Order of Worship 07_18_21
SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
8th Sunday after Pentecost
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
July 18, 2021 Ten Thirty in the morning
Minister: The Rev. Aaron Ochart
Liturgist: Bill Bottomley
Please silence all cell phones.
Face masks must be worn while entering and exiting
Bold face indicates congregational participation
GATHERING
WORDS OF WELCOME
PRELUDE “Soliloquy” Healey Willan
ADORATION
CALL TO WORSHIP
One: In Christ we are no longer strangers;
Many: we are members of the household of God.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Christ, you call us from the south, and from the north, and from the west, and from the east; you call us as women, and men, and people; you call us as black, and brown, and white; as young, and old, and in-between; boomers, Gen-Z, Generation X, Millennials. You call us as unique and gifted individual people to serve your Kindom together as your people. Amen.
HYMN 429 “Lord, You Give the Great Commision”
CALL TO CONFESSION
SILENT CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Merciful God, in your presence we confess our sin and the sin of this world. Although Christ is among us as our peace, we are a people divided against ourselves, as we cling to the values of a broken world. The profit and pleasures we pursue lay waste the land and pollute the seas. The fears and jealousies that we harbor set neighbor against neighbor and nation against nation. We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom, of intellect and reason, and have turned them into bonds of oppression. Lord, have mercy upon us; heal and forgive us. Set us free to serve you in the world as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus Christ. 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 Genesis 11: 1-9
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN
ANTHEM “Together We Serve” Daniel Damon
Together we serve, united by love,
inviting God’s world to the glorious feast.
We work and we pray through sorrow and joy,
extending your love to the last and the least.
We seek to become a beacon of hope,
A lamp for the heart and a light for the feet.
We learn, year by year, to let love shine through
Until we see Christ in each person we meet
Together, by grace, we witness and work,
Remembering Jesus, in whom we grow strong.
Together we serve in Spirit and truth,
Remembering love is the strength of our song.
Second Lesson Acts 13:1-3, 42-52
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath. When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON “Apostles: The Next Generation” Rev. Aaron Ochart
RESPONSE
OFFERTORY
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.”
REAFFIRMATION OF BAPTISM
One: Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Many: For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body- Jews and Greek, slaves and free– and we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.
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 415 “Come, Labor On”
1 Come, labor on. Who dares stand idle, on the harvest plain
While all around him 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; its hours too swiftly fly. The night draws nigh.
3 Come, labor on. Away with gloomy doubts 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 Attributed to Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-c. 547)
O gracious and holy God, give us diligence to seek you, wisdom to perceive you, and patience to wait for you. Grant us, O God, a mind to meditate on you; eyes to behold you; ears to listen for your word; a heart to love you; and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE “Mighty Maker of All” Rachel Sawyer
Order of Worship 07_11_21
SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
7th Sunday after Pentecost
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
July 11, 2021 Ten Thirty in the morning
Guest Minister: The Rev. Zoë Garry
Liturgist: Sharon Fortin
Please silence all cell phones.
Face masks must be worn while entering and exiting
Bold face indicates congregational participation
GATHERING
WORDS OF WELCOME
PRELUDE Little Prelude in F BWV 556 – J.S. Bach
ADORATION
CALL TO WORSHIP
One: The word of the Lord will not return empty;
Many: it will accomplish all that God intends.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Lord God Almighty, we praise you for who you are and what you have done. You are the healer, bring healing in this place. You are our righteousness, bring transformation in this place. You are the provider, increase our trust in you. You are the God who is with us, let us enter your presence. You are the God of Peace, bring comfort in our chaos. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
HYMN 394 There is a Balm in Gilead
(Refrain) There is a Balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.
- Sometimes I feel discouraged, and think my work’s in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again. (refrain)
- Don’t ever feel discouraged, for Jesus is your friend,
and if you lack for knowledge, he’ll not refuse to lend. (refrain)
- If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul,
you can tell the love of Jesus and say, “he died for all.” (refrain)
CALL TO CONFESSION
SILENT CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Merciful God, in your presence we confess our sin and the sin of this world. Although Christ is among us as our peace, we are a people divided against ourselves as our peace, we are a people divided against ourselves as we cling to the values of a broken world. The profit and pleasures we pursue lay waste the land and pollute the seas. The fears and jealousies that we harbor set neighbor against neighbor and nation against nation.
We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom, of intellect and reason, and have turned them into bonds of oppression.
Lord, have mercy upon us; heal and forgive us. Set us free to serve you in the world as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus Christ. 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 Isaiah 61:1-4
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN “One Spirit for All”
ANTHEM “More Like You” Scott Brown
More like You, Jesus, more like You.
Fill my heart with Your desire to make me more like You.
More like You, Jesus, more like You.
Touch my lips with holy fire and make me more like You.
Lord, You are my mercy. Lord, You are my grace.
All my deepest sins have forever been erased.
Draw me in Your presence. Lead me in Your ways.
I long to bring You glory in righteousness and praise.
Second Lesson Acts 12:6-16
The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’
As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying. When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she insisted that it was so. They said, ‘It is his angel.’ Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON “Peter Kept Knocking” The Rev. Zoë Garry
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.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND 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 525 Here I Am, Lord
- I the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in deepest sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
(Refrain) Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
- I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have born my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them, they turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them. Whom shall I send? (refrain)
- I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send? (refrain)
PARTING PRAYER Attributed to Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-c. 547)
O gracious and holy God, give us diligence to seek you, wisdom to perceive you, and patience to wait for you. Grant us, O God, a mind to meditate on you; eyes to behold you; ears to listen for your word; a heart to love you; and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Participating in today’s service are Zoe Garry, Guest Pastor, Julie Hebert, CE Leader, Sandy Cranfill, Music Director, and Sam Garnett, Organist. Appreciation to David Garland and Dennis Lauland for the video production of today’s service.