Mount Olivet UMC

Welcome to this time of worship. While we may not be gathered in the same worship space, we are held together in Christ. Even though you may be at home, our Lord promises that where two or three are gathered in his name, he too is present.

This order of worship can be used alongside our online worship service or done together as a family around the kitchen table or on the couch. Know that while we may not be worshiping in the same space, the peace of Christ is with us.

Make your worship space at home comfortable. We invite you to light a candle as you are able to serve as a reminder of God’s presence with each of us.

Welcome to this time of worship. While we may not be gathered in the same worship space, we are held together in Christ. Even though you may be at home, our Lord promises that where two or three are gathered in his name, he too is present.

This order of worship can be used alongside our online worship service or done together as a family around the kitchen table or on the couch. Know that while we may not be worshiping in the same space, the peace of Christ is with us.

Make your worship space at home comfortable. We invite you to light a candle as you are able to serve as a reminder of God’s presence with each of us.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born of water

and Spirit. At the font, we are given a new birth as daughters and sons of God. As God made a covenant with Abraham, in baptism God promises to raise us up with Christ to new life. From worship, we are sent forth to proclaim God’s love for all the world.

Lent begins with a solemn call to fasting and repentance as we remember our journey to the baptismal waters of Easter. During Lent, the people of God will reflect on the meaning of their baptism into Christ's death and resurrection. What seems like an ending is really an invitation to make each day a new beginning, in which we are washed in God's mercy and forgiveness.

We live in a time where we can explain so many things that were complete mysteries in the time of the Gospels — the rotation of the earth (rather than a sun that moves across the sky), predicting the weather (rather than having little foreknowledge), controlling epilepsy (that was believed to be caused by evil spirits). Where is the mystery today? It is still there but we tend to avoid it because in its face we feel powerless, maybe even fearful. But the mystery of life, while

fearful, can also be intriguing and invigorating. It can pull us out of our own small worlds and make us very aware of what is around us.

Mr. Rogers conveyed to children, and us, that we live in a magnificent yet complex world. This is especially true for children who do not yet understand the extent of the world around them. But the mystery that is around us does not mean we are alone. We are surrounded by neighbors who genuinely care for us, and we for them. And there is a God who has come to earth to demonstrate God loves us everywhere and all the time.

We are considering how our call from God invites us to live differently. How does being a child of God inform how we are a neighbor? How do we interact with the “neighbors” in our lives? Take a moment and ponder the lyrics of “The Servant Song” hymn number 2222 in The Faith We Sing as you prepare to worship.

Today’s focus is engaging our neighbors. That’s what salt and light — two keywords from our scripture — do; they engage us. They enhance our foods; illumine our world; provide heat. Listen this morning as we consider ways we become salt and light for God’s creation. If you feel so led, you may even be invited to share a way you or someone you know serves as salt and light.

Who are the blessed ones of God? For the prophet Micah, they are those who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. For Paul, they are the ones who find wisdom in the weakness of the cross. For Jesus, they are the poor, mourners, the meek, those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers. In baptism, we find our

blessed identity and calling in this countercultural way of living and serving.

Followers of Christ are called to a different story. Those offended by the scandal of Christ’s ministry will try to show us one thing but then we hear Jesus saying, “I’ll show you…” (Matthew 4: 19, CEB).

We have not been left to figure out this story on our own or to write the story for ourselves. The narrative changes because we have been changed by God’s Grace.

Jesus shows up when we reach beyond ourselves and connect with our neighbors. Today we will look at how we are accepted by God’s grace just as we are. And it is when many different people come together — neighborhoods — that we discover Paul’s admonition “that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift.”