Leaders
Reverend Hannah Hwa-Young Chong, Lead Pastor
Deacon Sharon Rice, Minister of Discipleship

Music provided by
Chris Garofalo, Director of Music Ministry, Organ & Piano
Community Singers • Patty Nelson, Accompanist

Prelude

O dass ich tausend
(Oh, that I Had a Thousand Voices)

arranged by Paul Manz

© 1970 Concordia Publishing House

Welcome
with Pastor Hannah

Call to Worship
with Pastor Hannah

Have you ever felt washed up,
brittle, worn-down to the bone?
Have you ever felt grief lay heavy on your back?
Have you ever felt like hope was out of reach?
Have you ever wondered, “Can these bones live?”
If you have, then you are in the right place, for this is God’s house. Hope lives here.
So, come. Rest your weary bones.
Let us worship Holy God.

Opening Hymn

Breathe on Me, Breath of God

UMH 420, verses 1, 2 & 3

Verse 1
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.

Verse 2
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will,
to do and to endure.

Verse 3
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly thine,
till all this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.

Call to Confession
with Deacon Sharon

Prayer of Confession
with Deacon Sharon

Jesus of Nazareth, I confess I forget that you know this feeling. I forget that you, too, have wept. I forget that you, too, have lost. I forget that you, too, have gathered at the tomb, have grieved for a friend, have felt the sting of humanity. Forgive me for all the times I place blame on you. Forgive me for all the times I create distance, imagining that you could never feel what I feel. Forgive me for allowing the valley of dry bones to be a sea of space between us. Pour yourself into the cracks in my heart. Bring these bones back to life. Bring me closer to you. With gratitude I pray. Amen.

Words of Forgiveness
with Deacon Sharon

Friends, you could spend your whole life ignoring God, pushing God away, or trying to solve the world’s problems all on your own. God would still love you all the same. Even in our shortcomings, we are God’s beloved. So hear and believe this good news:
We are saved by grace through faith. We belong to God. We are not alone.

Song

Jesus Loves Me

UMH 191, verse 1

Verse 1
Jesus loves me!
This, I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.

Refrain
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

Time for Young Disciples
with Deacon Sharon

Scripture Reading
with Ken Cox

Ezekiel 37:1-14

¹ The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and it carried me away by the Spirit of Yahweh and set me down in a valley—a valley full of bones. ² God made me walk up and down among them. And I saw that there was a vast number of bones lying there in the valley, and they were very dry.³ God asked me, “Mere mortal, can these bones live?”
I answered, “Only you know that, Sovereign Yahweh.” ⁴ And God said, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh! ⁵ Sovereign Yahweh says to these bones: I am going to breathe life into you. ⁶ I will fasten sinews on you, clothe you with flesh, cover you with skin, and give you breath. And you will live; and you will know that I am Sovereign Yahweh.’ ” ⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and all the bones came together, bone to matching bone. ⁸ As I watched, sinews appeared on them, flesh clothed them, and skin covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then God said to me, “Prophesy to the wind;* prophesy, mere mortal, and say to it: ‘Thus says Sovereign Yahweh: Approach from the four winds, Breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ ” ¹⁰ I prophesied as I was commanded, and breath came into them; they came alive, and stood up on their feet—a vast multitude. ¹¹ Then God said to me, “Mere mortal, these bones are the whole House of Israel. The people keep saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is gone, and we are doomed.’ ¹² Prophesy, therefore, and say to them, ‘Thus says Sovereign Yahweh: I am going to open your graves and raise you up from the dead, my people. I will return you to the land of Israel. ¹³ When I open your graves and raise you up, you, my people, will know that I am Yahweh. ¹⁴ Then I will put my Spirit into you and you will return to life, and I will settle you back on your own land. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and made all this happen, says Sovereign Yahweh.’ ”

The Inclusive Bible ©2007 by Priests for Equality

Response to Scripture

The Word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God!

Sermon

Border Mission Trip Reflection

with Pastor Hannah
& Mission Trip Participants:
Pat Becker, Betsy Roche, Mari Schirmer, Clyde Uebele, Jennifer Weddle

Affirmation of Faith
with Deacon Sharon

We believe that God loves us—
God loves us enough to weep when we are gone.
We believe that God does not give up on us—
breathing new life into tired bones.
We believe that God returns to us—
always seeking us when we are lost.
We believe that God holds hope for us—
so we hold onto hope as well.
We believe. Help our unbelief.
In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

The Lord’s Prayer
with Deacon Sharon

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Hymn of Response

Sweet, Sweet Spirit

UMH 334, verse 1

Verse 1
There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
and I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord;
there are sweet expressions on each face,
and I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

Refrain
Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly Dove,
stay right here with us, filling us with your love;
and for these blessings
we lift our hearts in praise;
without a doubt we’ll know
that we have been revived
when we shall leave this place.

Offering Invitation
with Deacon Sharon

Offertory

Song of the Wanderer

by Dan Forrest
with Community Singers, Patty Nelson, Accompanist

© 2018 Beckenhorst Press, Inc

Invitation
with Deacon Sharon

Hymn of Sending Forth

Cantemos al Señor (Let’s Sing Unto the Lord)

UMH 149, verses 1 & 2

Verse 1
Cantemos al Señor a hymn of glad rejoicing.
Let’s sing a hymn of love,
at the new day’s fresh beginning.
God made the sky above,
the stars, the sun, the oceans;
and God saw it was good,
for those works were filled with beauty.

Refrain 1
¡Aleluya! ¡Aleluya!
Cantemos al Señor. ¡Aleluya!

Verse 2
Cantemos al Señor a hymn of adoration,
which shows our love and faith
and the hope of all creation.
Through all that has been made,
the Lord is praised for greatness,
and so we sing to God,
who bestows such lovely blessings.

Refrain 2
¡Aleluya! ¡Aleluya!
Cantemos al Señor. ¡Aleluya!
Cantemos al Señor. ¡Aleluya!

Benediction
with Pastor Hannah

Postlude

Organ Sonata in G minor

by Baldassare Galuppi

Public Domain

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