John Calvin Presbyterian Church

Let us pray: Prince of peace, we fill our lives with anxiety so that we are always in battle. Come among us today,  remind us of what is necessary, and give us grateful hearts. Amen.

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)

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 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.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON                     

GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning, it is now and ever shall be

world without end, amen, amen. 

HYMN                                           “My Soul Cries Out With a Joyful Shout”   

1. My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, 

and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.

You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn, 

so from east and west shall my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?

Refrain: My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.

2. Though I am small, my God my all, you work great things in me, 

and your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.

Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for you yearn,

you will show your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn. (Refrain)

3. From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone.

Let the king beware for your justice tears every tyrant from his throne.

The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;

there are tables spread; every mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn. (Refrain)

4. Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast:

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                                    Isa. 12:2         

ONE: Surely God is our salvation;

MANY: Trust in the Lord and do not be afraid.                                                       

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of all people, Show us how to let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an every-flowing stream. Create justice and righteousness in us, that all may rejoice in your blessings. Amen.

HYMN                              “Together We Serve”

1. Together we serve, united by love,

inviting God’s World to the glorious feast.

We work and we pray through sorrow and joy,

extending God’s love to the last and the least.  

2. 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. 

3. We welcome the scarred, the wealthy, the poor,

the busy, the lonely, and all who need care.

We offer a home to those who will come,

our hands quick to help, our hearts ready to dare.

4. We gather, 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. 

 CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors, and we have refused to hear the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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                                                          John 7:10-18, 37-44                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN    

ANTHEM                             Author of Justice                      Jordan/Larson

Author of justice, on time’s endless page, 

Your theme is justice in race, creed and age;                                                                                  Justice for women, for children, for men.  

Stewards of justice, we pledge our “Amen.”                                                                                        Where there is someone unfairly accused, 

where there is strength and in power abused,                                                                                   Where prejudice lives, and dignity dies, 

lead us to action courageous and wise.                                                                                                 Let it be written we sang freedom’s song, 

challenging rights that are morally wrong.                                                                                      From rage and chaos, to hope and control, 

Author of justice, heal our wounds, make us whole.                                                                             Friends of the helpless, of victims in need, 

foes of intolerance, hatred and greed;                                                                                             May we move mountains, as faith lights our way.  

Brighter tomorrows are born of today.                                                                                           Author of justice, your message impart, 

till loving kindness redeems ev’ry heart;                                                                                                     And earth embraces her new destiny,

 justice for everyone with true equity.  Amen.

SECOND LESSON                                         Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24

The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And he said: The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither, and the top of Carmel dries up.

Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good,

and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals. I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

SERMON                         “Empty Devotion”               Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                   Brief Statement of Faith: Lines 1-8, 20-26, 27-27-41, 52-57, 77-80

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve. We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God.   

Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. 

We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. In sovereign love God created the world good and makes everyone equally in God’s image, male and female, of every race and people, to live as one community. But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God’s commandments. we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve God’s condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.

We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church.

 With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY      “God of Wonders” arr. Carol Tornquist             

*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. 

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 434          “Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples”

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. God made the world and at its birth Ordained our human race

To live as stewards of the earth, Responding to God’s grace.

But we are vain and sadly proud, We sow not peace but strife,

Our discord spreads a deadly cloud That threatens all of life.

1. Pray justice may come rolling down As in a mighty stream,

With righteousness in field and town To cleanse us and redeem.

For God is longing to restore An earth where conflicts cease,

A world that was created for A harmony of peace.

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.

1. Together we serve, united by love,

inviting God’s World to the glorious feast.

We work and we pray through sorrow and joy,

extending God’s love to the last and the least.  

2. 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. 

3. We welcome the scarred, the wealthy, the poor,

the busy, the lonely, and all who need care.

We offer a home to those who will come,

our hands quick to help, our hearts ready to dare.

4. We gather, 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. 

PROCLAMATION

FIRST LESSON                                                               John 12:27-36

 “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” 

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN    

ANTHEM                  “Softly and Tenderly”               Charles McCartha

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me.

With open arms He is waiting and watching, watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home, you who are weary, come home.

Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, calling, “O sinner, come home!”

Why should we linger when Jesus is pleading, 

pleading for you and for me?

Why turn away when He offers His mercy, mercy for you and for me?

Come home, come home, you who are weary, come home.

Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, calling, “O sinner, come home!”

O for the wonderful love He has promised, promised for you and for me!

Though we have sinned He brings mercy and pardon, 

pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home, you who are weary, come home.

Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, calling, “O sinner, come home!”

SECOND LESSON                                                       1 Kings 19:1-18

ONE: The Words of God for the People of God

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON       “What Are You Doing Here?”          Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE   

PRAYER OF BLESSING                                                                        

ONE: O Lord, bless the signs of our heritage we have presented today and bless the people of the clans and families which they signify. May we strive to live up to the very highest ideals they represent.

MANY: Bless us that we may be a blessing, O Lord.

