SUNDAY WORSHIP on MARCH 15, 2020

Prelude
Prepare your heart to worship God in the Spirit and the Truth.
           
Invitation to Worship
I invite you to stand and turn to face the light as it comes into our midst.  It is this “turning” or “re-orienting” ourselves toward the Holy light that is the essence of our season of Lent. Let us begin this season of listening, of hearing that still, small voice and finding our own true selves.
 
Introit / "Come and Rest"
 
Reading / Liturgist 
The Wisdom tradition within Christianity invites us to love knowledge, especially the self-knowledge that comes from examining ourselves in relationship to the liberating Word of God. As we have been practicing in our worship, Lectio divina (“divine reading”) is an ancient tradition of mixing the reading of scripture with prayer and meditation. Rather than an analytical approach to the words of scripture, it is a way for the words to simply be present and live in us. What will we hear when we let go of what it all is “supposed to” mean and simply let it reside within us?
 
Silent Rest
You are invited to sit quietly in the silence without any expectation of what you “ought” to be thinking. Don’t worry about sounds from the congregation or colds–simply let them float into and out of your attention.  And if you find it difficult to settle your thoughts, contemplate the following:
 
We spend too much time, solving, fixing, figuring out.
What about simply letting things be for a minute.
It is often the most needed ingredient for a breakthrough
 
Responsive Reading:
 
For that which, then I thought was right...
have mercy, God.
For that which, now, I regret...
forgive me, God.
For that which, hence, I know not what to do...
guide me, God.
 
Opening Hymn / UMH #600 Wonderful Words of Life
 
Seeking the Word / Proverbs 1:20-23
 
Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
on top of the wall she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech:
 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
Amen
 
Anthem / “Do You Love Me”
 
Prayer Station - Lighting Candles for our Prayers
 
Joys and Concerns
The Lord’s Prayer
Affirmation of our prayers / UMH #898 “Amen”
 
Sermon / Pastor Gil Lee
Title: Finding a Word: Listening to the Texts
Scripture: Proverbs 1:23
Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.

For the first Sunday, we shared the Word of God with the title: "Listen: Find Your Cave: Listening Spaces" with 1 King 19:11-12
 
After the earthquake came a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
 
As Elijah listened to God's voice in a still small voice, even in the environments were full of mighty windstorm and earthquake, God wants us to calm and listen to His voice carefully beyond the loud, complicated, and noisy environments around us. Find your own private sacred listening place to listen to the voice of God as you prepare a special place for your meeting with your VIP. 
 
For the second Sunday, we shared the Word of God with the title: "Listen: Find Your Breath: Listening to Our Bodies" with Romans 8: 26-30. 
 
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
 
"Breath" in the Bible mostly means "Spirit of God." God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of man and the man because a living person (Genesis 2:7). The Bible is the living Word because "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, we need the help of the Spirit of God to understand the Word of God so that we can get the right message from God because the Spirit of God guides us in harmony with God's will (Romans 8:27). 
 
For the third Sunday, although we couldn't gather in church together, I want to share the third message of our Lenten series, "Listen" here. 
 
The theme of the third Sunday is "Listen: Finding a Word: Listening to the Texts." 
 
The scripture is Proverbs 1:23. 
 
Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
 
Who do you think is the wisest being in the world? Undoubtedly! God. 
Which book is the wisest? It would be a book that has been published for the longest period because if it is not wise or helpful for the people, the publication must be suspended. Which book has the longest publication history? The Bible is the best seller and a steady seller in the world. Although this might be one aspect of the reasons why the Bible is the wisest book in the world, I would like to introduce the Bible in this aspect today. 
 
Who is the wisest person? The person who remembers much true wisdom and lives it out to help and serve others to live a better life. In this sense, I would like to introduce the Word of God as the wisest book in the world, and God is the wisest being in the world. So, I would like to encourage all of you to listen to the wisest wisdom from His Word. 
 
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:9 (NIV)
 
I hope and pray that all of us can find your own sacred place to encounter God, listen to the voice of God with the guidance of the Holy Spirit from the wisest book, the Word of God. 
 
Closing Hymn / UMH #127 / Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah                                                   
Announcements

• No Bible Study until further announcement.
• No Sunday Worship until further announcement.
• Please stay safe, healthy and in peace.

Benediction / Pastor Gil Lee
Now with the grace of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to save us from our sin and death, love of God who wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, and fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all forever and ever more. Amen
 
Offering / by mail
Dear families of Hillside United Methodist Church, 
During this special and challenging time, if you are able to send your weekly pledge by mail, would you do so, please? 
The address of the church is   Hillside United Methodist Church, 82 Center St, Goffstown, NH 03045.
May God Bless You!

Postlude  / “Meet Me Here”