Welcome to Worship
We gather to worship, we go out to serve.
GATHERING AROUND THE WORD
* Please rise in body or spirit
Tolling of the Bell
Welcome and Announcements
Visitors, fill out the connection card in the pew so we can send you a note
Opening Prayer
Holiness, Word, Power, you reveal yourself as one God in three persons, a mighty, creative, life-generating dancer who invites your creation to join you. Catch us up in your love and lead us into your world to call others to follow you with singing and rejoicing. Amen.
Prelude Christopher Bunch
*Call to Worship (Responsive) Cathy Grimes
As the faithful gather to re-sound the echoes of the eternal in all of God’s glorious creation, Alleluia! Thanks be to God!
*Hymn Holy, Holy, Holy #1
Prayer for New Beginnings (Unison)
God of the living, from whom all blessings flow, we welcome a new day with thanksgiving because you have cared for us through the night. Wherever you send us today, whomsoever we meet, be in our going and our meeting. Grant us wisdom to cherish what you give us and generosity to share what we receive. Fill us with the Spirit so that we may show courage, kindness, and a sense of humor in the face of the day’s hardships. In Christ’s peace, may we withhold harsh judgment against those who would do me harm. Show us ways that we may serve you throughout the day and into the night so that, waking or sleeping, we live for you; in the name of the Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
*Passing of the Peace (Responsive)
The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
*Congregational Response In My Life #468 v.1,4
In my life, Lord, be glorified; be glorified.
In my life, Lord, be glorified today,
In your world, Lord, be glorified; be glorified.
In your world, Lord, be glorified today.
HEARING THE WORD
Prayer for Illumination
Sing into our ears, O Spirit, the holy word of life. Tell us who we are and to whom we belong so that we may live with gratitude for all that you have done. Amen.
Epistle Reading 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13
Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
Leader: The Word of God for the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God.
Word in Music Christopher Bunch
Gospel Reading Matthew 28: 16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Sermon Rev. Jeff Sockwell
RESPONDING TO THE WORD
*Hymn O Worship the King #41
*Affirmation of Faith (Unison) Confession of 1967 (edited)
The reconciliation of humanity through Jesus Christ makes it plain that enslaving poverty in a world of abundance is an intolerable violation of God’s good creation. Because Jesus identified himself with the needy and exploited, the cause of the world’s poor is the cause of his disciples. The church cannot condone poverty, whether it is the product of unjust social structures, exploitation of the defenseless, lack of national resources, absence of technological understanding, or rapid expansion of populations. The church calls every person to use their abilities, their possessions, and the fruits of technology as gifts entrusted to them by God for the maintenance of God’s family and the advancement of the common welfare.
Prayers of the People / Lord’s Prayer (Responsive)
…So, with praise and gratitude, we remember the words that Jesus taught us to pray, saying:
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, the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Invitation to the Offering
Offertory Christopher Bunch
*Doxology #606
*Prayer of Dedication
WE GO OUT TO SERVE
*Hymn In Christ Called to Baptize #297
*Blessing
The eternal Creator calls us. The risen Savior sends us. The dynamic Spirit empowers us. Go into all the world, making disciples for Jesus Christ. Go in peace!
Postlude Christopher Bunch