CCLI license #1913561
Lakeview Presbyterian Church Service, March 21, 2021
The Fifth Sunday of Lent
Questions for Reflection: Where is your heart troubled? What is the challenge still before you from which you are tempted to flee? How might you bear fruit in this moment?
Prelude “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling” Will L. Thompson sung by Keisha Prime
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Refrain:
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?
Refrain:
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.
Refrain:
Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
Refrain:
Opening Words
Blessed be the God of our salvation who hear our cries, who bears our burdens, and forgives our sins. Let us worship our God.
Opening Prayer
Holy God, by the cross and resurrection of Jesus, you lift the suffering world toward hope and transformation. As we move ever closer to the passion of Christ, may your law of love be written on our hearts that we may bear witness to your love revealed in him for all the world. Amen.
Hymn “Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord” Paul Baloche, 1997 sung by Keisha Prime
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see you high and lifted up
Shining in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy,
holy ,holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
Prayer for Illumination
Your Word, O God, has power to change our lives and to create a whole new world.
Fill us with your Holy Spirit, that we may treasure your word with our whole hearts and fix our eyes on you. Amen.
A Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures: Jeremiah 31: 31—34
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt -- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Reading from the Gospels: John 12: 20—33
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say -- 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
Sermon “Pay It Forward” The Rev. Russell Lehman
Special Music: “Change My Heart, O God” Eddie Espinosa sung by Keisha Prime
Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true;
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You.
Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true;
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You
You are the Potter,
I am the clay;
Mold me and make me,
This is what I pray
Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true;
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You.
(chorus)
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Pastoral Prayer
Let us open our hearts this day as we lift up our deepest needs and concerns to the One who is mighty to save.
O God of Justice, we pray for all leaders and people, that by the power of your cross you would drive out all violence, domination, and injustice in our world.
God of Peace, we pray for our strife-torn and war-ravaged world, that you would teach us to walk together in your way of righteousness and peace.
O God, of Mercy, we pray for those suffering in body . . . mind . . . and spirit, that healing, and comfort, and peace, might come to them.
O God of Hope, we pray for your people everywhere, that all might be drawn to your kingdom of righteousness, where love flows down like ever flowing waters and all are bound in the harmony of your will. Amen
Lord’s Prayer (Ecumenical Version)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen
Minute for Mission: One Great Hour of Sharing
When Manuel Nazario casts his net into the water these days, his catch is far less plentiful. In the remote area of Bolivia near the Paraguay-Argentina border, Manuel and the members of his indigenous community are finding that fishing, their traditional livelihood, is now in severe jeopardy.
The Capirendita community is grappling with the devastating impact of climate change, irregular rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, disease and mining pollution. As a result, their age-old ways of life and their means of economic support are increasingly threatened. The degradation of the environment and the mounting lack of access to water threatens their very survival.
Manuel has emerged as one of the leaders in his fishing community. A born innovator and community organizer, he is now leading the families in Capirendita toward the promise of a better way, in partnership with a local organization called CERDET (Center for Regional Studies of Tarija). Together they are working to develop irrigation systems and to collect and store rainwater for safe drinking.
Because of gifts received through One Great Hour of Sharing, like the gifts you and I will make to this Offering here in our congregation, CERDET is building infrastructure to address the communities’ critical water shortage. Their goal is to create 500 meters of pipes to transport safe well water to those in need. Manuel will be responsible for carrying out the excavation work on the underground piping system. Our gifts will also support the distribution of plastic containers to collect and save rainwater.
Our One Great Hour of Sharing Offering will be collected on Easter, April 4, 2021.
A Statement about Offering our Gifts
With grateful hearts, let us bring seeds of faith that they may bring forth the fruits of our lives to God as an offering of thanksgiving.
Donations can be mailed to Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 1310 22nd Av S, St Petersburg, FL, 33705 or given online through our website @lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org
Hymn: “Where He Leads Me” E W Blandy c.1890 Sung by Keisha Prime
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
“Take thy cross and follow, follow Me.”
Refrain:
Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow,
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.
Refrain:
I’ll go with Him through the garden,
I’ll go with Him through the garden,
I’ll go with Him through the garden,
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.
Refrain:
I’ll go with Him to the judgment,
I’ll go with Him to the judgment,
I’ll go with Him to the judgment,
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.
Refrain:
He will give me grace and glory,
He will give me grace and glory,
He will give me grace and glory,
And go with me, with me all the way.
Refrain:
Prayer of Dedication
Holy God, may the gifts of our hands and the
dedication of our hearts be made
perfect through
Christ to glorify you and bless the world. Amen.
Charge and Blessing
Go in peace to love and serve Christ that your lives may bear the fruit of the Spirit.
May God, whose hand has written the law of love upon your heart, fill you with peace from deep within, and the blessing of God, who loves, forgives, and calls us home, be with you now and always. Amen.
Postlude “They Crucified my Lord He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word’ AA Spiritual Sung by Keisha Prime
They crucified my Lord,
And He never said a mumbalin’ word;
They crucified my Lord,
Refrain
And He never said a mumbalin’ word.
Not a word, not a word, not a word.
They nailed Him to a tree,
And He never said a mumbalin’ word;
They nailed Him to a tree,
Refrain
They pierced Him in the side,
And He never said a mumbalin’ word;
They pierced Him in the side,
Refrain
The blood came trickalin’ down,
And He never said a mumbalin’ word;
The blood came trickalin’ down,
Refrain
He bowed His head and died,
And He never said a mumbalin’ word;
He bowed His head and died.