Sunday, July 19, 2020
JULY 19, 2020
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
11:00A.M.
Organ Prelude
Welcome and Announcements John Strawbridge
Choral Introit Come, Let Us Gather (Trad., arr. Donald Moore)
Come, let us gather now to sing
Praises and thanks to God, our King.
God’s love surpasses everything.
Call to Worship
L: From the mustard seed a great and mighty shrub emerges.
P: Good things can come from something that seemed so insignificant!
L: The spore of the yeast can leaven the whole loaf of bread.
P: We can be those people who bring hope and peace to God’s world.
L: Come, let us praise the God of great and mighty wonders.
P: Let our spirits soar in gratitude for the opportunities God gives us to serve. AMEN.
Opening Hymn You Have Searched Me, Lord, And Known Me Carolyn Winfrey Gilette
NETTLETON 8.7.8.7 D (“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”)
1. You have searched me, Lord, and known me!
All my life is in your care.
When I lie awake in evening,
You are always with me there.
When I rise to greet the morning
In an attitude of praise,
What I learn from you is humbling:
You already know my ways.
2. Lord, you know the song I’m singing
and my words before I pray.
You’re behind me and before me
As I travel through each day.
You once knit me all together;
You created me by grace.
In your eyes, you see and love me
As you treasure all my days.
3. Lord, I try to learn your wisdom,
But I cannot understand.
Yet your love is all around me;
I am part of all you’ve planned.
Let me sing your praise each morning,
Let me serve you all day through,
And in evening, make me peaceful,
Knowing this: I’m loved by you!
Psalter Reading Psalm 139:1-12 (NIV)
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
The Word of God….Thanks be to God
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Pastoral Prayer
Lord’s Prayer
Choral Response “Surely the Presence of the Lord” UMH 328
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
I can hear the brush of angels wings.
I see glory on each face.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
Old Testament Lesson Genesis 28:10-19
10-12 Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it.
13-15 Then God was right before him, saying, “I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.”
16-17 Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “God is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!” He was terrified. He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.”
18-19 Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). The name of the town had been Luz until then.
Sermon “Finding the Holy” Rev. Debbie Scott
Invitation to Offering
Offertory When Morning Lights the Eastern Skies (Garrett)
When morning lights the eastern skies,
O Lord, Your mercy show;
On You alone my hope relies,
Let me Your kindness know.
Teach me the way that I should go;
I lift my soul to You;
For refuge from my cruel foe
To You, O Lord, I flee.
You are my God, to You I pray;
Teach me Your will to heed;
And in the right and perfect way
May Your good Spirit lead.
For Your Name’s sake, O gracious Lord,
Revive my soul and bless,
And in Your faithfulness and love
Redeem me from distress.
O gracious Lord!
Offering Prayer (All)
O God, through the offering of these gifts may we become a more open people…
Open-minded in hearing your Word and wisdom,
Open-hearted in healing a broken world,
Open-handed in heeding your call for charity and enacted love.
With thanks for all good gifts, we present a portion of our substance and the whole of ourselves. Amen
Closing Hymn Trust and Obey UMH 467 Vs, 1, 2, & 4
1. When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2. Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey. Refrain
4. Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do;
Where He sends, we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey. Refrain
Benediction
L: You have some belief; may God help you to believe more firmly.
P: Amen to that!
L: You have some love; may Christ help you to love more freely.
P: Amen to that!
L: You have some joy; may the Spirit help you to laugh more profoundly.
P: Amen to that!
L: As the precious children of God, go in peace to cheerfully love and serve.
P: In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Choral Benediction “Let Us Live In Peace” John/Taupin
Holy Moses, let us live in peace;
Let us try to find a way to make the hatred cease.
There’s a man over there
What’s his color? I don’t care -
He’s my brother – let us live in peace.
Let us live in peace.
Ringing the Bicentennial Bell
Postlude “Being At War With Each Other” (King)
Everyone comes from one father, one mother
So why do we complicate our lives so much
By being at war with each other
Maybe I’m crazy but I don’t understand it
Why do we seem to vote to dig more holes
It’s such a waste of planet
There must be a reason that I can’t see
Maybe somebody else knows better than me
All I know is everyone else is a sister or a brother
So we’ve got to look around again and stop
Being at war with each other
Tower Lighting
In loving memory of Rainer von Saleski by his wife Bernice von Saleski.
Upcoming Meetings
Trustees will meet by Zoom at 7:00pm on Wednesday.