WELCOME
PRELUDE O Worship the King – Keveren
*CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Here in this place may the music, words, and prayers we experience
open our ears to the voice of God.
People: Here in this place may our faith be strengthened as we are
blessed with God’s Spirit.
Leader: Here in this placemay God’slove bind ustogetherin care, compassion,
and community.
People: Here in this place may our God-given intellect invite us
to ask new questions.
Leader: Here in this place may we always respect life and rejoice in
the richness of diversity.
People: As we are inspired for service, let us praise the Lord,
the Almighty, the King of creation.
*HYMN OF PRAISE Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty #482
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION (Unison)
Leader: Merciful God, in Your gracious presence we confess our sin and the sin
of this present age.
People: We profess that Christ is our peace, but we live as people divided
against ourselves, and we cling to the values of a broken world.
Leader: The fears and jealousiesthat we harborset neighbor against neighbor
and nation against nation.
People: We abuse Your good gifts of creativity and freedom, of reason
and intellect, and we have turned them into bonds of oppression.
Leader: Lord, have mercy upon us. Heal us, and forgive us.
People: Shatter every false idol which we have constructed, and set us
free to serve You in the world as agents of Your reconciling love.
Leader: Interrupt our busyness with a word of faithfulness, and enable us
to learn what You are trying to teach us.
People: Equip us with the transforming power of Your grace, so that we may
receive the strength and courage to promote Your peace across
the globe, through Jesus Christ, 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 fear the LORD.
People: As far as the east isfrom 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 Amos 1:9-15
9 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four,
I will not revoke the punishment; because they delivered entire communities
over to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of kinship. 10 So I will send
a fire on the wall of Tyre, fire that shall devour its strongholds.
11 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not
revoke the punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast
off all pity; he maintained his anger perpetually, and kept his wrath forever. 12 So
I will send a fire on Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.
13 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four,
I will not revoke the punishment; because they have ripped open pregnant women in
Gilead in order to enlarge their territory. 14 So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah, fire that shall devour its strongholds, with shouting on the day of battle, with a storm on the
day of the whirlwind; 15 then their king shall go into exile, he and his officials together,
says the LORD.
SCRIPTURE Amos 2:1-12
1 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the
punishment; because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. 2 So I will send
a fire on Moab, and itshall devour the strongholds of Kerioth, and Moab shall die amid
uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet; 3 I will cut off the ruler from its
midst, and will kill all its officials with him, says the LORD.
4 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the
punishment; because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his
statutes, but they have been led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors
walked. 5 So I willsend a fire on Judah, and itshall devourthe strongholds ofJerusalem.
6 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the
punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of
sandals— 7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push
the afflicted out of the way; father and son go in to the same girl, so that my holy name
is profaned; 8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garmentstaken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink wine bought with fines they imposed.
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of cedars, and
who was as strong as oaks; I destroyed his fruit above, and his roots beneath. 10 Also I
brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to
possessthe land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets
and some of your youths to be nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel? says the
LORD. 12 But you made the nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying,
“You shall not prophesy.”
MEDITATION The Voice of the Prophet
ANTHEM God, Be the Love to Search and Keep Me – Colligan
Dan Derbin & Ken Heischman
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH from A Declaration of Faith, 8.2
We believe that God sends us to tell all nations
that Christ calls everyone to repentance, faith and obedience.
We are to proclaim by word and deed that Christ gave himself to set people free
from sin and self-hatred, from ignorance and disease,
from all forms of oppression, and even from death.
We must not distort the gospel
by weakening its promises or demands,
by identifying it with oppressive structures,
by pointing to ourselves instead of Christ.
We must not restrict our proclamation to persons just like ourselves.
We invite people everywhere to believe in Christ and become his followers.
We urge them to join us in telling others the good news and in struggling
for justice, compassion, and peace.
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 (Unison)
God of light and life,
although our resources seem so insignificant when compared to Your gift of life,
we nevertheless place our offerings beforeYou as a sacrificial gesture of our
gratitude.
In response to the riches of Your immeasurable love,
accept what we present to You,
and strengthen us with Your Spirit to demonstrate Your love in what we do
and say,
so that all people will follow You, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
*HYMN God, You Spin the Whirling Planets #285
God, You spin the whirling planets, Fill the seas and spread the plain,
Mold the mountains, fashion blossoms, Call forth sunshine, wind, and rain.
We, created in Your image, Would a true reflection be
Of Your justice, grace, and mercy And the truth that makes us free.
You have called us to be faithful In our life and ministry.
We respond in grateful worship Joined in one community.
When we blur Your gracious image, Focus us and make us whole.
Healed and strengthened as Your people, We move onward toward Your goal.
God, Your word is still creating, Calling us to life made new.
Now reveal to us fresh vistas Where there’s work to dare and do.
Keep us clear of all distortion. Polish us with loving care.
Thus, new creatures in Your image, We’ll proclaim Christ everywhere.
*BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho – Spiritual / Austin