SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
3rd Sunday after Pentecost
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
June 13, 2021 Ten Thirty in the morning
Minister: The Reverend Aaron Ochart
Liturgist: Dennis Price
Please silence all cell phones.
Face masks must be worn while entering and exiting
Bold face indicates congregational participation
GATHERING
WORDS OF WELCOME
PRELUDE “Psalm” Gordon Young
ADORATION
CALL TO WORSHIP Mark 4:31-32
The kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard seed;
it grows into a great plant with many branches.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of all nations, tribes, and peoples. You continue to call your church to the ends of the earth, to the other side of the country, to the other side of the tracks, across the street, and across the aisle. You draw us alongside one another to listen and learn, and to be united as one body from every tribe and tongue and nation. Help us to celebrate in our unity and diversity. Amen.
HYMN 398 “There’s a Sweet Spirit”
There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
and I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord.
there are sweet expressions on each face,
and I know it is the presence of the Lord.
Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly Dove,
stay right here with us, filling us with your love;
and for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived
when we shall leave this place.
There are blessings you cannot receive
‘till you know him in his fullness and believe;
you’re the one to profit when you say,
“I am going to walk with Jesus all the way.”
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 Isaiah 53:7-12
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN
ANTHEM “For the Beauty Medley” Arr. Sandra Cranfill
For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.
For the wonder of each hour Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower, Sun, and moon, and stars of light,
Lord of all to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.
Come, Christians join to sing Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ the King; AlleluiaA Amen.
Let all, with heart and voice, Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice; Alleluia! Amen!
Come, lift your hearts on high; Let praises fill the sky;
He is our guide and friend; To us He’ll condescend;
His love shall never end; Alleluia! Amen!
Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, Opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the gloom of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day.
Mortals, join this happy chorus Which the morning stars began;
Love divine is reigning o’er us, Joining all in heaven’s plan.
Ever singing, merch we onward, Victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us sunward In the triumph song of life.
Second Lesson Acts 8:26-40
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
The Word of God for the People of God
Thanks be to God.
SERMON “What is to Prevent Me?” The Rev. Aaron Ochart
RESPONSE
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. 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 467 “How Great Thou Art”
1 O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works thy hands hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed;
Refrain:Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
3 But when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin;
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, “My God, how great thou art!”
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 “Joy Unceasing and Infinite Praise” Tom Birchwood