November 26, 2023
Prelude: Now Thank We All Our God
Cruger/Kaufmann
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 95]
O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us come into his presence with thanksgiving!
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Let us worship the LORD!
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven (Hymn 478)
Goss/Lyte
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; to his feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King.
Praise him for his grace and favor to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever, slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia! Glorious in his faithfulness.
Fatherlike he tends and spares us; well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hands he gently bears us, rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia! Widely yet his mercy flows.
Angels, help us to adore him; ye behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him, dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace.
Confession
God our Maker, you have placed us in families, with all their joys and struggles. We know the competition of siblings and the ways we can hurt each other. Expand our imaginations to embrace the ways we may instead nurture each other. As we grow up, we seek power and mastery of our lives, which we eventually lose again as our bodies age. Forgive us when we overlook the other kind of power, which does not diminish: the power to bless. Whatever our age, give us words to share love and belonging. Amen.
Silence
Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Hymn 5)
French carol
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessing in his hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand.
At his feet the six winged seraph; cherubim, with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence, as with ceaseless voice they cry,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, Lord Most High!
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
Let All Things Now Living (Hymn 554)
Welsh folk melody/Davis
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God our Creator triumphantly raise;
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
By guiding us on to the end of our days.
God’s banners are o’er us, pure light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night:
Till shadows have vanished, all fearfulness banished,
As forward we travel from light into Light.
By law God enforces, the stars in their courses,
The sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The depths of the ocean proclaim God divine.
We, too, should be voicing our love and rejoicing
With glad adoration, a song let us raise:
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving,
To God in the highest, hosanna and praise.
Prayer for Illumination
Sermon: The Beginning of Desire
Genesis 47
Focus: This movement from self-possession to a more complex, inspired, and receptive vision of things is, I would suggest, relevant to the process that brings Jacob from a discrete, “mind of winter” view of his children to one that allows him to see them as flowing, feeding one another, growing, passionate, and capable of transformations. – Aviva Gotlieb Zornberg
Silent Reflection
Response: In the Bleak Midwinter (Hymn 36)
Holst/Rossetti
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
Zak Cannard
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
-Luke 1:68
Offering: O Worship the King
Haydn/Smith
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: Now Thank We All Our God
Cruger/Burkhardt
OneLicense# A-727502
CCLI# 283345
