May 26, 2024

TRINITY SUNDAY

10:00am

 

WELCOME

 

OPENING PRAYER

Loving God, you sent your son Jesus
to lead us in faith to everlasting life.
Give us new birth by water and the Spirit

so that we may enter your eternal realm;

through Jesus Christ our Savior,
and in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

 

PRELUDE                   “The Trumpet of the Morning”                   Franklin Ritter

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

God’s thunder sets the oak trees dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.

We fall to our knees — we call out, “Glory!”

Above the floodwaters is God’s throne from which power flows,
from which God rules the world.

God makes people strong. God gives people peace.

Let us worship God!

 

*HYMN No. 1             “Holy, Holy, Holy!”              vs. 1-3

1 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

2 Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

3 Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinfulness thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity.

 

*CALL TO CONFESSION

The separation we feel from God’s Spirit is not our ultimate reality. Acknowledging those things that distract us from God’s call on our lives can re-center our work, our play, and the flourishing of the community. Let us confess responsively that which we may need to acknowledge in order that we may live fully.

 

*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

For times we embrace war when you call for peace.

Forgive us.

For times we dehumanize our neighbor instead of loving them.

Forgive us.

For times we serve powers and principalities rather than you, our Servant Savior.

Forgive us.

For times we domesticate you to our national or tribal identities.

Forgive us.

For selectively hearing your good news of grace for us without considering the same for others.

Forgive us.

For seeing ourselves less than the full person you created in beauty with delight.

Forgive us and grant us peace.

 

*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

 

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

*RESPONSE No. 1                 “Holy, Holy, Holy!”              v.4

4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

 

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.

To this peace we were called as members of a single body.

 

The peace of Christ be with you.

And also with you.

 

ANTHEM                   “A Home Over Jordan”                     arr. John Purifoy

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

 

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Please join me in the unison prayer…

May these words read be the soil from which the mystery of your presence in our world and in our lives may emerge. May your wisdom flower within the yet still broken vessels of our flesh that, body, and spirit, we may flourish with you in joy in order that the world, the very cosmos, may be born again.

 

SCRIPTURE               Romans 8:12-25

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. ¹⁸I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; ²⁰for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; ²³and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

 

Pause…

 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

 

SERMON                   “Unconditional Love”

In this Sunday’s epistle reading, Paul’s use of the word “adoption” offers an opportunity to discuss how children become part of families. Again, this is risky business. I know that the mere mention of the word “adoption” or “childbirth” will cause some in the congregation to recall their own infertility problems, adoptions, loss of children or parents. But reckoning with the genuine depths of God’s grace compels us to speak a word of hope.

Most scholars agree that Paul borrowed the concept of adoption from Greek or Roman law. The Jews did not practice adoption, and the word never appears in the Hebrew scriptures. In The Epistle to the Romans, Leon Morris says adoption is “a useful word for Paul, for it signifies being granted the full rights and privileges of [belonging to] a family [in] which one does not belong by nature.”

What does this mean? The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way. We now: “…enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God; have His name put upon them, receive the Spirit of adoption; have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled to cry, Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by Him, as by a father; yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption, and inherit the promises, as heirs of everlasting salvation.”

One is not born a Christian; one becomes a Christian. This reminds me of my six-year-old friend Ken’lei, who was not born a Smith, but became a Smith when her parents adopted her.

Leon Morris continues, “This is a good illustration of one aspect of Paul’s understanding of what it means to become a Christian. The believer is admitted into the heavenly family,” a family to which the believer has no rights of his or her own. Not only did the concept of adoption help Paul explain how gentiles and Jews could be part of the same family of God, but it also allowed him to emphasize that salvation is not achieved through birthright but through God’s act of grace alone.

An adopted child is received as a gift by her new family, just as the adopting family is a gift to the child. In the same way, the spirit of adoption that Paul commends to the reader is one of gift. It is Paul’s way of describing the gift God gives to us in Christ.

Andy and Michelle Smith know this gift well. They have adopted two children. One was born with severe drug withdrawal. Another came from a single mother that needed to put her son up for adoption. Each, in his or her unique way, is a gift to the Smith’s, and the

Smith’s family a gift to each of them. Their experience of adoption has given the Smith’s a special understanding or what it is like to receive God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ.

The intimacy with God the parent is apparent in the use of the name “Abba.” When we cry “Abba! Father!” says Paul, the Holy Spirit is bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. His use of “Abba” recalls Jesus’ use of the word in Mark’s Gospel. Biblical scholars explains that “the word is from the babbling of a little child (like ‘papa’) and is the familiar term used in the home.” Jesus probably used this word in the Lord’s Prayer and, when he did so, he was giving his followers “the privilege of being in the heavenly family and of addressing God in this warm and friendly way.”

