This Week in Worship
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Archive - Summer 2016
July 10, 2016
Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke
"Breaking Down Walls"
Prayer of Preparation
Loving God, we gather this day to seek you with our whole hearts, minds and souls. Teach us to know you better and love you more dearly, that we might serve you more faithfully. Amen.
Call to Worship
One: The world cries to us in its distress. How shall we answer?
All: We cannot pass by as though nothing is wrong.
One: How shall we answer?
All: We cannot become so focused on ourselves that others mean nothing to us.
One: How shall we answer?
All: We shall be the neighbor in service, reconciliation and compassion wherever we can.
Prayer of Invocation
Lord of justice and mercy, we come to you this day seeking your healing and reconciling love. Help us to be open to your word, your presence, your compassion. Clear our hearts of those things that block your will. Keep us focused on your enabling power so that we, having been healed, may more fully serve you. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
Hymns
#17 “Sing Praise to God, You Heavens!”
#767 “Together We Serve”
#772 “Live into Hope”
July 17, 2016
Sermon by Reverend Richard Pyke
"Attitude is Everything"
Prayer of Preparation
Holy God, we thank you for the example of Jesus who made prayer the bedrock of his life and taught us to do the same. Through prayer he received strength to choose faithfulness rather than give in to temptation. Through prayer he remained connected to you and was sustained by your Spirit for the tasks of ministry. Through prayer he healed, taught, forgave and called. Through prayer he met the trials of life with grace, refusing to react in anger, blame or condemnation. Merciful Savior, grant us a deeper desire for prayer as we seek to follow Christ's example. Amen.
Call to Worship
Leader: God of the school and God of vacation;
People: God of the hospital and God of the factory;
Leader: God of the mountains and God of the beach;
People: God of controversy and God of peace;
Leader: God of dissension and God of agreement;
People: God of disruption and God of unity;
Leader: God of Jesus and God of the church;
All: God of everything and God of everyone, we gather together to worship and sing your praise.
Prayer of Confession
God of great love, grant us the courage to honestly open our hearts as we come to you in prayer. As we admit our weaknesses, we know we will receive your loving understanding and come away strengthened because of our conversation with you. Forgive us for the times when we have been less than patient with others. We regret the instances when we have not given others the mercy that has been extended to us. We are sorry when we trivialize the important issues and exaggerate the small stuff. Forgive us for all the occasions when we fly off the handle ... and thank you for the people in our lives who love us anyway.
Assurance of Forgiveness
Hear this good news: God loves us into life -- again and again. Go therefore and do likewise!
Hymns
#353 “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
#610 “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
#475 “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
July 24, 2016
Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke
"When You Don’t Know What to Say: Shush"
Prayer of Preparation
God of our hearts...here we are! We’ve come with thirsty hearts, praying that your Word will satisfy us. We come with aching hearts, praying for good news to comfort us. We come with overflowing hearts, praying for a chance to share your love. You, who know our hearts and hear our prayers, be with us now in this hour of worship. Amen.
Call to Worship
One: Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you."
All: Lord, as we search now, let us find you. As we knock, open the door to us. Let us know you, that we may praise you; and love you, that we may serve you.
Prayer of Invocation
Seeking One, you are the beginning and the end of our search.
Finding One, you are the alpha and omega of all discovery.
Asking One,you are the voice and the silence of our exploration.
Giving One, you are the fullness and the emptiness of all yearning.
Persistent One, you never abandon your search for us,
nor tire of our repetitive to-ings and fro-ings.
Keep knocking at the door of our lives until we open our wills to your purpose,
our lives to your life, and our yearning to your hope.
In Your Name, we pray. Amen.
Hymns
#1 “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty”
#452 “Open the Eyes of My Heart”
#710 “We Lift Our Voices”
July 31, 2016
Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke
"What's in a Name?"
Prayer of Preparation
Lord, we come to you this day in the midst of our summer months. For many this is a time of relaxation; but for others, the burdens, worries, and cares continue to weigh them down. Be with each of us as we open our ears to hear your words, our hearts to feel your presence, and our spirits to receive your healing touch. Amen.
