August 2, 2020
Sunday after Pentecost
GATHERING IN GOD’S PRESENCE
PRELUDE Amy Alley
GREETING & ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Congregational meeting
Next week Aug 9, after worship
Via Google and FB live-stream
For the purpose of electing ruling elders
Nominations will be taken from the floor
Any nominees must have agreed to serve – before meeting
2. This morning we celebrate the Lord's supper
have your bread and Cup available at the ready
CALL TO WORSHIP
Please join together as we call one another to worship:
Christ is in our midst! How will you bid him welcome?
We will throw open the doors to our hearts.
We will delight in his presence.
When God shows up, surprising things can happen.
We will make ourselves ready.
We will lay down our burdens and set aside our distractions.
Here we receive good news: Nothing is too wonderful for God!
So let us laugh and sing, rest and listen, dance and praise—
Let us worship God!
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Wonderful, surprising God,
you bring us hope when we are discouraged,
peace when we are anxious,
and joy when we are least expecting it.
Help us, now, to rest in your presence.
Be our welcome Guest not only here but everywhere we go this week.
Show us how to receive all that you have to offer us.
May we remain open even to what seems too incredible to be true,
for with you, so much more is possible than we even imagine.
We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!
CALL TO CONFESSION
SILENT PRAYER OF CONFESSION
CORPRATE PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Holy and merciful God,
we confess our failure to be what you created us to be.
You created us to receive your blessing
and give your blessings to others,
but we act as if we would run out of your love
if we were to offer it to each other.
We imagine that we have your ways all figured out,
and so we reject or ignore those who see you differently.
We accumulate goods for ourselves,
forgetting that you intend for us to share and celebrate.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Call us as your people again,
in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Jesus said: Come to me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.
Church, hear the good news: in Jesus Christ we are saved, healed, forgiven.
We are sent from this place –
Fully equipped by God’s grace
To be the Body of Christ for the world.
Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Amen.
PASSING OF THE PEACE
The peace of Jesus Christ be with you.
And also with you.
THE WORD
Prayer for Illumination
Eternal God,
your Spirit inspired those who wrote the Bible
and enlightens us to hear your Word fresh each day.
Help us to rely always on your promises in Scripture.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSON Selections from the Book of Joel
(1:1-4,8-12; 2:12-14, 2:25-29; 3:1-2b,14,18)
For the Word of God in Scripture,
For the Word of God among us,
For the Word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.
SERMON “Life Between Locusts and Rivers” Rev. Dr. Jaco Hamman
RESPONDING TO THE WORD
Declaration of our Christian Faith Traditional Apostles' Creed
OFFERTORY Amy Alley
Prayer of Dedication
All things have their origin with you, Lord,
and so we freely give of ourselves,
that your church might grow in this
place and throughout the world. Amen.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S SUPPER
We come to this table not because we must but because we may, not because we are strong, but because we are weak.
We come, not because any goodness of our own gives us a right to come, but because we need mercy and help.
We come, because we love the Lord and would like to love him more.
We come, because he loved us and gave himself for us.
We come and meet the risen Christ together, for we are his Body.
Come, then, people of God, to the joyful feast of our Lord.
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Loving God, You made this world marvelous for us to enjoy. You gave Jesus to be our Savior, Lord, and friend, and to bring us to you. You send your Spirit to make us one family in Christ.
For these gifts of love we thank you and join with angels and saints in this joyful hymn of praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
For your kindness to us and your goodness to all, we give you thanks. We thank you that you showed your love by sending your Son, who gave his life for us, and rose again from death, and lives to pray for us forever.
We thank you that he has taken away all that separates us from you, and has made us friends with you and with one another. We thank you that he has brought us together at this table, to strengthen us by his love and grace and presence.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and these your gifts of bread and cup, that they may be for us a communion with the body and blood of Christ.
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty God, now and forever. Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Words of Institution
We give you thanks that the Lord Jesus,
on the night before he died,
took bread,
and after giving thanks to you,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat.
This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way he took the cup, saying:
This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this in remembrance of me.
Sharing of the Bread and Cup
The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.
We celebrate that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ
was given for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.
(Let us take the bread)
The cup for which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ. We remember and believe that the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.
(Let us take the cup).
Prayer after Communion
Jesus, no words can express our gratitude and amazement
that you should die for us.
How amazing is it that each of our lives is so valuable to you
that you would lay yours down to reach us.
May this communion strengthen us
as we seek to take your message
of love and grace into the world. Amen. HYMN OF SENDING O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go
O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow thro' the rain, and feel the promise is not vain that morn shall tearless be.
CHARGE & BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Amy Alley