† CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous; praise is fitting for the upright.
Many: We will sing to the Lord a new song. For your word, O Lord, is right, and faithful are all your works.
One: Your steadfast love fills the whole earth. By your word were the heavens made.
Many: You gather up the waters of the ocean as in a water-skin and store up the depths of the sea.
One: God spoke and it came to pass; God commanded and it stood fast.
Many: Let us stand in awe before the Lord and dwell in God’s presence forever. † HYMN 305 Come Sing, O Church, in Joy!
† PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Merciful God, we acknowledge our guilt, and seek your face and your forgiveness. For we have not offered steadfast love to you or each other. We have not moved forward in faith, but have allowed ourselves to be stifled by fear. Revive us, raise us up, that we might live before you, rejoicing in the knowledge of your love.
† ASSURANCE OF PARDON
One: People of God, hear and believe the good news: Christ came to bring healing, forgiveness, and new life to all who sin and suffer.
Many: In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
† GLORIA
John Weaver
READING AND HEARING THE WORD
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
FIRST LESSON Genesis 12:1-9 Old Testament Page 110
One: The Word of the Lord.
Many: Thanks be to God.
One: Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! Delight in praise, O you upright!
Many: Praise the Lord with the lyre, make melody to the Lord with the harp of ten strings!
One: Sing to the Lord a new song, play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Many: Upright is the word of the Lord, whose work is done in faithfulness. R
One: The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
Many: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of God’s mouth.
One: The Lord gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle and put the deeps in storehouses.
Many: Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe! R
One: For the Lord spoke, and it came to be; the Lord commanded, and it stood forth.
Many: The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing and frustrates the plans of the peoples.
One: The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of God’s heart to all generations.
Many: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom the Lord has chosen as a heritage! R
SECOND LESSON Romans 4:13-25
New Testament Page 155
THIRD LESSON Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 New Testament Page 9
SERMON “Ramblin’ Man” The Rev. Seelman
†
A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.
THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Many: And also with you.
W
ELCOME AND PARISH LIFE (Please sign the Friendship Register)
THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND GIFTS TO GOD
ANTHEM Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
arr. by Richard Webster
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation! Come, ye who hear, brothers and sisters draw near, praise him in glad adoration! Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth, shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth! Hast thou not seen all that is needful hath been granted in what he ordaineth? Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee; surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee. Ponder anew all the Almighty can do, he who with love doth befriend thee. Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him! All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him. Let the Amen sound from his people again; gladly for aye we adore him.
† PRESENTATION OF THE GIFTS
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise Christ, all people here below; Praise Holy Spirit evermore; praise triune God, whom we adore. Amen.
† PRAYER OF DEDICATION
