SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY

Independence Sunday

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)

July 4, 2021 Ten Thirty in the morning

Minister: The Reverend Aaron Ochart             

Liturgist: Louise Ochart

Please silence all cell phones. 

Face Masks optional for those fully vaccinated.

Bold face indicates congregational participation.

GATHERING

WORDS OF WELCOME     

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF NATIVE LANDS

Every community owes its existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy to making the history that led to this moment. Some were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life, and some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted. Truth and acknowledgment are critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of heritage and difference. We begin this effort to acknowledge what has been buried by honoring the truth. We are standing on the ancestral lands of the Chitmacha, Acolapissa (now a part of the Houma People), and Chahta Yakni (commonly called Chocktaw). We pay respects to their elders past and present. Please take a moment to consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us together here today.

PRELUDE           “Trumpet Processional In G”                   David German

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                 

The earth is the Lord’s,

And the fullness thereof.

God alone is our sovereign

To whom all bow in allegiance.

Come, let us worship the Lord,

Our God, the Ruler of all nations.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Sovereign Lord who gives us independence from sin, both individual and corporate. Help us to remember that our freedom and righteousness are dependent on you alone. We thank you for the freedom that you have given us in this country, help us to use that freedom wisely. Give us the strength to recognize our own shortcomings, and work together for a more perfect union. 

HYMN 561 “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION           Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)

Almighty God, ruler of all the peoples of the earth, forgive, we pray, our shortcomings as a nation; purify our hearts to see and love truth; give wisdom to our counselors and steadfastness to our people; and bring us at last to the fair city of peace, whose foundations are mercy, justice, and goodwill, and whose builder and maker you are; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON                     

GLORIA PATRI 579 

PROCLAMATION

FIRST LESSON                                                              Isaiah 58:1-12                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN     “We are Witnesses”

ANTHEM                   “As The Deer”             Martin Nystrom

As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after You.

You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship You.

You alone are my strength, my shield.

To You alone may my spirit yield.

You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship You.

You’re my friend and You are my brother even though You are the King.

I love You more than any other, so much more than anything.

You alone are my strength, my shield.

To You alone may my spirit yield.

You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship You.

SECOND LESSON                                                          Acts 10:24-48                                  

SERMON            “Let Freedom Ring”                        Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                     Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q1. What is the main purpose for humanity?

Q18. What does this state of sin mean for humanity?
A. This state of sin means that humanity: bears the guilt of Adam and Eve’s first sin, lacks the righteousness that God intended for us, and that human nature has been corrupted; along with all actual transgressions which result from our fallen nature.

Q21. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?
A. 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.

Q30. How does the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. 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.

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

   The Lord be with you.

        And also with you.

   Lift up your hearts.

        We lift them to the Lord.

   Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise…

…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…

Great is the mystery of faith:

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION  

HYMN 563              “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

1 Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of liberty.

Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies;

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us;

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on, till victory is won.

2 Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet, with a steady beat, have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our parents sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered;

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,

Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last

Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

3 God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,

Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;

Thou who hast by Thy might led us into the light;

Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee;

Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;

Shadowed beneath Thy hand may we forever stand,

True to our God, true to our native land.

PARTING PRAYER     George Washington

Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.                                                           

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE         God of Our Fathers          

SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY

5th Sunday after Pentecost

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)

June 27, 2021 Ten Thirty in the morning

  Minister: The Reverend Aaron Ochart

Liturgist: Tony Hill                                                  

Please silence all cell phones. 

Face masks must be worn while entering and exiting 

Bold face indicates congregational participation

GATHERING

WORDS OF WELCOME

PRELUDE “F Major Prelude”

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP   Matthew 10:40

Welcome one another in Jesus’ name,

for Christ is truly present among us.     

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. You call us to holiness and righteousness, but we forever fall short of your standard for us. In Jesus Christ you became a human being, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Through faith in you, we are given the grace of your righteousness rather than our own. Help us to extend that grace to others, and see them with the eyes of Christ. Amen.

HYMN 13                  “Prepare the Way”

1 Prepare the way, O Zion, your Christ is drawing near!

Let every hill and valley a level way appear.

Greet One who comes in glory, foretold in sacred story.

Refrain: O blest is Christ who came in God’s most holy name.

3 Fling wide your gates, O Zion; your Savior’s rule embrace,

and tidings of salvation proclaim in every place.

All lands will bow rejoicing, their adoration voicing. [Refrain] 

CALL TO CONFESSION        

SILENT CONFESSION                                                          

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)

Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for peace; we despise the weak, and abuse the earth you made.

Forgive us, God of mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON               

GLORIA PATRI 579        

PROCLAMATION

FIRST LESSON                         Deuteronomy 14:3-21

You shall not eat any abhorrent thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain-sheep. Any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof cleft in two, and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cleft you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses. Of all that live in water you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. You may eat any clean birds. But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the kite of any kind; every raven of any kind; the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; the little owl and the great owl, the water hen and the desert owl, the carrion vulture and the cormorant, the stork, the heron of any kind; the hoopoe and the bat. And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. You may eat any clean winged creature. You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to aliens residing in your towns for them to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.         

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN   

ANTHEM                   “Morning Has Broken Medley”

Morning has broken Like the first morning, 

Blackbird has spoken like the first bird. 

Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! 

Praise for them springing Fresh from the Word!

Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning 

Born of the one light Eden saw play!

Praise with elation, Praise every morning, 

God’s recreation of the new day!

A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing;

Our helper He amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe; 

His craft and power are great, And, armed with cruel hate

On earth is not his equal.

And though this world with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him; 

His rage we can endure, For lo! his doom is sure, 

One little word shall fell him. 

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim 

‘Till all the world adore His sacred name.

Come Christians follow where our Savior trod, 

The Lamb victorious, Christ the Son of God.

Second Lesson                                 Acts 10:1-23

In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa. About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven. Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.” So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him.             

The Word of God for the People of God

Thanks be to God. 

SERMON                           “Holy Sheet”                The Rev. Aaron Ochart

RESPONSE 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                   Heidelberg Catechism: BOC 4.001                

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

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 his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

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 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 life gate that all may go 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 hath 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                         Attributed to Nels Ferré (1908-1971)

Come, O Holy Spirit. Come as Holy Fire and burn in us, come as Holy Wind and cleanse us within, come as Holy Light and lead us in the darkness, come as Holy Truth and dispel our ignorance, come as Holy Power and enable our weakness, come as Holy Life, and dwell in us.

Convict us, convert us, consecrate us, until we are set free from the service of ourselves, to be your servants to the world. Amen.                                                          

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE      Toccata in E minor Pachelbel