Bethel 03/21/21 Service

Guidance from UMC Discipleship Ministries

This is the Fifth in a series of Worship Services from the Discipleship Ministries for the season of lent that began with Ash Wednesday. The graphics at the top of this page list the topics for each of the services in the Series.
(Click on another service's graphic to view that service's Resource page.)

Worship Series: "Rend Your Hearts: Claiming the Promise"
from umcdiscipleship.org

Lent doesn’t have to be a somber time; but to be effective, it needs to be intense. It needs to be taken seriously and rigorously, and we can bring our full selves to the table. It is worth the strenuous effort, however, as we are enabled to embrace the fullness of the promise of Resurrection and live as disciples of Jesus Christ; disciples who make disciples. So, despite feeling as though we have been in a yearlong season of Lent, we need the season; we need the observance to open us to all God has in store for us.
Rend your hearts, so together we can claim the promise.

This Week's Theme: "Written on the Heart"
Liturgical Resources

That the gospel is countercultural is beyond debate. But texts like this one are so subtly against our way of thinking that we might not even realize the pull to deny this proclamation even as we preach it. Yet, how can we make such a claim about a magnificent vision of the kin-dom of God? It seems something that we all long for on a regular basis, particularly during a time of unrest and division. This is a utopia worth claiming, so why would we be reluctant?