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Asbury United Methodist Church
March 15, 2026
All Are Welcome!
Prelude
Joys, Concerns, Announcements
Greeting – Caroline Wendel
Loving Shepherd,
you know our names;
you care for us.
When we face darkness and death,
journey alongside us.
When we hunger for your love,
fill us with your presence.
When we are fearful,
feed us at your table.
May we dwell in the house of goodness and mercy
all the days of our lives. Amen. (Written by Mary Petrina Boyd)
Please stand as you are able at *.
*CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) Caroline Wendel
One: Beloved, the journey of grace takes us to still waters, the valley of the shadow of death, even to tables surrounded by our enemies.
ALL: We gather to worship God, our Shepherd, who guides us on the journey.
One: The journey of grace points us toward the Light so that we may bear the fruit of the Light in all that we do.
ALL: We gather to be formed by grace so that our lives may bear the fruit of all that is good and right and true.
One: The journey of grace calls us to pay attention, to discern what is pleasing to God.
ALL: We gather to listen to the Spirit, who empowers us to go from this place to work together to do what is pleasing to God.
One: Come, let us worship God who provides, inspires, and empowers us on the journey of grace.
ALL: Come, let us worship God as we journey in grace together! Amen.
(Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, July 2025)
*Hymn #451 “Be Thou My Vision”
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
Thou and thou only, first in my heart,
Great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Great God of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
1st READING: Numbers 14:33-34 (NRSVUE) Caroline Wendel
And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’
Psalm 23 response #1 UMH Page 754 Caroline Wendel
Response 1: My shepherd is the Lord, nothing indeed shall I want.
R
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures,
Leads me beside still waters,
Restores my life,
Leads me in the right paths
For the sake of the Lord’s name.
Even though I walk through the dark valley,
I fear no evil;
For you are with me;
Your rod and your staff,
They comfort me. R
You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil,
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
As long as I live. R
Anthem: Hymn #130 “God Will Take Care of You”
2ND Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14 (NRSVUE) Caroline Wendel
for once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly, but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Gospel Reading: John 9:1-41 NRSVUE Pastor Alison Dix
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 he.” 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.” 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.”
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, 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.
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 who were with 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.
Pastor: The word of God for the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God!
SERMON: “Wandering in the Desert” Message by Pastor Alison
Hymn #462 “”Tis Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take him at his word;
Just to test upon his promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him over and over!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust his cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him over and over!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
Yes, ‘tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him over and over!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
I’m so glad I learned to trust thee,
Precious Jesus,
Savior, friend;
And I know that thou are with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him over and over!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
Prayer Time
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen
Offering
*Doxology # 94 (To the tune “Lasst Uns Erfreuen”)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise god, all creatures here below:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ, whose power up-lifts!
Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Prayer of Dedication (Unison)
Radiant Shepherd, you walk beside us through valleys and over mountaintops, guiding us with grace and guarding us with love. In your presence, we lack nothing that truly matters. Even in a world clouded by shadows, your light shines through—inviting us to live as children of the day. Receive these gifts, O God, as signs of our desire to walk in your ways, to live as your people, and to shine with the goodness, justice, and truth that reflect your image. Let our giving be more than ritual; let it be an act of trust, a response to your faithfulness, and a testimony of your light at work in us. In Christ’s holy name, we pray, Amen. (Psalm 23, Ephesians 5:8-14)
*Hymn #467 “Trust and Obey”
When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word,
What a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will, he abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil he doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
But we never can prove the delights of his love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet,
Of we’ll walk by his side in the way;
What he says we will do, where he sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
Benediction
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Today 3/15
8:45 am Worship
Wednesday 3/18
5:00 pm Choir Practice
6:15 pm Leadership Team Meeting
Next Sunday 3/22
8:45 am Worship
9:45 am Fellowship Time
Prayer for at home: We wander at times in our lives, but let our hearts be centered on you Lord. Let us grapple with the silence. Help us to give ourselves patience during our times of wandering. As we focus on lack, help us to know that it is not the end yet. Help us Lord to see your grace in this world and to carry your love with us wherever we are. Help us to continue to cling to you and to breathe into this time in the desert no matter what feelings we feel. AMEN!
Pastor Alison Dix Cell: 319-573-4801
Email: Alison.dix@iaumc.net
Website: www.theasburymethodistcr.com
Phone: 319-364-3188
Church office hours: Tue – Thurs 9am-1pm
