Service of Worship
Prelude – Hani
Air
G.F. Handel
Public Domain
Welcome and Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
In the beginning God created all things,
and God saw that they were good.
At our beginning, God created us
unique and irreplaceable, loved and wanted by God,
known and treasured by God even before He created us.
In all our new beginnings, God creates something new
so we will seek God in the freshness of this morning,
in the laughter of friends,
in the colors of creation,
and in this beautiful place.
Lord God, King of Creation,
open our eyes to see your presence,
our souls to sense your presence,
and our hearts to love your presence,
ever here in your creation,
and ever beyond it in eternity.
Amen.
Opening Hymn — #147 All Things Bright and Beautiful
Refrain
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all
1. Each little flower that opens
Each little bird that sings
God made their glowing colors
And made their tiny wings
Refrain
2. The purple headed mountains
The river running by
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky
Refrain
3. The cold wind in the winter
The pleasant summer sun
The ripe fruits in the garden
God made them every one
Refrain
4. God gave us eyes to see them
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty
Who has made all things well
Refrain
All Things Bright And Beautiful (Royal Oak)
Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander | Martin Shaw
Public Domain
Scripture Reading — Genesis 1:1–2:4 (NRSV)
1 In the beginning when God createda the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from Goda swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankinda in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,b and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
27 So God created humankinda in his image,
in the image of God he created them;b
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
Children’s Time with Ms Becky
Announcements, Joys and Concerns, and Pastoral Prayer
Pastoral Prayer
Almighty God,
Your Spirit swept over the waters of creation;
You are sweeping over us now, creating something new.
Call us away from the distractions of the world
to experience what You are doing now, in us,
and through us,
and in our world.
Open us to a new awakening, a new beginning,
where we look through the lens of the goodness of Your creation,
experiencing all possibilities in You.
Turn us away from the negative lens,
and lead us to the light.
In the name of Jesus, who leads us into life, we pray. 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 — Hani
How Great Thou Art
Arr. Craig Curry
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
Covenant-keeping God,
whose promise is rock solid;
we offer our lives
and these signs of our daily living
not simply that bread might fill empty stomachs,
but that, through the working of your Holy Spirit,
empty lives may be filled,
friendless, lonely lives find intimacy,
depressed lives given hope.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Sermon – Pastor Stacy Dickson
I Speak for the Trees
Closing Hymn — #144 This Is My Father’s World
1. This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and ’round me rings
the 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 rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere
3. This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
that 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)
Maltbie Davenport Babcock | Franklin Lawrence Sheppard
Public Domain
CCLI Streaming Licence: CSPL052773