November 25, 2012

THEME:    Thanks!

Scripture: 

Preparing for Worship

Chimes

Welcome & Announcements

Prelude

Words of Preparation

Hymn of Praise:   559 red book   Come, Ye Thankful People, Come....stanzas 1,2, 4

Call to Worship:
Leader:  Stars spin across the sky and the dawn slides into day.
People:  God the Creator calls us to new awareness.
Leader:  The ocean pulses with life and even the starfish seem to dance.People:  God the Maker calls us to thankfulness.
Leader:  Babies crawl, friends call and the older teaches the younger how to wink.
People:  God the Friends calls us to share a smile and tend the wounds.
Leader:  A sudden stillness, a quiet moment, a deep prayer, a persistent yearning.
People:   God, the satisfaction of our deep longing, calls us to worship with hearts filled with deep quiet and contagious joy.

Invocation

The Lord's Prayer

Gloria Patri

A Time for Offering

Call to Offering

Offering Meditation

The Doxology

Prayer of Dedication

We Join in Prayer

Prayer Concerns & Celebrations

Morning Prayer
 by Howard Thurman (1899-1989)

Today, I make my Sacrament of Thanksgiving.
I begin with the simple things of my days:
Fresh air to breathe,
Cool water to drink,
The taste of food,
The protection of houses and clothes,
The comforts of home.
For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day!
I bring to mind all the warmth of humankind that I have known:
My mother’s arms,
The strength of my father
The playmates of my childhood,
The wonderful stories brought to me from the lives
Of many who talked of days gone by when fairies
And giants and all kinds of magic held sway;
The tears I have shed, the tears I have seen;
The excitement of laughter and the twinkle in the
Eye with its reminder that life is good.
For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day
I finger one by one the messages of hope that awaited me at the crossroads:
The smile of approval from those who held in their hands the reins of my security;
The tightening of the grip in a simple handshake when I
Feared the step before me in darkness;
The whisper in my heart when the temptation was fiercest
And the claims of appetite were not to be denied;
The crucial word said, the simple sentence from an open
Page when my decision hung in the balance.
For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.
I pass before me the main springs of my heritage:
The fruits of labors of countless generations who lived before me,
Without whom my own life would have no meaning;
The seers who saw visions and dreamed dreams;
The prophets who sensed a truth greater than the mind could grasp
And whose words would only find fulfillment
In the years which they would never see;
The workers whose sweat has watered the trees,
The leaves of which are for the healing of the nations;
The pilgrims who set their sails for lands beyond all horizons,
Whose courage made paths into new worlds and far off places;
The saviors whose blood was shed with a recklessness that only a dream
Could inspire and God could command.
For all this I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.
I linger over the meaning of my own life and the commitment
To which I give the loyalty of my heart and mind:
The little purposes in which I have shared my loves,
My desires, my gifts;
The restlessness which bottoms all I do with its stark insistence
That I have never done my best, I have never dared
To reach for the highest;
The big hope that never quite deserts me, that I and my kind
Will study war no more, that love and tenderness and all the
inner graces of Almighty affection will cover the life of the
children of God as the waters cover the sea.
All these and more than mind can think and heart can feel,
I make as my sacrament of Thanksgiving to Thee,
Our Father, in humbleness of mind and simplicity of heart.

We Contemplate & Live God's Word

Children's Sermon           

Special Music:  Chalice Chimers are doing the music (No Choir)

Scripture: 

Sermon             

Invitation to Discipleship

Hymn of Invitation:   560  For the  Beauty of the Earth     stanzas 1 and 3

Gathering at the Lord's Table

Call to Communion

Hymn of Communion:  38 blue book    Give Thanks

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Words of Institution

Breaking Bread & Pouring the Cup

Musical Meditation

Partaking of the Lord's Supper

We Depart to Serve

Benediction

Parting Hymn:   562   Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart    stanzas 2 and 3

Postlude                          

November 18, 2012

Theme: Since we have already begun themes of thankfulness in our two previous worships, by lifting up a specific group of folks to God with gratitude (saints & veterans) we thought to continue in that vein throughout November. This week, we will be celebrating elders -- with  a little "e"--those of a "certain age" and experience in life who mentor, encourage and pray for us as we journey in faith--grandparents, great aunts & uncles, retired teachers or colleagues, older adults who join us on Mission Trips or teach us new skills.

