WELCOME
- Worship Committee on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
- Governing Board Meeting on Thursday, at 4:00 p.m.
PRELUDE How Majestic Is Your Name – Smith
*CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: We gather here to worship the One who is the Source of life.
People: As the body of Christ, we follow the One who is the Essence of love.
Leader: We worship our Lord who inspires us to participate in transforming the world.
People: In this community of faith, we trust that God will be with us, and God will work
through us.
Leader: May God’s grace surprise us; may God’s love embrace us; and may God’s Spirit guide us.
People: Let us join all that dwell below the skies in praising the One who calls us to live in
justice, freedom and peace.
*HYMN OF PRAISE From All That Dwell Below the Skies #229
From all that dwell below the skies Let the Creator’s praise arise: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let the Redeemer’s name be sung Through every land, in every tongue.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
In every land begin the song, To every land the strains belong: Alleluia! Alleluia!
In cheerful sounds all voices raise And fill the world with joyful praise.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord; Eternal truth attends Thy Word: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, Till suns rise and set no more.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION (Unison)
Gracious and merciful God, we confess that we have often ignored Your word and refused
to follow where You lead us.
You have opened the doors of truth and freedom, but we have frequently chosen to
remain in the prisons of false promises and selfish ambitions.
Although You have blessed us with the Word of life to give us direction, we have often
ignored Your guidance and trusted our own wisdom and strength.
Forgive us, Lord, and cleanse us of our sin.
Increase in us Your gift of faith,
so that with a renewed commitment and devotion
we may live in the world as dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose
name we pray. (Silent)
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS (adapted from Romans 6:22-23)
Leader: We have not only been freed from sin, but we have become servants of God, and the
advantage we receive is sanctification.
People: The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel:
People: Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
MINUTE FOR MISSION Kentucky Flood Relief
SCRIPTURE Proverbs 4:13-19
13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they
have made someone stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter
until full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.
SCRIPTURE Daniel 1:8-21
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine;
so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself. 9 Now God allowed Daniel
to receive favor and compassion from the palace master. 10 The palace master said to Daniel,
“I am afraid of my lord the king; he has appointed your food and your drink. If he should see
you in poorer condition than the other young men of your own age, you would endanger my
head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed
over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let
us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 You can then compare our appearance with
the appearance of the young men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants
according to what you observe.” 14 So he agreed to this proposal and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young
men who had been eating the royal rations. 16 So the guard continued to withdraw their royal
rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 To these four young men
God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight
into all visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought in, the palace master
brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, 19 and the king spoke with them. And
among them all, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah;
therefore they were stationed in the king’s court. 20 In every matter of wisdom and
understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than
all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. 21 And Daniel continued there until the
first year of King Cyrus.
MEDITATION A Risky Alternative
ANTHEM Deep River – Spiritual / Keveren
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH from the United Church of Canada
We are not alone, we live in God’s world.
We believe in God who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND AN ALTERNATE FORM OF 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 (Unison)
Loving God and Lord of the church,
to whom we give our thanks and praise for the good ministries You have entrusted to us,
touch and transform what we offer to You,
so that these gifts may minister to people in need.
Utilize these resources to announce the new life which is available through You,
and employ these offerings for Your purposes,
so that they may promote faith, inspire hope, and empower Your church everywhere
to serve after the pattern of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
*HYMN Lord, When I Came Into This Life #522
Lord, when I came into this life You called me by my name;
Today I come, commit myself, Responding to Your claim.
Within the circle of the faith As member of Your cast,
I take my place with all the saints Of future, present, past.
In all the tensions of my life, Between my faith and doubt,
Let Your great Spirit give me hope, Sustain me, lead me out.
So, help me in my unbelief And let my life be true:
Feet firmly planted on the earth, My sights set high on You.
*BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Rock-A-My-Soul – Austin