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Meeting ID: 619 327 455
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HERE WE STAND: Lifting Up a Losing Legacy ... FOURTH Sunday in LENT
10:45 - Leader's Meeting
11:00 - Coffee Hour in 11 Minutes
(Sip your coffee and discuss John 3:14-21 or Numbers 21:4-9 or Ephesians 2:1-10 ... and how God might reach a Wide Range of People through us during the season of Lent ... or what does COMPANIONSHIP mean for you during this unique no longer New Year?)
11:11 - WORSHIP BEGINS
A) PRELUDE: Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross
In the Cross, In the Cross, be my glory ever,
'Til my ransomed soul shall find, rest beyond the river.
B) NUMBERS 21:4-9 read by #1
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.”
So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole;
and whenever a serpent bit someone,
that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
C) First Hymn: Lift High the Cross, Led by the Chancel Choir & the Chapel Choir of Broadway Baptist Church and the Oratorio Chorus, Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, with the Festival Brass from their Album, "Alleluia! Amen!: A Festival of Hymns"
Please MUTE and SING (lyrics are in the video)
What is the mission of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church?
To Serve as a VEHICLE through which the Gospel is Spread!!!
about being a VEHICLE
that will deliver CONFIDENCE, COMPASSION, and COMPANIONSHIP
to a tremendously anxious COMMUNITY,
remembering that God is our REFUGE & STRENGTH.
I) THIS Wednesday, March 17 is LENTEN SUPPER at 7 PM
When My Lament Becomes Praise
HERE I STAND/When Powers Assail Me
Being Treated As LESS THAN Another
has helped me remember how God's Grace is MORE THAN sufficient
Wednesday, February 24 ... Like RUTH, Led by Yarlette Bryant
Wednesday, February 17 was ASH WEDNESDAY
Today, March 14 is the FOURTH Sunday in LENT
1) Wednesday, February 24 ... Like Stephen
2) Wednesday, March 3 ... Like Tamar in Genesis
3) Wednesday, March 10 ... Like Rahab in Joshua
4) Wednesday, March 17 ... Like Ruth
5) Wednesday, March 24 ... Like Bathsheba in 2 Samuel
6) Maundy Thursday, April 1 ... Pastor Todd leads Seder Meal
Good Friday, April 2 ... Led by Laity or Partnership with another Church
Sunday, April 4 is EASTER Sunday
II) Reports from the EZEKIEL 44:5 EXPERIMENT
EVERYONE is a part of one Project or the Other:
A) Clean HANDS Project ... Pantry Snack Pack Distribution updates
Meet at 9 AM on Wednesdays for 11 AM Distribution
Meet at 10 AM on Saturdays for 11 AM Distribution
B) Clean HEART Project ... Black History Month Celebration Report
ANNIVERSARY MUSICAL on Sunday, September 12, 19, or 26
HERE WE STAND theme
73 Years in South Dallas; 60 in our current Fair Park location on Forest (now MLK)
With 73 Guests INVITED from the PAST (important in our HISTORICAL MINISTRY)
With 73 Guests INVITED from the PRESENT South Dallas Community (important to our FUTURE MINISTRY in Fair Park)
https://dallasmlkcenter.com/author/dallasmlkcenter/
The Fierce Urgency of Now- Part One (February 12, 2021 @ 12 PM) 39:00
The Fierce Urgency of Now- Part Two (February 19, 2021 @ 12 PM) 39:00
We will need to explore how to start inviting folks to our September Musical NOW.
C) SECOND LESSON: EPHESIANS 2:1-10, led by #2
2) You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks Be to God!!
D) WERE YOU THERE leading into our MESSAGE for the YOUNG at HEART, a special edition for the 3rd Sunday of Lent and Women's History Month
E) KYRIE, led by Carlos Leggett
In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Amen.
3) The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
AND ALSO WITH YOU
3) Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another. Most holy and merciful God, We confess to you and to one another, and before the whole company of heaven, that we have sinned by our fault, by our own fault, by our own most grievous fault, in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.