Call to Worship
We gather here in anticipation,
seeking an encounter with our Holy God,
who comes among us when we least expect it,
who invites us to wrestle with our questions and doubts, who richly blesses us,
and calls us each by name.
Let’s worship God together!
Prayer of Confession
Loving God, we gather here as your holy people, hungry for your word, longing for your presence. Breathe your amazing Spirit into our lives and heal our hurts and pains. Restore us with strength and courage. Empower us to be your witnesses of peace in the world. Amen.
Scripture
Hymns
#35 “Praise Ye the Lord”
#405 “Praise God for This Holy Ground”
#539 “We Will Go Out With Joy”
August 7, 2016
Service of Holy Communion
Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke
"Why Are You Following Me?"
Prayer of Preparation
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.
Call to Worship
Our help is in the name of the Lord our God,
The Maker of heaven and earth, who comes to our aid in times of need,
Who gives us the courage to do what we know is right,
Who invites us to turn away from the influences of the world around us,
And confess God alone as Savior and Lord.
This is our God.
Prayer of Confession
Caring God, you call us to be the body of Christ: to live in community, to care for one another, to use our different gifts. Instead of working to sustain community, we follow our own desires. Instead of trusting in your care, we think we can do it alone. Forgive our neglect of others. Give us obedient spirits, that we may care for one another, depend on your love, and use our gifts for your gospel. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
The Lord is on our side, offering words of forgiveness. We are a forgiven people, bound together in God’s love. We are the body of Christ, forgiven and free.
Scripture
Hymns
#32 “I Sing the Mighty Power of God”
#507 “Come to the Table of Grace”
#450 “Be Thou My Vision, Lord of My Heart”
August 14, 2016
Sermon by Reverend Kathryn Pyke
"Standing Up Straight"
Prayer of Preparation
Gracious God, we welcome you into our midst and invite you to make yourself known to us in the silence, in the symbols and in the words and melodies and actions of our worship. We lay aside all else but the desire to be in your presence, touched by your grace and fed by your Word. Enter this sacred time with us, we pray, that we might apprehend the Holy and more importantly, that the Holy might apprehend us. Amen.
Call to Worship
One: Come, all you who are struggling.
All: Come, all you who are crippled by pain and suffering.
One: Come to worship a God who heals your pain.
All: Come to worship a God who gives forgiveness.
Let us worship God, who sets us free and gives us new life!
Prayer of Invocation
Lord God, whose power and mercy have extended to all ends of creation, pour your love on us this day that we might be healed and be made ready to serve you by serving others in this world that you have created. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Scripture
Hymns
#267 “Come, Christians, Join to Sing”
#161 “Woman in the Night”
#192 “Lord, the Light of Your Love Is Shining”
August 21, 2016
"The Gospel In Three Voices"
Presented by Melinda Jones, George Lynch, and Roxane Wales
Prayer of Preparation
Loving God, we are yours. We come as we are, with our cares and concerns. We long to touch you and find healing in our lives. Strengthen our faith and heal our brokenness, that we may worship you with joy. Amen.
Call to Worship
One: With friends and strangers, with family and neighbors, we gather:
All: Come among us, Healing God, with that love which never ends.
One: With faith reaching out to touch, with hearts straining to trust, we hope:
All: Come among us, Friend of the broken, with your compassion which makes us whole.
One: With word and wonder, with silence and song, we wait:
All: Come among us, Drier of our tears, to lift us to our feet to follow you.
Morning Prayer
One: God calls us in our lives to take a risk,
to be like the woman in the gospel who reaches out to Jesus for healing for herself;
or the father who risks the scorn of others to bring Jesus to his dying daughter.
Let us ponder for a moment the places in our lives
where we may resist turning to God for healing and change.
Litany of Prayer
One: When we resist your call to open our hearts to allow the freshness of your grace to enter:
All: God have mercy.
One: When we close our eyes to your new and unexpected possibilities of healing and reconciliation:
All: Christ have mercy.
