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July 4

CCLI license #1913561

Lakeview Presbyterian Church
Service of the Word for July 4, 2021
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Questions for Reflection:

What does freedom mean to you? What does independence mean to you?  Think of those on whom you are dependent.

“Freedom Reigns” sung by Keisha Prime

Sung by Keisha Prime

Call to Worship

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Do not put your trust in princes,
In mortals, in whom there is no help.
Happy are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,
Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!

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Hymn  “God of the Ages”           TPC #262

Call to Confession

Challenges in life threaten us and cause us to doubt God’s love. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Let us confess our sins, trusting that God will grant us reconciliation and new life.

Prayer of Confession

God of Mercy:  we confess that we have failed to live as your beloved sons and daughters. We have set our minds on the things of this world, and we have neglected the inheritance of love you bestow upon your saints.  We have pursued selfish aims in our daily business; we have harbored uncharitable thoughts toward our enemies and friends; we have avoided difficult responsibilities to our neighbors.

Forgive us, we pray.  Free us from our selfish ways and strengthen us to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.  Amen

Declaration of Forgiveness
Hear the Good News:  Christ is merciful to all who turn to him in repentance.  In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!

Prayer for Illumination

O God, as we receive your word through your Holy Spirit, open our eyes to your justice, open our ears to your judgment, open our hearts to your love.  Amen.

Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures Deuteronomy 6:1-2, 4-7, 10-12, 17-8a, 25NRS

Now this is the commandment-- the statutes and the ordinances-- that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.When the LORD your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you-- a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant-- and when you have eaten your fill,take care that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You must diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his decrees, and his statutes that he has commanded you.Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, so that it may go well with you, If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.

Hymn  (please remain seated)  “Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord”     TPH #392

Reading from the Gospel of Mark 12:28-34NRS 
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?"Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there is no other'; and 'to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself,'-- this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Sermon      “In  Dependence Day”        The Rev. Lois Lehman

Sermon by The Rev. Lois Lehman

Affirmation of Faith   from A Brief Statement of Faith (pcusa)

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.

In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing,   to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of people long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.

In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks  and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Hymn (please remain seated)     “Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord”   TPH #392

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Statement about Offering our Gifts 

Let us give of yourselves, our time, and our possessions out of love for this creation and in thanksgiving for what we have been given.

      Donations can be mailed to Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 1310 22 nd Av S,  St Petersburg, FL, 33705 or given online through our website  lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org

Special Music

Prayer of Dedication God of every good and perfect gift, as we bring our offerings to you, we ask for your direction as we live each day, so that your kingdom of light becomes more and more of a reality in this world. Amen

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

The Invitation

This is the joyful feast of the people of God. People will come from north and south, from east and west to share in this feast in the kingdom of God.  This is the table of the Lord, who invites us, and welcomes us, to share in this feast which he has prepared.

Come, when you are fearful, to be made new in love.
Come, when you are doubtful, to be made strong in faith.
Come, when you are regretful, and be made whole.
Come, old and young, there is room for all.

The Words of Institution

On the night before he died, Jesus came to the table with those he loved. He took bread, and gave thanks to God.  He broke the bread among his disciples and said: ‘Take this, all of you, and eat it.  This is my body, given for you.’ When the supper was ended, he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God.  He passed the cup among his disciples and said, ‘Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is the cup of the new covenant sealed in my blood for the forgiveness of sin. Do this in remembrance of me.’ 

Now, whenever we eat and drink at this table, we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection until he comes again.

The Great 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.

Holy God, you alone are holy, you alone are God. With joy we praise you and give you thanks. You brought light from darkness and drew land from the sea. You made us in your image to live with one another in love.  You promised yourself in covenant with us, you told us your purpose in your law, and called for justice through the prophets. Through long generations you have been faithful to your people.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come.

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever!

In the fullness of time, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to preach good news to the afflicted, to break bread with the outcast and despised, and to ransom those in bondage to prejudice and sin. Remembering his love for us we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and wine. Reveal yourself to us in the breaking of the bread. Raise us up as the body of Christ for the world. Breathe new life into us. Send us forth, burning with justice, peace and love. With all your holy ones of all times and places, we praise you, O God, blessed and holy Trinity, now and forever. Amen. 

Prayer after Communion

   Holy God, we thank you for this feast of grace and life. Send us out to answer the  summons of our Lord Jesus Christ to a new life, and to follow him with joy and  gladness.  Set our feet in his holy way, that our lives may be signs of his life and all  we do may show forth his love.  AMEN

The Lord’s Prayer (sung)
Hymn         “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies”                TPH  #564

Charge
Show the love of God in all you do. Be faithful witnesses to the grace of Jesus Christ.
Live in the power and joy of the Holy Spirit.

Blessing
May the blessing of God, who creates, redeems, and restores, be with you now and always.

Postlude " I have decided to follow Jesus " sung by Keisha Prime