John Calvin Presbyterian Church

mount of God’s unchanging love!

2 Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come;

and I hope, by thy good pleasure,

safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

wandering from the fold of God;

he, to rescue me from danger,

interposed his precious blood.

3 O to grace how great a debtor

daily I’m constrained to be!

Let that grace now, like a fetter,

bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

here’s my heart; O take and seal it;

seal it for thy courts above.

Open the Eyes of My Heart (GTG#452)

1. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You, I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You, I want to see You

[Chorus] To see You high and lifted up

Shining in the light of your glory

Pour out your power and love

As we sing “Holy, holy, holy.”

Holy, holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy. 

Holy, holy, holy, I want to see you. (Repeat Song)

WORDS OF WELCOME and MINUTE for MISSION

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP Matthew Freudenthal

ONE: Please join me in the call to worship. The Spirit of God renews the earth.

MANY: Bless the name of the Lord!

PRAYER OF THE DAY Matthew Freudenthal

One: Please Join me in the prayer of the Day.

Many: Spirit of fire, your holy presence burns bright within this world. Spread your spirit throughout our communities, so that our hearts may burn with love and hope. Amen.

*RESPONSE HYMN (GTG #288) ”Spirit of the Living God”            

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Melt me; mold me; fill me; use me.

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. 

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION          Brock Moore

Jesus says: Let anyone who is thirsty come to me. Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water. Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sins first in a moment of silence then together. 

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Caleb Hebert

Almighty God, you poured your Spirit upon gathered disciples creating bold tongues, open ears, and a new community of faith. We confess that we hold back the force of your Spirit among us. We do not listen for your word of grace, speak the good news of your love, or live as a people made one in Christ.

Have mercy on us, O God. Transform our timid lives by the power of your Spirit, and fill us with a flaming desire to be your faithful people, doing your will for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

DECLARATION of FORGIVENESS   Brock Moore

ONE: Through Christ, God has poured out the Holy Spirit upon us for the forgiveness of sins. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven

MANY: Thanks be to God!

*GLORIA PATRI (GTG #581) 

PROCLAMATION

SCRIPTURE LESSON     David Russo         Acts 2:1-4, 1 Cor. 12:1-13

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

READERS THEATER The Talent Store

Asher Ochart, Ian Nolan, Kate Russo, Joseph Hebert     

Mr. Broney is helping three customers search for extra gifts in order to fulfill their roles at church when he realizes by working together, they might serve the church better.         

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH    “A Brief Statement of Faith” 

Christian Hebert             

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve. 

We trust in God the Holy Spirit everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church. The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church. In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY “The Gift of Who You Are” by Sherri Porterfield

*DOXOLOGY (GTG #609)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures high and low. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God, in Jesus fully known: 

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

GRADUATE RECOGNITION

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

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.

*HYMN (GTG#300)  We are One in the Spirit

JCPC Youth Kazoo Choir 

We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord;

We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord,

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored:

Chorus:

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love by our love;

yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand;

we will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand,

and together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land: (Chorus)

We will work with each other; we will work side by side;

we will work with each other; we will work side by side,

and we’ll guard human dignity and save human pride: (Chorus)

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come,

and all praise to Christ Jesus God’s only Son,

and all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one: (Chorus)

*PARTING PRAYER Deborah Nolan

Breath of God, Spirit who appeared like a driving wind,

blow away our prejudice and teach us to value all people.

Spirit of God, who appeared like tongues of flame,

burn in us as a passion for justice and a commitment to change.

Spirit of life, who caused the disciples to speak in tongues,

speak through us, and fill us with the courage to proclaim your love.

Spirit of truth, who fills us with wonder and awe,

inspire us to work for a better world and a future where injustice is swept away. Amen

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

*RESPONSE “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” Peter Lutkin

The Lord bless you and keep you

the Lord lift His countenance upon you 

and give you peace

the Lord make His face to shine upon you

and be gracious unto you

Amen 

POSTLUDE        “Never Grow Up” (Kate’s Version)     Kate Russo

*Note: the hymn lyrics in the bulletin and on the projection screen are from the Glory To God Hymnal (© 2013 Westminster John Knox Press), which we are transitioning to. Words in the “Blue” Presbyterian Hymnal (© 1990) in your pew may differ slightly.

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved. 

leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain: Leaning, leaning,

safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning,

leaning on the everlasting arms.

2 O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

leaning on the everlasting arms;

O how bright the path grows from day to day,

leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]

WORDS OF WELCOME

MINUTE FOR MISSON: pw           

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP John 15:13

ONE: There is no greater love than this:

MANY: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Loving Lord, you have showered your world with faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to you, to offer hope to those in need, and to love all your children. Amen.

