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March 19, 2023 | Fourth Sunday in Lent

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Explore the calendar of events and recent announcements to take another step into our life together this week.

Prelude

Prière, Jean Langlais; “Chromhorne sur la Taille” from François Couperin’s Mass for the Convents

Call to Worship

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Come, let us worship God!

Hymn #314, “Christ, Be Our Light”

1 Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.

Refrain:
Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.

2 Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice. (Refrain)

3 Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed. (Refrain)

4 Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone. (Refrain)

5 Many the gifts, many the people,
many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another,
making your kingdom come. (Refrain)

Prayer of Adoration

Call to Confession

Jesus calls us to enter the joy of discipleship, the joy of following in his way. But sin clings closely, and we struggle to respond fully to Christ’s invitation. Let us seek God’s forgiveness so that we may know more deeply the joy God intends.

Prayer of Confession (together)

God of perfect love, you continually bring forth life,
transforming sadness to joy, and despair to hope.
We are weak, but you are strong.
Our ways are flawed, but your ways are true.
We are seldom right, but you are never wrong.
Forgive us, redeem us, transform us.
Take away the sin that burdens us, and restore us to the people
you would have us be, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior.

Kyrie

Composed by James MacMillan

Silent Prayer

Assurance of Pardon

Relentlessly, God seeks us out.
With abundant grace and boundless mercy, God seeks us out.
This is good news! In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God!

Response of Praise: Hymn 582, “Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me”

1 Glory to God, whose goodness shines on me,
and to the Son, whose grace has pardoned me,
and to the Spirit, whose love has set me free.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.

2 World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Passing of the peace

Life in Community

Thank you for joining us for worship! Explore the calendar of events and recent announcements to take another step into our life together this week. If you’re joining us for the first time or would like to learn more about Catonsville Presbyterian, you’re welcome to share your email with us. We’ll send some information that will help you get connected.

Iftar Dinner Invitation

We are delighted to welcome two members of Maryland American-Turkish Inhabitants, Ozgur Karakuzu, (Interfaith Committee Chair) and Fatih Kok. Space is limited for this event, so please RSVP on Eventbrite.

Children’s Message

Prayer for Illumination

Gracious God, illumine these words by your Spirit
that we might hear what you would have us hear
and be who you would us be,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Amen.

Scripture: John 9:1-12

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

Hymn: “Spirit of God, Come Dwell Within Me” (verse 1)

Scripture: John 9:13-34

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

Hymn: “Spirit of God, Come Dwell Within Me” (verse 2)

Scripture: John 9:35-41

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.

Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Hymn: “Spirit of God, Come Dwell Within Me” (verse 3)

Message, “Stay Focused”

Call to Offering

God gives generously. Let us honor God by giving generously in return. With gratitude, let us present out gifts to the Lord.

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Offertory, Craig Courtney: “None Other Lamb”

None other Lamb, none other name, none other hope in heav’n or earth or sea,
None other hiding place from guilt and shame, none beside Thee!

My faith burns low, my hope burns low; only my heart’s desire cries out in me
By the deep thunder of its want and woe, cries out to Thee.

Lord, Thou art Life, though I be dead; Love’s fire thou art, however cold I be:
Nor heav’n have I, nor place to lay my head, nor home, but Thee.

Doxology #607, “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ, all people here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
Praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

O God, with faith and hope, we offer these gifts.
Use them, as you use us, to accomplish your purposes in Jesus Christ,
the head of the church and the Lord of our lives. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory, forever. Amen.

Hymn #182, “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”

1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
lay down, O weary one, lay down
your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found him in a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one;
stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me, your morn shall rise,
and all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk
till traveling days are done.

Benediction (Responsive)

Let us go from this place
trusting that God is with us and for us in every place.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus,
the love of God,
and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with you
and abide with you this day and forevermore.
Amen.

Postlude

OLIVET, Arr. David Blackwell

Participants

• Dorothy Boulton, Associate Pastor
• Michael Cuppett, Communications and Operations Manager
• Wendy Johnston, Organist and Assistant Director of Music
• Greg Knauf, Director of Music
• Kenneth E. Kovacs, Pastor
• Vickie Lord, social media support
• Dottie Marshall, Ruling Elder, sanctuary set up
• Rhys Peercy, video production
• Cynthia Schwanz, Ruling Elder, liturgist

Sources

• John Wurster, The Presbyterian Outlook, 2023.
• Book of Common Worship (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018).
• Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013).
• Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-734388; CCLI Copyright License B 20481088 + Streaming License B 481071
• “Kyrie eleison” from the Galloway Mass by James MacMillan (b.1959), from Common Ground: A Song Book for All the Churches (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1993).
• “Spirit of God, come dwell within me” (Mallaig Sprinkling Song). Words by Helen Kennedy set to the Scottish folk tune Leaving of Lismore, from Common Ground: A Song Book for All the Churches (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1993).