October 22, 2023
Prelude: Litany
Callahan
Introit: If You Will Trust in God to Guide You
Neumark/Pepping
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 89]
Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;
They exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness.
The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it.
We will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord; with our mouth we will proclaim your faithfulness.
Let us worship the LORD!
All People That on Earth Do Dwell (Hymn 220)
Bourgeois/Kethe
All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell, come ye before him and rejoice.
Know that the Lord is God indeed; without our aid he did us make
We are his folk, he doth us feed, and for his sheep he doth us take.
O enter then his gates with praise, approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always, for it is seemly so to do.
For why? The Lord our God is good, his mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood, and shall from age to age endure.
Confession
God of silence and conversation, you leave space for humans to seek and respond to you. Like a parent, you cherish the speech and imagination of your children. Forgive us when we erase ourselves in silence and blind obedience motivated by fear. Forgive us when we have lost our sense of possibility and play. Trusting you as our source of life and nourishment, help us follow in your footsteps and offer hospitality to our fellow travelers. Amen.
Silence
The Lord’s My Shepherd
Townend
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want; He makes me lie in pastures green.
He leads me by the still, still waters, His goodness restores my soul.
(Chorus)
And I will trust in You alone. And I will trust in You alone.
For your endless mercy follows me – Your goodness will lead me home.
He guides my ways in righteousness, and He anoints my head with oil,
and my cup, it overflows with joy – I feast on his pure delights. (Chorus)
And though I walk the darkest path, I will not fear the evil one –
for You are with me, and your rod and staff are the comfort I need to know. (Chorus)
[Psalm 23]
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
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.
Prayer for Illumination
Sermon: Language and Silence
Genesis 22
Focus: Abraham’s laughter, through which he communed with others, was a “pseudo-language,” in which “silence is the essence.” Now this essence is explored to its full, almost intolerable, extent. To live in a world in which the essential is experienced implicitly, wordlessly, is to return to the base out of which laughter, feeding, and ultimately speech emerged. -Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire (p. 172)
Silent Reflection
Response: When We Are Tested
Duck/Young
Lisa Phillips
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
Ruth Seignemartin
My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
-Phillippians 4:19
Offering: Scherzetto
Walton
Doxology
LASST UNS ERFREUEN
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God, all creatures here below.
O Praise God, Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son.
And praise the Spirit, three in one.
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Charge & Benediction
Postlude: If You Will Trust in God to Guide You
Neumark/Bach
OneLicense# A-727502
CCLI# 283345
