October 8, 2023
Prelude: Passacaglia
Walton
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Job 38]
“Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no one lives, to satisfy the waste and desolate land?
Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens?
Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?”
Let us worship the LORD!
This Is My Father’s World (Hymn 293)
Sheppard/Babcock
This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; his hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world: oh, let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one.
Confession
God of floodwaters and kindness, you know your creatures’ needs even when you are angry with us. Forgive us when our approach to other people is about getting what we desire from them and does not include care and concern for the other. Forgive us when we interpret your silence or forbearance as license to do whatever we want, without respect for healthy relational boundaries. Teach us to look outside ourselves and our own experiences with curiosity, so that we may speak and act with kindness. Amen.
Silence
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Hymn 276)
Runyan/Chisholm
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! (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
Solo: God of the Sparrow (Hymn 272)
Schalk/Vajda
God of the sparrow, God of the whale, God of the swirling stars,
How does the creature say Awe, how does the creature say Praise
God of the earthquake, God of the storm, God of the trumpet blast
How does the creature say Woe, how does the creature cry Save
God of the rainbow, God of the cross, God of the empty grave
How does the creature say Grace, how does the creature say Thanks
God of the ages, God near at hand, God of the loving heart,
How do your children say Joy, how do your children say Home
Prayer for Illumination
Sermon: Noah: Kindness and Ecstasy
Genesis 6-9
Focus: All the pathologies of openness and closedness relate to imaginative obtuseness. According to the midrash in Bereshit Rabbah (36:1), the Flood people see God as blind, indifferent, callous to the world. What follows is that human beings feel themselves free to be likewise blind, indifferent, and callous. --Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire, p. 56
Silent Reflection
Response: We Choose the Fear of the Lord
Kirk Dearman
We choose the fear of the Lord
We choose the fear of the Lord
For the fear of the Lord is to hate all evil
We choose the fear of the Lord
We choose the fear of the Lord
We choose the way of the Lord
We choose the way of the Lord
For the way of the Lord is the way of wisdom
We choose the way of the Lord
We choose the way of the Lord
He who delights in the Word of the Lord
Shall be blessed in all of his ways
For the friendship of God is with those who fear Him
So we choose the fear of the Lord
We choose the Word of the Lord
We choose the Word of the Lord
We choose the Word of the Lord
For the Word of the Lord shall endure forever
We choose the Word of the Lord
We choose the Word of the Lord
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
Betsy Hammond
Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce.
-Proverbs 3:9
Offering: Deep River
African-American Spiritual, arr. Held
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: Allegro Risoluto from “Water Music”
Handel, arr. Ritter
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