(Image: “Christ in the Wilderness”, Kramskoi, Ivan Nikolaevich, 1872, Moscow, Russia)
©Order of Worship for Sunday February 22, 2026
First Sunday in Lent
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Prelude.………….…”Cry for the Desert”…………………Greg D.
Words and Music: Twila Paris © 1990 Ariose Music/ASCAP
Coming of the Light:
Greetings:……………………………………………….Pastor Liz
Announcements:………………………………………..Lorri B.
Call to Worship:……………………………………..Melrose D.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor requite us according to our iniquities.
What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
(The Book of Worship 1965)
Opening Prayer of Confession:…………………………Melrose D.
Holy and awesome God, we stand in your presence
filled with regret for our many sins and failings.
Though there is greatness in us, and a deep longing for goodness, we have often denied our better selves
and refused to hear your voice calling us to rise to the
full height of our humanity.
For there is weakness in us, as well as strength.
At times we choose to walk in darkness, our vision obscured.
And we are unwilling to look beyond at those who need
our help.
O God, we are too weak to walk unaided.
Be with us as a strong and wise friend,
and teach us to walk by the light of your truth.
All offer prayers of confession in silence.
The Lord God is merciful and gracious,
endlessly patient, loving, and true,
forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and
granting pardon. Amen.
(Jewish Prayer for Forgiveness, USA)
Opening Hymn:.“Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days” #269 UMH
Words: Claudia F. Hernaman, 1873, Music: USA folk melody
Music: © 1938, renewed 1966, J. Fischer and Bro. Co.
1. Lord, who throughout these forty days for
us didst fast and pray, teach us with thee to
mourn our sins and close by thee to stay.
2. As thou with Satan didst contend, and
didst the victory win, O give us strength in
thee to fight, in thee to conquer sin.
3. As thou didst hunger bear, and thirst, so
teach us, gracious Lord, to die to self, and
chiefly live by thy most holy word.
4. And through these days of penitence, and
through thy passionstide, yea, evermore in
life and death, Jesus, with us abide.
5. Abide with us, that so, this life of
suffering over past, an Easter of unending
joy we may attain at last.
Passing of the Peace:……………………………….Elizabeth
Let us offer signs of reconciliation and peace to one another.
Gloria Patri:…….“Glory Be to the Father”…………#71 UMH
Words: Lesser Doxology, 3rd-4th century
Music: Henry W. Greatorex, 1851
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, to
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Giving of our Tithes and offerings:…………….Pastor Liz
AFUMC Giving Link: https://aventferryumc.org/give/
Offertory:…………….“Come Sunday”…………..Rhonda B.
By Duke Ellington Lyrics by Spiritual. © 1946 (renewed) G. Schoenberg, Inc.
(ASCAP) New York, NY
“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (The Doxology) #95
The United Methodist Hymnal
Words by Thomas Ken, 1674
Music attributed to Louis Bourgeois, 1551
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
Prayer After Receiving:………………………………Pastor Liz
The Prayers of the People:…………………………Pastor Liz
Anthem:..“Jesus Walked This LonesomeValley”….Rhonda B.
American Spiritual
New Testament Lesson:….Matthew 4:1-11……….Melrose B.
The temptation of Jesus
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'”
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Hymn of Preparation:……“O How He Loves You and Me”
#2108 TFWS
Words: Kurt Kaiser Music: Kurt Kaiser
©1975 Words Music, Inc.
1. O how he loves you and me!
O how he loves you and me!
He gave his life. What more could
he give? O how he loves you;
O how he loves me; O how he
loves you and me!
2. Jesus to Calv’ry did go; his love
for sinners to show. What he did
there brought hope from despair.
O how he loves you; O how he
loves me; O how he loves you
and me!
Message:………………………………………………….Pastor Liz
Response to the Word:
Closing Hymn:……“Jesus, Tempted in the Desert” #2105 TFWS
Words: Herman G. Stuemple, Jr. Music: Thomas J. Williams
Words: © 1993 GIA Publications, Inc.
1. Jesus, tempted in the desert,
lonely, hungry, filled with dread:
“Use your power,” the tempter tells him;
“Turn these barren rocks to bread!”
“Not alone by bread,” he answers, “Can the
human heart be filled. Only by the Word that
calls us is our deepest hunger stilled!”
2 .Jesus, tempted at the temple,
high above its ancient wall:
“Throw yourself from lofty turret;
angels wait to break your fall!”
Jesus shuns such empty marvels, feats that
fickle crowds request: “God, whose grace protects,
preserves us, we must never vainly test.”
3. Jesus, tempted on the mountain
by the lure of vast domain:
“Fall before me! Be my servant!
Glory, fame, you’re sure to gain!”
Jesus sees the dazzling vision, turns his eyes
another way: “God alone deserves our homage!
God alone will I obey!”
4. When we face temptation’s power,
lonely, struggling, filled with dread,
Christ, who knew the tempter’s hour,
come and be our living bread.
By your grace, protect, preserve us lest
we fall, your trust betray. Yours, above all other
voices, be the Word we hear, obey.
Dismissal with Blessing:……………………………Pastor Liz
Postlude:…………………………………………………….Greg D.
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Sunday February 22nd Worship Service