*HYMN (GTG #250)            ”Hymn of Promise”               PROMISE

1. In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;

in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!

In the cold a snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

2. There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;

there’s a dawn in every darkness, 

bringing hope to you and me.

From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

3. In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;

in our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.

In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN

*RESPONSE HYMN  ( Blue#370 GTG#442) Just as I am

1 Just as I am, without one plea

but that thy blood was shed for me,

and that thou biddest me come to thee,

O Lamb of God, I come; I come!. 

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for peace; we despise the weak, and abuse the earth you made. 

Forgive us, God of mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen. 

DECLARATION of FORGIVENESS  

ONE: In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

MANY: Thanks be to God!

*GLORIA PATRI (GTG #581) 

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, 

world without end, Amen, Amen.

PROCLAMATION

SCRIPTURE LESSON                         1 Cor. 13:1-13

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON ”Love is Love”   Rev. Aaron Ochart

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH    From the Brief Statement of Faith               

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve. We trust in Jesus Christ, Fully human, fully God.

Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal.

We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. In sovereign love God created the world good and makes everyone equally in God’s image …, of every race and people, to live as one community. But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God’s commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve God’s condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. 

We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church. 

With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY Love Is Love Is Love by Abbie Betinis

*DOXOLOGY (GTG #609)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures high and low. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God, in Jesus fully known: 

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY COMMUNION

THE GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

ONE: The Lord be with you.

MANY: And also with you.

ONE: Lift up your hearts.

MANY: We lift them to the Lord.

ONE: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

MANY: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

ONE: …Therefore with all creation we sing your praise:

MANY: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

ONE: … Praise to you, Lord Christ:

MANY: Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord, Jesus, come in glory…

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

ONE: … The gifts of God for the people of God.

MANY: Thanks be to God.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

*HYMN (Blue #335; GTG #693)   Though I May Speak

1 Though I may speak with bravest fire,

and have the gift to all inspire,

and have not love, my words are vain,

as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

2 Though I may give all I possess,

and striving so my love profess,

but not be given by love within,

the profit soon turns strangely thin.

3 Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control;

our spirits long to be made whole.

Let inward love guide every deed;

by this we worship, and are freed.

*PARTING PRAYER

Glory to you, O God: you have won victory over death, raising Jesus from the grave and giving us eternal life. Glory to you, O Christ: for us and for our salvation you have overcome death and opened the gate to everlasting life. Glory to you, O Holy Spirit: you lead us into the truth. Glory to you, O Blessed Trinity, now and forever. Amen. 

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

*RESPONSE Sevenfold Amen by Peter Lutkin

POSTLUDE     Seek ye first/Canon in D,     arr. Annika Bergsma

1. Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving

To God the creator triumphantly raise.

Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,

by guiding us on to the end of our days.

God’s banners are o’er us; pure light goes before us,

A pillar of fire shining forth in the night:

till shadows have vanished all fearfullness banished,

as forward we travel from light into light.

2. By law God enforces, the stars in their courses

the sun in its orbit obediently shine;

the hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,

the depths of the ocean proclaim God divine.

We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;

with glad adoration a song let us raise,

till all things now living unite in thanksgiving:

“To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!”

WORDS OF WELCOME

DEACON MINUTE AND MINUTE FOR MISSION: Program of Hope           

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP Rev. 7:17

ONE: The Lamb of God will be our shepherd;

MANY: he will guide us to the water of life.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of the Word, in the parable of the sower you showed us how your word can take root and grow within us. Nurture the seeds of your word in our hearts and help us to grow in faith and love. Amen.

*HYMN (GTG #250)            ”Hymn of Promise”               PROMISE

1. In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;

in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!

In the cold a snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

2. There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;

there’s a dawn in every darkness, 

bringing hope to you and me.

From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

3. In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;

in our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.

In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN

*RESPONSE HYMN  (GTG#750)  Goodness is Stronger than Evil 

Goodness is stronger than evil;

Love is stronger than hate;

Light is stronger than darkness;

Life is stronger than death;

Victory is ours Victory is ours through Him who loves us.

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for peace; we despise the weak, and abuse the earth you made. 

Forgive us, God of mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen. 

DECLARATION of FORGIVENESS  

ONE: In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

MANY: Thanks be to God!

*GLORIA PATRI (GTG #581) 

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, 

world without end, Amen, Amen.

PROCLAMATION

SCRIPTURE LESSON                         1 Thess 1:1-10

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON             “Imitators of Christ”               Rev. Aaron Ochart

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH    Theological Declaration of Barmen               

Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.

