Service of Worship
Prelude – Hani
Pavane in Organ
G. Fauré
Public Domain
Welcome and Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus called together the disciples
and a great multitude to a level place.
There he touched, healed, and taught.
There he spoke, “Blessed are…”
There he named the blessed—the saints of the faith.
O God, call us together as you did those so long ago
to discover your blessed people.
Today, in this place, Christ gather us.
Let us remember, confess, celebrate, and embody
the blessed saints of God.
Christ, come among us. Alleluia!
Opening Hymn — #711 For All the Saints (v. 1-2, 6)
1. For all the saints,
Who from their labours rest,
Who Thee by faith
Before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus,
Be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
2. Thou wast their rock,
Their fortress, and their might;
Thou Lord, their captain
In the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear,
Their one true light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
6. From earth’s wide bounds,
From ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl
Streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For All the Saints
Ralph Vaughan Williams | William Walsham How
Public Domain
Scripture Reading – Luke 6:20-31 (NRSV)
20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Children’s Time with Ms Becky
Joys and Concerns — Pastoral Prayer
Prayer For the People, and Remembering Our Saints
Living God, in whom there is no shadow or change, we thank you for the gift of life eternal, and for all those who having served you well, now rest from their labors.
We thank you for all the saints remembered and forgotten, for those dear souls most precious to us.
Today we give thanks for those who during the last twelve months have died and entered into glory. We bless you for their life and love, and rejoice for them “all is well, and all manner of things will be well.”
God of Jesus and our God, mindful of all those choice souls who have gone on ahead of us, teach us, and each twenty-first century disciple of every race and place,
• to follow their example to the best of our ability:
• to feed the poor in body or spirit,
• to support and comfort the mourners and the repentant,
• to encourage the meek and stand with them in crises,
• to affirm those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
• to cherish and learn from the merciful,
• to be humbled by, and stand with, the peacemakers.
Let us clearly recognize what it means to be called the children of God, and to know we are to be your saints neither by our own inclination nor in our own strength but simply by the call and the healing holiness of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen!
Offering Our Gifts to the Lord
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 – Barry and Leah
I’ll Fly Away
Albert E. Brumley
© 1932 Hartford Music Company. Renewed 1960 Albert E. Brumley And Sons
Used by Permission. CCLI License # 656051
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
God of all generations, as we worship today, we offer our whole selves to you, all that we have and all that we are. Like your saints who have gone before us, we pray that you will help us be bold in our mission and in our witness. May we who have been given so much give freely, ministering in your compassion to the multitudes near to us and far from us; so that one day we may stand amidst the multitude that gathers at your heavenly throne. We pray this in the name of our Savior and Redeemer, Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sermon – Pastor Stacy Dickson
Blessed are We Who Love the Lord
Closing Hymn — #712 I Sing a Song of the Saints of God
1. I sing a song of the saints of God,
patient and brave and true,
who toiled and fought and lived and died
for the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
and one was a shepherdess on the green;
they were all of them saints of God, and I mean,
God helping, to be one too.
2. They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,
and his love made them strong;
and they followed the right for Jesus’ sake
the whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
and there’s not any reason, no, not the least,
why I shouldn’t be one too.
3. They lived not only in ages past;
there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints
who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,
in church, by the sea, in the house next door;
they are saints of God, whether rich or poor,
and I mean to be one too.
I Sing a Song of the Saints of God
Lesbia Scott | John Henry Hopkins
Public Domain
Table Blessing and Benediction
In our sharing bread today we include in companionship
the saints alive and the saints resurrected.
In our sharing of bread today we include in companionship
the poor, marginalized and rejected of this world.
In our sharing of bread today we include in companionship
those known to us and those not known, who need Jesus now.
In our sharing of bread today we include in companionship
Jesus, our incarnated, broken and risen Lord.
AMEN!
Juice is for sorrow and for joy, for suffering and for celebration,
for forgiveness and for New Relationship.
We drink until Christ returns.
AMEN!
And so we pray:
Send us out to wait and to work for the Kingdom.
Make us people of hope,
fanning the flames of redemption and resurrection in the world.
AMEN!
Brothers and sisters,
since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses,
each of whom lived a life of faith in God,
let us lay aside every weight that slows us down,
especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress.
and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us,
keeping our eyes on Jesus Christ,
on whom our faith depends from start to finish.
And may the peace of God,
the love of Jesus Christ,
and the presence of the Holy Spirit,
be among us and within us as we go. Amen.
Postlude – Hani
Marche (in G Major)
Louis-J.Alfred Lefébure-Wély
Public Domain