It is unfortunate, but we do not have a recording of September 7th’s sermon.  Please accept our apology. 

The Celebration of the Gospel

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 7, 2014
8:15 & 10:30 am

Marc Chagall,  The Israelites Are Eating the Passover

You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread,
for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt

—Exodus 12.17

_______ We Gather as The Body of Christ_______

GREETING
PRELUDE   Go Down, Moses      Spiritual, arr: Anthony Giamanco

[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]

CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: God of Justice, you have set us free.
All:  Alleluia! We thank you, and we worship you.
God of Justice, not all your people are free.
Lord, have mercy. We pray for them, and we turn to you.
God of Justice, you call us to set your people free.
Come, Holy Spirit; enflame us with gratitude and courage,
that we may resist evil, injustice and oppression,
and work to set all people free., in the name of Christ. Amen.

SONG   8:15 — Bless the Lord, My Soul     Black hymnal # 2013
10:30 — Let My People Seek Their Freedom   Blue hymnal #586, vv. 1, 3, 4

(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME

___________ We Attend to the Word___________

(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG   Sunshine in My Soul   John Sweney

PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of gentle grace, we are caught up in nets of guilt and shame, traps of duty and obligation, and bondage to our fears and desires. Come to us, speak your liberating word to us, and set us free, with the Spirit And presence of Christ. Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT: Exodus 12.1-14
[Today’s texts describe the nature of the faith community. Exodus 12.1-14 lays out directions for the celebration of Israel’s liberation in the Passover meal. We are a community who share in remembering God’s grace in our lives. ]

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

NEW TESTAMENT:  Romans 13.8-10
[Paul says that love alone is the law of the Christian community.   This requires radical forgiveness: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” We are a community of love]

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandment—, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment— are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

GOSPEL: Matthew 18.15-20
[Jesus addresses communication skills and conflict resolution: be honest and direct, and address conflict within the care and commitment of the entire community. For it is in faithful community that Christ is present: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” We are the community in which Christ lives, through which Christ works. ]

Jesus said, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Abba God in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

SERMON
SONG       Freedom Feast   (Steve G-H)

Lord, we thank you, for you have set us free. (2x)
When we come to this feast, from the greatest to the least,
Oh, Lord, you set your people free.

Lord, where there is injustice, set them free. (2x)
When we come to this feast, from the greatest to the least,
Oh, Lord, you set your people free.

Lord, now use us to set your people free. (2x)
When we come to this feast, from the greatest to the least,
Oh, Lord, you set your people free.

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
PASSING THE PEACE

___________ We Share at Christ’s Table___________

OFFERING OUR GIFTS          Bless The Lord, My Soul     Healy Willan

COMMUNION SONG           Be Present at Our Table, Lord   Blue hymnal #621

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
[Pastor:]The Lord be with you.
[All:]And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is good to give God thanks and praise.

[Organ side:] God of love, Creator of all that is, and all that shall be,
we give you thanks, for in the beginning you brought light out of darkness.
[Street side:] You created us in your image and made covenant with us
to be our God, and called us as your people.
When we were slaves in Egypt you set us free;
death and oppression passed over us.
You established this feast for us to remember our freedom,
and to pray for those who still long to be set free.
When we were dead in our sin you came to us with love in Christ and set us free.
You established this feast for us to enter into our freedom,
and to break bread with all who long for freedom.
All:] Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise.

(Sung:) Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power, God of love:
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Sing hosanna! Praise on high!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Praise! Hosanna! Praise! Hosanna! Praise! Hosanna! Praise on high!

Pastor: Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He loved and taught, he healed the broken and lifted up the lowly.
He confronted our divisions and gathered the outcast;
he created a community of freedom and love.

[ …The Blessing and Covenant…]
Therefore in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ.
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a living and holy sacrifice
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Dying, Christ destroyed our death.
Rising, Christ restores our life.
Christ will come again in love.

God of love, pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts,
that they may be for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, that at this table
we may know our unity
with all who are free and all who are under oppression.
Pour our your Holy Spirit on us,
that as we give thanks for our freedom in Christ,
we may resist evil, injustice and oppression.
In gratitude, we remember your grace for all people. Amen.
In solidarity, we pray for healing for the world. Amen.
In humility, we offer ourselves to your call. Amen.
In freedom, we work for reconciliation and peace. Amen.
In your Spirit, we pray for your Realm of mercy and justice,
according to your promise, as Jesus taught us,
asking you always to teach us to pray:

Our Mother, Our Father, at the heart of all things,
holy is your presence.
Your reign come among us, your will be done,
on earth, as it is heaven.
Give us today this one day’s bread;
and forgive us our wrongs, as we forgive all who wrong us.
Lead us free of our temptations, and deliver us from the power of evil.
For all the world, and all power, and all glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.

SHARING THE HOLY MEAL

PRAYER OF BLESSING
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. With all your children, you have set us free. Death has passed over us.   Send us into the world to proclaim your freedom, to work for the liberation of all people, to live for peace and justice in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

___________ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World___________

THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

SONG   Freedom Is Coming   Black hymnal #2192

THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE   8:15: We stand and sing to our neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
10:30: Choir.

POSTLUDE   Finale from Symphony No. 3 (“Organ”)   Camille Saint-Saëns, arr: Albert Zabel

[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candle in the corner.]