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Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost
- Date: Sunday, August 20, 2023
- Time: 9:30am–10:30am
- Location: Fellowship Hall
Order of Worship
August 20, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Prelude
“Prelude in C Major,” (from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1) BWV 846, by J.S. Bach
*Call to Worship
*Hymn #667, “When Morning Guilds the Skies”
1. When morning gilds the skies,
my heart awaking cries:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer
to Jesus I repair:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
2. Does sadness fill my mind?
A solace here I find:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Or fades my earthly bliss?
My comfort still is this:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
3. Let earth’s wide circle round
in joyful notes resound:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Let air and sea and sky
from depth to height reply:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
4. Be this, while life is mine,
my canticle divine:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this the eternal song
through all the ages long:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Opening Prayer
We rise this day in the power of your Holy Spirit, O God.
We lift up our hands, our hearts, and our songs to praise you, O Christ.
Be for us today, our Savior,
the guardian in our weakness,
a friend on our journey,
and our aim for all we seek to do.
May all who speak to us say, “Peace;”
May all to whom we speak hear, “Love.”
Whether the day is bright or gloomy, be our light.
Then, when the night begins to fall, bid us home – be our home,
that we may find our rest in you, O Three in One. Amen.
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
God our refuge, you hear our cries for mercy. You lift the lowly and offer hope to the hopeless. But we, who benefit from your grace, do not emulate you and your ways. We are quick to condemn, exaggerate, critique, and act mercilessly. We confess the ways we demean and dehumanize others. We pray for your forgiveness. Amen.
Silent Prayer of Confession
Assurance of pardon
Hear this good news from the prophet Isaiah: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God!
*Response of Praise: Hymn #581, “Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me”
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen, amen.
*Passing of the Peace
Life in Community
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Children’s Message
Prayer for Illumination
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us. Open us to your life-giving Word. Quiet the voices within us that do not align with your will. Focus our minds on the message you intend for us, so we may faithfully discern your way. Amen.
Scripture: Proverbs 25:20
Like vinegar on a wound
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,
sorrow gnaws at the human heart.
Sermon
“Don’t Sing Sings to a Heavy Heart” Rev. Dorothy L. Boulton
Hymn #692: “Spirit, Open My Heart”
Refrain:
Spirit, open my heart
to the joy and pain of living.
As you love may I love,
in receiving and in giving.
Spirit, open my heart.
1. God, replace my stony heart
with a heart that’s kind and tender.
All my coldness and fear
to your grace I now surrender. (Refrain)
2. Write your love upon my heart
as my law, my goal, my story.
In each thought, word, and deed,
may my living bring you glory. (Refrain)
3. May I weep with those who weep;
share the joy of sister, brother.
In the welcome of Christ,
may we welcome one another. (Refrain)
Call to Offering
Offertory
“His Eye is On the Sparrow,” Charles H. Gabriel, arr. Mark Hayes
*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
Gracious God, the gifts we offer reflect only a portion of all that you have given us. Take these offerings, we pray, and multiply them for your use. May our offerings be a blessing to those most in need, to those most vulnerable. May our offerings, given in a spirit of generosity, abate the desire to hoard and spread the desire to share. 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 #541: “God Be With You”
1. God be with you till we meet again;
loving counsels guide, uphold you,
with a shepherd’s care enfold you:
God be with you till we meet again.
2. God be with you till we meet again;
unseen wings protecting hide you,
daily manna still provide you:
God be with you till we meet again.
3. God be with you till we meet again;
when life’s perils thick confound you,
put unfailing arms around you:
God be with you till we meet again.
4. God be with you till we meet again;
keep love’s banner floating o’er you;
smite death’s threatening wave before you:
God be with you till we meet again.
*Benediction
Postlude
“Lord, I Know I Been Changed,” (Traditional American spiritual) arr. Larry Shackley
Participants
- Dorothy L. Boulton
Associate Pastor - Keith and Kathy Glennan,
Ruling Elders, video production - Wendy Johnston,
Organist and Assistant Director of Music - Greg Knauf,
Director of Music - Kenneth E. Kovacs,
Pastor - Norman Lazarus,
Liturgist - Vickie Lord,
Social media support - Dottie Marshall,
Sanctuary set up - Reid Spearman,
Vocalist
Sources
- Teri McDowell Ott, The Presbyterian Outlook (Richmond, VA: 2023).
- Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013).
- 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