SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
16th Sunday of Pentecost
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
September 20, 2020
Ten Thirty in the morning
Minister: The Reverend Aaron Ochart
Liturgist: Chuck Corcoran
Please silence all phones and beepers.
GATHERING
PRELUDE 7 pieces in C major and C minor – I Franck
ADORATION
CALL TO WORSHIP Phil. 1:27
Live in a way that is worthy of the gospel.
Stand firm in the Spirit, side by side.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of the covenant, As you promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars, you have also promised us that we might live under those stars as your people, faithful and loved. Show us how to live as your people, and how to nurture all your children with whom we share the same canopy of sky night after night. Amen
CALL TO CONFESSION
SILENT CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Eternal God, our judge and redeemer, we confess that we have tried to hide from you, for we have done wrong. We have lived for ourselves, and apart from you. We have turned from our neighbors, and refused to bear the burdens of others. We have ignored the pain of the world, and passed by the hungry, the poor, and the oppressed. In your great mercy forgive our sins and free us from selfishness, that we may choose your will and obey your commandments; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
GLORIA PATRI 579
PROCLAMATION
FIRST LESSON Luke 3:21-22
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
ANTHEM “Give Me Jesus” arr. Douglas Wagner
Soloist: Sandy Cranfill
In the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise,
In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, give me Jesus. You may have all this world, give me Jesus!
And when I am alone, and when I am alone,
And when I am alone, give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, give me Jesus. You may have all this world, give me Jesus!
And when I come to die, and when I come to die,
And when I come to die, give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, give me Jesus. You may have all this world, give me Jesus!
Second Lesson Genesis 15:1-6
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
L: The Word of the Lord.
RESPONSE
REAFFIRMATION OF BAPTISM
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 the one body- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Beloved people of God, our baptism is the sign and seal of our cleansing from sin, and of our being grafted into Christ. Through the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, the power of sin was broken and God’s kingdom entered our world.
Through our baptism we were made citizens of God’s kingdom, and freed from the bondage of sin. Let us celebrate that freedom and redemption through the renewal of the promises made at our baptisms.
I ask you therefore, once again to reject sin, to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, and to confess the faith of the church, the faith in which we were baptized.
Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world? I do.
Who is your Lord and Savior? Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Confession of Belhar 10.5-10.6
We believe
that God has entrusted the church with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ;
that the church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells.
that God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit has conquered the powers of sin and death, and therefore also of irreconciliation and hatred, bitterness and enmity, that God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world;
that the credibility of this message is seriously affected and its beneficial work obstructed when it is proclaimed in a land which professes to be Christian, but in which the enforced separation of people on a racial basis promotes and perpetuates alienation, hatred and enmity;
that any teaching which attempts to legitimate such forced separation by appeal to the gospel, and is not prepared to venture on the road of obedience and reconciliation, but rather, out of prejudice, fear, selfishness and unbelief, denies in advance the reconciling power of the gospel, must be considered ideology and false doctrine.
THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
Remember your baptism and be thankful. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Hymn 488 “The God of Abraham Praise”
PARTING PRAYER
Readings for Week of 9/21-9/27 Genesis 37-50
Daily Prayer Services on our YouTube channel. Go to bit.ly/WatchJCPC