D A E F#m D A E F#m
Create in me a clean, clean heart Create in me a work of art
D A E F#m D A E F#m
Create in me a miracle Something real, and something beautiful
4) We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. We have shut our ears to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit..
D A E F#m D A E F#m
Create in me a clean, clean heart Create in me a work of art
D A E F#m D A E F#m
Create in me a miracle Something real, and something beautiful
3) When our neighbor fails to love in the way that God commands, we also struggle to love our neighbor as ourselves. We struggle to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. So we ask, with the help of Jesus Christ, forgive us, Lord, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.
D A E F#m D A E F#m
Create in me a clean, clean heart Create in me a work of art
D A E F#m D A E F#m
Create in me a miracle Something real, and something beautiful
4) Brothers and sisters hear this grace: In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for you and for His sake, God forgives you all of your sins. As a called disciple of Christ I declare the entire forgiveness of all of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
THANKS BE TO GOD. AMEN!
4) Having confessed our sin, let us also confess our faith:
I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY
Creator of heaven and earth.
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST,
God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.* On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT,
the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
3) The peace of Christ be with you always.
AND ALSO WITH YOU.
4) We will now switch to Gallery View. As forgiven sinners, please share the peace with somebody on this call, using their name.
PEACE BE WITH YOU.
G) GOSPEL LESSON: John 3:14-21, led by #5
Halle, Halle, Halle-lujah, led by Tanya Browne & Dolphene Davis
Our Gospel Lesson comes from John in the 3rd Chapter.
GLORY TO YOU, O LORD!
5) And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
PRAISE TO YOU, OH CHRIST
H) SECOND SONG "At the Cross" led by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir,
Jesus came and loved me, Took my sin the Calv'ry, He has made a way for me And now my eyes are open, Since i've to come to know Him, His great love has set me free
At the cross my debt was paid, All my sins were washed away Just for me, amazing grace, At the cross, At the cross my savior died Shed His blood, was crucified, Just for me He gave His life, At the cross
My joy will ever be, In the One Who saved me, Jesus, Lamb of Calvary
All praises to the King, For His grace and mercy, I have been redeemed
J) SERMON: "Here I STAND: Lifting Up a LOSING Legacy" shared by Pastor Todd
The MYTH of Rugged Individualism
Through the 1830s and 1840s, Abraham Lincoln’s primary political focus was on economic issues. However, the escalating debate over slavery in the 1850s, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act in particular, compelled Lincoln to change his emphasis.
In this manuscript, a fragment from one of Lincoln's speeches during the 1858 Illinois Senate race against Stephen Douglas,
Lincoln advances the fundamental truth to which all creatures are entitled, declaring that even a slave kept in ignorance
"does constantly know that he is wronged.”
And he uses economic logic against slavery, arguing that in freedom “the weak . . . grow stronger, the ignorant, wiser; and all better, and happier together.” Lincoln also says of those who strive “to prove slavery a very good thing, we never hear of the man who wishes to take the good of it, by being a slave himself.” In these twenty-seven lines, Lincoln invokes the nation’s founding principles to stress the injustice of slavery, and in the course defines the American Dream, declaring,
“Most governments have been based, practically,
on the denial of the equal rights of men, as I have, in part, stated them;
ours began, by affirming those rights.”
The ORIGINAL SIN of Rugged Individualism
The HERESY of Rugged Individualism
The HOPE of FREEDOM in CHRIST ALONE
Paul says in Philippians 2, Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that STATUS no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of BEING A DEITY and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
TOWARD MUTUAL COMPREHENSIVE WELLNESS
WHAT AN ASH WEDNESDAY WE HAVE HAD IN 2021!!
In 2018 the windows of Mt. Olive were damaged by vandalism. Because of the generous support of individuals and other churches, our windows were most wonderfully repaired.
