Sunday, August 30, 2020

13th Sunday after Pentecost

August 30, 2020

11:00 A.M.

 

Organ Prelude

 

Welcome & Announcements                                                                  John Strawbridge

 

Choral Introit “O come let us sing unto the Lord” (Donald Moore)

O come. let us sing unto the Lord,
To Him our voices raise.
O come; with joyful voices praise.

 

Call to Worship

Blessed be God, Ruler of the world, by whose decree the shadows of evening fall and the gates of

morning are opened.

In wisdom God has established the changes of times and seasons, and ordered the ways of

the stars in their heavenly courses.

The living God is the ruler over us.

Blessed be God for the day and its work and worship and for the night and its rest.

 

The Opening Hymn “Take Up Thy Cross”                                          UMH 415 Vs. 1, 2, & 4

1. “Take up thy cross,” the Savior said, “if thou wouldst my disciple be; deny thyself, the world

forsake, and humbly follow after me.”

2. Take up thy cross, let not its weight fill thy weak spirit with alarm; his strength shall bear thy

spirit up, and brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.

4. Take up thy cross and follow Christ, nor think till death to lay it down; for only those who bear

the cross may hope to wear the glorious crown.

 

The Psalter                                                                         Psalm 111: 1-8 UMH 832

1. Praise the Lord.

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the

congregation.

2. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in them.

3. Full of honor and majesty are the works of the Lord whose righteousness endures foe ever,

4. who has caused his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.

5. The Lord provides food for the faithful and is ever mindful of his covenant.

6. The Lord has shown his people the power of his works by giving them the heritage of the nations.

7. The works of the Lord’s hands are faithful and just; the precepts of the Lord are trustworthy;

8. they are established for ever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness

and uprightness.

The Word of God. . . . Thanks be to God!

 

Sharing Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer

The 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.

 

The Gospel Lesson                                                               Matthew 16:21-28 NRSV

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great

suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be

raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never

happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to

me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

The Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up

their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life

for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or

what will they give in return for their life?

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone

for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before

they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

This is the Word of God for the people of God. . . . Thanks be to God!

 

Sermon: “Following the Leader”                                                   Rev. Dr. Emora T. Brannan

 

Invitation to Offering

On Line Giving

 

Offertory “Pass It On” (Kurt Kaiser)

It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in its glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You spread His love to ev’ryone
You want to pass it on

What a wondrous time is spring
When all the trees are budding
The birds begin to sing
The flowers start their blooming
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You want to sing it’s fresh like spring
You want to pass it on

I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I’ve found
You can depend on Him
It matters not where you’re bound
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want my world to know
The Lord of love has come to me
I want to pass it on

 

Offering Prayer (All)

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor

you with our substance, and remembering the account we must one day give, be faithful stewards of

your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The Closing Hymn “Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone”                                     UMH 424

1. Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, and

there’s a cross for me.

2. How happy are the saints above who once went sorrowing here! But now they taste unmingled

love, and joy without a tear.

3. The consecrated cross I’ll bear till death shall set me free; and then go home my crown to

wear, for there’s a crown for me.

 

Benediction

The Lord bless you and keep you:

May the Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious to us:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Amen.

 

Choral Benediction “Let us now depart in thy peace (Bristol)

Let us now depart in thy peace, blessed Jesus,
Send us to our homes with God’s love in our hearts:
Let not the busy world claim all our loyalties,
Keep us ever mindful, dear Lord, of Thee.

 

Ringing of the Bicentennial Bell

 

Postlude

 

Food for Thought:

The leader for the time being, whoever he may be, is but an instrument, to be used until broken and

then to be cast aside; and if he is worth his salt he will care no more when he is broken than a soldier

cares when he is sent where his life is forfeit in order that the victory may be won. In the long fight for

righteousness the watchword for all of us, is spend and be spent. It is a little matter whether any one

man fails or succeeds; but the cause shall not fail, for it is the cause of mankind. We, here in America,

hold in our hands the hope of the world, the fate of the coming years; and shame and disgrace will be

ours if in our eyes the light of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men. If

on this new continent we merely build another country of great but unjustly divided material prosperity,

we shall have done nothing; and we shall do as little if we merely set the greed of envy against the greed

of arrogance, and thereby destroy the material well-being of all of us, Theodore Roosevelt