CCLI license #1913561
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Lakeview P.C. pastors are participating with the Circle of Faith pastors in a joint ‘live-streamed’ service which can be viewed via http://facebook.com/circlestpete at 11:00 a.m. and/or http://circle.faith/youtube at a later time. Circle of Faith also streams a Contemporary service with Communion each week and can be viewed at 10:00 am via http://facebook.com/circlestpete
Call to Worship [1]
Return to the Lord your God,
for God is gracious.
Confess to the Lord your God,
for God is merciful.
Repent to the Lord your God,
for God is slow to anger.
Praise the Lord your God,
for God abounds in steadfast love.
Worship the Lord your God.
Together, let us worship God!
[1] by Rev. Daniel Commerford, Bethany Presbyterian Church, Covington, GA
Invocation
God of the lost, the least, and all who long for home,
when we wander from your ways and waste the gifts you have given us,
welcome us back, we pray, so that we may celebrate and rejoice in your presence forever. We give thanks and worship, praising the name of you,
Creator, Savior and Friend.
Music Softly and Tenderly by Will Thompson
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Prayers
Prayer of Adoration
Lord Jesus, preaching good tidings to the people, proclaiming release
to the captives, setting at liberty those who are bound: We adore you.
Lord Jesus, friend of the outcast and the poor, feeder of the hungry, healer of the sick. We adore you.
Lord Jesus, denouncing the oppressor, exposing the hypocrite,
overcoming evil with good. We adore you.
Lord Jesus, pattern of gentleness, teacher of holiness, prophet of the kingdom of heaven. We adore you.
Lord Jesus, dying to save us from our sins, rising to give us eternal life, ascending to prepare our heavenly home. We adore you.
Confession
Because we nurture too many grudges against others:
Lord have mercy.
Because we are sometimes unwilling to forgive:
Christ have mercy.
Because we are slow to seek peace and reconciliation:
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Declaration of Forgiveness and Assurance
When you were dead in trespasses, God made you alive together with
him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that
stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to
the cross. -- Colossians 2:13-14
I therefore declare to you the forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord's Prayer (Ecumenical)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen
Teaching Time
Scripture Luke 15:11-32 NRS
Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."'So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe-- the best one-- and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate. "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.'Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"
The Child In All of Us (an animated reading of the scripture)
Message "From Nothing to Belonging" The Rev Phil Miller-Evans
Music "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas Chisholm
1 Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
all I have needed thy hand hath provided--
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
2 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]
Prayer
Father, Mother, Heavenly Parent,
Run to meet us with open arms. Bring us back into your home. Richly cloth us. Feed us abundantly. Love us completely.
And may we love our brothers, sisters and siblings as you love us. Amen.
A Statement about Offering our Gifts
Friends, God is faithful and gracious to us, upholds us, and raises us up. Let us show our thanksgiving by giving generously to support ministries that ease burdens and give rest to those in need.
Donations can be mailed to Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 1310 22nd Av S, St Petersburg, FL, 33705 or given online through our website @lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org
Charge
Go, filled with the understanding that there is healing for the least and the greatest among us. Speak peace, teach kindness, be glad.
Benediction
You are loved here. Go and invite others to come home to the family of God. Amen.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
When have you felt most alone? Who do you call family? Where do you belong in the family of God?