In 2020, because of Covid social distancing, in the same year we were scheduled to celebrate our 25th year of continuous operation, we placed our Food Pantry on hiatus. Especially in our building there was no safe way remain open and maintain sensible and necessary distancing practices.
At the end of 2020 we were at last able to resume, quite safely, our Snack Pack ministry to nearby homeless individuals and others facing Comprehensive Wellness challenges in our Neighborhood. And we have crafted ambitious plans for how Volunteer Companionship Training and a revived “Blessing Bag” ministry (that now reaches between 100 and 200 people in Fair Park every week) might be expanded to other nearby churches and Food Pantries and reach perhaps thousands in South Dallas.
Then in February 2021 Mt. Olive’s insurance company informed us that they planned to drop us, effective May 1, 2021, due to the condition of our roof, which was last repaired about 20 years ago. Our parking lot and external grounds are also in desperate need of repair, especially if we want to make our property available for State Fair parking again this October. The total bill could easily reach $50,000 or more.
Of course, in 2022 it could very well be an air conditioner … or a furnace … or our pipes … or another act of vandalism … that threatens the financial life of our congregation. Like almost half of the churches in the United States, Mt. Olive is one or two major expenditures away from closing our doors forever.
As long as churches like ours continue to adhere to a gospel of “Rugged Individualism,” which we have all too often been taught in our modern society, this is probably a looming inevitability for too many of us. Thankfully we are gradually coming to understand why this is such a dangerous heresy upon which neither our church, nor probably any church, should ever rely.
We are NOT alone.
We are MUCH STRONGER when we learn to STAND TOGETHER.
On a good Sunday, back when we could all meet in the same Sanctuary, Mount Olive would distribute 30 to 35 people in our beautiful, ample pews. In 2019 and 2020, a FULL 35 of our members have participated in one form of Companionship Training or another, aided by our partner in ministry, Pathways to Promise. For the last two years, as we have practiced Companionship in all our many forms of ministry, we have gently discovered what our future might most likely look like:
We WILL NOT stand alone, on our own.
We will become MUCH STRONGER when we learn to STAND TOGETHER.
Perhaps, if a vibrant and necessary ministry in our neighborhood and community didn’t happen every week through Mt. Olive, perhaps one could argue, we have reached that time when we should review our will and prepare for death.
But we prefer to follow in the path of Jesus, who had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that STATUS no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of [BEING A] DEITY and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Of course, Paul doesn’t end the passage in Philippians 2 there. Companionship is the willingness to humble ourselves and walk side by side with others, learning how to invest in a mutual Comprehensive Wellness.
We are NOT alone.
We are MUCH STRONGER when we learn to STAND TOGETHER.
Because of our current need, we cannot cling to a myth of our Rugged Individualism. Rather, we cling to Christ. We cling to the cross. Here We Stand.
TOGETHER.
With others, willing to join us in a path toward Companionship. In a path toward Mutual Comprehensive Wellness. Perhaps that might include you? Your church? Your organization? Your family? Amen.
SERMON SERIES:
Lent: HERE WE STAND ...
Rebuked, Provoked, or Gracious? - February 28
Time for Overturning Tradition - March 7
Lifting Up a Losing Legacy - March 14
Lifting Up a Lasting Legacy - March 21
Passion Sunday of Palm Branches - March 28
K) THIRD SONG: In Christ Alone, led by David Wesley, Words and Music by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty
In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song This Cornerstone, this solid Ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease, My Comforter, my All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! - who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain: Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again And as He stands in victory, Sin's curse has lost its grip on me, For I am His and He is mine, Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
K) LITURGY of HOLY COMMUNION (Google Drive) This is the Feast of Victory (Dropbox) .... Led by Carlos Leggett & Tanya Browne
RETURN to the LORD & ALLE-X-X WARNING
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alle-X-X
Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
Power, riches and wisdom and strength, and honor and blessing and glory are his.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alle-X-X
Sing with all the people of God and join in the hymns of all creation.
