Unfortunately, there is no recording of this week’s sermon.
The Celebration of the Gospel
November 2, 2014 — All Saints Sunday
See what love we have been given, that we should be called children of God.
— 1 John 3.1
_______ We Gather as The Body of Christ_______
GREETING
PRELUDE Holy, Holy Jimmy Owens, arr: Fred Bock
[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: See what love Abba God has given us, that we should be children of God.
All: We are children of God. What we will be in the future has not yet been revealed.
But we know that when all is revealed, we will be like God, for we will see God as God truly is.
All who have this hope in God purify themselves, just as God is pure.
Loving One, in the companionship of Christ, by your Spirit in us, make us holy.
Make us loving. Make us pure, for your sake. Amen.
* SONG When the Saints Go Marching In
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
___________ We Attend to the Word___________
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of grace and mercy, we thank you for the saints who have accompanied us in this life, and gone on into the next. We listen for your Word, that we too may be made loving by your Spirit in us, that we may be your saints for those who follow. We pray in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT Joshua 3.7-17
[The Israelites cross the Jordan river into the promised land. In an echo of the Red Sea crossing, the waters of the river are parted. Despite all obstacles, God accompanies the community and enables them to go on to a new life. ]
The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ ”
Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the people of Canaan. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD–the Lord of all the earth–set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
NEW TESTAMENT 1 John 3.1-13
[Our lives are made luminous by our trust that deep within we are beloved, and are like God, and God’s light shines in us.]
See what love Abba God has given us,that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know God. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when all things are revealed, we will be like God, for we will see God as God is. And all who have this hope in God purify themselves, just as God is pure.
GOSPEL Matthew 5.1-12
[Jesus offers blessings that describe a spirituality of trust in God’s grace. Even when we are without worldly power, goods, esteem or happiness, when we are gentle and devoted to God, God attends to us in love, and God’s infinite power of life flows through us for the healing of the world.]
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
SERMON
SONG Blest Are They Blue hymnal #2155
REMEMBERING THE SAINTS
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
PASSING THE PEACE
———————————We Share at Christ’s Table —————————
OUR PRAYERS, PRESENCE, GIFTS SERVICE AND WITNESS
OFFERING OUR GIFTS Give Thanks Henry Smith, arr: Fred Bock
* COMMUNION SONG Let Us Break Bread Together Black hymnal #608
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Realm of God.
We are poor beggars, O God. Feed us with your grace.
Blessed are the broken hearted, for God holds them close.
In this broken bread, hold us and comfort us.
Blessed are the gentle, for you give them all of Life.
Nourish us with Christ’s tender love, that we, too may be gentle.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for deeper love.
Satisfy us with your love; and deepen our hunger and thirst for you.
Blessed are they who are merciful, for you shower them with mercy.
We give thanks for your mercy, that we too may live lives of mercy.
Blessed are those who are pure in love, for they shall see God.
In this meal fill us with the love of Christ for all the world.
Blessed are those who bring reconciliation, for they are God’s beloved children.
In this meal we are one, all of us saints and sinners,
at peace with you and with one another.
Blessed are those whom the world scorns, for God is present with them.
Sharing this meal, we are one with the outcast of this world, as Jesus was an outcast.
Strengthen us with courage to bear witness to love and to work for justice,
to devote our lives to nonviolence and the mending of the world,
despite the world’s resistance, to be your saints in the name of Christ.
…. The Blessing and Covenant…
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
SHARING THE HOLY MEAL [Everyone is welcome at the table of Christ’s self-giving love.
The bread is wheat-, soy- and dairy free. We dip the bread in the juice.]
PRAYER OF BLESSING
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Sanctify us by your grace in us, that we may shine with the light of your grace, for the sake of the world, in the name and the company of Christ, to your glory. Amen.
_____ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World______
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG Just A Closer Walk with Thee Black hymnal # 2158
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE Please stand and sing to your 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 Postlude on “Higher Ground” arr: Marilyn Thompson
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]