WELCOME
PRELUDE All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name
CALL TO WORSHIP:
It is good to sing praises to our God. God is gracious and a song of praise is fitting.
Great is the Lord, and abundant in power, whose understanding is beyond measure.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God with the lyre.
You take pleasure in those who fear you and hope in your steadfast love.
Let us worship God!
*HYMN: From All That Dwell Below the Skies (327)
CALL TO CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
O God, you heal the brokenhearted; save us from sin when we inflict pain on our neighbors. We bear grudges against those who deceive us. We seek revenge on those who hurt us. Some we judge inferior, since they don’t meet our standards. Others we deem unworthy of our respect and support. Jesus had compassion upon all who were afflicted. Forgive us, O God, when our hearts are hardened against neighbors in need. Amen.
SILENT CONFESSION
ASSURANCE OF PARDON:
PASSING THE PEACE (you are invited to share the Peace of Christ as you feel comfortable doing)
MUSICAL INTERLUDE By Gracious Powers
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 40:21-31
21Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
23who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
30Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
31but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
SCRIPTURE: Mark 1:29-39
29As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
A Preaching Tour in Galilee
35In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
PRE-SERMON PRAYER
SERMON: Intent vs. Impact
POST-SERMON PRAYER
ANTHEM Blessed Assurance – Knapp/Hayes
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: (from The Confession of 1967, 9.10-9.11)
The risen Christ is the Savior for all men. Those joined to him by faith are set right with God and commissioned to serve as his reconciling community. Christ is head of this community, the church, which began with the apostles and continues through all generations. The same Jesus Christ is the judge of all men. His judgment discloses the ultimate seriousness of life and gives promise to God’s final victory over the power of sin and death. To receive life from the risen Lord is to have life eternal; to refuse life from him is to choose the death which is separation from God. All who put their trust in Christ face divine judgment without fear, for the judge is their redeemer.
JOYS AND CONCERNS
(Joys): Lord, we praise you. Thanks be to God.
(Concerns): Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.
Hear our prayers, O Lord.
Hear our prayers, O Lord.
Incline thine ear to us, and grant us thy peace.
PRAYER OF THE PEOPLE/THE LORD’S PRAYER
INVITATION TO SHARE:
OFFERING/MUSICAL INTERLUDE
*DOXOLOGY
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
*HYMN: Arise, Your Light Is Come! (744)
*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
*CHORAL RESPONSE
*POSTLUDE When The Saints Go Marching In with Glory Hallelujah – Hayes
*- those who can stand are invited to stand