To Make a Church a Church

August 13, 2023
Pastor Jacob Lee
Worship

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Service of Worship

Andante from “Concerto in D minor for two mandolins”
Antonio Vivaldi
Public Domain

Leader: Beloved disciples, welcome. As we gather, what are you seeking?
People: We seek God’s presence all around us.
Leader: Beloved disciples, if God’s presence is all around us, what are you seeking?
People: We seek to recognize God’s presence among us.
Leader: Beloved disciples, if God is among you, what are you seeking?
People: We seek God in the faces of family, friends, and neighbors.
Leader: Beloved disciples, if God is in the face of your neighbor, what are you seeking?
People: We seek God in the search and the work for peace and wholeness for all God’s creation.
Leader: As we gather today, may we meet God in our seeking and in our finding.
People: Amen.

(Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries)

Opening Hymn — #110 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

1. A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

2. Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.

3. And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

4. That word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours,
thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Frederick Henry Hedge | Martin Luther
Public Domain

Pastor’s Time With the Children + Blessing of the Backpacks – Rev. Jacob Lee

Joys and Concerns, Pastoral Prayer, 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory forever. Amen.

For those who are called and able, gifts and tithes can still be made through online giving, by mailing them in, and by dropping them off to the office through the secure mail slot to the left of the double door entry to the church hallway.

Offertory – Josh, Marshall and Barry

What Does The Lord Require Of You
Jim Strathdee
© 1986 Desert Flower Music/Jim and Jean Strathdee
Used with Permission. ONE LICENSE # A-401420

Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow (Old 100th)
Louis Bourgeois | Thomas Ken
Public Domain

Offertory Prayer

Forgiving God, the first offering you ask for is the giving of ourselves, loving you and others boldly, refusing to let our fear of the storms around us keep us from taking risks. Forgive us for times when you have called us to leave our places of comfort, and we’ve ignored the call. Forgive us when our giving has not grown beyond our safety zone, but you blessed our gifts and us anyway. For those times when we dared to put our foot outside the boat and then sank up to our knees, thank you for not taking your hand away. For all this, we give thanks in the holy name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

(Matthew 14:22-33)

Scripture Readings — Ephesians 4:11-16 (NRSV)

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.

The Word of the Lord:
Thanks be to God.

Congregational Choral Anthem — #314 “In the Garden”

1. I come to the garden alone
while the dew is still on the roses,
and the voice I hear falling on my ear,
the Son of God discloses.

Refrain
And he walks with me,
and he talks with me,
and he tells me I am his own;
and the joy we share
as we tarry there,
none other has ever known.

2. He speaks, and the sound of his voice
is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
and the melody that he gave to me
within my heart is ringing.

Refrain

3. I’d stay in the garden with him
though the night around me be falling,
but he bids me go; thru the voice of woe
his voice to me is calling.

Refrain

In The Garden
Charles Austin Miles
Public Domain

Sermon — Rev. Jacob S. Lee
“To Make a Church a Church”

Closing Hymn — #590 “Christ Loves the Church” (v. 1, 3, 4)

1. Christ loves the church,
with grace beyond all measure.
We bear his name, for all the world to see.
He will not let us go or let us be,
but chooses earthen vessels for his treasure.

3. Christ feeds the church,
and fills us with a vision,
through praise and preaching, wine and broken bread,
of sharing people, doing what they’ve said,
who win the world’s respect, or opposition.

4. Christ needs the church,
to live and tell his story,
to praise his love and marvel at his trust,
till, bathed in light, awakened from the dust,
we walk with God, alive in grace and glory.

Christ Loves The Church
Brian Arthur Wren | Jane Marshall
© 1986 Hope Publishing Company
Used with Permission. CCLI License # 656051

Benediction

Postlude – Hani

Tuba Tune on Lourdes Hymn
Luigi Mengoni
Composed 2023
Used by Permission. Creative Commons Attribution.