April 24 Worship
Introit: Be Not Afraid
Taizé Community/Berthier
Be not afraid; sing out for joy! Christ is risen, alleluia!
Be not afraid; sing out for joy! Christ is risen, alleluia!
(repeat)
Presentation/Call to Worship
[Gal. 3:27, Eph. 4:4]
As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as we were called to the one hope of our calling.
We remember with joy our common calling to serve Christ,
and we celebrate God’s particular call to our brothers and sisters.
Let us worship the LORD!
Processional: Holy Spirit, Lord of Love (Hymn 524)
Hintze/Maclagen
Holy Spirit, Lord of love, who descended from above,
Gifts of blessing to bestow on your waiting church below,
Once again in love draw near to your servants gathered here;
From their bright baptismal day you have led them on their way.
Christ is Risen! Alleluia! (Hymn 104)
Beethoven/Wren
& You, O Lord, Have Bound Together
Starbuck/Bodinger
Christ is risen! Alleluia! Celebrate this day of days!
Christ is risen! Hush in wonder: all creation is amazed.
In the desert all-surrounding, see, a spreading tree has grown.
Healing leaves of grace abounding bring a taste of love unknown.
You, O Lord, have bound together old and young, your church today.
You have called us, You are forming Mission-People for your way.
Do your mighty works within us, so disciples we may be,
Sharing all your love, forgiveness, living with integrity.
God, Creator; God, Redeemer; God, Sustainer, Triune God,
God, our hope, you show us vision. Guide us in this world we trod,
Build community with people – called, though whom the world may shun.
With Christ-Jesus, living, praying, “Not our will, but yours be done.”
Confession
Mighty and merciful God, you have called us to be your people and claimed us for the service of Jesus Christ. We confess that we have not lived up to our calling. We have been timid and frightened disciples, forgetful of your powerful presence and the strength of your Spirit among us. O God, forgive our foolish and sinful ways. As you have chosen us and claimed us in our baptism, strengthen us anew to choose Christ’s way in this world. Give us your Holy Spirit that each one in ministry may be provided with all the gifts of grace needed to fulfill our common calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Silence
Lord, When I Came Into This Life (Hymn 522)
American folk melody/Kaan
Lord, when I came into this life you called me by my name;
Today I come, commit myself, responding to your claim.
In all the tensions of my life, between my faith and doubt,
Let your great Spirit give me hope, sustain me, lead me out.
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Children’s Message
Giving our Gifts to God
Scott Starbuck
Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. -Romans 12:13
Musical Offering: As I Hear the Sweet Lark Sing
DeLong
Mango Walk
Berg
Members of Grazioso Choir, from Spokane Area Youth Choirs
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Readings
Betsy Hammond
Old Testament: Isaiah 6
Link Here
New Testament: 1 Peter 4:7–11
Link Here
Sermon: Biblical Leadership
Focus: Here I Am -- Send me.
Ordination and Installation of Elders and Deacons
Introduction
Litany
There are different gifts,
but it is the same spirit who gives them.
There are different ways of serving God,
but it is the same Lord who is served.
God works through different persons in different ways,
but it is the same God who achieves His purpose through them all.
Each one is given a gift by the Spirit,
to use it for the common good.
Together we are the body of Christ,
and individually members of the body.
Though we have different gifts, together we are a ministry of reconciliation
led by the risen Christ…and if any wants to be first among you,
that one must become the slave of all!
Just as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life to set others free.
Presentation of the Leaders Elect
Constitutional Questions
Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
I do.
Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the church universal, and God’s word to you? I do.
Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God? I do and I will.
Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and continually guided by our confessions? I will.
Will you be governed by our church’s polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit? I will.
Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world? I will.
Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church? I do.
Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love? I will.
Betsy, Judy, Mila, and Rick, will you be faithful elders, watching over the people, providing for their worship, nurture and service? Will you share in government and discipline, serving in governing bodies of the church, and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ? I will.
Jeff and John, will you be faithful deacons, teaching charity, urging concern, and directing the people’s help to the friendless and those in need? In your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ? I will.
Constitutional Questions to the Congregation
Do we, members of the church, accept Betsy Hammond, Judy Stafstrom, Mila Russell, Rick Lanphear, Jeff Johnson, and John Lemm as elders and deacons, chosen by God through the voice of this congregation, to lead us in the way of Jesus Christ?
If so, answer, “We do.”
Prayer
Welcome
Here I Am Lord (Hymn 525)
Schutte
I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry,
All who dwell in deepest sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Refrain:
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them, they turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them. Whom shall I send? (refrain)
Charge & Benediction
Postlude: At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing
SALZBURG, arr. Callahan
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