Bulletin – Sunday, August 22, 2021

Sunday, August 22, 2021

Pop Music Ministry

If I Ever Lose My Faith In You

(Disturbed Cover)

Approach

Lighting the Candle

We light this candle this day, knowing that as we gather within its glow we are reminded of the love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness of God. We are also reminded of God’s faithfulness, God’s promise to always be with us, symbolized by the coming of God Incarnate, a light in a world of darkness. In the light of this candle let us hold firm to God’s promise to be faithful and as we do let us embody the gifts of God for the world, so that we too might be a light to the world.

Response

In a time full of war, be peace.
In a time full of doubt, just believe.
Yeah, there ain’t that much difference between you and me.
In a time full of war, be peace.

In a world full of hate, be a light.
When you do somebody wrong, make it right.
Don’t hide in the dark; you were born to shine.
In a world full of hate, be a light.

Call to Worship

One:   God comes into a world filled with uncertainties and darkness.
All:      God seeks out the voids of belief and conviction.
 
One:   God embraces the wounded and broken.
All:      God knocks down the walls of division and strife.
 
One:   God is the candle shining in the darkness of our days.
All:      God is the light of our lives.
 
One:   God is the one who makes all things new.
All:      We come to worship this day to praise God, now and forevermore.
 

Hymn – “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in God’s justice which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings have such gracious judgement given.

For the love of God is broader than the measures of the mind,
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.

Prayer of Approach

Loving God, whose touch can heal the broken places of life touch us today in the midst of our own confusion and doubt. God of peace, whose spirit of peace can quiet our spirits of confusion and despair, reassure us today.
 
Forgiving God, whose call to repentance promises grace upon grace, place your mercy in our souls today. You who heal the sick and liberate the imprisoned, you who bring justice in the midst of oppression and strength in the midst of weakness, pour out your spirit of power upon us today. Open our hearts to new faithfulness, redirect our waywardness, and hold us gently in your goodness.
 
We confess our need to you, and we turn to you with hearts filled with hope, remembering the promises you have made to us. We have so often turned away from you, thinking that we know better, that we know the way. We turn away from you and turn to the world, which oftentimes lets us down. Even when we turn away you are still there, you are still loving us, you are still faithful to us.
 
May your name be praise in all that we do and all that we say, may your faithfulness be praised. We ask this through Christ Jesus, our guide and our companion. Amen.
 
(adapted from Peter K. Perry)

Words of Assurance

Hymn – “He’s Always Been Faithful to Me”

Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee;
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth.
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow –
Wondrous the portion thy blessings provide.

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!

Baptism

The Word

Scripture Reading:           Hebrews 11:1-16

¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. ³ By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷ By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.

⁸ By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

¹³ All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, ¹⁴ for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!

Meditation – “To Have Faith?”

Anthem – “Trust in You”

The Response

Prayer

One:   God, like the Israelites in the wilderness, we too have known Your love, and experienced Your care and provision. You invite us to extend that love to the world around us—to care for others as deeply as we care for ourselves. And so we bring the needs of our world before You now. In Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.
 
One:   We pray for the many who do not have enough: enough food to eat, or shelter to keep warm; enough employment, or money to pay their bills; enough medicine or medical are. Lord, in Your mercy.
All:      hear our prayer.
 
One:   We also pray for those who have more than enough, but who still struggle to find meaning and purpose in life; who indulge in dangerous or self-serving activities to dull their pain or loneliness. Lord, in Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.

One:   We pray for those who are facing illness in their lives today. Those who feel alone and lost, those whose bodies might be failing, those who struggle emotionally and spiritually, those who live with mental illness. We lift up to you those in this community that we hold in our prayers, hopeful that they feel your presence with them at this time…Lord, in Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.
 
One:   God, Your grace reaches out to all of us. You call us to live as citizens of heaven, working together with one heart and mind. Strengthen us to live in a manner worthy of the Good News we have received, offering our lives in service of Your kingdom, where the last are first, and the first are last, and there is grace enough for all. Lord, in Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.
 
One:   Hear us as we continue to pray in the words that Jesus taught us;
All:      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 and ever. Amen.
 
(adapted from Christine Longhurst)

 Hymn – “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me”

All the way my Saviour leads me, what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt his tender mercy who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in him to dwell,
For I know, whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Saviour leads me, cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial, feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter, and my soul a-thirst may be,
Gushing from the rock before me, lo, a spring of joy I see!

All the way my Saviour leads me; O the fullness of his love!
Perfect rest to me is promised in my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed, immortal, wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages, “Jesus led me all the way!”

Benediction

Eternal light shine in our hearts. Eternal goodness deliver us from evil. Eternal power to be our support. Eternal wisdom scatter the darkness of our ignorance. Eternal pity have mercy on us that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength we may seek Your face and be brought by Your infinite mercy and faithfulness into Your holy presence.

Response

O God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will every praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days.