A More Light Congregation

Bethany Presbyterian Church

This Week in Worship

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Archive - Pentecost 2016

Call to Worship

One: Spirit of the living God, visit us again on this day of Pentecost.

All: Come, Holy Spirit.

One: With rushing wind that sweeps away all barriers,  

All: Come, Holy Spirit.

One: With tongues of fire that set our hearts aflame,

All: Come, Holy Spirit.

One: With speech that unites the Babel of our tongues,  

All: Come, Holy Spirit.  

One: With love that overlaps the boundaries of race and nation,  

All: come, Holy Spirit.  

One: With power from above to make our weakness strong,  

All: Come, Holy Spirit.


Prayer of Invocation

Move among us, Spirit, and gather us together with you.  Take our many selves – our lives, our loves, our ideas, our questions, our speech, our silence – and unite us as your people.

Give us the gifts of perception and understanding, so that even as we dream your dreams and see your visions, we may be able to witness to your presence in our common life. Amen.


Response (Hymn #284)





Offertory Response (Hymn #709)




The Feast of Shavuot - Blessing of the Gifts

Loving God, through your goodness we have this bread and fruit of the vine to offer, which has come forth from the earth and human hands have made.  May we know your presence in the sharing, so that we know your touch and presence of all things.  We celebrate the life that Jesus has shared among his community through the centuries, and shares with us now.

Made one in Christ and one with each other, we offer these gifts and with them ourselves, a single, living act of praise.

May 15, 2016

Pentecost and Service of Communion

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

“A Journey to the ‘First’ World Conference in Jerusalem; AD 1”

Scripture  

Acts 2:1-21

Hymns

#289 “On Pentecost They Gathered”

#509 “All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly”

#291 “Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness”

Take what we bring, offered to you.

Teach us to show your abundant blessings.

Holy spirit, come to us;

kindle in us the fire of your love.

Holy Spirit, come to us.

Holy Spirit, come to us.


Prayer of Preparation

Wondrous and unwearied God, breathe deeply into us so that we may be eased into this holy time. We come breathless to you from fretful times and blurred places -- our attention splintered, our energy drained, our love glazed, our faith frayed. Still we have been drawn here, and we thank you for this insistent yearning to worship and renew. O Breath of God, fill us with life anew. Amen.


Call to Worship

One: Let us worship God!

All: Creator, Holy One, Sovereign God, Maker of heaven and earth.

One: Let us worship God!

All: Jesus Christ, God-with-us, Savior, Brother, Lord.

One: Let us worship God!

All: Holy Spirit, Tongues of fire, a rushing wind, a still, small voice.

One: God is holy, three-in-one!

All: Let us worship the triune God!


Prayer of Invocation

There are as many ways to pray as there are people. There are as many ways to worship as there are people. All of them are good. The point is to do it. In our time together, let us open our hearts to God as we pray. Let us open our hearts to God as we worship. Amen.

May 22, 2016

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

“What Is Truth?”

Scripture  

John 16:12-14

Hymns

#413 “Come into God’s Presence”

#192 “Lord, the Light of Your Love Is Shining”

#1 “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!”


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May 29, 2016

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

“No Small Thing”

Prayer of Preparation

Most gracious and loving God, as we come into this worship space, as we lift our hearts to worship you, we ask that you look deep within us and search us. Help us see the true condition of our hearts. Help us hear again your words of love and grace and life. We pray that this hour is an hour that will change our lives forever.  Amen.


Call to Worship

All: Jesus said, “Anyone who receives you, receives me, and anyone who receives me,  receives the Father who sent me.”

One: Sisters and brothers, boys and girls:  We gather together in the presence of the God who receives us with open arms,  who loves us unconditionally,  and who bids us do the same to one another. Let’s worship God together!


Prayer of Invocation

Open my eyes that they may see the deepest needs of people; move my hands that they may feed the hungry;  touch my heart that it may bring warmth to the despairing; teach me the generosity that welcomes strangers;  let me share my possessions to clothe the naked;  give me the care that strengthens the sick;  make me share in the quest to set the prisoner free.  In sharing our anxieties and our love,  our poverty and our prosperity,  we partake of your divine presence.  Open us to your presence, Lord God. Amen.

Scripture  

Matthew 10:40-42

Hymns

#338 “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies”

#721 “Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore”

#339 “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

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June 5, 2016

Service of Holy Communion

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

“Wanted: Crazy Christians!”

Prayer of Preparation

Holy God, in this time and place we prepare to meet you as your body, the church. We acknowledge you as our head. We anticipate your Spirit moving among us. We await your Word, knowing that through it our lives will be reordered. Come to us now to confront, convict and comfort, for we are your people, made in your image.


Call to Worship

One: A word spoken, a voice heard,

All: A dream revealed, a mission received.

One: God calls, again and again.

All: God beckons us to follow.

One: To love, to serve,

All: To give, again and again.

One: God invites us to embrace the lonely,

All: To feed the hungry, to tell the Good News of Jesus, to love and serve, and to sing praises all our days.


Prayer of Confession

Merciful God, like the disciples we are shortsighted and small- minded. We focus on problems and needs and on what seem like logical or "possible" solutions. We rely on our own

strengths and resources and are quickly overwhelmed. We forget to turn to you, and we fail to depend on your Spirit. Forgive us, Lord. Remind us yet again that your ways are not ours, and that, with you, all things are possible. Renew us in faith and commitment that we might trust you in every situation.