One: When we let fear overwhelm us, and cling to the security of what we know instead of risking new steps toward your freedom and justice:
All: God have mercy. Amen.
Scripture
Hymns
#10 “Sing Glory to the Name of God”
#452 “Open the Eyes of My Heart”
#33 “Praise the Lord! God’s Glories Show”
August 28, 2016
Sermon by Elder Lyn Hughes
"It's All About the Small Things"
Prayer of Preparation
Holy God, when we gather in your name, we are changed. There is no way around it. We cannot come together in your presence and not be moved. So, today we surrender to your moving and to the ways you desire to change us. Let this hour together be sacred, and may your name be made great. You are holy, worthy and full of glory. We are humbled to be in your presence. Receive our worship as an offering of praise.
Call to Worship
One: Creator God, you call us to hospitality; to give as generously to others as you have given to us.
All: For there are angels among us.
One: Loving God, you call us to give you glory in the compassion we show to one another.
All: To love without judgment, of ourselves or of others.
One: We gather as one Body, seeking to walk in the way you have set for us.
All: We gather as one Body, to worship the one who is Love.
Prayer of Adoration
Hospitable God, you invite us to a banquet where the last may be first,
and the humble and the mighty trade places.
Let us share your abundance with no fear of scarcity;
let us greet strangers as angels you have sent!
Send your Spirit now so that we may find a place at your table
and welcome others with radical hospitality.
In the name of Jesus, Guest at all our tables, we pray. Amen.
Hymns
#305 “Come Sing, O Church, in Joy!”
#710 “We Lift Our Voices”
#700 “I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”
September 4, 2016
Service of Holy Communion
Sermon by Reverend Walter Johnson
"Triple Creek Waters of Life"
Prayer of Preparation
Gracious God, though we are many, we have come together with one purpose – to worship you with scripture and song, with prayer and sacrament. We witness that we are members of one another and wait for your word spoken clearly in our midst. May your presence be among us in this hour: touch us with tenderness and strengthen us into commitment, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Call to Worship
Creating God, we gather in your name to worship you. We give thanks that there is a small spark of God within us. Kindle that small spark into a flame of love and service. Sustaining God, we gather in your name to worship you.
Prayer of Confession
Compassionate God, greet us with your grace this day, for we need you. We cannot save ourselves. Though we may be frantic with activity, our efforts do not yield peace, peace as you can give. Today we would be quiet enough to hear your voice. Today we would be still enough to feel your touch. Help us to find that place where we can receive as well as give, wait as well as act, and listen as well as speak. Our whole world needs your peace. Let us come before you and learn your ways, laying down our weapons and feeding the hungry. Come to us now, through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
One: The good news is that Christ calls us to new life and enables us to begin again and again and again and again. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
All: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!
Hymns
#475 “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
#525 “Let Us Break Bread Together on our Knees”
#634 “To God be the Glory”
September 11, 2016
A Service of Remembrance
Scripture Meditations by Reverend Kathryn Pyke
Prayer of Preparation
Almighty God, still our worries and quiet our minds. Help us to set aside our everyday concerns so that we might bring our whole selves to worship you this morning. Open our ears to hear your word, our mouths to praise you, and our hearts to be filled with your Spirit.
Call to Worship
The God who speaks comfort to us calls us here. The God who addresses us with tenderness meets us here. The God who guides us with gentleness cares for us here. We come to prepare a way for the glory of the Lord to be revealed, and all people will see it.
Prayer of Invocation
God of our ancestors, you were their help in ages past. There is no other to whom we can turn. We ask you, Lord, to stay our hearts on this thought, in the midst of our fleeting and hectic hours. In you, there is no shadow of turning; over all our change, you have watched unchanged. Open our eyes to your everlasting presence now, that we may together be still and know that you are God.
Candle Lighting
We light candles this morning in memory and honor of those who lost their lives in the San Bruno explosion on September 9, 2010, including our beloved Lavonne, Greg and Will Bullis. We also honor and remember the lives that were lost on September 11th, 2001, and the losses we have experienced in our lives.
Hymns
"As the Deer"
"On Eagle's Wings"
