Announcements 4-2-23

Announcements:

 Devotional Spotlight: This week’s devotional is: Awaken to Rest: Daily words of comfort and hope The Lord wants your freedom and for you to feel the joy in His heart for you. Listen to the words in this book to jumpstart a deeper relationship with Him. Sink into His vision of you. See that you are a canvas where He is creating a beautiful life. The finished work of the Cross secured your liberty into a radically new existence.

As you read these messages daily, let them awaken you to truths that are liberating. Awakening to His rest is the key to fulfillment and peace. Striving and anxiously trying to control your life is a dead-end that leads nowhere. Come into the open pasture and lean against the heart of your Creator. Allow Him to show you a new and better way.

One Great Hour Of Sharing: Lent is a time to think about others, instead of ourselves.  Easter is a time for connecting friends, family, and those in need. ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING…

…is a time when people throughout the world come together and share what they have with others that have less!

ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING is the single, largest way that Presbyterians connect every year to work for justice, resilience, and sustainability, providing relief from natural disasters, food for the hungry, and support for the poor and oppressed.

During the season of Lent, we celebrate that God connects with us through Jesus’ resurrection and connects us with “those who have least” – that’s how Matthew 25 puts it – and that’s what One Great hour of Sharing (OGHS) is all about.

We will be collecting the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering this Sunday and on Easter Sunday.

FOR A POTLUCK LUNCHEON AFTER THE CANTATA!: On Sunday, April 16th. the Presbyterian Women will host a pot luck luncheon after our annual cantata. Just bring a dish to share with others. It can be homemade or store bought. Anything yummy you would like, someone else is sure to like too!  The Presbyterian women will be in the Fellowship Hall before the worship service to accept the food (and to have it heated or refrigerated, if necessary).The PW will provide the drinks. Plan to join us on April 16th. for beautiful music and wonderful fellowship as we join Chinese Presbyterian and Little Farms United Church of Christ as a community of believers praising God together!

Events and Meetings this Week:

4/2 – 11:45 AM – Choir 

4/5 -11:00 AM – Staff Meeting  

          6:00 PM – Handbells 

          7:00 PM – Cantata Choir Rehearsal 

4/6 – 7:00 PM – Maundy Thursday Service at Chinese Presbyterian 

4/7 – 8:00 AM – Good Friday Drop In  Prayer Vigil 

4/9 – 10:15 AM – Choir Rehearsal 

         10:30 AM- Easter Sunday  Worship Service

         11:45 AM – Choir

HYMNS AND BEER We’ve also scheduled our next Hymns and Beer for Monday, April 24th at 7pm at Zony Mash! The brewery is child and pet-friendly, and there will be a food truck (Boils by Brad) serving up crawfish. In celebration of Earth Day, all the hymns will be nature-themed and half of the musicians’ tips will be donated to Glassroots, a New Orleans non-profit which turns glass bottles into sand for use in coastal restoration projects. See you there!

Our Next Clothing Drive: We are looking for prom dresses and party dresses to take to the folks we have been working with in Lake Charles. Short, long, and all sizes. We will be collecting in April. Look for a clothing rack in the Narthex for this collection.

Love Offering For Olga: Olga, our long-term cleaning help, is retiring this week. Her husband, who has been battling mouth cancer for the last several months, started radiation treatments last week, and then will undergo chemotherapy. She needs to retire to be able to care for him. We would like to take up a love offering for Olga in recognition of her time with us and to support her in her time of need. Please put “Love Offering” in the memo line.

Birthdays: Lorraine Weindel 4/6, Chuck Corcoran 4/9



Worship 3-26-23

SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY

5th Sunday of Lent

March 26th, 2023 Ten Thirty in the morning

Minister: Rev. Aaron Ochart

Liturgist: Karla Russo

Please silence all cell phones. 

Bold face indicates congregational participation.

✝ Please stand, in body or spirit

CALLED TO FOLLOW

PRELUDE     “Sonata in E Minor, II. Andante”   Florence Price

✝PROCESSIONAL HYMN [BLUE#434*] [GTG#757]          

 “Today We All Are Called To Be Disciples”

 Cindy Freudenthal, flute

  1. Today we are all called to be Disciples of the Lord,

To help to set the captives free,

Make plow-share out of sword,

To feed the hungry, quench their thirst,

Make love and peace our fast,

To serve the poor and homeless first,

Our ease and comfort last.

