Welcome

Opening Litany^[1]:

In the damp dark uncertainty, in the ominous threat of the storm, appears a gentle arc of colours the rainbow that remembers the light.

In the silent questions of doubt, in the disturbing vertigo of Your seeming absence whispers a silent promise the covenant of your forever being-here

We praise You, O God, for rainbows and promises and the courage we find in their comforting presence

Let us come to bear witness to God’s promise made anew.

Confession and Forgiveness^[2]:
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God,
whose steadfast love is everlasting,
whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation.
Amen.

Sisters and brothers, let us not let sin control the way we live. Let us not give in to sinful desires. Rather, let us offer ourselves to God, whose mercy has brought us from death to life.

Silence is held for reflection.

God of the rainbow, you made a covenant with all creatures, promising life and hope. God of pathways, you show us how we should walk. Yet, we forget our connection with one another and think that we are the center of the universe. We wander from your paths of truth into paths of deceit and pride.  Forgive us for our wandering and, by your Spirit, lead us back into the arms of your love. Amen.

Friends, hear this:
God is merciful and full of steadfast love.
God will not forget us. God will not forget God’s promise. In the name of + Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. God has washed us clean, and leads us on paths of steadfast love and faithfulness.
Thanks be to God!

Prayer of the Day^[3]:
Let us pray.
God of constancy, we give thanks for your covenant with us shown forth in the rainbow of hope. Give us space to reflect, time to learn, and confidence to work
for a fairer and more just world united in your love; through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

Reading: Genesis 6:11-14, 17-22, 7:11-8:19, 9:8-17
Gen. 6:11   Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁷ For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.” ²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Gen. 7:11   In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. ¹² The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. ¹³ On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind—every bird, every winged creature. ¹⁵ They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. ¹⁶ And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.

Gen. 7:17   The flood continued forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. ¹⁹ The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; ²⁰ the waters swelled above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. ²¹ And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human beings; ²² everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. ²³ He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. ²⁴ And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.

Gen. 8:1   But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; ² the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, ³ and the waters gradually receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred fifty days the waters had abated; ⁴ and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

Gen. 8:6   At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made ⁷ and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; ⁹ but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. ¹⁰ He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; ¹¹ and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. ¹² Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.

Gen. 8:13   In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. ¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. ¹⁵ Then God said to Noah, ¹⁶ “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. ¹⁹ And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out of the ark by families.

Gen. 9:8   Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹ “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³ I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Children’s Sermon

Sermon:

Reading Continued: Genesis 9:20-28
Gen. 9:20    Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his tent. ²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. ²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”
²⁶ He also said,
“Blessed by the LORD my God be Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.
²⁷          May God make space for Japheth,
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.”

Gen. 9:28   After the flood Noah lived three hundred fifty years. ²⁹ All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years; and he died.

Hymn of the Day:

Apostle’s Creed:
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.

Prayers of Intercession:
http://www.pilgrimpaths.co.uk/Finger%20Labyrinth%20and%20Prayer%20Guide%20Leaflet.pdf

Confident in your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.

. . .  Lord, in your mercy.
hear our prayer. 

In certain hope that nothing separates us from your love.
Amen.

Sharing of the Peace

Announcements

Offering
https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/468062

Sending Litany^[4]:
As in days of old, Creator God, we have come looking for your signs of covenant promises.

Like the rainbow days of Noah, we have seen and come to know your signs and hear your voice again, directing us to the places of preparation and transformation in our lives and in our world.

Send us now as faithful keepers and workers of your promises for the world.

Lord’s Prayer:
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us saying:
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.

Benediction:
Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

God, the creator, + Jesus, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the comforter, bless you and keep you in eternal life.
Amen

Dismissal:
Go in peace. Christ is with you!
Thanks be to God!

Prayer Requests:
Bob Keifer, Celia Warren, Frank Danowsky, Marie Tanner, Sonja Noll, Irene Stark, Peg Swinehart, Alice Snyder, Greg Seibert, Harold Snyder, Colette Richards, Pat Thomas, Gladys Guffey, Terry Funk, Darv Krouse, Rob Lockwood, Terry Smith, Rodney Heckert, the family and friends of Barbara Neilson, and Rebecca Otuszewski.

Portions reprinted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, copyright 2006.  Used by permission of Augsburg Fortress, license #SBL09796L.  Music reprinted from the ELW, by permission of OneLicense, license #A712349.  Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.   Used by permission.

[1] Adapted from John van de Laar, from his Sacredise website.  Visit there for other excellent lectionary-based worship resources.

[2] Adapted from The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006, and posted on the Worship Elements page of the Ministry Matters website.

[3] Adapted from the Monthly Prayers page of the Christian Aid website. http://www.christianaid.org.uk/

[4] Adapted from Prayers for the Journey: Service Prayers for the First Sunday of Lent, written by the Rev. Rosemary McCombs Maxey, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and a retired clergy and member of Fellowship Congregational United Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways website.