CALL TO WORSHIP                                                              2 Thess. 1:3 

ONE: Thanks be to God for your abundant faith.

MANY: May the love of God continue to grow in us.                                                         

PRAYER OF THE DAY

The splendor of Solomon’s temple cannot compare to the majesty of your heart.

Show your heart in this place, that we might worship you with joy and gratitude. Amen.

HYMN                     “O God, Show Mercy to Us”

1 O God, show mercy to us, and bless us with your grace;

and cause to shine upon us the brightness of your face,

so that your way most holy on earth may soon be known,

and unto every people your saving grace be shown.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing;

in every land let praises and songs of gladness ring.

2 For you will judge the peoples in truth and righteousness,

and on the earth all nations will your just rule confess.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing.

Then earth in rich abundance to us its fruit will bring.

The Lord our God will bless us; our God will blessing send,

and all the earth will worship to its remotest end.

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors, and we have refused to hear the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON                     

GLORIA PATRI 579 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, 

world without end, Amen, Amen.

PROCLAMATION

FIRST LESSON                                                                     John 2:13-22

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN    “Showing God That We Love Him”

ANTHEM                               Holy Manna

Lord! Shower us with holy manna, Lord, shower us from above.

We gather here to sing hosanna, we gather to share your love. 

We have gathered here to worship and adore the Lord, our God.

Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word?

All is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes down.

Christians pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.

Lord! Shower us with holy manna, Lord shower us from above. 

We gather here to sing hosanna, we gather to share your love.

Let us love our God supremely, Let us love each other too,

Let us love and pray for sinners, till our God makes all things new. 

Christ will call us home to heaven, at his table we’ll sit down;

Christ will gird himself and serve us with sweet manna all around. 

SECOND LESSON                                                   1 Kings 5:1-5; 8:1-13

Now King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend to David. Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, “You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’    

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. All the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. So they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”

SERMON                 “A House for God”                      Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH             Confession of 1967 9.53-9.56

God’s redeeming work in Jesus Christ embraces the whole of man’s life: social and cultural, economic and political, scientific and technological, individual and corporate. It includes man’s natural environment as exploited and despoiled by sin. It is the will of God that his purpose for human life shall be fulfilled under the rule of Christ and all evil be banished from his creation. 

Biblical visions and images of the rule of Christ, such as a heavenly city, a father’s house, a new heaven and earth, a marriage feast, and an unending day culminate in the image of the kingdom. The kingdom represents the triumph of God over all that resists his will and disrupts his creation. Already God’s reign is present as a ferment in the world, stirring hope in men and preparing the world to receive its ultimate judgment and redemption. 

With an urgency born of this hope, the church applies itself to present tasks and strives for a better world. It does not identify limited progress with the kingdom of God on earth, nor does it despair in the face of disappointment and defeat. In steadfast hope, the church looks beyond all partial achievement to the final triumph of God.

“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN PRESENTATION 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY                   “Ode to Joy”                   Kate and David Russo

*DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures here below;

Praise God above, ye heavenly hosts;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

HYMN 415                        “Come, Labor On” 

1.Come, Labor on. Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain

while all around us waves the golden grain?

And to each servant does the Master say, “Go work today.”

2. Come, labor on. Claim the high calling angels cannot share;

to young and old the gospel gladness bear.

Redeem the time; it’s hours too swiftly fly. The night draws nigh.

3. Come, labor on. Cast off all gloomy doubt and faithless fear!

No arm so weak but may do service here. 

Though feeble agents, may we all fulfill God’s righteous will. 

4. Come, labor on. No time for rest, till glows the western sky, 

till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie,

and a glad sound comes with the setting sun, “Well done, well done!”

PARTING PRAYER               Thomas Merton

Almighty God, we thank you for all the gifts You have given us: our lives, our loved ones, all that we have and all that we are. Most of all, we thank You for Jesus, your Son and our Redeemer, who came among us to show us the way to eternal life. Jesus was the perfect steward of your gifts, showing that complete trust in You is necessary, and that giving of self is a most important part of following Him. May the offerings of our time, our talents, and our material resources be made in the same spirit of sacrifice that Jesus taught us by His life and death for us.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE   Fugue in G minor BWV 578 – J.S. Bach                

Many: And my mouth will declare your praise                

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of strength, In David you chose a king with a big heart. Create clean and willing hearts in us, and choose us to do your work. Amen.

HYMN                     “O God, Show Mercy to Us”

1 O God, show mercy to us, and bless us with your grace;

and cause to shine upon us the brightness of your face,

so that your way most holy on earth may soon be known,

and unto every people your saving grace be shown.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing;

in every land let praises and songs of gladness ring.

2 For you will judge the peoples in truth and righteousness,

and on the earth all nations will your just rule confess.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing.

Then earth in rich abundance to us its fruit will bring.

The Lord our God will bless us; our God will blessing send,

and all the earth will worship to its remotest end.

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors, and we have refused to hear the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON                     

GLORIA PATRI 579 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, 

world without end, Amen, Amen.

PROCLAMATION

FIRST LESSON                                                                 Psalm 51:10-14

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.                                                                                                                                                         

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN    

ANTHEM            “Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God”      Carl Mueller

Create in me a clean heart, O God;

 and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; 

and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; 

and uphold me, with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; 

and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Create in me a clean heart, O God!

SECOND LESSON                                                        1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

SERMON                         “Clean Heart”                    Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Theological Declaration of Barmen

Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.

As Jesus Christ is God’s assurance of the forgiveness of all our sins, so in the same way and with the same seriousness is he also God’s mighty claim upon our whole life. Through him befalls us a joyful deliverance from the godless fetters of this world for a free, grateful service to his creatures.

The Christian Church is the congregation of the brethren in which Jesus Christ acts presently as the Lord in Word and Sacrament through the Holy Spirit. As the church of pardoned sinners, it has to testify in the midst of a sinful world, with its faith as with its obedience, with its message as with its order, that it is solely his property, and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance.

The various offices in the church do not establish a dominion of some over the others; on the contrary, they are for the exercise of the ministry entrusted to and enjoined upon the whole congregation.

The church’s commission, upon which its freedom is founded, consists in delivering the message of the free grace of God to all people in Christ’s stead, and therefore in the ministry of his own Word and work through sermon and Sacrament.                     

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN PRESENTATION 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY                  

*DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures here below;

Praise God above, ye heavenly hosts;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

HYMN                  My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

1. My shepherd will supply my need; Jehovah is his name.

In pastures fresh he makes me feed, beside the living stream.

He brings my wandering spirit back when I forsake his ways,

and leads me, for his mercy’s sake, and paths of truth of grace.

1. When I walk through the shades of death 

your presence is my stay;

one word of your supporting breath drives all my fears away.

Your hand, in sight of all my foes, does still my table spread;

my cup with blessings overflows; your oil anoints my head.

1. The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days;

O may your house be my abode, and all my work be praise.

There would I find a settled rest, while others go and come;

no more a stranger, or a guest, but like a child at home. 

PARTING PRAYER     Thomas Merton

Almighty God, we thank you for all the gifts You have given us: our lives, our loved ones, all that we have and all that we are. Most of all, we thank You for Jesus, your Son and our Redeemer, who came among us to show us the way to eternal life. Jesus was the perfect steward of your gifts, showing that complete trust in You is necessary, and that giving of self is a most important part of following Him. May the offerings of our time, our talents, and our material resources be made in the same spirit of sacrifice that Jesus taught us by His life and death for us.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE               Flourish by Alan Bullard