Worship - Feb 25, 2024
Friedens United Church of Christ-Irvington is celebrating the season of Lent with a sanctuary filled with hot air balloons for the series "What R U Up 2?" In-person worship begins at 10 a.m. with Sunday School/Bible Study following. Online worship is available via YouTube.com/@irvingtonucc or Facebook.com/Irvingtonucc
Lent is often known as a time of givingsomething up in order to make room in our lives for spiritual pursuits. Ratherthan just “giving up” in Lent, the scriptures askus to consider all that Jesus is “up to” and all that he asks us to be upto in his name. Instead of bemoaning what we can’t do, or used to do, in a culture where “measuring up” to external standards seems impossible, thisLent we will celebrate the small things that we can do right now to respond toGod's call in our place, for our time.
This week our focus is called "Take Up" as we center around Psalm 22 and Mark 8: 31-36. Jesus was very clear that following him might not be a smooth ride. He was bound to choose the just way, through life. To take up the cross was to lose one's life--to let go of certain expectations of safety and acceptance in order to stand for the Gospel message of love. How are we to take up the causes of Jesus--justice, righteousness, and mercy in our day?
The children's message comes from the movie and the Golden Book, "Up". Last week we left off with Carl discovering Russell on his font orch while his house is flying through the air because it's attached to a lot of balloons. This week we discover;how Russell and Carl go on an adventure that connects to Jesus telling his disciples that life can be hard sometimes, especially when you are trying to do good in the world. We are called to do little things to change the world for good, even if it is scary.
The message for the day challenges us to be honest about the reality of suffering involved with following his path. Special music from the choir will support the message of Christ.
