November 5, 2023
Prelude: Jesus, Lead Thou On
Manz
Introit: Surely the Presence of the Lord
Wolfe
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 139]
O LORD, you have searched us and you know us.
Where can we go from your spirit? Or where can we flee from your presence?
If we ascend to heaven, you are there; if we make our bed in the depths, you are there.
If we take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead us, and your right hand shall hold us fast.
Let us worship the LORD!
Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty (Hymn 489)
Neander/Schmolck
Open now thy gates of beauty, Zion, let me enter there,
Where my soul in joyful duty waits for God who answers prayer;
O how blessed is this place, filled with solace, light, and grace.
Gracious God, I come before thee, come thou also down to me;
Where we find thee and adore thee, there a heaven on earth must be;
To my heart O enter thou, let it be thy temple now.
Speak, O Lord, and I will hear thee, let thy will be done indeed;
May I undisturbed draw near thee, while thou dost thy people feed.
Here of life the fountain flows, here is balm for all our woes.
Confession
God of day and night, you meet us in new places and in familiar places, in work and in rest. In our competitive, work-driven culture, we sometimes feel ashamed of our bodies’ needs and limitations. Forgive us when we neglect sleep and perpetuate exhaustion as a status symbol, when you can use even sleep to communicate with us. Thank you for choosing us and making us part of your story. When our expectations and ideals meet complications and disappointment, ground our feet in the assurance of your presence, and give our souls the buoyancy of your love. Amen.
Silence
We Are Standing on Holy Ground
Davis
We are standing on holy ground, and I know that there are angels all around;
Let us praise our Lord, Jesus, now; we are standing in God’s presence on holy ground.
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
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past (Hymn 210)
Croft/Watts
Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home:
Before the hills in order stood, or earth received its frame,
From everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever rolling stream, soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.
Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while life shall last and our eternal home.
Prayer for Illumination
Homily: Dispersions
Genesis 28
Focus: Leaving all support systems behind him, Jacob moves into the world of the night. Here, nothing is clear, all is shifting, phantasm, illusion. And here, paradoxically, Jacob finds his ground of truth. --Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
Communion Music: Do Not Be Afraid, For I Am With You
Patterson/Morris
Refrain:
Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
Chosen and beloved, you are my own.
Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you:
By your name I called you for my own.
Communion Prayer
Call to Stewardship
Judy Stafstrom
…for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on. -Luke 21:4
Offering: Little Prelude in C minor
Bach
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: God, Our God, is With Us
Neander, arr. Burkhardt
OneLicense# A-727502
CCLI# 283345