We are brought near to the heart of God through the spirit of adoption, and not shut in the back room to make way for the “real” children, whoever we think the real children may be. Sometimes we think the elders in the church, pious Christians, pastors or other brave souls who make sacrifices for their faith are the real Christians, the real children of God. But Paul says, “we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” Through the spirit of adoption, we become part of the family, and are invited forward to whisper “Mommy” or “Daddy” into the ear of our great parent, the one true God. We don’t have to wait in the back room.

If our relationship with God is in the spirit of adoption—if God is the gracious parent who freely and lovingly chooses to parent us—might this concept, then challenge our own cultural assumptions about “real” parenthood? The modern American legal system favors the rights of biological families, and tends to try to keep biological families intact. In recent televised legal battles, juries returned an adopted child to a biological parent years after the adoption had been finalized. Does that action fit with a Christian understanding of God’s family, where all of us are adopted and none has a birthright? If we say God’s love for us is like that of a parent and Christian community is like family, aren’t we saying that adoptive relationships are as worthwhile as biological relationships?

If our families of origin invoke pain and suffering in our hearts (our experience of the flesh, as Paul would say), we can be comforted by the knowledge that we are adopted into another family—literally, as is the case for the Smith’s, or spiritually and ultimately, for everyone who becomes a Christian and is redeemed by God in Christ. Whatever our experience of family loss and brokenness or love and healthy relationship, we will always belong to God.  We are loved unconditionally and welcomed into God’s family!!

 

Commentary and Liturgy from the Book of Common Worship (PCUSA), “Call to Worship” Website, Stan Mast, Kyle Walker, David Lose, Teri McDowell, PCUSA Book of Confession, and The New Interpreter’s Commentary

 

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                        The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 

*HYMN No. 337                     “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”
1 My country, ’tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing:
land where my *fathers died,
land of the pilgrims’ pride,
from every mountainside
let freedom ring.

2 My native country, thee,
land of the noble free,
thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods and templed hills;
my heart with rapture thrills
like that above.

3 Let music swell the breeze,
and ring from all the trees
sweet freedom’s song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
let all that breathe partake;
let rocks their silence break,
the sound prolong.

4 Our *fathers’ God, to thee,
author of liberty,
to thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
with freedom’s holy light;
protect us by thy might,
great God, our King.

 

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PAYER

On this weekend of remembering, let us raise our consciousness toward those who have lost their lives in war this year and every year. May the people of our land and every land experience respect, reverence, and reconciliation in the memory of those who have fallen. May we hear a call to build your realm where war is no longer necessary, and peace is no longer considered unrealistic idealism.

 

May we channel our pride and patriotism toward critical self-reflection concerning our ideals as a nation so that we honor those who have passed on by becoming the best reflection of your peaceful will in the world.

 

On this day, let us take a moment for silent reflection, memory, and honor of those who have given their lives in service to their country…. (suggested 30 seconds or more of silence).

 

Keep us vigilant in our care and love of one another.  Remind us that it is in building peace that we show true strength. Encourage us that it is in conveying love that we bring hope to the future. Compel us into serving others that we may bring your power to the weakest among us.

 

We love you. We thank you. We praise you. In the name of the Prince of Peace, our Savior, who taught us to pray: “Our Father, …”.

 

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, for ever. Amen

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

OFFERING OF TITHES & OFFERINGS

This is a time to pray and discern how God may be asking you to use the blessings of your life to build up God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Those blessings may be your money, your time, or a skill you have worked to gain over time. God gave us all these blessings. Would you consider sharing some part these blessings for God’s purpose in this world? Let us pray. Let us discern. Let us give.

 

OFFERTORY

 

*RESPONSE N0. 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

Teach us to give our whole lives to you. May the treasure become not the money gathered here but the mission of your love in the world all our gifts co-create with you. For the giver, the gift, and the soon gifted, we give you thanks and praise. Amen.

 

*HYMN No. 340                    “This Is My Song”

1 This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

2 My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
So hear my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.

3 This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth’s kingdoms:
thy kingdom come; on earth thy will be done.
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him,
and hearts united learn to live as one.
So hear my prayer, O God of all the nations:
myself I give thee; let thy will be done.

 

*BENEDICTION

Put aside your certainties and give room this day for mystery. Make space for the holy to grow your faith around, within, and perhaps in spite of the assumptions you have always had. Allow the Spirit space to be born again in your life in the days ahead.

 

And may God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer who we also call Father, Son and Holy Spirit be and abide with you all this day and forevermore. Amen.