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Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
- Date: Sunday, October 8, 2023
- Time: 10:30am–11:30am
- Location: Sanctuary
Order of Worship
October 8, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.
Prelude
Prelude and Fugue in C Major (From the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues) attributed to J. S. Bach
The Prelude and Fugue in C Major comes from a collection of “Eight Short Preludes and Fugues,” a delightful and appealing collection, and a cornerstone of the organist’s repertory. For many years these works have been historically ascribed to Johann Sebastian Bach. More recent scholarship indicate that these pieces were likely composed by one of Bach’s pupils, possibly by Johann Ludwig Krebs. As Alfred Durr wrote, “their value is in no way dependent on whether the composer is known or not,” and this collection is particularly suited for service playing.
*Call to Worship
(The congregation responds aloud with the bold text)
God has shared with us this beautiful earth.
Thanks be to God.
God has given us breath to live and spirit to sing.
Thanks be to God.
God has gathered us into a community of care and worship.
Let us worship God with love, thanksgiving, and praise.
*Hymn #340: “This is My Song”
1. Here in this place the new light is streaming;
now is the darkness vanished away;
see in this space our fears and our dreamings
brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken;
gather us in, the blind and the lame;
call to us now, and we shall awaken;
we shall arise at the sound of our name.
2. We are the young; our lives are a mystery.
We are the old who yearn for your face.
We have been sung throughout all of history,
called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty;
gather us in, the proud and the strong;
give us a heart, so meek and so lowly;
give us the courage to enter the song.
3. Here we will take the wine and the water;
here we will take the bread of new birth.
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters,
call us anew to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion;
give us to eat the bread that is you;
nourish us well, and teach us to fashion
lives that are holy and hearts that are true.
4. Not in the dark of buildings confining,
not in some heaven, light years away:
here in this place the new light is shining;
now is the kingdom, and now is the day.
Gather us in and hold us forever;
gather us in and make us your own;
gather us in, all peoples together,
fire of love in our flesh and our bone.
Prayer of Adoration
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, we humbly confess our faults. For anger, impatience and quickness to misunderstand, forgive us. For thoughtlessness, indifference and the lack of kindness, forgive us. For not speaking out against injustice and suffering, forgive us. For all the times we have not followed Jesus in the way of love, forgive us, heal us, and transform us anew into your servant people. In the name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.
Silent prayer of confession
Assurance of pardon
Hear the good news: our prayers have been answered. Christ has healed us and forgives our sin. With glad hearts, let us return praise to God.
*Response of Praise: Hymn #582, “Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me”
1. Glory to God, whose goodness shines on me,
and to the Son, whose grace has pardoned me,
and to the Spirit, whose love has set me free.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.
2. World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
World without end, without end. Amen.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.
*Passing of the Peace
Life in Community
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Children’s Message
Prayer for Illumination
This is your Word, O God. Humble us to speak its weight. Strengthen us to hear its truth. Unbind us to live its call. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Scripture: 2 Samuel 9:1-13
David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.” He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”
Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat, but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
Sermon
“How to Say Grace”, Rev. Dorothy L. Boulton
Hymn #767: “Together We Serve”
1. Together we serve,
united by love,
inviting God’s world to the glorious feast.
We work and we pray
through sorrow and joy,
extending God’s love to the last and the least.
2. We seek to become
a beacon of hope,
a lamp for the heart and a light for the feet.
We learn, year by year,
to let love shine through
until we see Christ in each person we meet.
3. We welcome the scarred,
the wealthy, the poor,
the busy, the lonely, and all who need care.
We offer a home
to those who will come,
our hands quick to help, our hearts ready to dare.
4. Together, by grace,
we witness and work,
remembering Jesus, in whom we grow strong.
Together we serve
in Spirit and truth,
remembering love is the strength of our song.
Call to Offering
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Offertory: Jubilate Deo, Peter Anglea
Translation of Latin (Psalms 100: 1, 5):
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
*Doxology #607, “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”
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
We praise and glorify your name, O God. You have given us more than we could have imagined! For tidings of joy, for wholeness received, for the gift of belonging, we thank you. Make of us, as well as these gifts, offerings of good news to the poor, hope to the hopeless, and signs of your power to welcome, reconcile, and redeem. We ask all things in the name of Christ. Amen.
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory, forever. Amen.
*Hymn #770: “I’m Gonna Eat at the Welcome Table”
1 I’m gonna eat at the welcome table;
I’m gonna eat at the welcome table,
Alleluia.
I’m gonna eat at the welcome table;
I’m gonna eat at the welcome table,
Alleluia.
2. I’m gonna eat and drink with my Jesus; . . .
3. I’m gonna join with sisters, brothers; . . .
4. Here all the world will find a welcome; . . .
5. We’re gonna feast on milk and honey; . . .
*Benediction
*Postlude
Allegro by Johann Christian Kittel
Johann Kittel (1732-1809) was a German organist, composer, and teacher and one of the last known students of Johann Sebastian Bach. His compositions are often restricted to the use of simple forms best suited for liturgical use, as his aim was to “to awaken, maintain and heighten feelings of devotion in the hearts of his hearers by means of music.”
Participants
- Jeff Bolognese,
Liturgist - Dorothy L. Boulton,
Associate Pastor - Keith and Kathy Glennan,
Audio/Video production - Wendy Johnston,
Organist and Assistant Director of Music - Greg Knauf,
Director of Music - Ken Kovacs,
Pastor - Vickie Lord,
Social media support
Sources
- Feasting on the Word, Kimberly Bracken Long, ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013)
- Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013).
- Touch Holiness, ed. by Ruth C. Duck, and Maren C. Tirabassi (Cleveland: United Church Press 1990)
- Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-734388; CCLI Copyright License B 20481088 + Streaming License B 481071