Sunday, October 29 2023

LOVELY LANE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A

OCTOBER 29, 2023

11:00 A.M.

† Stand as you are able

 

Organ Prelude

 

Welcome and Announcements      John Strawbridge, Lay Leader

 

Choral Introit     “ Gently Raise the Sacred Strain”     Griggs

Gently raise the sacred stain,

For the Sabbath’s come again

That we may rest.

 

† Call to Worship

L: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

P: And also with you.

L: Revere our Sovereign God. There are many blessings in store for those who honor God and do the will of our Sovereign.

P: We will honor God and do the will of our Heavenly Sovereign.

 

† Opening Hymn     “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty”     UMH 64

Old Testament Lesson    Deuteronomy 34:1-12    NRSV

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the LORD showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain — that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees — as far as Zoar. The LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” Then Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended. Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the LORD had commanded Moses. Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

The word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Call to Confession

Beloved congregation, let us come before God, recognizing our shared humanity, our moments of imperfection, and our shared need for God’s divine grace.

 

Prayer of Confession

God of high places, God of low places, God of all places, we confess that we are not full of compassion as you are.  We are prone to forget what it is like to be aliens, to be powerless, to be vulnerable, to be without an advocate, to be without credit. Forgive our complicity in heartless systems that make credit cheap and easy for those who need it least and prohibitive for those who need it most. Forgive indifference toward, or ill-treatment of, widows and orphans when we forget they could be our own widows and orphans. We must repent of all our less-than-loving behaviors and attitudes for the sake of your all-loving Son, Jesus of Nazareth. Amen

 

Assurance of Pardon

Friends, hear the Good News! God has approved us as fit to be entrusted with the Gospel.

Thanks be to God, for the Lord has approved us as fit to be entrusted with the Gospel.  Glory be to God our Savior.

Amen.

 

Passing of the Peace

 

Sharing Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer

Lord’s Prayer

 

Choral Response     “Cares Chorus”

I cast all my cares upon You.

I lay all of my burdens, down at Your feet.

And anytime that I don’t know what to do.

I will cast all my cares upon You.

 

† Gospel Lesson     Matthew 22:34-46     NRSV

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

The Gospel of our Lord.  Praise be to you, O Christ.

 

Sermon     Rev. Levon D. Sutton, Pastor

 

Invitation to Offering

 

Offertory     “O For a Closer Walk With God”     Ives

O for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame;

Alight to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb,

Return, O holy Dove, return,

Sweet messenger of rest;

I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,

And drove Thee from my breast.

My dearest idol I have known.

Whate’er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from Thy throne,

And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame;

So purer light shall mark the road

That leads me to the Lamb.

 

Offering Prayer

Receive our gifts and ourselves, sovereign God, so that we may be faithful agents of your good news and the witness of your Church in the world. Amen.

† Closing Hymn     Lord, I Want to Be a Christian     UMH 402

 

† Benediction

May the Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make His face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, and give us peace, this day and forever more. Amen.

 

*Choral Benediction     “New Testament Benediction”     Gregor

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God,

And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

Ringing the Bicentennial Bell

 

Organ Postlude