August 30th, 2020 - 13th Sunday after Pentecost : Mature in Faith; Needing to Mature in Discipleship

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Prelude: Holy, Holy, Holy played by Stephen Buzard

Holy and loving God, we come today to hear Your message of grace and peace for our lives. Come to us now in our moment of worship so our hearts can understand that our ways of thinking may not always reach out with love or grace like You would have us do. Open our hearts to hear Your call upon our lives to find peaceful ways of mission and ministry that is empowered by Your loving power and might that can even change our understanding of Your kingdom breaking into our lives and world. Show us a better way that gives us peace in knowing You hear our hearts and prayers for our lives and the lives of those we love.

During this time of worship, center our hearts, our souls, and our minds on Your Presence with us as we lift to you the prayers of our hearts. We know You promise to hear our prayers, always, and with confidence,

We come to pray for Our Church, for it's leaders and congregation Our world and our country our loved ones - keep them: keep them in health, in safety, in comfort, in Your care Keep us, also and send forth Your Holy Spirit of truth, of comfort, and of power.

We pray for any among us who feel constrained, or emotionally distressed by our time and era and for any who need to know Your love for them in this hurting world.

We also lift to You those who need comfort as they mourn their loved ones. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, The comforter, who would remind us of Your promises that Nothing in life, or in Death, things present, nor things to come, nor angel or demons within our lives, nor anything in all of creation will ever be able to separate us from Your love in Jesus the Christ, our Lord.

Joys and Concerns

The Lord's Prayer

Opening Hymn: No. 158 Come, Christians, Join to Sing

Call to Worship:

Pastor: Sing aloud a song of thanksgiving and praise to God our Savior;
People: We Praise God for God's wondrous deeds.
Pastor: Listen to the Word of God so your hearts rejoice in God's salvation;
People: God leads us in paths of righteousness for God's name sake.
Pastor: Do not forget all the benefits that God provides for all the people of God;
People: We come knowing that God is present with us always.
Pastor: Know that the Lord is good, and God's steadfast love endures forever;
People: We come to praise the name of the Lord, our God.

Choral Anthem: Rorem: Sing, My Soul, His Wondrous Love

Unison Prayer:

Loving God, we are always in need of hearing Your words of grace and peace within our lives. Sometimes, or maybe often times, we forget that Your love for us outshines anything we are encountering in our perception of our lives and our world. Grant us Your peace, through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Teach us, through Jesus, that we can trust in Your abiding presence and Your future for us. Remind us that You are faithful from everlasting to everlasting, even when we may make wrong choices, even block Your way for us. Help us trust in Your care all the days of our lives so we can live with boldness, and zeal. Teach us how Your love for us and for others transcends even the worse our fallen world can throw at us. Give us such faith, that our discipleship reflects Your call on our lives, now and forever, in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Hymn: FWS No. 2129 I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

Gospel Reading and message Romans 12: 9-21, Matthew 16: 21-28, Mature in Faith; Needing to Mature in Discipleship

Closing Hymn: No. 160 Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Benediction: Romans 12: 9-21 [adapted]

Pastor: Let love be genuine;
People: we will show each other honor and God's grace.
Pastor: Do not lag in Zeal;
People: we will be ardent in Spirit to serve the Lord.
Pastor: Rejoice in hope;
People: We will persevere in prayer.
Pastor: Remember, God is victorious over all things;
People: Jesus teaches us that we are more than conquerors through the One who loves us.
Pastor: Go with the grace and love of God;
People: Praise and thanksgiving to God who saves us, from everlasting to everlasting.

Postlude: Lift High the Cross, arr. Behnke