    As Jesus Christ is God’s assurance of the forgiveness of all our sins, so in the same way and with the same seriousness is he also God’s mighty claim upon our whole life. Through him befalls us a joyful deliverance from the godless fetters of this world for a free, grateful service to his creatures.

   The church’s commission, upon which its freedom is founded, consists in delivering the message of the free grace of God to all people in Christ’s stead, and therefore in the ministry of his own Word and work through sermon and Sacrament. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY River in Judea John Leavitt

*DOXOLOGY (GTG #609)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures high and low. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God, in Jesus fully known: 

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

REMEMBRANCE OF BAPTISM

ONE: The Lord be with you.

MANY: And also with you.

ONE: Lift up your hearts.

MANY: We lift them to the Lord.

ONE: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

MANY: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

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.

*HYMN (Blue #272; GTG #22)   God of the Sparrow

1. 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

2. God of the earthquake God of the storm

God of the trumpet blast

How does the creature cry Woe

How does the creature cry Save

3. 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

4. God of the hungry God of the sick

God of the prodigal

How does the creature say Care

How does the creature say Life

5. God of the neighbor God of the foe

God of the pruning hook

How does the creature say Love

How does the creature say Peace

6. God of the ages God near at hand

Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name.

1. Jesus is Lord of all the earth.

He is the King of creation. Refrain.

4. Come let us praise the living God, 

joyfully sing to our Savior. Refrain.

WORDS OF WELCOME 

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP 1 John 3:2

ONE: Beloved, we are God’s children now;

MANY: Peace be with you. The Risen Lord is here.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Holy Lord, your followers gave to your children something more powerful and more valuable than riches. They gave healing and hope. Bring healing and hope into our world and show us evidence of your presence in our lives. Amen.

*HYMN (GTG #250)            ”Hymn of Promise”               PROMISE

1. In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;

in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!

In the cold a snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

2. There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;

there’s a dawn in every darkness, 

bringing hope to you and me.

From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

3. In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;

in our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.

In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. 

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN

*RESPONSE HYMN  (GTG#800)   Sometimes a Light Surprises

1 Sometimes a light surprises the child of God who sings;

it is the Lord who rises with healing in his wings;

when comforts are declining, he grants the soul again

a season of clear shining to cheer it after rain.

CONFESSION 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for peace; we despise the weak, and abuse the earth you made. 

Forgive us, God of mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen. 

DECLARATION of FORGIVENESS  

ONE: In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

MANY: Thanks be to God!

*GLORIA PATRI (GTG #581) 

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, 

world without end, Amen, Amen.

PROCLAMATION

SCRIPTURE LESSON                         Acts 3:1-10

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON      “The Name of Jesus”           Rev. Aaron Ochart

 RESPONSE     

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH          Westminster Shorter Catechism               

ONE: What is the main purpose for humanity?

MANY: The main purpose for humanity is to glorify and enjoy God forever.

ONE: What rule has God given to tell us how we may glorify and enjoy God?

MANY: The Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to tell us how we may glorify and enjoy God.

ONE: What do the Scriptures mainly teach?

MANY: The Scriptures mainly teach what we are to believe about God, and what duty God requires of us.

ONE: How many Persons are there in the Trinity?

MANY: There are three Persons in the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

ONE: What is Sin?

MANY: Sin is any lack of obedience to, or violation of, the law of God.

ONE: Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?

MANY: The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and human, in two distinct natures, and one Person forever.

ONE: How does the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?

MANY: The Spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by Christ by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY Waltz in A major, Op. 39/15 J. Brahms 

Lucia Benevento

*DOXOLOGY (GTG #609)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures high and low. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God, in Jesus fully known: 

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

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

*HYMN (Blue #343; GTG #761)           

Called as Partners in Christ’s Service

1. Called as partners in Christ’s service, 

called to ministries of grace,

We respond with deep commitment 

fresh new lines of faith to trace.

May we learn the art of sharing, 

side by side and friend with friend,

Equal partners in our caring to fulfill God’s chosen end.

2. Christ’s example, Christ’s inspiring, 

Christ’s clear call to work and worth

let us follow, never faltering, reconciling folk on earth.

Men and women, richer, poorer, 

all God’s people young and old,

blending human skills together 

gracious gifts from God unfold.

3. Thus new patterns for Christ’s mission, 

in a small or global sense,

help us bear each other’s burdens, 

breaking down each wall or fence.

Words of comfort, words of vision, 

words of challenge said with care,

bring new power and strength for action, 

make us colleagues free and fair.

4. So God grant us for tomorrow ways to order human life