WELCOME
PRELUDE Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah – Hughes / Keveren
*CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: From the glory of sunrises to the beauty of sunsets, let us join with all creation
in praising God’s work.
People: By God’s grace, a dawn of hope shines for all humanity.
Leader: As God illumines us, let us reflect God’s light in the world.
People: Let us learn from the Lord who enlightens us with truth and wisdom.
Leader: May God inspire us to treasure and respect the miraculous wonder of life.
People: For the glorious and diverse beauty of the earth, let us praise the Holy One,
the Lord God Almighty.
*HYMN OF PRAISE Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! #138
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinfulness Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth and sky and sea;
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION (Unison)
Merciful God, through Your grace and compassion,
You invite us to participate in the banquet feast of Your kingdom
where the unity of hearts and minds is real.
Yet becausewe are too easily swayed by theways of a vindictive and uncompassionate world,
we often fail to share what we have with our fellow human beings.
We have withheld our love, hoarded our resources, and surrendered hope.
Forgive us, Lord.
By Your mercy, enable us to celebrate the abundance of Your blessings that You desire
to share with all people,
and instill within us the joy of embracing the reality of Your reign that is revealed in
Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. (Silent)
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS (adapted from Psalm 103:11-12)
Leader: As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is God’s steadfast love toward those
who honor God.
People: As far as the east is from the west, so far does God remove our transgressions from
us.
Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel:
People: Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
SCRIPTURE Deuteronomy 8:11-20
11 Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God, by failing to keep his commandments,
his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. 12 When you have eaten
your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks have
multiplied, and yoursilver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then do
not exalt yourself, forgetting theLORD your God, who brought you out ofthe land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock,
16 and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you
and to test you, and in the end to do you good. 17 Do not say to yourself, “My power and the
might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for
it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore
to your ancestors, as he is doing today. 19 If you do forget the LORD your God and follow other
godsto serve and worship them,Isolemnly warn you today that you shallsurely perish. 20 Like
the nations that the LORD is destroying before you, so shall you perish, because you would not
obey the voice of the LORD your God.
SCRIPTURE Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance
with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life
does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land
of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself,‘Whatshould I do, for I have
no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build
larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul,
‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God
said to him, ‘You fool! This very night yourlife is being demanded of you. And the things you
have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasuresforthemselves
but are not rich toward God.”
MEDITATION Fool’s Gold
ANTHEM I Need Thee Every Hour – Lowry / Henry
Lisa Iceman, flute
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH from A Declaration of Faith, 6.5
In his history with his people in the world, God has often made material things
channels through which his grace is understood and powerfully experienced.
Out of the life and ministry of Jesus, the Church received baptism and the Lord’s Supper
as special sacraments of God’s saving action.
We believe that, at the Lord’s Supper, the community of believers is renewed
by the memory of Christ’s life and death,
by his real presence in the power of the Holy Spirit,
and by the promise of his coming again.
Christ makes himself known to us in the breaking of bread.
He offers us his body broken for our sake
and his blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
We accept his promises and gifts and depend on his life to sustain ours.
In turn we offer ourselves in thanksgiving to the risen Lord who has conquered death.
So we celebrate his victory here and now
and anticipate the joyous feast in his coming kingdom.
Reunited around one loaf and cup,
we receive strength and courage
to continue our pilgrimage with God in the world.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND 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 usfrom evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
INVITATION TO GIVE
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
We have “open” communion, and therefore all who desire a closer relationship with God and
want to share in the love of Jesus Christ are invited to participate fully in the sacrament.
Invitation to the Table
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Leader: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Words of Institution and Communion of the People
Prayer after Communion
*HYMN Be Thou My Vision #339
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art –
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
Great God of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
*BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Blessed Assurance – Knapp
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CCLI #4220373