Not That Neighbor

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Service of Worship

Pastorale
Melanie Bonis
Public Domain

Opening Prayer
Holy God, we come together to worship,
a people who would like to think that we love you
with all our hearts and souls,
with all our might,

but there are so many other things in our lives
that clamor for our attention
that we often relegate you to Sundays
and Wednesdays,
and times when we want you to rescue us.

Most of us really do want you to be the one
in whom we live and move and have our being.
We really do want to hear your voice
above all of the other voices in our lives.
But we get bogged down in the daily routine.
We forget who we are.
We forget who you are.
We forget what the church is supposed to be.

So here we are, standing before you today,
with our human foibles
and our short attention spans,
asking that you would make yourself known to us,
that you would help us to recognize
the presence of the Holy,
that you would continue to challenge us,
inspire us,
and make us into the people you want us to be.

Amen.

—written by Katie Cook

Opening Hymn — #356 When We Are Living

1. When we are living it is in Christ Jesus
And when we’re dying it is in the Lord
Both in our living and in our dying
We belong to God we belong to God

2. Through all our living we our fruits must give
Good works of service are for offering
When we are giving or when receiving
We belong to God we belong to God

3. ’Mid times of sorrow and in times of pain
When sensing beauty or in love’s embrace
Whether we suffer or sing rejoicing
We belong to God we belong to God

4. Across this wide word we shall always find
Those who are crying with no peace of mind
But when we help them or when we feed them
We belong to God we belong to God

When We Are Living
Elise S. Eslinger | George Lockwood | Hal H. Hopson | Roberto Escamilla
© Words: 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
© Music: 1998 Hope Publishing Company
Used by Permission. CCLI License # 656051

Scripture Reading — Luke 10:25-37 (NRSV)

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Announcements, Joys and Concerns, and Pastoral Prayer

Pastoral Prayer

God of love, give us a deep love for you,
so that we can see the world as you see it,
feel the compassion you feel,
and be a people whose lives mediate your love to others.

So open our eyes that we might see what the Good Samaritan saw.
Grant us the insight to see the need in others,
the wisdom to know what to do, and the will to do it.

And so we pray for all those, who in many and various ways,
have been stripped, beaten and left for dead.

We pray for children who must grow up
in the most awful of circumstances,
especially for those starved of love, or food, or shelter or security.
May they receive the future you have planned for them.

We pray for those we might cross the road to avoid.
Who have been excluded socially because of their race,
their financial status, or their history.
May the dignity that is theirs be restored to them.

We pray for those whose need we would rather not face up to,
because it requires action of us,
those who suffer atrocities because of war, unjust trade rules,
or oppressive governments.
May the world receive a true picture of their suffering
and the factors that cause it, that justice may be done.

Open our eyes, that we might not cross the road from human need.
Give us a deep love for you,
that we might see your love at work in this world,
and that we might Go and do likewise.

Offering Introduction

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 — Marshall

There Is A Balm In Gilead (Balm In Gilead)
Unknown
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

Offertory Prayer
Generous God, we ask you to bless the gifts we give this morning. We ask that that you help grow the trust in us, that we might follow without looking back and that we might leave behind more of our old lives to experience more deeply new life in you. Help us to leave our nets on the shore, leave those things that seemed essential before we heard the call, so that we might travel the road you have put before us. In the name of Christ who goes before us and beside us, we pray. Amen.

Sermon – Pastor Stacy Dickson
Not That Neighbor

Closing Hymn — #367 He Touched Me

1. Shackled by a heavy burden
’Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same

Refrain
He touched me
Oh He touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole

2. Since I met this blessed Savior
Since He cleansed and made me whole
I will never cease to praise Him
I’ll shout it while eternity rolls

Refrain

Benediction

Hear this: the Lord our God is the one and only Lord.
Therefore go out into the world
and love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,
and love others as you love yourself.

And may God give you justice and freedom;
May Christ Jesus set you free for love;
and may the Holy Spirit go where you go
…and protect you on your way.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
…In the name of Christ. Amen.

Postlude – Hani

Processional in G Major
John Stanley
Public Domain