Come to God’s own temple, come; raise the song of harvest home.

3 For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home;

from each field shall in that day all offenses purge away;

give the angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast,

but the fruitful ears to store in God’s garner evermore.

WORDS OF WELCOME      

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF NATIVE LANDS 

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP Isa. 12:2

ONE: Surely God is our salvation;

MANY: trust in the Lord and do not be afraid.

                                                   

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Loving Lord, you have searched your people for evidence of goodness, the way fruit is sought in a vineyard. Send your righteous judge and find goodness in your faithful children. Amen.

HYMN OF THE MONTH [GTG# 506] 

“Look Who Gathers at Christ’s Table”

1. Look who gathers at Christ’s table!

Hear the stories that they bring.

Some are weeping; some are laughing;

some have songs they want to sing.

Others ask why they’re invited,

burdened by the wrong the’ve done.

Christ insists they all are welcome.

there is room for ev’ryone.

2. Clouds of light surround the table;

Ancient followers appear,

saints confessing how they wrestled

with their guilt, their doubt and fear.

Peter tells of his denying

Christ was ever in his sight;

Paul relates his fruitless efforts

to obliterate the light.

3. Their sad stories are repeated

in a thousand diff’rent ways,

but they share one thing in common:

they all end in thanks and praise

for the host who has invited

north and south and east and west

to converge around this table,

where all life is fed and blest.

4. Bring your joy and bring your sadness,

and prepare to be surprised

by the host whose hands are wounded,

who will open wide your eyes

when he blesses bread and breaks it–

truth and manna from above!–

and then passes wine that wakens

in your heart the taste of love.

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN      

 RESPONSE HYMN [GTG#647] “Give Thanks” 

1. Give thanks with a grateful heart; give thanks to the Holy One;

give thanks because we’re given Jesus Christ, the Son. (repeat)

And now let the weak say, “We are strong”; 

let the poor say, “We are rich because of what the Lord has done for us”;

Give thanks. Give thanks. 

REPENTANCE

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                  

SILENT CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Almighty God, you love us, but we have not loved you. You call, but we have not listened. We walk away from neighbors in need, wrapped in our own concerns. We condone evil, prejudice, warfare, and greed.

God of grace, help us to admit our sin, so that as you come to us in mercy, we may repent, turn to you, and receive forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our redeemer. Amen. 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON                     

GLORIA PATRI [Blue#579[ [GTG581]     

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.

THE WORD READ AND PROCLAIMED

SCRIPTURE [Pew Bible OT 634 or 596]           Isaiah 5:1-7, 11:1-5

Let me sing for my beloved

   my love-song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

   on a very fertile hill.

He dug it and cleared it of stones,

   and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watch-tower in the midst of it,

   and hewed out a wine vat in it;

he expected it to yield grapes,

   but it yielded wild grapes.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

   and people of Judah,

judge between me

   and my vineyard.

What more was there to do for my vineyard

   that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes,

   why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you

   what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge,

   and it shall be devoured;

I will break down its wall,

   and it shall be trampled down.

I will make it a waste;

   it shall not be pruned or hoed,

   and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;

I will also command the clouds

   that they rain no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts

   is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah

   are his pleasant planting;

he expected justice,

   but saw bloodshed;

righteousness,

   but heard a cry!

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,

   and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,

   the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

   the spirit of counsel and might,

   the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

   or decide by what his ears hear;

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

   and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,

   and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

ONE: The Word of the Lord

MANY: Thanks be to God

SERMON                 “Bountiful Harvest”                        Reverend Ochart

 RESPONSE     

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY “Song in the Night”, arr. Zach Busch

DOXOLOGY  [*BLUE#592] [GTG#606]

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures here below;

Praise God above, ye heavenly hosts;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

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.

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[*Blue #553][GTG#36] “For the Fruit of All Creation”

1 For the fruit of all creation, thanks be to God.

For the gifts to every nation, thanks be to God.

For the plowing, sowing, reaping,

silent growth while we are sleeping,

future needs in earth’s safekeeping, thanks be to God.

2 In the just reward of labor, God’s will be done.

In the help we give our neighbor, God’s will be done.

In our worldwide task of caring for the hungry and despairing,

in the harvests we are sharing, God’s will be done.

3 For the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God.

For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God.

For the wonders that astound us,

for the truths that still confound us,

most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.

PARTING PRAYER     William Bright (1824-1901)

Loving God, you want us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing except losing you, and to lay all our cares on you, knowing that you care for us. Protect us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds in this mortal life may hide from us the light of your immortal love shown to us your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

RESPONSE [GTG#44] “Like a Mother Who Has Borne Us” v. 4

4. When we offer food and comfort, grasp our neighbor’s hand in love,

Tread the path of peace and justice, God still walks with us in life.

POSTLUDE      Improvisation on ASH GROVE