The Celebration of the Gospel
September 15, 2019 — 14th Sunday after Pentecost
What woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
—Luke 15.8
_______ We Gather as the Body of Christ_______
GREETING
PRELUDE – Amazing Grace – Traditional, arr: J. David Hart
[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: Bountiful Creator, Lover of all, we greet you.
All: God of love, we belong to you.
Jesus Christ, gentle shepherd, you call to us.
Shepherd of love, we belong to you.
Holy Spirit, breath of God in us, you sing, you cry out, you call in us.
Spirit of love, we belong to you. With joy and gratitude, we come home to you. Receive us, bless us, change us, and give us gifts to serve you. Amen.
* SONG – The Lone, Wild Bird – Black hymnal # 2052
____________ We Attend to the Word__________
(8:15) THE WORD IN SONG – Here I Am to Worship – Patricia Cota
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see all that is in us that is loving,
and all that is not loving.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE – We Sing of Your Glory – Black hymnal #2011
PRAYER
God of love and wisdom, we are your lost sheep. Raise your voice; speak your Word to us, and call us back to your side. We are listening. Amen.
HEBREW BIBLE – Ezekiel 34.11-16
[God promises to Israel’s exiles, and to us, that God like a shepherd will gather God’s scattered people, and care for them.]
Thus says God, the Holy One: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says God, the Holy One. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
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(10:30) * PSALTER – Psalm 28
[A typical lament Psalm: both a cry for help and an affirmation of God’s goodness. God is our shepherd, who carries us forever.]
To you, O Holy One, I call;
my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
while mischief is in their hearts.
Repay them according to their work,
and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.
Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,
or the work of your hands,
you will break them down and build them up no more.
Blessed be the Holy One,
who has heard the sound of my pleadings.
God is my strength and my shield;
in God my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to God.
The Beloved is the strength of the people;
God is the saving refuge of his anointed.
O save your people, and bless your heritage;
you are our shepherd; you carry us forever.
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GOSPEL – Luke 15.1-10
[Some Pharisees criticize Jesus for welcoming sinners. He responds with images of God as a woman and a shepherd devotedly seeking something that’s lost, and rejoicing when it is found. God does not exclude us or forget us, but deeply desires us.]
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them a parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until you find it? When you have found it, you lay it on your shoulders and rejoice. And when you come home, you call together your friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
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SERMON – Lost and being found
SONG – I Sought the Lord – Blue hymnal # 341
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
SONG – Softly and Tenderly – Blue hymnal #348
(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG
Make Me An Instrument of Thy Peace – Kevin McChesney (Bells of St. Matthew’s)
______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS
Something Beautiful – Gloria & Wm. Gaither, arr: Fred Bock
* OFFERING SONG – Doxology – Blue hymnal #95
* PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you our lives, symbolized in these gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. You give us a place of belonging in this world. Send us now to make for others a place of belonging so they too may know your love. We pray in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – Lead Me, Lord – Blue hymnal #473
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE 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.
POSTLUDE – We’re Marching To Zion – Robert Lowry, arr: Mark Hayes