CCLI license #1913561
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Our worship service for July 5, 2020, includes a celebration of Holy Communion. If you wish to partake of elements when appropriate in the service, we invite you to prepare your juice and your bread (or alternative) ahead of time.
Call to Worship
When forces in the world threaten us, when our bodies or spirits turn against us, there is One who seeks us, One who meets us, One who heals us, whose love washes over us and sets us free for joy
Hymn “O God, We Thank You for This Land”* ("Eternal Father, Strong to Save")
* Tune: John Bacchus Dykes, in Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861
("Eternal Father, Strong to Save") (MIDI))
Text: Copyright © 2019 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.co
O God, we thank you for this land and for the good on which we stand:
for people down through history who sought to make us kind and free,
for immigrants from every place who built this land with strength and grace.
We thank you, God, for people here who work to counter hate and fear;
who work for justice for the poor; who seek to bring an end to war;
who love the water, land and air and work for your creation's care.
We thank you, too, for those who pause to see and challenge unjust laws;
for those whose vision leads the way to bring a gentler, nobler day;
for those who answer your great call to value, love and welcome all.
As we give thanks for this our land, may we, with others, take a stand:
May we a justice-vigil keep, and never let our conscience sleep;
For silence is complicity, and all are bound till all are free..
Call to Confession
The grace of God is a free gift; there is nothing we can do to earn it. We receive it in faith, believing in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Trusting in Christ’s mercy, and with gratitude for this free and precious gift, let us confess our sin.
Prayer of Confession
Holy One, we confess that we are tired and weighed down by the mistakes we have made in our relationships with others, even those closest to us. We have failed to listen to you and we have failed to listen to each other. Forgive us and repair the breach we have brought about by our self-centeredness. Strengthen us in new efforts to be a witness to your love by the way we live with one another. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen
Assurance of Pardon
The good news is that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Forgiven and freed, let us likewise be gracious and merciful with all of God’s children.
Prayer for Illumination
Comforting God, by your Holy Spirit lift the burdens from our souls through the reading of your Word for us, that we may learn to live in loving relationships with you and with others. Amen
A Reading from Scripture: Acts 8:26-40 NRS
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worshipand was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth."The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?"He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Sermon "A Sign of Love" Rev. Lois Lehman
Hymn “One Bread, One Body” by John Foley, Instrumental Arrangement by Annie Isbilir
One bread, one body, one Lord of all, one cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord.
Gentile or Jew, servant or free, woman or man no more.
One bread, one body, one Lord of all, one cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord.
Many the gifts, many the works, one in the Lord of all.
One bread, one body, one Lord of all, one cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord.
Offering of Our Gifts (One way to donate money is to use the "Donate Now" button on the main page of this website.)
Almighty God, in this time of global pandemic, when patterns of behavior which have been familiar to us are overturned and we face an uncertain future, we realize that we still have the personal gifts you gave us at conception and the skills we have developed over time. Help us to recognize those gifts and realize new ways to use them in service to you through service to others. In Christ’s name. Amen
Service of Holy Communion
The Invitation
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.” O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy are those who find refuge in God!
The Words of Institution
On the night of his arrest, our Lord took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, and said, “This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Every time you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
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, creator of the universe, 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!
We praise you for your love: bringing order out of chaos, breathing life into dust, leading captives into freedom, calling wandering children home, giving bread to the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, raising the dead to life. We thank you, Lord for Jesus: Word made flesh, light of the world, living water, shepherd and gate, way and truth, bread of heaven, cup of salvation, resurrection and life.
Spirit come – come and live in us: in this bread, in this cup, in your people, one in the body, one in the blood; one with Christ, one in ministry, in this place, in every place; in this world, in the world to come.
Partaking the Elements
When we break bread, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
When we give thanks over the cup, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?
Jesus said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
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 by Albert Hay Malotte
Our Father, which are in heaven
Hallowed by 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 and 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.
Benediction
May God protect you when the threats of life howl around you;
May Christ protect you when shades of sin creep within you;
May the Spirit of God protect you when flames of passion overcome you. Amen.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
How have you experienced God’s steadfast love? How have you shared that love with others, especially those who are unlike you?
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