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?
- 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?
- 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?
- 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.
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