ONE: We thank you, God, for your Word which has ordained a rich heritage of faith and sacrifice from our ancestors: from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to David, so onward to the incarnation of Jesus, to the establishment of his church: our brothers and sisters in Christ everywhere. Never let us forget that a heritage of faith is a joy to be shared.

MANY: Bless us that we may be a blessing, O Lord.

ONE: Thank you, O God, for the blessings of family; the warmth, comfort, and security of family love. Never let us forget that our family love is a gift to be shared with kin and stranger.

MANY: Bless us that we may be a blessing, O Lord.

ONE: We praise you, O God, for those who have lived and died in Christ. We especially those who have died in the last year: Randall Patrick Antill, Dorothy Egan, Alba Hill, James Kennedy III, Julie Laporte, Eloyease Lybrand, The Rev. Michael Benjamin Mann, Bill Memmott, Mildred Miley, Joann Chastain Nunguesser, and Charlotte Diane Parry.

MANY: Bless us that we may be a blessing, O Lord.

ONE: On behalf of all clans, families, and nations, we stand before God in gratitude for our heritage, and we pray God’s blessings on all beloved children in all lands.

MANY: We proclaim that we are united in the covenant of Jesus, the Christ, for there is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all. Amen.

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                               Confession of Belhar

We believe that God has entrusted the church with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ; 

that the church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells…

that the credibility of this message is seriously affected and its beneficial work obstructed when it is proclaimed in a land which professes to be Christian, but in which the enforced separation of people on a racial basis promotes and perpetuates alienation, hatred and enmity…

Therefore, we reject any doctrine which, in such a situation sanctions in the name of the gospel or of the will of God the forced separation of people on the grounds of race and color and thereby in advance obstructs and weakens the ministry and experience of reconciliation in Christ. 

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. 

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…

According to Christ’s commandment:

We remember his death, we proclaim his resurrection, we await his coming glory…

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.

PARTING PRAYER    

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Christ our Lord. Give us grace to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

*BENEDICTION RESPONSE (#596)  “May the Lord, Mighty God”

May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever;

grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor.

Lift up your eyes and see God’s face, full of grace forever.

May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever. 

POSTLUDE    “Improvisation on SINE NOMINE”   

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                              2 Thess. 1:3 

ONE: Thanks be to God for your abundant faith.

MANY: May the love of God continue to grow in us.                                                         

PRAYER OF THE DAY

The splendor of Solomon’s temple cannot compare to the majesty of your heart.

Show your heart in this place, that we might worship you with joy and gratitude. Amen.

HYMN                     “O God, Show Mercy to Us”

1 O God, show mercy to us, and bless us with your grace;

and cause to shine upon us the brightness of your face,

so that your way most holy on earth may soon be known,

and unto every people your saving grace be shown.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing;

in every land let praises and songs of gladness ring.

2 For you will judge the peoples in truth and righteousness,

and on the earth all nations will your just rule confess.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing.

Then earth in rich abundance to us its fruit will bring.

The Lord our God will bless us; our God will blessing send,

and all the earth will worship to its remotest end.

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors, and we have refused to hear the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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                                                                     John 2:13-22

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 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.

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN    “Showing God That We Love Him”

ANTHEM                               Holy Manna

Lord! Shower us with holy manna, Lord, shower us from above.

We gather here to sing hosanna, we gather to share your love. 

We have gathered here to worship and adore the Lord, our God.

Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word?

All is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes down.

Christians pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.

Lord! Shower us with holy manna, Lord shower us from above. 

We gather here to sing hosanna, we gather to share your love.

Let us love our God supremely, Let us love each other too,

Let us love and pray for sinners, till our God makes all things new. 

Christ will call us home to heaven, at his table we’ll sit down;

Christ will gird himself and serve us with sweet manna all around. 

SECOND LESSON                                                   1 Kings 5:1-5; 8:1-13

Now King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend to David. Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, “You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’    

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. All the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. So they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”

SERMON                 “A House for God”                      Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

*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.”

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN PRESENTATION 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY                   “Ode to Joy”                   Kate and David Russo

*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. 

HYMN 415                        “Come, Labor On” 

1.Come, Labor on. Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain

while all around us 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; it’s hours too swiftly fly. The night draws nigh.

3. Come, labor on. Cast off all gloomy doubt 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               Thomas Merton

Almighty God, we thank you for all the gifts You have given us: our lives, our loved ones, all that we have and all that we are. Most of all, we thank You for Jesus, your Son and our Redeemer, who came among us to show us the way to eternal life. Jesus was the perfect steward of your gifts, showing that complete trust in You is necessary, and that giving of self is a most important part of following Him. May the offerings of our time, our talents, and our material resources be made in the same spirit of sacrifice that Jesus taught us by His life and death for us.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE   Fugue in G minor BWV 578 – J.S. Bach                

Many: And my mouth will declare your praise                

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of strength, In David you chose a king with a big heart. Create clean and willing hearts in us, and choose us to do your work. Amen.

