Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: You are handmade and unique.
People: We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Leader: You were created to tend God’s garden
People: To see beauty and delight in purpose. Dust mingled with breath and love.
Leader: We are God’s own handiwork
People: and we bring our praise
Opening Hymn
God of the Sparrow God of the Whale UMH 122
Prayer of Confession
Your creation is good, O God — a delight, a joy. We confess that we don’t always believe you when you say so, and instead we use your creation for our own ends, forgetting it is more than just a tool to serve us, forgetting we are made to tend and serve creation too.
Forgive us, Creator God.
Your breath fills us and brings us to life, O God. We confess that isn’t always enough for us, and so we use your breath for our own ends, speaking words that manipulate, confuse, and sow division.
Forgive us, Breath of Life.
You offer yourself to us, O God. We confess that some part of us wants both more and less, and so we talk about you rather than to you, hiding from full relationship behind interpretations that serve our own ends, refusing to take responsibility for pain we perpetuate.
Forgive us, Living Word.
~silence~
Amen.
Words of Assurance
The one who created all things and called each good is recreating you! God has heard your confessions and you are forgiven!
Passing of the Peace
First Reading:
Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8
Second Reading:
Mark 3:20-35
Sermon:
Creation and Fall by Pastor Kevin Rutledge
Hymn of Response
Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive UMH 390
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory Response
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow UMH 95
Offertory Prayer
Gracious and Almighty God, We come before You in awe of Your creation, a world brought forth from nothing by Your word, teeming with life and beauty. You spoke, and the earth was formed, but it was not complete until You created human beings to till and tend the garden You had prepared. You called us to work alongside You, to cultivate and bring creation to its full potential. Today, we give thanks for all You have given—for the beauty of the world, the gifts of our hands, and the breath in our lungs. And now, as an act of faith and gratitude, we offer ourselves and these gifts to Your kingdom. May they be used to renew and restore what has been broken, to bring life where there is dryness, and to heal where there is division. In the name of Jesus Christ, the One who redeems and restores all things, we pray.
Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord's Prayer
Announcements
Closing Hymn
Shalom to You UMH 666
Why This Song:
2x
Benediction
Said Each Week as A Communal Prayer:
Send to us all the people who feel unwanted and unloved in other places, and if they can't come to us, send us to them.
Postlude
This Week's Reading Plan
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Reading: |
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Monday
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God Confronts Adam and Eve: Genesis 3:9-19
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Tuesday
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God's Promise and Command to Noah: Genesis 6:9-22
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Wednesday
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The Great Flood: Genesis 7:17-24; 8:6-12
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Thursday
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The Covenant with Noah: Genesis 9:8-17
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Friday
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The Tower of Babel: Genesis 11:1-9
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Saturday
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The Call of Abram: Genesis 12:1-7
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Sunday
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God’s Promise to Abram: Genesis 15:1-6
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Reflections and Caring Conversations
Please use the prompts and prayers below to aid you in your devotions for this week.
In what ways do we still struggle with relying on our own wisdom instead of seeking God's guidance in our daily lives and decision-making?
What are some practical ways we can embody Jesus' teaching of seeing others as family and treating the 'least of these' as we would treat Christ himself?
In what ways can we better partner with God in 'tilling the garden' and building His kingdom in our current context, as Adam and Eve were originally called to do?