Scripture  

Mark 3:20-35

Hymns

#705 “You Are Holy”

#507 “Come to the Table of Grace”

#726 “Will You Come and Follow Me”


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June 12, 2016

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

“Breaking Open Ourselves”

Prayer of Preparation

Open our hearts today, Lord, to feel the power of your extravagant love for us. Help us to be free of our fears and prejudices so that we may experience your love in action in the lives of others. Comfort and calm our spirits in readiness for us to hear your Word today. Amen.


Call to Worship

The open table of the Christ beckons to us. The voice of welcome speaks into our hearts in gentle affirmation and invitation. Come, carrying with you what you will – the truth about your life, special gratitude for grace received, hope for forgiveness that is to come, or simply love of God.

We will come and share the feast of life. We will enter this place in faith.

Scripture  

Luke 7:36 – 8:3

Hymns

#614 “Great Are You, Lord”

#754 “Help Us Accept Each Other”

#765 “May the God of Hope Go with Us”


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June 19, 2016

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

"What is Your Name?"

Prayer of Preparation

Open our hearts today, O Lord, to feel the powerful strength and love you have for us. Help us to listen, not only with our ears, but with our spirits for your words of compassion and healing.  Amen.


Call to Worship

One: Come, all you whose souls thirst for the living God.

People: We come in search of help and hope.

One: Come, you who are acquainted with grief or oppression.

All: We come bearing our doubts, our wounds, and our fears.

One: Come, you who are in need of good news.

All: We come in search of joy, truth, and light.

One: Come and find refuge in God your rock.

All: Let us again praise the One who is our help and our hope.


Prayer of Adoration

Here, in this place, God welcomes all the dreamers, as well as the doubters. Here, the worriers and wanderers can call on God by name.  Here, in this time, we can remember all the ways God has graced us.  Here, in these moments, we are reminded that God is with us, always!  Here are gathered those daring enough to step out of comfort into the unknown: here, in this faith sapce, we will find the courage to cry out, 'God, save us' in every situation.  Amen.

Scripture  

Luke 8:26-39

Hymns

#32 “I Sing the Mighty Power of God”

#18 “Hallelujah! Sing Praise to Your Creator”

#744 “Arise, Your Light has Come”


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June 26, 2016

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

“What Has God Been Doing in Your Life Lately?”

Prayer of Preparation

When we gather each week, we don't want to become so caught up in our own agendas that we miss you. We don't want to sing and pray and read your word just to check those things off of our to-do list. We want to meet with you, Jesus. We want to hear from you, to experience you, to walk away from this place changed because we have been in your presence. So, take this gathering, and make it yours. We are so thankful that you are here with us.  Amen.


Call to Worship

One: Throughout the ages, disciples have said, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

All: Lord, give us the freedom to follow you in the ways of love.

One: We come from busy homes, filled with little time to consider Christ in our lives.

All: Lord, give us the strength to follow you in the ways of peace.

One: In times of struggle, we look to God for help.

All: Lord, give us the opportunity to follow you in the ways of kindness.

One: Today, we celebrate the Holy Spirit, who shows us the joy of following God.

All: Lord, give us the patience to follow you in the ways of faith.


Prayer of Invocation

Gracious Lord, you have blessed us with freedom— freedom to follow or to turn away; freedom to love or to hate; freedom to heal or to hurt. You ask only that we follow your ways, loving our neighbors as ourselves. In the midst of our turbulent lives, help us find teachers to show us the gifts you set within us. And help us claim these gifts today.  Amen.

Hymns

#32 “I Sing the Mighty Power of God”

#626 “As the Deer”

#450 “Be Thou My Vision”


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July 3, 2016

Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke

"A Time for Dreaming"

Prayer of Preparation

Almighty God, we gather this morning to worship you and rededicate our lives to you. We thank you for this new day and the wonder of your creation. Open our hearts and minds to hear your Word. Empty us of ourselves and fill us with your Spirit.  Amen.


Call to Worship

Come and worship, all you who love and serve the Lord

- outsiders and insiders,

old-timers and new-comers,

the young, old and the in-between.  

Come as you are,  for this is God’s house

- a house of prayer for all people,

and God welcomes each one who comes.


Prayer of Confession

O God, we confess that we would like the road map of our life laid out before us. We want to know where we are going. Any unexpected twists and turns disconcert us. When we hear you calling us to a task we do not want to do or a road we do not want to take, we argue and construct reasons why we cannot. Forgive the rationalizations we present to you as reasons, the resistance that is most often grounded in fear and unbelief. Forgive our reliance on ourselves, and our lack of trust in you, the willfulness that turns away from your will for our lives, and the refusal to hear and believe your assurance of the journey. Forgive us all that is past, and free us to a new and living faith in you, through Christ our risen Lord.


Assurance of Forgiveness

Our God is a God of love and mercy, who allows us always to begin again. By God's grace, we are forgiven to walk in newness of life.  Thanks be to God!


Hymns

#340 “This is My Song”

#530 “One Bread, One Body”

#337 “My Country, 'Tis of Thee”


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Come and worship, all you who love and serve the Lord

- outsiders and insiders,

old-timers and new-comers,

the young, old and the in-between.  

Come as you are,  for this is God’s house

- a house of prayer for all people,

and God welcomes each one who comes.