“Guide Me, O thou Great Jehovah”

1. Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but Thou art mighty; Hold me with Thy powerful hand;

Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,

Feed me till I want no more, Feed me till I want no more.

2. Open now the crystal fountain, Whence the healing stream doth flow;

Let the fire and cloudy pillar Lead me all my journey through;

Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,

Be Thou still my strength and shield, Be Thou still my strength and shield.

WORDS OF WELCOME   

MINUTE FOR MISSION

ADORATION 

CALL TO WORSHIP Exod. 20:2–3

ONE: The Lord has delivered us from slavery;

MANY: there is no other god but the Lord.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of redemption, you call us to step out in faith and trust that you will be with us. Help us see beyond the answers that we are expecting, to the salvation that you are opening before us. Guard us from the fears and complaints that can obscure your calling. Amen.

HYMN  [music in pew]                      “Your Endless Love, Your Mighty Acts”

1. Your endless love, your mighty acts Surpass what words can tell; 

Lord, may the joys your people know be mine to share as well 

2. Our Rebel Forebears rarely grasped your mercy or your might; 

We need your mercy just like them: we, too, do wrong not right. ”

3. Before a golden calf they bowed an idol in your place! 

Until, by Moses faithful prayer, you drew them back to grace. 

4. But when they spurned the promised land, you made your anger plain: 

They wandered long on desert paths, and served the Baals again. 

5. Yet those whom once you sold in wrath, in mercy you restored; 

May we, like them, be gathered in to thank and praise you, Lord. 

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN

 CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Almighty and merciful God, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.

O Lord, have mercy upon us. Forgive those who confess their faults.

Restore those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to the world in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O merciful God, for his sake, that we may live a holy, just, and humble life to the glory of your holy name. 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

SCRIPTURE LESSON                                         Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed towards the people, and they said, ‘What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?’ So he had his chariot made ready, and took his army with him; he took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, “Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’ But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.’

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON                  “Through the Waters”               The Rev. Aaron Ochart 

RESPONSE     

ANNOUNCEMENTS

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                    Westminster Shorter Catechism: 

ONE: What is the main purpose for humanity?

MANY: The main purpose for humanity is to glorify and enjoy God forever.

ONE: What rule has God given to tell us how we may glorify and enjoy God?

MANY: The Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to tell us how we may glorify and enjoy God.

ONE: What do the Scriptures mainly teach?
MANY: The Scriptures mainly teach what we are to believe about God, and what duty God requires of us.

ONE: How many Persons are there in the Trinity?
MANY: There are three Persons in the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

ONE: What is Sin?

MANY: Sin is any lack of obedience to, or violation of, the law of God.

ONE: Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?
MANY: The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and human, in two distinct natures, and one Person forever.

ONE: How does the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
MANY:The Spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by Christ by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

PLEDGE DRIVE TESTIMONIAL                                                Mike Isham

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERING       “I will Arise”       arranged by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw

I will arise and go to Jesus; he will embrace me in his arms.

In the arms of my dear Saviour, oh! there are ten thousand charms.

Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Come, thou font of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace.

Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

*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

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

THE GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

ONE: The Lord be with you.

MANY: And also with you.

ONE: Lift up your hearts.

MANY: We lift them to the Lord.

ONE: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

MANY: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

SUNG RESPONSE [Blue Hymnal #581]  “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord”

ONE: …Therefore with all creation we sing your praise:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of Your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest.

ONE: … Great is the mystery of faith:

MANY: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again…

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

ONE: … The gifts of God for the people of God.

MANY: Thanks be to God.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION  

*HYMN [Purple Hymnal #80]  “You Shall Go Out With Joy”

You Shall go 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 fields, 

will clap, will clap their hands

and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands;

the trees of the fields will clap their hands;

the trees of the field will clap their hands while you go out with joy. 

*PARTING PRAYER    

May the strength of God pilot us. May the power of God preserve us. May the wisdom of God instruct us. May the hand of God protect us. May the way of God direct us. May the shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. May Christ be with us, Christ before us, Christ in us, Christ over us. May your salvation, O Lord, be always ours this day and forevermore. Amen

*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

Our God is an awesome God who reigns from heaven above 

with wisdom, power, and love; our God is an awesome God! 

POSTLUDE

Participating in today’s service are Rev. Aaron Ochart, Pastor; Louise Ochart, CE Leader; Sam Garnett, Music Director; and Kelly Cuppett, Asst. 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.  

1. To Abraham and Sarah the call of God was clear;

“Go forth and I will show you a country rich and fair.

You need not fear the journey, for I have pledged my word

that you shall be my people and I will be your God. 

2. From Abraham and Sarah arose a pilgrim race,

dependent for their journey on God’s abundant grace;

and in their heart was written by God this saving word,

“That you shall be my people and I will be your God.”

3. We of this generation on whom God’s hand is laid

can journey to the future secure and unafraid,

rejoicing in God’s goodness and trusting in this word,

“That you shall be my people and I will be your God.”

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN

 CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, in your gracious 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 to 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 on 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

SCRIPTURE LESSON                                                                  Genesis 39:1-23

Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, she caught hold of his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me!’ But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, she called out to the members of her household and said to them, ‘See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.’ Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, ‘The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.’

When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, ‘This is the way your servant treated me’, he became enraged. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON                           The Rev. Aaron Ochart 

RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                  Heidelberg Catechism                            

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

ALL: 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.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

*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 [Blue Hymnal #404]   “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”

Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, help me stand,

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;

Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light:

Take my hand, precious Lord,

Lead me home.

When my way grows drear, Precious Lord, linger near

When my life is almost gone 

Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand lest I fall.

Take my hand, precious Lord,

Lead me home.

*PARTING PRAYER    

Faithful God, your promises stand unshaken through all generations. Renew us in hope, that we may be awake and alert as we watch for the glorious return of Jesus Christ, our Judge and Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen

*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE “Trumpet Tune” by Michael McCabe

Flowers were given by John and Linda Laporte in honor of their 63rd wedding anniversary.

Participating in today’s service are Rev. Aaron Ochart, Pastor; Louise Ochart, CE Leader; Sam Garnett, Music Director; and Kelly Cuppett, Asst. 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.  

Church Office. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504.888.1375

Playschool Office. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .504.888.1378

The Reverend Aaron Ochart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Head of Staff

Louise Ochart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christian Education Leader

Sam Garnett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Music Director

Kelly Cuppett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Music Director

Lauren Oufnac. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Playschool Director

Stephanie Galliano. . . . . Playschool Administrative Assistant

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