Hampstead Congregational Church UCC

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Hampstead Congregational Church

February 22, 2026

First Sunday of Lent

No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are on Life’s Journey,

You are Welcome Here!

Order of Worship

Prelude                                                                                                           Herb Tardiff  

Greetings and Announcements                                                                   

Call to Worship (responsive)                                                                         Rick Little 

Leader: Then the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.

Assembly: Come, beloveds, into the wilderness of our heartbreaking and troubled days.

Leader: In the midst of our hunger for comfort, provoked by lies of scarcity,

Assembly: this Lent journey promises bread and abundance.

Leader: In the midst of our longing for safety, enticed by promises of security,

Assembly: this Lent journey promises angels and costly solidarity.

Leader: In the midst of our clinging to power, lured by the ease of complicity,

Assembly: this Lent journey promises prayer and turning around.

Leader: The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.

Assembly: Come, beloveds, to worship, venturing deeper and deeper into the wilderness of our broken and beautiful world.

Invocation   (unison)                                                                                         Rick Little

       In the wilderness and the wandering and the weariness, lead us, Holy Spirit.  In the hungering and the holding and the humbling, accompany us, Holy Spirit.  In the tempting and the testing and the turning, move us, Holy Spirit.  In the resisting and the refusing and the recognizing, guide us, Holy Spirit.  Ground in us, as we ground in you.  Breathe with us, as we breathe with you.  Turn with us, as we turn toward you.  As the new way emerges, we pray. Amen.

Passing of the Peace of Christ 

(Feel free to pass the peace by shaking hands, offering hugs or waves.  Those who would like to share peace without physical contact are invited to place their hands over their hearts in greeting.)

*Opening Hymn:  

The Gospel Shared Dramatically:  Mt 4: 1-11  (The Voice)  

                                                            read by Elias Siwacki, TJ Arndt and Bob O’Brien

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. ² He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. ³ The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ 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.’ ”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, ⁹ and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
    and serve only him.’ ”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Children’s Message

Sermon: “The Voices that Call Us Away from Our Best Selves”

                                                                                    Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Special Music

Call for Concerns & Celebrations

     (Please write joys and concerns on the papers in the baskets in the pews and pass them to an usher.  The Congregational Response is: “Hear Our Prayers”)

Pastoral Prayer                                                                Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

     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, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

Call to Offering

*Doxology:     “Praise God throughout these 40 days,
                          Praise Christ, our Lord, whom God did raise,
                         And praise the Spirit who imparts
                         God’s love in Christ into our hearts” 

*Prayer of Dedication                                                          Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

      Take these gifts we offer, loving God, and use them for your work. Take our very selves – our hopes, our dreams, our plans, our wonderings – and use them, too, to make your world a better place. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

*Hymn of Going Forth: 

*Benediction                                                                              Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Go, now, in the comfort and blessing of God’s mercy, trusting that wherever you go, God’s steadfast love surrounds you, sustains you, and supports you for the journey ahead. Amen.

Music Usage permitted through OneLicense HCC License # A-730412 and CCLI License Number 2927783. All rights reserved.

  February 23^rd Church Weekly Calendar

  Special Fuel Offering

We all know that it’s been an extremely frigid winter.   The church heating bills for HCC have been very high. Therefore, we are asking you, our members and friends to consider a special fuel offering next Sunday, March 1^st to offset our heating costs.

Special envelopes will be included in the bulletins. If you mail your donation, please indicate with a note or on the memo line that it’s for the fuel offering.

In appreciation,

Operations Team