  1. May we in service to our God

Act out the living word,

And walk the road the saints have trod

Till all have seen and heard.

As stewards of the earth may we

Give thanks in one accord

To God who calls us all to be

Disciples of the Lord.

WORDS OF WELCOME                                                        

CALL TO WORSHIP: Matt. 5:14, 16

ONE: Jesus says: You are the light of the world.

MANY: Let your light shine before others.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Holy God, by your Word and Spirit, come and transform your church to be a living sign of your love for the world — where the poor are filled with good things, the dividing walls are broken down, and the dead are raised to new life;

through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

✝HYMN [BLUE#87*] [GTG#165]  “The Glory of These Forty Days”          

1 The glory of these forty days

we celebrate with songs of praise;

for Christ, by whom all things were made,

himself has fasted and has prayed.

2 Alone and fasting Moses saw

the loving God who gave the law;

and to Elijah, fasting, came

the steeds and chariots of flame.

3 So Daniel trained his mystic sight,

delivered from the lion’s might;

and John, the Bridegroom’s friend, became

the herald of Messiah’s name.

4 Then grant that we like them be true,

consumed in fast and prayer with you;

our spirits strengthen with your grace,

and give us joy to see your face.

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN

RESPONSE (While Children leave) 

“Jesus, Be With Us (Matthew 25 Hymn)    

REPENTANCE

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION 

Merciful God, we confess that we have wandered from your way of truth and life. You call us to share all that we have 

and work together for the common good, but we hoard up treasures for ourselves and deny others their daily bread.

You call us to set the captives free and seek justice for the oppressed, but we live in fear of our neighbors and hide ourselves from our own kin.

You call us to walk in newness of life and to be witnesses to the resurrection, but we dwell in the valley of dry bones and keep silent about your saving love.

Forgive us, God of grace. Set us free from sin, death and fear

so that we may serve you with gladness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

KYRIE [GTG Hymnal #575] 

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON  

THE WORD READ AND PROCLAIMED

SCRIPTURE [Pew Bible NT pg.27 or 29]   Matthew 25:31-46

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON:     “Kindom Work”     The Rev. Aaron Ochart

 TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW   

✝AFFIRMATION OF FAITH   Theological Declaration of Barmen

  1. “Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (I Peter 2:17.)

Scripture tells us that, in the as yet unredeemed world in which the Church also exists, the State has by divine appointment the task of providing for justice and peace. [It fulfills this task] by means of the threat and exercise of force, according to the measure of human judgment and human ability. The church acknowledges the benefit of this divine appointment in gratitude and reverence before him. It calls to mind the Kingdom of God, God’s commandment and righteousness, and thereby the responsibility both of rulers and of the ruled. It trusts and obeys the power of the Word by which God upholds all things.

We reject the false doctrine, as though the State, over and beyond its special commission, should and could become the single and totalitarian order of human life, thus fulfilling the church’s vocation as well.

We reject the false doctrine, as though the church, over and beyond its special commission, should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY     “Prayer for Peace” David M. Cherwien

✝OFFERTORY RESPONSE [GTG 701] “Lord Prepare Me”

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, 

pure and holy, tried and true.

With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you. 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORDS 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 [GTG #852]  “When the Lord Redeems the Very Least” 

  1. When the Lord redeems  the very least, we will rejoice.

When the hungry gather for the feast, we will rejoice.

We will rejoice with gladness. We will rejoice. 

All our days we’ll sing to God in praise. We will rejoice!

2.When the Lord restores  the sick and weak, we will rejoice.

When the earth is given to the meek, we will rejoice.

We will rejoice with gladness. We will rejoice.

All our days we’ll sing to God in praise. We will rejoice!

  1. When the Lord revives the world from death, we will rejoice.

When the word of God  fills every breath, we will rejoice.

We will rejoice with gladness. We will rejoice.

All our days we’ll sing to God in praise. We will rejoice!

  1. When the Lord returns in victory, we will rejoice.

When we live in glorious liberty, we will rejoice.

We will rejoice with gladness. We will rejoice.

All our days we’ll sing to God in praise. We will rejoice!

✝PARTING PRAYER (St. Patrick)

Lord, be with us this day- within us to purify us; above us to draw us up; beneath us to sustain us; before us to lead us; behind us to restrain us; around us to protect us. Amen. 