Scripture: 
Job 12: 12 (NIV)
    Is not wisdom found among the aged?
    Does not long life bring understanding?

I Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

      Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,

     but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

Matthew 6:25-34 (The Message)

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Preparing for Worship

Chimes

Welcome & Announcements

Prelude

Words of Preparation

Hymn of Praise: Red Book #92  Love Divine, All Loves Excelling   1,3

Call to Worship:                         (based on Joel 2:27-28)
Leader: Come, people of God, gather together for the purpose of praise!
People: Here we see fulfillment of God's promises!
Leader: The Holy Spirit is present in us all!
People: Sons and daughters, infants and children, women and men of advancing years,
Leader: All shall prophesy, dream dreams and see visions!
People: God's word comes to us all!
Leader: May we take delight in each other as God takes delight in us!
People: Here, in this place, God is in our midst.

Invocation

The Lord's Prayer

Gloria Patri

A Time for Offering

Call to Offering

Offering Meditation

The Doxology

Prayer of Dedication

We Join in Prayer

Prayer Concerns & Celebrations

Morning Prayer

We Contemplate & Live God's Word

Children's Sermon    

Holding a compass, the pastor speaks of the importance of grandparents and other elders within the congregation as guides, pointing us to God through traditions, memory, and history.       

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Choir Anthem:  "Rejoice, Give Thanks, and Sing (Kellner)

Sermon: 

Pass out compass cards and invite folks to share them with older adults who make a difference in their lives.            

Invitation to Discipleship

Hymn of Invitation: Red Book, #286  "Blest be the Tie that Binds"   ALL

Gathering at the Lord's Table

Call to Communion

Hymn of Communion: Blue Book, #37   "My Life Is in You, Lord"

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Words of Institution

Breaking Bread & Pouring the Cup

Musical Meditation

Partaking of the Lord's Supper

We Depart to Serve

Benediction

Parting Hymn: Red Book, #116 "Take the Name of Jesus with You"  1,2

Postlude                          

November 11, 2012

Theme:  Veterans Day and Fruits of The Spiritual--Building Blocks of Freedom

Preparing for Worship

Chimes

Welcome & Announcements

Prelude

Words of Preparation

Hymn of Praise: RED BOOK  page 61  Lavish Love,  Abundant Beauty  stanzas 1 and 3

Call to Worship:  
Leader:  We are called to be the church, to love God and serve others.
People:   We gather as sisters and brothers in Christ, praising God's faithfulness, embracing each other in God's love, committed to acting out that love in God's world.
Leader:  We worship God in joy, in expectation, and in hope.
People:  We are not alone.   Thanks be to God!

Invocation

The Lord's Prayer

Gloria Patri

A Time for Offering

Call to Offering

Offering Meditation

The Doxology

Prayer of Dedication

We Join in Prayer

Prayer Concerns & Celebrations

Litany Before the Morning Prayer
A Litany from The Book of Worship for United States Forces (1974), no. 625
(One-time permission to print and use this litany in congregational worship has been granted by The Armed Forces Chaplains' Board, Washington, D.C.)
Leader: Let us give thanks to God for the land of our birth with all its chartered liberties. For all the wonder of our country's story:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For leaders in nation and state, and for those who in days past and in these present times have labored for the commonwealth:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For those who in all times and places have been true and brave, and in the worlds common ways have lived upright lives and ministered to their fellows:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For those who served their country in its hour of need, and especially for those who gave even their lives in that service:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: O almighty God and most merciful Father, as we remember these your servants, and we acknowledge with gratitude their courage and strength. 

Morning Prayer

We Contemplate & Live God's Word

Children's Sermon           

Choir Anthem: "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Traditional)

Scripture: Galations 5: 13-15 and 22-24

Sermon             

Invitation to Discipleship

Hymn of Invitation: RED BOOK...380  Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Gathering at the Lord's Table

Call to Communion

Hymn of Communion:  red book   65  The Wonder of It All

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Words of Institution

Breaking Bread & Pouring the Cup

Musical Meditation

Partaking of the Lord's Supper

We Depart to Serve

Benediction

Parting Hymn:  blue book. number 74...Let the Lower Lights be Burning

Postlude