WELCOME
PRELUDE Holy God, We Praise Thy Name – Franz
*CALL TO WORSHIP (adapted from Psalm 63:3-7)
Leader: Because God’s steadfast love is better than life, let us praise the LORD!
People: Let us bless the LORD as long as we live; let us lift our hands and call upon God’s
name.
Leader: Our souls are filled when we meditate on the LORD.
People: For the LORD is our helper, and in the shadow of God’s wings we sing for joy.
Leader: The Lord is our God, and let us rejoice in God’s glory and power.
People: The Mighty One has done great things for us, and holy is God’s name.
*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)
Eternal God, whose love transcends our understanding and yet transforms our humanity,
we thank You for the hope that You share with us.
Yet we confess that we have failed to radiate the hope that is with in us. Although we
worship You as Creator, we do not live as new creations in Your service.
While we praise You as our Redeemer, we often fail to recognize the cost of our
redemption.
Even though we honor You as Sustainer, we have betrayed Your purpose by
thinking that we do not need Your presence in our lives.
Forgive us, Lord, and renew us through Your grace.
Reveal to us the glory of true faithfulness,
so that we may celebrate Your creation, rejoice in Your redemption, and embrace
Your life-sustaining presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Silent)
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS (adapted from Micah 7:18-19)
Leader: No one can compare to the LORD, for God not only pardons our iniquities,
but God also delights in showing clemency.
People: God will again have compassion upon us; God will trample our iniquities
under foot, and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel:
People: Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
SCRIPTURE Psalm 8:1-8
1 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the starsthat you have
established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under
their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
SCRIPTURE John 3:1-17
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
MEDITATION The Things That Change Our Lives
ANTHEM Holy, Holy, Holy Traditional
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH from The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting. Amen.
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 us from 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 Lord, We Have Come at Your Own Invitation #516
Lord, we have come at Your own invitation,
Chosen by You, to be counted Your friends;
Yours is the strength that sustains dedication,
Ours a commitment we know never ends.
Here, at Your table, confirm our intention,
Give it Your seal of forgiveness and grace;
Teach us to serve without pride or pretension,
Lord, in Your kingdom, whatever our place.
When, at Your table, each time of returning,
Vows are renewed and our courage restored:
May we increasingly glory in learning
All that it means to accept You as Lord.
*BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE You’re A Grand Old Flag – Cohen
(Flag day is June 14th)