Oceanview UMC | February 14, 2021

Ash Wednesday 2021

February 17

See our Ash Wednesday Page (on the sub menu just above)

Love involves sacrifice and repentance. A woman prays after having ashes placed on her forehead during an Ash Wednesday service. Image by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.

Home Worship for Sunday February 14 2021

Staying home is a form of loving your neighbor. Think about it, you may be staying home for your own health but in reality you then become less of a carrier to others that you might come in contact with. We hope you will feel close to God who is near even if we are far apart. May God Bless you and Keep you.

If you are in a high risk category, it is highly recommended that you remain safe as much as possible. Caregivers and family members are encouraged to do the same, so as to not jeopardize their loved ones. If you are not comfortable attending socially distanced activities, please stay home and stay in touch!

The Majesty and Glory of Your Name

Psalm 8

1 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;

4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,

7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Invocation to Emulate Christ for Transfiguration Sunday

(2 Kings 2:1-12, Mark 9:2-9)

Leader: O Holy One, on mountaintops and valley floors you reveal to us the light of your love.

People: Our hearts desire is to bask in the amazing glory of the divine presence.

Leader: With each encounter we are changed and transformed.

People: Draw us nearer that we might receive a double portion of your Holy Spirit.

Leader: Help us, O Holy One, to live our lives as a reflection of divine glory.

People: May we walk among our brothers and sister as a blessing, bearing light into dark places, hope to displace despair, and love that casts out hate.

Leader: Our world is hurting and we need the followers of Jesus to follow more closely.

People: Maybe then we will hear your voice speaking to us and saying, … “listen to my Child, the Beloved!”

Everyone: Amen.

— from Witness to Wonders: Service Prayers for Transfiguration Sunday, written by the Rev. Madison Shockley, pastor of Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, CA. Posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways website. Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/01/invocation-transfiguration.html

Hymn: O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go UMH #480

Our Prayers

Take a few moments. Think and remember the blessings of this past week. Think of the joys, the concerns. Think of those things concerning you and your family, your neighbors and friends. Think of the needs and concerns for our community, church and state/country. Perhaps write these things down in your journal. Then center yourself in an attitude of prayer, peace and calm. Speak with the Lord about these things. Remember our courageous health care workers, first responders and caregivers. Remember those dealing with sickness or distress. Remember those who are lost, hungry or anxious; depressed, in mourning or bereft.

When you are ready... finish your time of prayer by praying the words just below:

A Prayer To Be Transformed Into the Likeness of the Love of Christ

Holy God, mighty and immortal,

you are beyond our knowing,

yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ,

whose compassion illumines the world.

Transform us into the likeness of the love of Christ,

who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity,

the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=69

Message: "Emulate Christ"

Pastor Emily Denmark McGee

Be Love Series

St. Paul asks us to "Be of the same mind as Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5-8. Create your own Valentine to God and imagine a Valentine that God would send to you.

Philippians 2:5-8

New Revised Standard Version

5 Let the same mind be in you that was[a] in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

Offering and Offering Prayer for Transfiguration Sunday

Giving is a part of our worship to God. Partner with us as we share God’s hope and healing to our community and beyond. Contribute here: Oceanview Give. Thank you for helping show Christ real and relevant to the world.

Offering Prayer: God of Transformation, we come together as those who have met you on the mountaintop. We have each had our holy encounters with you; and in those moments, we have wanted to stay on the mountain and retreat from the world. We know that is our longing, not yours. So, as we offer our gifts this morning in response to your blessings in our life, remind us that our mission begins as we leave this place, and help us hold our memories of those mountaintop encounters with you in our hearts. We pray boldly in Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Mark 9:2-9)

In Christ Alone

In Preparation for Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday you will need: 1. Your "Take Home Ashes" bag 2. A pot or bowl of dirt.

(You can pick up your "Take Home Ashes" in the Breezeway on Sunday morning, or from the church office Tuesday and Wednesday. (Call the church office for more info if needed).

Join us for an Interactive Ash Wednesday Service:

On Home Worship: any time on Wednesday or on the Live Zoom Link at 7:00 pm

Blessing from Ephesians 3: 17-19

May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Amen.

Revised Common Lectionary

Further Readings for Transfiguration Sunday, February 14, 2021 from The Revised Common Lectionary, Year B.

1st Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12

Psalm: Psalm 50:1-6

2nd Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Gospel: Mark 9:2-9

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/