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

✝RESPONSE [GTG#771] What is the World Like

  1. These are the stories that Jesus imparts,

filled with the Spirit who joins us as one.

Born through our voices, our hands, and our hearts,

this is a new world where God’s will is done.

POSTLUDE:   “Festal March” Florence Price      

*Note: the hymn lyrics in the bulletin and on the projection screen are from the Glory To God Hymnal (© 2013 Westminster John Knox Press), which we are transitioning to. Words in the “Blue” Presbyterian Hymnal (© 1990) in your pew may differ slightly.

Participating in today’s service are Rev. Aaron Ochart, Pastor; Louise Ochart, CE Leader; Sam Garnett, Music Director; and Kelly Cuppett, Assistant Music Director. Appreciation to Dennis Lauland. Mike Fortin, and David Garland for the video production of today’s service. 

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved. 




ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements 3-26-23

Announcements:

 Devotional Spotlight: This week’s devotional is: Come, Holy Spirit : A Daily Discipleship Travel Log for Easter to Pentecost. Learning to Pray, “Come, Holy Spirit!”

When was the last time you prayed for the Holy Spirit? The person and work of the Spirit sometimes seem mysterious, if not confusing. We pray to the Father and the Son while the Spirit often remains behind the scenes, a silent partner in God’s Work in the world. But the Scriptures envision so much more.

Over the course of 40 days, this Discipleship Travel Log explores the role of the Spirit as a sculptor who shapes us to look more like Jesus. The daily Scripture readings, devotions, and prayers help you lean into the work of the Spirit in your everyday life. Custom-made Faith Experiments will help you: try something new, find the next step, and get into the groove. The Spirit is already working in your life. The Father gladly gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Today is a good day to pray, “Come, Holy Spirit! Help me take a small next step.”

Bigger isn’t always better: Have you been wondering why the Bulletin is getting smaller? As we continually assess our call to be good stewards of both the earth and the financial resources that God has given us, we are working on reducing our footprint. Using smaller paper, and printing less of the service is both less expensive and better for the environment. While sometimes we need to use creative spacing, nearly everything that was on the larger paper fits on this smaller version and with a font that is only .5 smaller then we were using. Also everything that is in the paper bulletin is also on the slides or available online, so you may find that you don’t even need the paper version. We will have a QR code available to scan that will take you to the online version, on our website, or you can go completely hands free and just use the slides.We will also have copies of the announcement page for those who opt out of a bulletin but still want the prayer list and announcements to take home.  We will of course keep providing a printed version for those who prefer it, but the less we print the better for the earth and our budget. 

Love Offering For Olga: Olga, our long-term cleaning help, is retiring this week. Her husband, who has been battling mouth cancer for the last several months, started radiation treatments last week, and then will undergo chemotherapy. She needs to retire to be able to care for him. We would like to take up a love offering for Olga in recognition of her time with us and to support her in her time of need. Please put “Love Offering” in the memo line.

Good Friday Prayer Vigil: We cannot experience the glory of Easter if we do not first experience the pain of Maundy Thursday, the loss of Good Friday and the sadness of Holy Saturday. Setting aside specific time in church to wait and pray with Jesus, to reflect on the events that led up to his death and resurrection, to speak to God and seek his guidance and listen to his heart, is essential to preparing our hearts for the Joy of Easter. To that end we would like to host a Prayer Vigil on Good Friday. This will be a time to blanket our church, our community, our parish, our state, our nation and the world in continual prayer. Please take a moment to consider what time you would like to come in and pray for yourself and our community. Our hope is to have an extended vigil with at least two people in the sanctuary throughout Good Friday. Use the sign up sheet in the Bulletin to let us know when you would like to come in and pray. 

Birthdays: Beverly Ross 3/28, Tracy Wayne 4/1, 

Events and Meetings this Week:

 3/26 – 11:45 AM – Choir

           5:00 PM – Egg Stuffing & Pizza Party  

3/22 -11:00 AM – Staff Meeting  

          6:00 PM – Cantata Handbells 

          7:00 PM – Cantata Choir Rehearsal 

4/1 – 9:00 AM – Noon – Easter Egg Hunt

3/26 – 9:30 AM – Sunday School 

          10:15 AM – Choir Rehearsal 

          10:30 AM- Worship Service

          11:45 AM – Choir