March 23, 2025
Prelude: Siciliana
J. S. Bach
Jennifer Brummett, horn
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 139]
O Lord, you have searched us and known us. You know when we sit down and when we rise up; you discern our thoughts from far away.
You search out our path and our lying down, and are acquainted with all our ways.
Even before a word is on our tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.
For it was you who formed our inward parts; you knit us together in our mother’s womb.
Let us worship the LORD!
Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty (Hymn 482)
Neander/Stralsund Ernewerten Gesangbuch
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
granted in what he ordaineth?
Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
Gladly for aye we adore him.
Confession
God of love and tenderness, you call us from the chaos of our lives, as we are, with our hopes and fears and preoccupations. Forgive us when we try to respond to your call without thinking through what that really means. Forgive us when we falter and turn back. We need repentance, not to wallow in our failings but to acknowledge the truth and free ourselves to do better. You call us to surrender and change, but not without knowing us fully. Lead us to honesty and faith so that we may begin again with renewed strength in the work for peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Silence
Jesus Knows the Inmost Heart
Pashto hymn/arr. Weaver
Refrain:
Jesus knows the inmost heart: nothing can be hidden. (repeat)
Jesus knows our deepest fears, knows the pain of hidden tears.
By his words of love and peace every heart can find release.
(refrain)
So our faith will be restored by the word of Christ our Lord;
For the warmth his love imparts melts the very hardest hearts.
(refrain)
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
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.
O God, You Search Me (Ps. 139)
Farrell
O God, you search me and you know me.
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze.
When I walk or lie down you are before me:
Ever the maker and keeper of my days.
You know my resting and my rising.
You discern my purpose from afar,
And with love everlasting you besiege me:
In every moment of life or death, you are.
Before a word is on my tongue, Lord,
You have known its meaning through and through.
You are with me beyond my understanding:
God of my present, my past, and future, too.
For you created me and shaped me,
Gave life within my mother’s womb.
For the wonder of who I am, I praise you:
Safe in your hands, all creation is made new.
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Readings
Shirley Russell
Old Testament: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
New Testament: Luke 14:28-33
Sermon: Detachment or Focus?
Scott Starbuck
Focus: “The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self–all your wishes and precautions–to Christ.” -C.S. Lewis
Response: To Wake at Dawn
Felbein
Jennifer Brummett, horn
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, and deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Call to Stewardship
Judy Stafstrom
I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
-Philippians 3:8
Sending Song: God of Our Life (Hymn 275)
Purday/Kerr
God of our life, through all the circling years, we trust in Thee;
In all the past, through all our hopes and fears, Thy hand we see.
With each new day, when morning lifts the veil,
We own Thy mercies, Lord, which never fail.
God of the past, our times are in Thy hand; with us abide.
Lead us by faith to hope’s true promised land; be Thou our guide.
With Thee to bless, the darkness shines as light,
And faith’s fair vision changes into sight.
God of the coming years, through paths unknown, we follow Thee;
When we are strong, Lord, leave us not alone; our refuge be.
Be Thou for us in life our daily bread,
Our heart’s true home when all our years have sped.
Charge & Benediction
Postlude: Allegro (Concerto in A Minor)
Antonio Vivaldi
Katriel Starbuck, violin
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