November 19, 2023

25^th Sunday after Pentecost

10:00am

 

 

 

WELCOME

 

OPENING PRAYER

Worship the Lord with gladness,

and enter the Lord’s presence with songs of joy.

O God, the angels of heaven proclaim your glory without ceasing.

Help us as we serve you in your house,
that in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
we may sing to you with our whole heart;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

PRELUDE

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

We come before God not fearfully but adoringly,

we worship not as a slavish duty but with delight.

God has not marked us for punishment

bit for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lift up your eyes beyond anxieties and ills

to God whose glory exceeds the starry skies,

building each other up in faith and joy.

 

*HYMN No. 367                    “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”

1 Come, ye thankful people, come;
raise the song of harvest home.
All is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God, our Maker, doth provide
for our wants to be supplied.
Come to God’s own temple, come;
raise the song of harvest home.

2 All the world is God’s own field,
fruit in thankful praise to yield,
wheat and tares together sown,
unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade, and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear.
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

3 For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take the harvest home;
from each field shall in that day
all offenses purge away;
give the angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast,
but the fruitful ears to store
in God’s garner evermore.

4 Even so, Lord, quickly come
to thy final harvest home.
Gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there forever purified, 
in thy presence to abide:
come, with all thine angels, come;
raise the glorious harvest home!

 

*CALL TO CONFESSION

When we remember all the mistakes we have made, all the careless words we have spoken, all the contempt we have given to those around us, we have trouble looking God in the eye. But God gazes at us with mercy and love, waiting to forgive us, even as we hesitate to speak of the brokenness of our hearts.

 

*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

Again we must confess, Master of the Universe,
our struggles to be faithful disciples.
Entrusted with all your gifts,
we become fearful once again of misusing them,
missing the chance to be a blessing to others.
Invited to dance in the light of your love,
we stand against the wall once again,
keeping company with our old friend, sin.
Called to be emptied for those who struggle in life,
we fill ourselves once again, with scorn
for the poor choices they make.

Have mercy, Journeying God, have mercy on us.
Once again, open our eyes to your kingdom in our midst,

so we might discover that your day of hope and grace has already come in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

 

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

This is the good news: God intends for us to find life, to embrace hope, to receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our Servant.

The end of our journey is not rejection and emptiness, but the fullness of grace and hope in our God. Thanks be to God, we are forgiven. Amen.

 

*RESPONSE No. 634            “To God Be The Glory”         v.1

1 To God be the glory;
great things he has done!
So loved he the world
that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life
an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate
that all may go in.

Refrain:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord;
let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord;
let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father
through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory:
great things he has done!

 

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

When Jesus left his disciples, he did not leave them alone. He promised that the Holy Spirit would be present in their lives, and he gave them an amazing gift: his peace, the peace of Christ. Through the Spirit, this gift lives still, and it is ours to share with others. May we be reminded of the gift Christ offers with these words:

“The peace of Christ is yours today!”

And also with you.

 

ANTHEM                   “A Thanksgiving Prayer”                  Don Besig

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

 

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Prepare our hearts, O God,

to accept your Word.

Silence in us any voice but your own,

that, hearing, we may also obey your will;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

SCRIPTURE               1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

5Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.3When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.

 

6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.

 

11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

 

 

Pause…

 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

 

SERMON                   “Peace and Security”

 

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH           

This is the good news which we have received,

 in which we stand,
and by which we are saved,
if we hold it fast:

that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day,

and that he appeared

first to the women,
then to Peter, and to the Twelve,

and then to many faithful witnesses.

We believe that Jesus is the Christ,

 the Son of the living God.
Jesus Christ is the first and the last,

the beginning and the end;

he is our Lord and our God. Amen.

 

*HYMN No. 649                   “Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound”

1 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.

2 ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!

3 Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come.
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.

4 The Lord has promised good to me;
his word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.

5 When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
bright shining as the sun,
we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
than when we’d first begun.

 

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

We pray now as you taught your disciples, 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, for ever. Amen.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

OFFERING OF TITHES & OFFERINGS

Blessed are you, God of all creation;
through your goodness we have these gifts to share.

Accept and use our offerings for your glory
and for the service of your kingdom. Blessed be God forever.

 

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

Almighty and merciful God,
from whom comes all that is good,

we praise you for your mercies,
for your goodness that has created us,

your grace that has sustained us,
your discipline that has corrected us,

your patience that has borne with us,

and your love that has redeemed us.

Help us to love you,

and to be thankful for all your gifts

by serving you and delighting to do your will,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

*HYMN No. 643                    “Now Thank We All Our God”

1 Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done,
in whom this world rejoices;
who, from our mothers’ arms,
hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.

2 O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us;
and keep us in God’s grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills
in this world and the next.

3 All praise and thanks to God,
who reigns in highest heaven,
to Father and to Son
and Spirit now be given:
the one eternal God,
whom heaven and earth adore,
the God who was, and is,
and shall be evermore.

 

*BENEDICTION

Go now, and live as children of the light.
Put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Make the most of all God has given you
and encourage one another in Christ.

And may God’s hand be open to you in kindness;
May Christ Jesus welcome you into his joy;
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with courage, vigilance and faithfulness.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,