Welcome to Sunday afternoon worship at NEC and homes via Zoom!

What a blessing to be in worship!

Let us greet one another by spotlighting and naming each of us worshiping God…

BILL reads Song of Solomon 2:8-13
2:8 The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.

2:9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.

2:10 My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;

2:11 for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

2:13 The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

BILL (or MARILYN) leads our Prayer of Adoration, using this or something of their choosing

We praise your abiding guidance, O God,
for you sent us Jesus, our Teacher and Messiah,
to model for us the way of love for the whole universe.
We offer these prayers of love
on behalf of ourselves and our neighbors,
on behalf of your creation and our fellow creatures.

Put Your Hand in the Hand – Page 11

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water

Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea

Take a look at yourself and you can look at others differently

By putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee

Every time I look into the Holy Book, I wanna tremble (TREMBLE)

When I read about the part where the carpenter cleared the temple

For the buyers and the sellers were no different fellers than what I profess to be

And it causes me shame to know I’m not the person I should be

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water

Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea

Take a look at yourself and you can look at others differently

By putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee

Momma taught me to pray before I reached the age of seven

She said, there’ll come a time when there’ll probably be room in Heaven

But I’m feelin’ kinda guilty ‘bout the number of times, we do what we shouldn’t do

When we forget what He said and then we beg Him that He’ll still make room.

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water

Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea

Take a look at yourself and you can look at others differently

By putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee

MARILYN reads James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;

for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.

Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;

for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.

But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act–they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Steve – shares a Prayer of Confession

Love Lifted Me – Page 19

I was sinking deep in sin Far from that peaceful shore

Very deeply stained within Sinking to rise no more

But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry

From the waters lifted me Now safe am I

Love lifted me love lifted me