HYMN                     “O God, Show Mercy to Us”

1 O God, show mercy to us, and bless us with your grace;

and cause to shine upon us the brightness of your face,

so that your way most holy on earth may soon be known,

and unto every people your saving grace be shown.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing;

in every land let praises and songs of gladness ring.

2 For you will judge the peoples in truth and righteousness,

and on the earth all nations will your just rule confess.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing.

Then earth in rich abundance to us its fruit will bring.

The Lord our God will bless us; our God will blessing send,

and all the earth will worship to its remotest end.

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors, and we have refused to hear the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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 51:10-14

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.                                                                                                                                                         

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN    

ANTHEM            “Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God”      Carl Mueller

Create in me a clean heart, O God;

 and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; 

and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; 

and uphold me, with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; 

and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Create in me a clean heart, O God!

SECOND LESSON                                                        1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

SERMON                         “Clean Heart”                    Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 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.                     

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN PRESENTATION 

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. 

HYMN                  My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

1. My shepherd will supply my need; Jehovah is his name.

In pastures fresh he makes me feed, beside the living stream.

He brings my wandering spirit back when I forsake his ways,

and leads me, for his mercy’s sake, and paths of truth of grace.

1. When I walk through the shades of death 

your presence is my stay;

one word of your supporting breath drives all my fears away.

Your hand, in sight of all my foes, does still my table spread;

my cup with blessings overflows; your oil anoints my head.

1. The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days;

O may your house be my abode, and all my work be praise.

There would I find a settled rest, while others go and come;

no more a stranger, or a guest, but like a child at home. 

PARTING PRAYER     Thomas Merton

Almighty God, we thank you for all the gifts You have given us: our lives, our loved ones, all that we have and all that we are. Most of all, we thank You for Jesus, your Son and our Redeemer, who came among us to show us the way to eternal life. Jesus was the perfect steward of your gifts, showing that complete trust in You is necessary, and that giving of self is a most important part of following Him. May the offerings of our time, our talents, and our material resources be made in the same spirit of sacrifice that Jesus taught us by His life and death for us.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE               Flourish by Alan Bullard     

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                          1 Thess. 1:2–3

ONE: Give thanks to God for the faith we share;

ALL:  be steadfast in hope through Jesus Christ.                 

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Beckoning God, In the stillness of the night you called Samuel into your service. Call us into service with a voice we are able to hear, and give us hearts to come when we are called. Amen.

HYMN                     “O God, Show Mercy to Us”

1 O God, show mercy to us, and bless us with your grace;

and cause to shine upon us the brightness of your face,

so that your way most holy on earth may soon be known,

and unto every people your saving grace be shown.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing;

in every land let praises and songs of gladness ring.

2 For you will judge the peoples in truth and righteousness,

and on the earth all nations will your just rule confess.

Let all the peoples praise you; let all the nations sing.

Then earth in rich abundance to us its fruit will bring.

The Lord our God will bless us; our God will blessing send,

and all the earth will worship to its remotest end.

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors, and we have refused to hear the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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                                                                   John 20:19-23

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN     “Listen and Reply”

ANTHEM                        “I Am Sending You”              Mary McDonald

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

And with these words, He said to them, “Receive the Holy One;

Forgive them of their sins and lead them to the Risen Son!”

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

How shall they believe in whom they’ve not heard?

How shall they call upon His name?

How shall they preach unless you go there and share in Jesus’ name?

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Go ye therefore to the world and tell them of Good News!

Teach them to do as I command and know I’m there with you!

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

SECOND LESSON                                                          1 Samuel 3:1-21

SERMON                       “Listening”                             Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                        Westminster Shorter Catechism 

Q1. What is the main purpose for humanity?

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

Q2. What rule has God given to tell us how we may glorify and enjoy God?

1. 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.

Q3. What do the Scriptures mainly teach?
A. The Scriptures mainly teach what we are to believe about God, and what duty God requires of us.

Q6. How many Persons are there in the Trinity?
A. 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.

Q14. What is Sin?

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

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.

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY               “Merry-Go-Round of Life”                 Caleb Hebert        

*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. 

REAFFIRMATION OF BAPTISM

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.

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. …

Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world? I do.

Who is your Lord and Savior? Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his word and showing his love? I will, with God’s help.

THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM

HYMN 525                         “Here I Am, Lord”       

I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.

All who dwell in dark and 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?

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 borne 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 words to them. Whom shall I send?

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 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 ‘Til their hearts be satisfied.

I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send?

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.   

PARTING PRAYER     Thomas Merton

Almighty God, we thank you for all the gifts You have given us: our lives, our loved ones, all that we have and all that we are. Most of all, we thank You for Jesus, your Son and our Redeemer, who came among us to show us the way to eternal life. Jesus was the perfect steward of your gifts, showing that complete trust in You is necessary, and that giving of self is a most important part of following Him. May the offerings of our time, our talents, and our material resources be made in the same spirit of sacrifice that Jesus taught us by His life and death for us.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE