it is so high that I cannot attain it.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;

   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

   Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.

   My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

   intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written

   all the days that were formed for me,

   when none of them as yet existed.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

   How vast is the sum of them!

I try to count them—they are more than the sand;

   I come to the end—I am still with you.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

   test me and know my thoughts.

See if there is any wicked way in me,

   and lead me in the way everlasting.

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN        “Listen to the Wind”

ANTHEM                        Come, Children of Zion                   Lloyd Larson     

SECOND LESSON                                                                  John 3:1-21  

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON                       “Questions”                    The Rev. Aaron Ochart

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                                     Heidelberg Catechism         

Q1: What is your only comfort, in life and in death?

A1: That I belong body and soul, in life and in death not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by the Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. Amen. 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY    “Be Thou My Vision”                 Mary Byrne/ Gungor

*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. Amen.

INSTALLATION OF RULING ELDER

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND 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, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

*HYMN 485                  “To God Be The Glory”       

1. To God be the glory; great things he hath done!

So loved he the world that he gave us his Son;

who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

and opened the lifegate that all may come in. 

Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord; let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord; let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,

and give him the glory: great things he has done!

2. Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done,

and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;

but purer and higher and greater will be

our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. (Refrain)

*PARTING PRAYER                       Clement of Rome (First Century)

O God Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Grant us, we pray, to be grounded and settled in your truth by the coming down of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. That which we know not, reveal; that which is wanting in us, fill up; that which we know, confirm; and keep us blameless in your service; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

*RESPONSE              “You Shall Go Out with Joy”

You shall go out with joy And be led forth with peace

The mountains and the hills Will break forth before you

There’ll be shouts of joy And all the trees of the field

Will clap, will clap their hands

And all the trees of the field Will clap their hands (clap clap)

The trees of the field Will clap their hands (clap clap)

The trees of the field Will clap their hands (clap clap)

While you go out with joy

POSTLUDE                             Promenade                          Gordon Young  

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                            John 1:36, 39

ONE: Look, here is the Lamb of God! 

MANY: Jesus calls us: Come and see.                                                                

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Patient God, Your son, Jesus, expressed anger at abuses and injustice. Help us to show concern, not apathy, for injustice in our world, and teach us to make right all that may be wrong. Amen.

HYMN 419              “How Clear is Our Vocation Lord”

1 How clear is our vocation, Lord, When once we heed Your call:

To live according to Your word, And daily learn, refreshed, restored,

That You are Lord of all And will not let us fall.

 

2 But if, forgetful, we should find Your yoke is hard to bear,

If worldly pressures fray the mind And love itself cannot unwind

Its tangled skein of care: Our inward life repair.

 

3 We mark Your saints, how they became In hindrances more sure,

Whose joyful virtues put to shame The casual way we wear Your name,

And by our faults obscure Your power to cleanse and cure.

 

4 In what You give us, Lord, to do, Together or alone,

In old routines or ventures new, May we not cease to look to You–

The cross You hung upon– All You endeavored done.

 CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of glory, you sent Jesus among us as the light of the world, to reveal your love for all people. We confess that our sin and pride hide the brightness of your light. We turn away from the poor; we ignore cries for justice; we do not strive for peace.

In your mercy, cleanse us of our sin, and pour out the gifts of your Spirit, that forgiven and renewed, we may show forth your glory shining in the face of 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                                                                        Psalm 127                                                                                                                                                                                

Unless the Lord builds the house,

    those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city,

    the guard keeps watch in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

    and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

    for he gives sleep to his beloved.

Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,

    the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

    are the sons of one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has

    his quiver full of them.

He shall not be put to shame

    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN     

         

ANTHEM                       “God’s Holy House”                            Robert Lau

This is God’s holy house and in it let us sing

bringing praise to God on high, and to our heavenly King

May it always be to us a symbol of God’s love,

filled with comfort, peace and grace, sent from the Lord above. 

Holy, holy, holy, lord above: bless us as we worship you, and bless this house of love

Hymns of praise let us sing within this sacred place. 

May we know God’s love for us, the power of his grace.

Songs of joy will fill the air and loud hosannas ring;

we will sing to God on high, and Jesus Christ the King.

SECOND LESSON                                                                John 2:13-25

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 up 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. When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.             

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON             “Human Institutions”                       Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH               Scots Confession: BOC 3.01

We confess and acknowledge one God alone, to whom alone we must cleave, whom alone we must serve, whom only we must worship, and in whom alone we put our trust. Who is eternal, infinite, immeasurable, incomprehensible, omnipotent, invisible; one in substance and yet distinct in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. By whom we confess and believe all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, to have been created, to be retained in their being, and to be ruled and guided by his inscrutable providence for such end as his eternal wisdom, goodness, and justice have appointed, and to the manifestation of his own glory.   

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. Amen

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND 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, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

HYMN 442                “The Church’s One Foundation”

1 The Church’s one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord;

She is His new creation By water and the word.

From heaven He came and sought her To be His holy bride;

With His own blood He bought her And for her life He died.

2 Elect from every nation, Yet one o’er all the earth,

Her charter of salvation One Lord, one faith, one birth;

One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food,

And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued.

3 Though with a scornful wonder This world sees her oppressed,

By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distressed,

Yet saints their watch are keeping; Their cry goes up, “How long?”

And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song.

4 Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war,

She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore;

Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest,

And the great church victorious Shall be the church at rest.

5 Yet she on earth has union With God the Three in One,

And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won:

O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we,

Like them, the meek and lowly, May live eternally.

PARTING PRAYER                       Clement of Rome (First Century)

O God Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Grant us, we pray, to be grounded and settled in your truth by the coming down of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. That which we know not, reveal; that which is wanting in us, fill up; that which we know, confirm; and keep us blameless in your service; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

BENEDICTION RESPONSE      “You Shall Go Out with Joy”

You shall go out with joy And be led forth with peace

The mountains and the hills Will break forth before you

There’ll be shouts of joy And all the trees of the field

Will clap, will clap their hands

And all the trees of the field Will clap their hands (clap clap)

The trees of the field Will clap their hands (clap clap)

The trees of the field Will clap their hands (clap clap)

While you go out with joy

POSTLUDE     Chaconne in C – Buxtehude