LOVELY LANE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
FIFTEENTH Sunday after Pentecost, Year A
SEPTEMBER 6, 2026
† Stand as you are able
Organ Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Introit “Lead Me, Lord” Wesley
Lead me, Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness,
Make Thy way plain before my face.
†Call to Worship
Come, people of God, to worship the One who calls us into a people set free.
We come with open hearts, ready to receive grace.
Christ meets us in Word, prayer, song, and service.
The Spirit gathers us and sends us in love.
Let us worship God with joy and expectation.
†Opening Hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” UMH 127
Prayer of Illumination
Holy Spirit, open the Scriptures to us. Let the words read and proclaimed become a living word, so that we may hear Christ, trust your promise, and practice as a people set free in the life of the church. Amen.
A Reading from the Old Testament Exodus 12:1-14 NRSV
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn with fire. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of the Lord. I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
The Word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God!
Congregational Prayer
Merciful God, we pray for the church, for our neighbors, and for all who carry heavy burdens. Where there is weariness, give strength; where there is division, give peace; where there is grief, give comfort; where there is injustice, give courage. Form us as a people who embody delight in the law, and make Lovely Lane a witness of beloved community for Baltimore and beyond. Amen.
Passing of the Peace “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” UMH 334
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Pastoral Prayer
Response “Alleluia” UMH 186
†A Reading from the Gospels Mark 2:18-22 NRSV
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins, but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
The Gospel of our Lord. Praise be to you O Christ!
Sermon Reverend Levon D. Sutton, Pastor
†Responsive Hymn “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” UMH 557
Invitation to Offering
Offertory “Refiner’s Fire” Doerksen
Offering Prayer
Generous God, receive these gifts as signs of gratitude and trust. Use them to strengthen worship, deepen discipleship, serve our neighbors, and bear witness to a people set free in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Holy Communion “Let Us Break Bread Together” UMH 618
The Great Thanksgiving UMH 13
Lord’s Prayer
†Closing Hymn “Forth in Thy Name, O Lord” UMH 438
†Benediction
Go in peace. You are called by grace and sent in love. Follow Christ with courage, and serve with joy. Amen.
†Benediction Response “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” Vaughan Williams
God be with you till we meet again; By His counsels guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you; God be with you till we meet again.
Ringing the Bicentennial Bell
Organ Postlude