’s Lenten texts focus on covenants. They point to God’s history of reaching out to continue in relationship with God’s people. Covenants begin with God. God forms an agreement with God’s people. Time and time again, humanity fails to follow these covenants, yet God’s mercy and grace remain. Christ is among us, reminding us of who we are, and even when we fail, reminding us of grace and calling us beloved.
Christ remains among us, and that is where we stand united in our Mennonite denomination. So each week, we consider a key theme among these passages: What might Christ be teaching? What is God expecting of us? How does this enable us to live our Christian—and Mennonite—identity more fully, bringing glimpses of the new heaven and new earth into our communities? What is the journey showing us as we answer God’s call?
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Pastor: Mike Gehman
Email: pastor@firstmennonitesugarcreek.com
Pastor’s Hours: Wednesday 9:30 am-2:30 pm
Church Secretary: Tabatha Murphy
Church Phone: 1-330-852-2822
Email: office@firstmennonitesugarcreek.com
Website: http//fmcsugarcreekoh.org
Address: 113 W. Main St. P.O. Box 250 Sugarcreek, Ohio 44681
CONGREGATIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM:
Chairperson: Mike Keim
Office Contact: Linda Yoder
Mission Contact: Reno Stevanus
Trustees Contact: Dan Hostetler
Secretary Contact: Amy Stauffer-McNutt
