The Service for the Lord’s Day
Celebrate the Gifts of Women in the Church
May 19, 2019 10:30 a.m.
WE GATHER TO PRAISE GOD, THE LORD OF LIFE
Prelude “Hallelujah! What a Savior!” arr. J Bennett
“There is a Land of Pure Delight” arr. L. Shackley
“Take Time to be Holy” arr. J Turner
News of the Church
Please complete the attendance form found in the red Welcome book in your pew. Prayer request forms are also available in the Welcome book. Thank you.
*The Greeting and Welcoming of One Another
(There are no strangers in God’s House, just friends we have not yet met.
Greet your neighbor with Christian love and let them know that you’re glad to see them!)
*Hymn “Blessed Be Your Name”
Call to Worship AJ Baratta
Leader: We gather as called servants of God;
People: searching for guidance to live a life worthy of our calling.
Leader: We gather as followers, given wonderful gifts;
People: gifts we must use together to build a stronger body of believers.
Leader: God loves us so deeply, we were given knowledge, humility, love and
mercy so that we may share with others, and walk the path God created
for us.
. ALL: Let us worship God!
*Hymn “10,000 Reasons”
*Prayer of Confession (Unison)
Dear Lord, many times we take pride in our abilities, yet fail to credit You for our strengths; yet when we feel shame in our failures, we blame You for our inabilities. We want others to see us as great leaders but refuse to recognize that gift in anyone else. Help us to take all You have given us and use it to nurture others, to love others and to stand strong together against the evil winds that try to topple us.…(Silent time of prayer)
*Assurance of Pardon
Leader: God knows all our strengths and is proud of our accomplishments. God
knows all of our weaknesses and loves us in spite of them. God knows our
sins, and forgives us as we are encouraged to forgive others.
. ALL: Thanks be to God!
*The Gloria Patri – Hymn Tune, 581
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
WE HEAR GOD’S WORD
Children’s Message
After the Children’s Message, children 7 and younger may continue to Millard Hall for Children’s Church. All other children are asked to remain in worship.
Anthem “None Other Lamb” C Courtney
Gloria Stover and Myrna Vasta
Message “Created, Called, Loved” Dr. Jennifer Blake
Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity in the Body of Christ
4 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said,
“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people.”
9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
WE SEAL AND RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
Litany of Thanksgiving for Loving Leaders
Leader: Loving God, we thank You for mothers and fathers who lovingly raised
and are raising their children and teaching them to be kind and thoughtful
people. We thank You for the times they teach children how to work
through difficult times, remembering they are always loved.
All: We thank You for teachers and pastors who challenged us to
explore meaningful ways to be servant leaders serving with
compassion and a sense of justice, with openness to all Your
people.
Leader: We thank You for strangers who do not look like us or sound like us, but
serve as examples and role models as they lead and interact with others
in tender, loving and caring ways.
All: We thank You for children and youth who are curious and searching
and invite us to join them on their journeys. We are grateful that
they remind us of the importance of play and not taking ourselves
too seriously.
Leader: God, we also pray this day for those who do not lead with love. We pray
for those who lead with a hardness of heart that shows disregard and
disrespect for the human family and their welfare.
People: Give all leaders hearts of love and the desire to do better and be
better. Grant them forgiveness and a commitment to be among
those who lead with love, purpose and compassion. Be with all
Your people, loving God, this day and in the days to come. In Jesus’
name we pray. Amen.
*Hymn #324 “For All the Faithful Women”
Prayers of the People and The Lord’s Prayer (Unison)
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.
Offering
Offertory Ant “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” arr. J Purifoy
Handbells
*Doxology (The Hymnal, p. 606)
*Prayer of Dedication
WE GO FORTH TO SERVE
*Hymn #727 “Will You Let Me be Your Servant?”
Benediction
Postlude “Allegretto” Vivaldi
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*Please stand, in body or in spirit
