November 13, 2022
Introit: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Luther/Organ
Jill Cathey, oboe
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 8]
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
Let us worship the LORD!
God of the Ages (Hymn 262)
Warren/Roberts
God of the ages, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
Our grateful songs before thy throne arise.
Thy love divine hath led us in the past;
In this free land by thee our lot is cast;
Be thou our ruler, guardian, guide, and stay;
Thy word our law, thy paths our chosen way.
From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase;
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.
Refresh thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never-ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.
Confession
God of justice and compassion, you call us to share your message of love and grace with the world. Forgive us when we, as the church, pursue our own political or self-serving agendas instead. Forgive us when we are content to leave your work to others. Though the task at times feels daunting, you are with us. Stir up in us your Spirit of mercy and courage, and make us beacons of your good news. Amen.
Silence
Christ Above Me
Chisum/Searcy
(Refrain)
Christ above me, Christ beside me, Christ within me ever guiding;
Christ behind me, Christ before, Christ, my love, my life, my Lord.
Bread of life from heaven, lover of my soul;
Peace of God so ever present, I surrender my control to…(Refrain)
Mercy everlasting, tenderness divine;
Word of God so ever healing, I surrender heart and mind to…(Refrain)
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
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.
Children’s Message
You, O Lord, Have Bound Together
Starbuck/Bodinger/HYMN TO JOY
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.”
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Readings
John Lemm
Old Testament: Psalm 8
New Testament: Matthew 28:20 & 2 Timothy 2:9
Response: In Christ Alone
Getty & Townend
In Christ alone my hope is found.
He is my light, my strength, my song.
This Cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
From the Barmen Declaration
John Lemm
Sermon: Gospel and Justice, not Issues and Platforms
Together we confess:
The Church's commission, which is the foundation of its freedom, consists in this: in Christ's stead, and so in the service of his own Word and work, to deliver all people, through preaching and sacrament, the message of the free grace of God.
We reject the false doctrine that with human vainglory the Church could place the Word and work of the Lord in the service of self- chosen desires, purposes and plans.
Response: O Christ, the Great Foundation (Hymn 443)
Wesley/Lew
O Christ, the great foundation on which your people stand
To preach your true salvation in every age and land:
Pour out your Holy Spirit to make us strong and pure,
To keep the faith unbroken as long as worlds endure.
Baptized in one confession, one church in all the earth,
We bear our Lord’s impression, the sign of second birth:
One holy people gathered in love beyond our own,
By grace we were invited, by grace we make you known.
Where tyrants’ hold is tightened, where strong devour the weak,
Where innocents are frightened, the righteous fear to speak,
There let your church awakening attack the powers of sin
And, all their ramparts breaking, with you the victory win.
This is the moment glorious when he who once was dead
Shall lead his church victorious, their champion and their head.
The Lord of all creation his heavenly kingdom brings,
The final consummation, the glory of all things.
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
Mila Russell
Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's. -Matthew 22:21
Offering: On Wings of Song
Mendelssohn
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: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Organ
Jim Cathey, trumpet
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