Tower Weekly | Sunday, June 17, 2012

Third Sunday after Pentecost

Morning Worship at 11 o’Clock

The more we grow spiritually,

the less far into the future we can see,

yet the surer we are about doing the next thing.

Spiritually mature people have no idea

what to do with their whole life,

but they always seem to know what to do next.

–Henri Nouwen

The Church Gathers

Organ Prelude: “All You People, Praise the Lord” Gelineau

Words of Welcome and Announcements (by the minister)

Choral Introit: “Hear Our Prayer, O Lord” George Whelpton

Hear our prayer, O Lord, incline Thine ear to us,

and grant us Thy peace. Amen.

Call to Worship

We have come to worship God.

Let us come with humility.

We offer all that we are,

knowing we need God’s spirit to be what we ought to be.

We have come to worship God.

Let us come with expectation.

In the divine presence there is light for our darkness

and purpose for our striving.

Praise be to God!

Hymn: No. 92, “For the Beauty of the Earth” Dix

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,

for the love which from our birth over and around us lies;

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night,

hill and vale, and tree and flower,

sun and moon, and stars of light;

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,

for the heart and mind’s delight,

for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight;

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth and friends above,

for all gentle thoughts and mild;

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

For thy church, that evermore lifteth holy hands above,

offering upon every shore her pure sacrifice of love;

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

For thyself, best Gift Divine, to the world so freely given,

for that great, great love of thine,

peace on earth, and joy in heaven;

Lord of all, to thee we raise this

our hymn of grateful praise.

Morning Prayer

Gracious and holy God,

we come to you because you have first come to us.

We know you because you have revealed yourself.

Give us in this morning hour of worship

a keen sense of your Spirit breathing through us.

Lift our hearts with the wings of song,

heal our souls with the balm of prayer,

enliven our minds with the words

of scripture and interpretation,

and empower us to dedicate our strength,

our substance and our service to your work in the world.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

To Hear The Word

A Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures: I Samuel 15:34-16:13

Marisa Olszewski is the reader.

Then Samuel went to Ramah;

and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.

Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death,

but Samuel grieved over Saul.

And the Lord was sorry

that he had made Saul king over Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul?

I have rejected him from being king over Israel.

Fill your horn with oil and set out;

I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite,

for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.”

And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say,

‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

Invite Jesse to the sacrifice,

and I will show you what you shall do;

and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.”

Samuel did what the Lord commanded,

and came to Bethlehem.

The elders of the city came to meet him trembling,

and said, “Do you come peaceably?”

He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord;

sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”

And he sanctified Jesse and his sons

and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought,

“Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.”

But the Lord said to Samuel,

“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,

because I have rejected him;

for the Lord does not see as mortals see;

they look on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab,

and made him pass before Samuel.

He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”

Then Jesse made Shammah pass by.

And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”

Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel,

and Samuel said to Jesse,

“The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?”

And he said, “There remains yet the youngest,

but he is keeping the sheep.”

And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him;

for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

He sent and brought him in.

Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes,

and was handsome.

The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.”

Then Samuel took the horn of oil,

and anointed him in the presence of his brothers;

and the spirit of the Lord

came mightily upon David from that day forward.

Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

An Act of Praise: p. 749, Psalm 17 (with sung response)

Lee Enos is the acolyte and reader.

Response:

Keep me, keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me, hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

From you let my vindication come!

Let your eyes see the right!

If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,

if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;

my mouth does not transgress.

Concerning what others do:

I have avoided the ways of the violent

by following your word.

My steps have held fast to your paths,

my feet have not slipped. (Response)

I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

incline your ear to me, hear my words.

Wondrously show your steadfast love,

O savior of those who seek refuge

from their adversaries at your right hand.

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake I shall be satisfied

with beholding your presence. (Response)

Anthem: “Thou Visitest the Earth” Maurice Greene

Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it,

and crownest the year with Thy goodness,

and castest Thy Truth upon us.

A Reading from the Gospels: Mark 4:26-34

Jesus also said,

“The kingdom of God is as if someone

would scatter seed on the ground,

and would sleep and rise night and day,

and the seed would sprout and grow,

he does not know how.

The earth produces of itself, first the stalk,

then the head, and then the full grain in the head.

But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle,

because the harvest has come.”

He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God,

or what parable will we use for it?

It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground,

is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;

yet when it is sown it grows up

and becomes the greatest of all shrubs,

and puts forth large branches,

so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them

as they were able to hear it;

he did not speak to them except in parables,

but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Sermon: “A Child, A Seed” Rev. Nancy Nedwell, preaching

To Respond in Faith

Hymn: No. 583, “You Are the Seed” Id Y Enseñad

You are the seed that will grow a new sprout;

you’re a star that will shine in the night;

you are the yeast and a small grain of salt,

a beacon to glow in the dark.

You are the dawn that will bring a new day;

you’re the wheat that will bear golden grain;

you are a sting and a soft, gentle touch,

my witnesses where’er you go.

Refrain: Go, my friends, go to the world,

proclaiming love to all,

messengers of my forgiving peace,

eternal love.

Be, my friends, a loyal witness,

from the dead I arose;

Lo, I’ll be with you forever,

till the end of the world.

You are the flame that will lighten the dark,

sending sparkles of hope, faith, and love;

you are the shepherds to lead the whole world

through valleys and pastures of peace.

You are the friends that I chose for myself,

the word that I want to proclaim.

You are the new kingdom built on a rock

where justice and truth always reign. (Refrain)

You are the life that will nurture the plant;

you’re the waves in a turbulent sea;

yesterday’s yeast is beginning to rise,

a new loaf of bread it will yield.

There is no place for a city to hide,

nor a mountain can cover its might;

may your good deeds show a world in despair

a path that will lead all to God. (Refrain)

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God,

who is the giver of bountiful gifts

that fill our lives with goodness.

We believe in God, who is the creator of the good earth,

where the trees form a corridor of praise,

and the birds form a choir to welcome each dawn;

the precious earth, where flowers spin in joy,

and the ocean waves in delight.

We believe in Jesus, the restorer of the good path,

who leads us into the depths of prayer

and the heights of praise,

who guides us through valleys of despair

and along mountain paths of risk,

who beckons us to renew relationships and restore unity.

We believe in the spirit,

who stirred the church into being

and continually calls us to share our gifts with others.

We believe the spirit prompts us to be a river of hope,

a stream of care, a fountain of joy, and an ocean of love.

We believe in an amazing God, a risen Christ,

a life-giving spirit!

Prayers of the Congregation with the Lord’s Prayer

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 trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

and the glory, forever. Amen.

Offertory: “It May Be Christ” Mabel Hayden

Was it my Savior standing at my door?

Has He been calling there in vain before?

Oh, still those patient, pleading eyes I see,

and still that hand stretched out appealingly.

Ah! would I had known if it were He?

When to my door comes one who needs my care,

be it my joy and privilege to share;

it may be Christ, my Savior, standing there!

Presentation of Offerings with the Doxology: No. 95

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures here below;

Praise God above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.