The Presbyterian Church at Woodbury

February 07, 2021
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
9:30 am

PRAYER OF PREPARATION

Most wonderful God,
we praise you for the riches of love that enable us to come together
in this house of prayer to celebrate your goodness.
Please lead our truant minds away from petty concerns to larger commitments,
away from tiredness or apathy towards a sense of awe and wonder,
away from self-obsession to the holy intoxication of your awesome beauty,
humble power, and your unspeakable love.
We realize we never seem be able to thank, praise and enjoy you
to the heights that we should,
but we do pray to be able give you the best worship that at this
time is possible.
Through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen!

PRELUDE

CALL TO WORSHIP

Troubled prophets and struggling families,
you listen to our voices, whoever we are.
There is no one like you, God of the listening heart.
Those who live in fear, and those who look for signs,
you fill us with hope and surprises.
There is no one like you, God of steadfast love.
Seekers of power, as well as those who serve the vulnerable,
you challenge us to use our gifts for others.
There is no one like you, God of all people. 

Click for: HYMN No. 409 “God Is Here”

CALL TO RECONCILIATION

We struggle daily with that human tendency to always do wrong, say hurtful things, turn our back to others.  But God will never hold our sins against us or our foolish nature.  Let us confess to our God, who frees us forever from judgment, as we pray,

PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS

In baptism, we are promised new life, God of  grace, yet we continue to focus on those old ways which are so comfortable and seductive.  We are so good at fooling others that we are convinced we can trick you as well.  We have been called to walk with you, and run down those paths paved with foolishness and fears. Forgive us, God of steadfast love.  You have claimed our lives in baptism, so we might be set free from sin and be raised to new life.  Just as you save us, so give us the strength to be willing to take up whatever task you give us, and the faith to be willing to lose our lives for others, so we might find life forever with you, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

Silence is observed

RESPONSE

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

This is the good news:  God hears our prayers, our cries, our hearts.  And, in Christ, we receive new life.  We are free, free to walk in the Light of the Lord.
So, this is what we will do.  We will open our hearts to God’s grace; we will live as people who have died to sin and who live for Christ.  Amen. 

PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Our peace comes from knowing how much God loves us in Jesus Christ. With God’s help, we try to love and forgive one another as Christ loves and forgives us.
“The peace of Christ be with you,”
“And also with you.”

ANTHEM      “Living Bread”     Williamson

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

(all children will remain in the sanctuary)

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

O Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, full of compassion and maker of peace, you lived in poverty and suffered persecution for the cause of justice. You chose the Cross as the path to glory to show us the way of salvation.  May we receive the word of the Gospel joyfully  and live by your example as heirs and citizens of your kingdom. Amen.

SCRIPTURE              Romans 6:1-11

6 What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸ But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

SERMON                    Rev. Dr. Martha Moore-Keish

Click to download Professor Matha Moore-Keish pre-recorded sermon

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

“The sacraments confirm the Word of God. “

We believe that at the Lord’s supper the community of believers is renewed by the memory of Christ’s life and death, by his real presence in the power of the Holy Spirit, and by the promise of his coming again. Christ makes himself known to us in the breaking of bread. He offers us his body broken for our sake and his blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins. We accept his promises and gifts and depend on his life to sustain ours. In turn we offer ourselves in thanksgiving to the risen Lord who has conquered death. So we celebrate his victory here and now and anticipate the joyous feast in his coming kingdom. Reunited around one loaf and cup, we receive strength and courage to continue our pilgrimage with God in the world.

Click for:HYMN “We Know that Christ is Raised” (Glory to God #485)

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

Invitation

Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God!
They will come from east and west,
and from north and south,
and sit at table in the kingdom of God.
According to Luke,
when our risen Lord was at table with his disciples,
he took the bread, and blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened
and they recognized him.

This is the Lord’s table.
Our Savior invites those who trust him
to share the feast which he has prepared.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

We praise you, for in Jesus Christ,
the mystery of the Word made flesh,
you sent a light to shine upon the world,
that we might be brought out of darkness
into your marvelous light.

Therefore we praise you
joining our voices with choirs of angels,
and with all the faithful of every time and place,
who forever sing to the glory of your name:

Holy, holy, holy God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

You are holy, O God of majesty,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
In Jesus, born of Mary, your Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
He lived as one of us, knowing joy and sorrow.
He healed the sick,
fed the hungry,
opened blind eyes,
and broke bread with outcasts and sinners.
Dying on the cross,
he gave himself for the life of the world.
Raised from the grave,
he won for us victory over death.
We praise you that Christ now reigns with you
and will come again to make all things new.

We give you thanks that the Lord Jesus
on the night before he died,
took bread,
and after giving thanks to you,
he 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,
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this in remembrance of me.

Remembering your gracious acts in Jesus Christ,
we take this bread and wine
from the gifts you have given us,
and joyfully celebrate his dying and rising,
as we await the day of his coming.
With thanksgiving, we offer our very selves to you
to be a living and holy sacrifice,
dedicated to your service.

According to his commandment:

We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory.

Gracious God,
pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these your gifts of bread and wine,
that the bread we break
and the cup we bless
may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ.
By your Spirit make us one with all who share this feast,
united in ministry in every place.
As this bread is Christ’s body for us,
send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.

Give us strength to serve you faithfully
until we feast with you and all your people
in the fullness of your joy.

We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying, 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, forever. Amen.

Break Bread & Pour Cup

Creator of all,
just as this broken bread
was first scattered upon the hills,
then was gathered and became one,

so may your church be gathered
from the ends of the earth into the kingdom.

Communion

Closing Prayer

Gracious God,
you have made us one with all your people in heaven and on earth.
You have fed us with the bread of life
and renewed us for your service.
Help us who have shared Christ’s body and received his cup,
to be his faithful disciples
so that our daily living
may be part of the life of your kingdom,
and our love be your love
reaching out into the life of the world;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OFFERING OF TITHES & OFFERINGS

Our ancestors in faith gathered together long ago to remember, to be restored, to be renewed.  They shared their story, prayed together, and made an offering to God as they prepared to set out on the long journey to freedom in the Promised Land. Today we gather to remember and to pray together, to be restored and renewed, and we bring our offerings so the ministry of this church will continue to participate in the saving works of God.  Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

OFFERTORY

RESPONSE

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

We thank You for another chance to meet in Your house to worship You.  We pray that all offerings given today are out of love.  We experience Your blessings every day and Your blessings are always given to us freely.  Bless these tithes and offerings today.  We love you!  Amen.

Click for: HYMN No. 498 “Loaves Were Broken, Words Were Spoken”

BENEDICTION

As you leave this place, remember that you may be the only grace
someone will meet this week.
We go, to share God’s graciousness with all.
Remember you may be the only love someone will encounter this week.
We go, to be the love of Jesus for all.
Remember you may be the only peace  someone will find this week.
We go, to share the Spirit of hope and reconciliation with all.