John Calvin Presbyterian Church

 

MANY: and destroy the power of death forever.

PRAYER OF THE DAY 

God of the people, your servant Ruth showed great love when she clung to  Naomi. Teach us to show great compassion, and to turn to you when we are in  need. Amen. 

HYMN OF THE MONTH [BLUE#330] [GTG #50] 

“Deep in the Shadows of the Past”

1 Deep in the shadows of the past,

far out from settled lands,

some nomads traveled with their God

across the desert sands.

The dawning hope of humankind

by them was sensed and shown:

a promise calling them ahead,

a future yet unknown.

2 While others bowed to changeless gods,

they met a mystery,

invisible, without a name:

“I AM WHAT I WILL BE”;

and by their tents, around their fires

in story, song, and law,

they praised, remembered, handed on

a past that promised more.

3 From Exodus to Pentecost

the promise changed and grew,

while some, remembering the past,

recorded what they knew,

or with their letters and laments,

their prophecy and praise,

recovered, kindled, and expressed

new hope for changing days.

4 For all the writings that survived,

for leaders, long ago,

who sifted, copied, and preserved

the Bible that we know,

give thanks, and find its story yet

our promise, strength, and call,

the model of emerging faith,

alive with hope for all.

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN             

RESPONSE HYMN  [GTG#324]

“For All the Faithful Women”

1. For all the faithful women who served in days of old,

to you shall thanks be given; to all, their story told.

They served with strength and gladness in tasks your wisdom gave.

To you their lives bore witness, proclaimed your pow’r to save.

2. We praise your name for Miriam, who sang triumphantly

while Pharaoh’s vaunted army lay drowned beneath the sea;

for Ruth, who left her homeland and ventured forth in faith,

who pledged to serve and worship Naomi’s God till death.

REPENTANCE

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

O Lord our God, you call us to proclaim your gospel, but we remain silent in the presence of evil. You call us to be reconciled to you and one another, but we are content to live in separation. You call us to seek the good of all, but we fail to resist the powers of oppression. You call us to bring liberty for the oppressed, but we do not insist on freedom for all. You call us to fight pretensions and injustice, but we sit idly by, endangering the lives of people far and near. 

Forgive us, Lord. Reconcile us to you by your Spirit, and give us the courage and strength to be reconciled to others; through Jesus Christ. Amen

ASSURANCE OF PARDON                     

GLORIA PATRI [BLUE#579] [GTG#581] 

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.

THE WORD READ AND PROCLAIMED

SCRIPTURE  [Pew Bible OT 230 or 241] Ruth 1:1-17

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons or her husband.

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had had consideration for his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.’ Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’ But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.’ Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said,

‘Do not press me to leave you

   or to turn back from following you!

Where you go, I will go;

   where you lodge, I will lodge;

your people shall be my people,

   and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die—

   there will I be buried.

May the Lord do thus and so to me,

   and more as well,

if even death parts me from you!’

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON:      “Where You Go, I Will Go”     Rev. Aaron Ochart 

 RESPONSE     

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.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY God Moves in a Mysterious Way by Raymond H. Haan

DOXOLOGY [*BLUE#592] [GTG#606]

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. 

REMEMBRANCE OF BAPTISM 

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.

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#482 [GTG#35]  “Praise Ye The Lord, The Almighty”    

1 Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!

All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near;

join me in glad adoration!

2 Praise ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,

shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!

Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been

granted in what he ordaineth?

3 Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!

All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him!

Let the amen sound from his people again;

gladly for aye we adore him.