Please Prepare Your Communion Elements
For Reflection
“If you want to build a ship, don’t 1st drum up people for labor, and don’t assign them tasks, but rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
The Prelude
The Welcome, News and Announcements
The Introit
The Responsive Call to Worship Gale Miller
We come to You imperfect and in need of forgiveness, blessed One.
Help us to face the cost of forgiveness.
In speaking the truth, uncovering lies, deceit and hypocrisy, give us courage to name what is good and what is evil. God of judgement and grace,
Help us to face the cost of forgiveness.
In standing up against evil, confronting it in others and owning it in ourselves, give us the strength to pursue justice. God of justice and grace,
Help us to face the cost of forgiveness.
In the fulfillment of justice, repenting wrongdoing and accepting the consequences, give us the gift of forgiveness. God of goodness and grace,
Help us to face the cost of forgiveness.
In forgiving and being forgiven, released from shame and able to begin again, give us the growth of healing. God of mercy and grace,
Help us to worship you, O Great God of Reconciliation, who pays the cost of forgiveness.
The Unison Prayer of Confession
O Divine Healer, we confess that sometimes we yearn for you to wave a magic wand over our wounded lives to remove our pain, illness, and suffering. We hear the gospel story of the one seeking healing from Jesus and assume you will perform a similar miracle for all of us – if we just pray hard enough! And we do pray! Open our eyes to recognize the teachings and tools you have given us with which to seek healing in the midst of our afflictions and diseases. You whisper to us that wholeness requires selfcare and rest; You breathe into us energy to move and stretch and reach toward health; You place in us an urgency to seek justice so that all may enjoy adequate health care; Renew our spirits in the midst of our dis-eases and afflicting spirits. Transform us, O Holy One, for the health of your creation. We pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to boldly pray:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy will be done, thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin 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, Amen.
The Hymn #275 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing.
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe.
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He.
Lord Sabboth, his name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure.
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers
Not thanks to them, abideth.
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also.
The body they may kill,
God’s truth abideth still.
His kingdom is forever…
The Hebrew Scripture Lesson
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord!
We will give thanks to the Lord with our whole hearts,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it[a] have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.
The New Testament Lesson
Mark 1:21-28
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He[a] commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
The Hymn #846 “Fight the Good Fight”
Fight the good fight with all thy might;
Christ is thy Strength, and Christ thy Right;
Lay hold on life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.
Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face;
Life with it’s way before us lies,
Christ is the Path, and Christ the Prize.
Cast care aside, upon thy Guide,
Lean, and His mercy will provide;
Lean, and the trusting soul shall prove
Christ is it’s Life, and Christ it’s Love.
Faint not nor fear, His arms are near,
He changeth not, and thou art dear.
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee.
We Proclaim God’s Word
Prayer of Illumination
The Meditation “Unwanted Loud Noises and Boisterous Actions in the Sanctuary”The Endless Immensity of the Christ
Music for Meditation
We Respond to God’s Word
The Offertory
The Offertory Anthem
The Doxology
The Unison Prayer of Dedication
By giving away some of the wealth we cherish so much, we keep ourselves focused on who you are, gracious God, and on what you expect of us. As the body of Christ, we seek to be a healing force in our world. May the offerings we present be used in ways that encourage healthful behaviors among us in the church, within our community, and as far as our influence can reach. Receive us and our gifts, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Service of Holy Communion
The Invitation to the Table
The Hymn Solo Amanda Riley
The Prayer on the Occasion of the Lord’s Supper
Let us recall the words of Christ at the last supper: “Let not your hearts be troubled… I will not leave you comfortless.”
Please pray with me.
Eternal God, holy and mighty, it is our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise. You sent your only begotten son to be for us the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus taught those who would hear him, healed those who drew near to him, received all who saw him, and lifted their burdens of oppression. We glorify you for your great power and love at work in Christ is the same for us today in this very hour! By his suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made us a new people by water and the Spirit.
Come now, O Holy Spirit and make these your gifts of bread, wine, and that which each and everyone brings to the table from their homes – make them to be the communion of the body and the blood of Christ. And as these elements are Christ’s body for us, send us out to be the body of Christ in the world. Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and power and honor are yours, eternal God, now and forever, amen.
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
The Apostle Paul reported what he had learned that the Lord Jesus, on the night before he died, took bread, and after giving thanks to God Almighty, he blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, “take, eat, this is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. “
In the same way he took the cup, saying, “this cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shedding the forgiveness of sins for you. Whenever you drink of it, do so in remembrance of me.”
Sharing of the Bread and Cup
The Silent, Intercessory and Pastoral Prayer
We Go Forth in God’s Name
The Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
The Sending Hymn #747, “The Lord Now Sends Us Forth”
The Lord now sends us forth with hands to serve and give,
to make of all the earth a better place to live.
The angels are not sent into our world of pain
to do what we were meant to do in Jesus’ name;
that falls to you and me and all who are made free,
Help us, O Lord, we pray, to do your will today.
The Postlude
Attributions
Call to Worship adapted and reprinted from Bare Feet & Buttercups, Jan Berry; Invocation adapted and reprinted from Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel; Unison Prayer of Dedication reprinted from Led by Love by Lavon Bayler.
Kristin Parry, Administrative Assistant
Joseph Pepper, Music Director & Keyboardist
Daniel J. Russell, Interim Pastor
69 East Main Street, P.O. Box 597, Trumansburg, NY 14886
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