THE GOSPEL LESSON John 19:28
THE COVENANT LESSON Numbers 21:4-9
SERMON "The Covenant of Courage: Moses Story"
Worship Notes
In today's worship, we continue our journey in Lent to deepen our covenantal relationship with God. The liturgical color of the season is purple. Each Sunday in Lent, we will explore an aspect of God's covenant with creation. This covenant is not only vertical, but also includes a horizontal dimension emphasizing how our relationship with God is reflected in how we relate to one another. Each Sunday in Lent, we will also reflect on one of the last words spoken by Jesus from the cross. This we do to remember that our Lenten journey culminates in the crucifixion on Good Friday, which this year will be observed in a single worship service involving all Madison's Presbyterian congregations. These seven last words of Christ will be the basis for this joint Good Friday Service of Tenebrae, which will also include the music of Mozart's Requiem.
Today's focus is on the continuing nature of God's covenant with the Hebrew people as they journey through the desert with all its incumbent dangers of hunger, thirst, and snake bites. There is a call of God to have courage as we undergo our own spiritual journeys illustrated in the Call to Worship and Opening Prayer. In our confession, we describe our very human tendency to hunger and thirst for things even as God gives us everything we need. We remember the final words of Jesus in the utterly soulful expression of "I thirst" reflecting this most basic of human needs to God. Our faith and trust in God gives us the courage to stand "Beneath the Cross of Jesus".
