Facing the Storm

Save

Service of Worship

Nocturne in E minor Op.72 No.1
Frederic Chopin
Public Domain

Opening Prayer
Mighty God, who speaks a word of peace to calm our troubled sea;
Caring God, who nudges us away from fear and toward faith;
Ever-present God, who fills us with awe
but also raises many questions
without easy answers;
Open our eyes to see you in our boat—today,
Strengthen our hearts for the challenges that lie ahead,
Open our ears this hour to hear the word you speak.
This we pray, In Jesus’ name. Amen

Opening Hymn — #144 This is My Father’s World

1. This is my Father’s world
And to my list’ning ears
All nature sings and ’round me rings
Music of the spheres
This is my Father’s world
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees of skies and seas
His hand the wonders wrought

2. This is my Father’s world
The birds their carols raise
The morning light the lily white
Declare their Maker’s praise
This is my Father’s world
He shines in all that’s fair
In the rust’ling grass I hear Him pass
He speaks to me ev’rywhere

3. This is my Father’s world
O let me ne’er forget
And though the wrong seems oft so strong
God is the Ruler yet
This is my Father’s world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King;
let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

This Is My Father’s World (Terra Beata)
Franklin Lawrence Sheppard | Maltbie Davenport Babcock
© Public Domain

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:35-41 (NRSV)

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Children’s Time with Ms Becky

Poem for the Fathers

Blessing for Fathers

We thank you for fathers near
Fathers with strong arms
And fathers with feeble knees
Present at table and at bathtub and at bedtime for prayers.
Thank you, God, for fathers near.

We thank you, O God, for fathers far away
Fathers who ache for their families
Fathers absent because of war,
Or disease,
Or despair,
Fathers who are present and absent at the same time.
Thank you, God, for fathers far away.

We thank you, O God, for caring communities
Where mothers fill in for fathers
And fathers fill in for mothers
And grandparents put on the apron and the towel.
Where aunts and uncles, and those who are absolutely no kin at all
Make our communities a home
Fit for habitation.
Amen.

Joys and Concerns, and Pastoral Prayer

Pastoral Prayer
The worst storms, Jesus, are the ones caused
by our fear,
when we grow afraid of losing our power,
or we grow suspicious of the power of others,
when we refuse to acknowledge your mysterious authority;

Yet, it’s in the storm that we find our capacity to love.
In releasing our weak claim to power
and opening to your reign,
we discover a new way of seeing ourselves –
as called and useful and beloved –
and the other, whoever they may be –
as dignified and precious and beloved.

Here in the storm, Jesus, we need you, and we need each other,
and the love you give us to share,
leads us through sacrifice and self-giving
to peace and calm,
if only we will loose our hold on fear.

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 — Pala Women’s Quartet

What A Friend We Have In Jesus (Converse)
Charles Crozat Converse | Joseph Medlicott Scriven
Public Domain

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 the heavens, the land and the water that covers it, we know what it is like to be tossed about in a storm. We know that the faith we profess when days are calm and sunny is challenged and shaky when the storm is furious and the water is swamping our boat. As we offer our gits to you this day, they are given with the hope that we will be better able to let go of what the world tells us will guarantee our security and find our hope and assurance in your redeeming love. Dedicate these gifts in the knowledge that there are other boats besides ours in the same storm. We pray this prayer in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

Sermon – Pastor Stacy
Facing the Storm

Closing Hymn — #445 Happy The Home When God is There

1. Happy the home when God is there
And love fills ev’ry breast
When one their wish and one their prayer
And one their heav’nly rest

2. Happy the home where Jesus’ name
Is sweet to ev’ry ear
Where children early speak His fame
And parents hold Him dear

3. Happy the home where prayer is heard
And praise is known to rise
Where parents love the sacred Word
And all its wisdom prize

4. Lord let us in our homes agree
This blessed peace to gain
United our hearts in love to Thee
And love to all will reign

Happy The Home When God Is There (Saint Agnes)
Henry Ware Jr. | John Bacchus Dykes
Public Domain

Benediction

Strength is commanding the wind and sea to obey,
Strength is wielding a slingshot in the face of a raging giant.
Strength is accepting vulnerability from inside the boat,
Strength is standing in solidarity with the powerless.
Strength is turning a cheek,
Strength is loving an enemy.
We came to worship
a God who redefines our vision of strength.
So go with faith and strength in Jesus name, amen.

Postlude – Hani

Festival March
G.F. Handel
Public Domain