July 23, 2023
Throughout our worship series focused on a single psalm each week that becomes part of the New Testament playlist, our regular order of worship has been changed from a linear progression to a kaleidoscopic experience centering on the psalm.
Key changes and new elements include:
Embodiment: the Psalm becomes a spoken Word through deeper congruence with the emotional self.
Meditation: a five-minute moment of silence for reflection and note-taking after the Embodiment which ends with the Passing of the Peace. Please note your feelings and memories in the space provided in the bulletin.
Reflection: a homily suggesting the emotional and theological connection of a section of the psalm with a New Testament writer.
Engagement: a layperson shares how the particularities of the psalm connect, challenge, trouble, or liberate their own soul. The Engagement continues after worship in Discussion in the Gathering Place where others are invited to share their notes and “ah ha’s.” Look for a group gathering at the big table near the stained-glass windows in the Gathering Place.
Prelude: Andante from Sonata No. 12 in A-flat Major, op. 26
Beethoven
YunJoung Park, piano
Introit: Let My Soul Praise the Lord
Olson/Dorman
Lisa Phillips, soprano
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 146]
Praise the Lord! Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
Praise the Lord!
Let us worship the LORD!
Psalm 146: Praise the Lord! Sing Hallelujah!
NETTLETON/Psalter, 1887
Praise the LORD! Sing hallelujah! Come, our great Redeemer praise.
I will sing the glorious praises of my God through all my days.
Put no confidence in princes, nor on human help depend.
They shall die, to dust returning; all their thoughts and plans shall end.
Happy are the ones professing Jacob’s God to be their aid.
They are blest whose hope of blessing on the LORD their God is stayed.
Heaven and earth the LORD created, seas and all that they contain.
He delivers from oppression; righteousness he will maintain.
Food he daily gives the hungry, sets the mourning prisoner free,
Raises those bowed down with anguish, makes the sightless eyes to see.
God our Savior loves the righteous, and the stranger he befriends,
Helps the orphan and the widow, judgment on the wicked sends.
Praise the LORD! Sing hallelujah! Come, our great Redeemer praise.
I will sing the glorious praises of my God through all my days.
Over all God reigns forever; through all ages he is King.
Unto him your God, O Zion, joyful hallelujahs sing.
Confession
We praise you, O Lord, when we have experienced your goodness and compassion. Keep us willing to be surprised by you all our lives. Knowing that you care for the vulnerable, help us embrace our own vulnerabilities rather than hiding or fighting them. Forgive us when we look to human leaders and false gods for solutions and direction. Our hope is in you. Amen.
Silence
Psalm 146:5-7
CONVERSE/Psalter, 1887
Happy are the ones professing Jacob’s God to be their aid.
They are blest whose hope of blessing on the LORD their God is stayed.
Heaven and earth the LORD created, seas and all that they contain.
God delivers from oppression; righteousness he will maintain.
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Children’s Message
Solo: Allegretto Semplice from Four Songs by Amy Beach
arr. Werden
Leonard Byrne, euphonium
Embodiment: Psalm 146
Meditation (Five Minute Silent Reflection & Note-Taking)
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Gloria Patri (Hymn 579)
Greatorex
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
Word without end. Amen, Amen.
Reflection on New Testament Shared World
of Psalm 146: Acts 14:8-18
Scott Starbuck
Response: Psalm 146:4-9
Webber/Hopson
Happy are they whose hope is in
The God whom Jacob knew;
Who made the heavens, earth, and sea,
Whose promises are true.
To those oppressed, the Lord our God
Gives justice constantly;
He feeds the hungry and all those
In prison he sets free.
The Lord lifts up all those bowed down
And gives the blind new sight;
The stranger, widow, fatherless,
He strengthens by his might.
God brings the wicked to their doom,
And he will reign always;
From age to age, O Zion, sing
To God unending praise.
Engagement
Ruth Seignemartin
Pastoral Prayer & The Lord's Prayer
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.
Call to Stewardship
Scott Starbuck
This stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you. -Genesis 28:22
Offering Our Gifts: from Let My Soul Praise the Lord
Olson/Dorman
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Charge & Benediction
Postlude: Prelude and Fugue in G minor
attr. Bach
OneLicense# A-727502
CCLI# 283345