Blessing and honor and glory and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God. For the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign. Alle-X-X, Alle-X-X
GREAT THANKSGIVING & Preface by #7
Please UNmute & RESPOND
The Lord be with you,
AND ALSO WITH YOU
Lift up your hearts
WE LIFT THEM TO THE LORD!
Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE OUR THANKS AND PRAISE.
It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, Holy Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. And so with the Church on Earth and all the hosts of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, led by Pastor Todd
Please MUTE & SING:
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, LORD, Lord God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he, who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, in the highest.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION & Lord's Prayer, led by #7
The Words of Institution are recorded for us in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke as well as by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:
“Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples saying: ‘Take and eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.’
“In the same way also He took the cup after supper, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying: ‘Drink of it all of you; this cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is shed for you and for all people, for the remission of sins. This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.'”
When the disciples didn't know how to PRAY in the face of the challenges ahead of them, they asked Jesus for help. He said, "Pray this way!" Will you share with me the Lord's Prayer?
Please UNMute & RESPOND
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass 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 and ever. Amen.
Come to the banquet, for all is now almost ready. We continue this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God’s mercy. We take this time to contemplate how our forty day journey toward the cross might continue, with oil and ashes, with wine and bread, with the Body and Blood of Christ.
We remember that we are Dust and to Dust we shall Return. But.
The Body of Christ is Broken for Me. The Blood of Christ is Shed for Me. And God brings to life even that which once seemed dead. Amen.
1) Lamb, Of God, led by Dolphene Davis
2) Holy, Holy, Holy, led by Carlos Leggett
Please MUTE & SING:
1) Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us (repeat) ... Lamb of God, you take away, the sins of the world, grant us peace ... grant us peace.
M) Post Communion Blessing & Prayer led by #7
ALL: May the body and blood of our Risen Lord, Jesus the Christ, strengthen you and keep you in His grace, now and always. Amen.
Let us pray. Life-giving God, in the mystery of Christ’s resurrection you send light to conquer darkness, water to give new life, and the bread of life to nourish your people. Help us to stand with Jesus as witnesses to your Son’s resurrection, that we may show your glory to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. AMEN.
N) BENEDICTION: The Old Rugged Cross. led by the Longview Heights Seventh Day Adventist Sanctuary Choir, Memphis, TN; The Old Rugged Cross, led by the Shelby State Gospel Choir at their 1992 concert in Memphis, TN.
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross (rugged cross),
Till my trophies at last I lay down,
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame And I love that old cross where the dearest and best, For a world of lost sinners was slain
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, It's shame and reproach gladly bear Then he'll call me some day to my home far away, Where his glory forever I'll share
In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see; For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me.
O) SENDING: Led by led by #7
What is the mission of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church?
TO SERVE as a VEHICLE through which the Gospel is Spread!!!
Go in Peace and Serve the Lord!
Thanks be to God!! And WE WILL!!
COMPANIONSHIP is a ministry of PRESENCE, a relationship responding to isolation and suffering and supportive of healing and recovery.
COMPANIONSHIP welcomes the stranger, building a CIRCLE of CARE with individuals who are facing emotional and mental health challenges.
COMPANIONSHIP is rooted in our natural capacities as human beings to be sensitive, compassionate and concerned.
POSTLUDE 1: Just Ask My Savior (Not my Neighbor), A remix of the 70s hit "Don't Ask My Neighbors", by the world famous The Emotions. The original design of the song remains intact, but now has a neo-soul feel, along with an inspirational message performed by the UAB Gospel Choir
POSTLUDE 2: There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood The Lutheran Hymna, Hymn #157, Text: Zech. 13:1, Author: William Cowper, 1771, Composer: William Horsley, 1844 First Tune: "Horsley," Composer: Lowell Mason, 1830 Second Tune: "Cowper," second tune ... performed by the UAB Gospel Choir, GO DOMINATE! enhanced CD. Arrangement by Director, Kevin P. Turner. There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood performed on the Gaither Gospel Hour.
POSTLUDE 3: This Little Light of Mine, led by the NFL Choir
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