Order of Worship September 26

 

 

CENTERING PRAYER

 

God of unquenchable fire and overflowing grace, cast out the evil that oppresses us; take away the things that make us stumble. Lead us into your realm of life and season us with your peace; in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRELUDE (Sunday Worship) Fanfare and Duel Parker 

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 124)

 

If it had not been for God, who was on our side,

we would have fallen prey to those who want to harm us;

we would have been swept away by sadness and fear.

Blessed be the Lord, our protector.

Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Blessed be God’s holy name!

† HYMN      “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart!”      Hymnal #804 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

God of unity, we live in a world where our lives move between who is “in” and who is “out”. We remove ourselves from those who do not think like us, act like us, or look like us. Forgive our need to reject and to define one another by our differences. Renew our hearts with unconditional love and compassion and give us your eyes so we may see the beauty in all. (Silent Confession)

 

ASSURANCE OF GRACE 

† SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST 

The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you. 

†GLORY TO GOD      Hymnal #582 

TIME WITH CHILDREN (Sunday Worship) (Children 5th grade and younger may leave to attend Sunday School) 

SCRIPTURE James 5:13-20 

SERMON “Covering Up” Rev. Dr. Dave Burgess 

† AFFIRMATION OF FAITH 

The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. 

OFFERING I Believe in Someday Martin 

Chancel Choir Lisa Marsh, Soloist 

† THE DOXOLOGY      Hymnal #606 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER Hymnal p. 35

 † HYMN      “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”      Hymnal #465 

† CHARGE AND BLESSING 

† BENEDICTION “You Shall Go Out With Joy” Hymnal #80

 POSTLUDE (Sunday Worship) Grand Epilogue Broughton 

† You are invited to stand, as you are able

Scripture for September 26

 James 5:13-20

The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Daily Prayer September 24

 God is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for God's good pleasure.

Daily Readings for Friday, September 24, 2021

• Morning Psalms 88; 148
• First Reading 2 Kings 9:17-37
• Second Reading 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
• Gospel Reading Matthew 6:7-15
• Evening Psalms 6; 20

God our creator, yours is the morning and yours is the evening. Let Christ the sun of righteousness shine forever in our hearts and draw us to that light where you live in radiant glory. O Lord, our creator, by your holy prophet you taught your ancient people to seek the welfare of the cities in which they lived. We commend our neighborhood to your care, that it might be kept free from social strife and decay. Give us strength of purpose and concern for others, that we may create here a community of justice and peace where your will may be done God of glory, you see how all creation groans in labor as it awaits redemption. As we work for and await your new creation, we trust that you will answer our prayers with grace, and fulfill your promise that all things work together for good for those who love you. (Add your prayers.) Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

(Opening sentences, prayers, and blessings are from the Book of Common Worship. Readings are from the daily lectionary in Daily Prayer. Both are published by Westminster/John Knox Press.)

Book Club Selection for 2021-2022

 Dear Fellow Book Lovers,

Thank you all for your wonderful nominations.  It was terrific to see you and I hope everyone can join us virtually or in-person as we venture back to Church.  I think there may always be a place for virtual, but we can’t ignore our need for togetherness as we meet and enjoy each other and share our love of books.  Here are the books we chose.  

The women of St. Mark's PW will be meeting the fourth Wednesday except Nov and Jul. Meetings are Virtual and Rm 102 as feasible.  Contact J Richardson for more information.  Those leading the discussion are in parentheses ( )

Oct 27 Nomadland   by Jessica Bruder (A Crippen )

Nov No Meeting 

Dec 08 Hidden Secrets at the Little Village Church   by Tracy Rees (J Richardson)

Jan 26 How the Light Gets In   by Jolina Petersheim (  C Noble )

Feb 23 Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly( S Cardwell)

Mar 23 A Woman of No Importance   by Sonia Purnell  (H Berger)

Apr 27 The Midnight Library   by Matt Haig (P Eisenberg)

May 25 West with Giraffes  byLynda Rutledge (M Powell)

Jun 22 This Tender Land  by William Kent Kruger (L  Smith) 

July No Meeting 

Aug 24 The Children’s Blizzard  by Melanie Benjamin (N Sutch)

 Sep 22 Book Selection

Order of Worship September 19

CENTERING PRAYER

God of the first and the last, give us strength of mind, that we might walk the path of obedience and discipleship without wasting our time thinking about who is more important. Instead, guide our thoughts and our emotions that we may be like children, totally dependent on you, welcoming all with hospitality and love. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. 

PRELUDE      Concerto in C      Ernst/Bach 

                          BWV 984 

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS 

 

OPENING WORDS / CALL TO WORSHIP  

Happy are the people 

who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that they follow, or sit in the seat of people who make fun of others. 

Their delight is in the law of the Lord, 

and they meditate on God’s law, day and night. 

The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, 

but the way of the wicked will perish. 

† HYMN      “Now Thank We All Our God”      Hymnal #643

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION  

God of wisdom, forgive our foolishness. We desire what we do not need and corrupt our relationships with envy. You urge us to gentleness, but we stir up conflict. Give us your grace, that we may harvest righteousness and peace, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Teacher, we pray. Amen. 

ASSURANCE OF GRACE 

† SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST 

The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.

 †GLORY TO GOD      Hymnal #582 

TIME WITH CHILDREN (Sunday Worship) (Children 5th grade and younger may leave to attend Sunday School)

SCRIPTURE      James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a 

SERMON   “Draw Near to God” 

AFFRIMATION OF FAITH Excerpts from The Scots Confession 3.08 

Since the opposition between the justice of God and our sins was such that no flesh by itself could or might have attained unto God, it behooved the Son of God to descend unto us and take himself a body of our body, flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone. By this most holy brotherhood whatever we have lost in Adam is restored again. Therefore, we are not afraid to call God our Father...because he has given us the only Son to be our brother. 

 OFFERING    Bless God’s Holy Name      Kosche      Chancel Choir Bell Ringers: 

Terry Smith, Liz Sprague, Jean Steward

† THE DOXOLOGY 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER 

† HYMN      “Blessed Assurance”      Hymnal #839 

† CHARGE AND BLESSING 

† BENEDICTION      “You Shall Go Out With Joy”      Hymnal #80 

POSTLUDE (Sunday Worship) Fugue in Lydian Mode Bender Op. 29, No. 16 

† You are invited to stand, as you are able

Scripture for September 19

 

James 3:13-4:3

Two Kinds of Wisdom

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Submit Yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James 4:7-8

New International Version

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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Thank you Mohamed Nohassi for photo on Unsplash