October 2, 2022 - World Communion Sunday
Introit: God Welcomes All
Bell
God welcomes all, strangers and friends;
God’s love is strong and it never ends.
(repeat)
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 37]
Do not be incensed by evildoers. Like green grass they will fade.
Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and keep faith.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
Let us worship the LORD!
Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun (Hymn 423)
Hatton/Watts
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
does its successive journeys run,
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Blessings abound where’er he reigns;
The prisoners leap to lose their chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all who suffer want are blest.
Let every creature rise and bring
honors peculiar to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud Amen!
Confession
Gracious Lord, you created the whole world and called it good, but we look out at your world, see division and suffering, and lose faith. Growing numbers of people have been forced to leave home and become refugees. When we find ourselves fearing the stranger and the refugee, Lord, forgive us. When we remember these people only on special occasions such as World Communion Sunday and not in our everyday lives, forgive us. Increase our faith and embolden us to be hospitable people who welcome friends and strangers alike. Amen.
Silence
Jesus Knows the Inmost Heart
Pashto hymn
Refrain: Jesus knows the inmost heart: nothing can be hidden. (repeat)
This our sinful hearts require: flame of God’s refining fire,
Working in us day by day till the dross is burned away. (refrain)
Jesus knows our deepest fears, knows the pain of hidden tears,
By his words of love and peace every heart can find release. (refrain)
When our lives are in his hand nothing can his work withstand;
His forgiveness sets us free, saves us for eternity. (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
All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly
Dunstan
All who hunger, gather gladly; holy manna is our bread.
Come from wilderness and wandering. Here, in truth, we will be fed.
You that yearn for days of fullness, all around us is our food.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.
All who hunger, never strangers, seeker, be a welcome guest.
Come from restlessness and roaming. Here, in joy, we keep the feast.
We that once were lost and scattered in communion’s love have stood.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.
All who hunger, sing together, Jesus Christ is living bread.
Come from loneliness and longing. Here, in peace, we have been led.
Blest are those who from this table live their days in gratitude.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Readings
Jim Price
Old Testament: Lamentations 1:1-6
Link Here
New Testament: Luke 17:5-10
Link Here
Sermon: Just Because it’s World Communion
Focus: Welcoming the stranger and the refugee is not a super-Christian commitment. It is like welcoming your own family. It is just what we as Christians do.
Communion
Communion Music: For Everyone Born, a Place at the Table
Murray/Mann
Communion Prayer
Giving our Gifts to God
Jim Price
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. -1 Corinthians 16:2
Offering Our Gifts: Arabian Dance
Laurischkus
Jill Cathey, oboe
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: All People That On Earth Do Dwell
OLD HUNDREDTH/Burkhardt
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