The Celebration of the Gospel
July 21 , 2019 — 6th Sunday after Pentecost
Jesus entered a certain village,
where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
—Luke 10.38
_______ We Gather as the Body of Christ_______
GREETING
PRELUDE – God Of Grace And God Of Glory – John Hughes, arr: Don Wyrtzen
[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: Creator God, you welcome us into your home.
All: You receive us and serve us, and we receive your grace.
You sit with us and share quiet moments.
You speak your Word to us, and we are changed.
You feed us with the energy of your love, and give us courage.
So we sit with you; we listen to you;
and, changed, we go forth with your good news into this world.
* SONG – Come Away with Me – Black hymnal # 2202
____________We Attend to the Word__________
THE WORD IN SONG
PRAYER
From the haste and pressure of the world we come into your gentle silence.
From the loneliness of our separate cars and houses we come into your presence.
From the noise and shouting of the world we come to listen to your voice.
Speak to us, God. Beloved, sit with us and change our hearts. Amen.
HEBREW BIBLE – 1 Kings 17.8-16
[Elijah visits a poor widow who is starving during a severe famine. He asks her to share her last bit of meal and oil, which she does. Yet by God’s grace her oil and meal never run out.]
Now there was no rain in the land. Then the word of God came to Elijah, saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Holy One the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said—and she as well as her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word that God spoke by Elijah.
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* PSALTER – Psalm 84
[“How lovely is your dwelling place”—meaning the temple in Jerusalem, and also God’s presence with us. The song invites us to live in God’s presence, in God’s “house.” All of us, even wild creatures as insignificant as sparrows, are at home there.]
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young, at your altars,
O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise. Selah
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
For a day in your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield,
who bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does God withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
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GOSPEL Luke 10.38-42
[Jesus visits Martha and Mary. Martha asks Jesus to make Mary help her with the chores; Mary is sitting at his feet, listening as a student.]
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Teacher’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
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SERMON A re-creating place
SONG – Change My Heart, O God – Blue hymnal #2152
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Colossians 1.15-23, 26
[Paul speaks of the cosmic Christ, the embodiment in finite form of the infinite (invisible) love of God. In Christ everything in the world is reconciled to God: all people, nations, powers and rulers are one. And that cosmic unity, the spirit of Christ, lives in us.]
Leader: Christ is the visible appearance of the invisible God,
the beloved older sibling of all creation.
All: All things in heaven and on earth were created in Christ,
everything visible and invisible,
rulers and powers and systems and empires—
everything was created through Christ and for Christ.
Christ came before anything,
and in Christ everything holds together.
Christ is the head and the church is the body.
Christ is the Source of life, and has turned even death into a birth:
so Christ is first in every way.
In Christ God lives completely.
Through Christ God reconciles us to God—
all of us, and everything on earth and in heaven:
in dying on the cross, Christ brought God and humanity together.
Once, your evil thoughts and deeds got between you and God.
But in Jesus God has occupied our earthly body and our death,
so that now we are brought into relationship with God.
And since you are in Christ, God sees you
as holy and irreproachable and blameless.
Stay faithful to this good news.
May we be strong and steadfast in our trust,
and hold on to our confidence in God’s promise.
You have heard the good news,
news that’s been proclaimed to every creature in the world.
It’s the gospel for which we each are made a minister.
This is the mystery, hidden for ages but now revealed:
that Christ is alive in us. Alleluia!
* SONG – More Like You – Black hymnal # 2167
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer at the microphone.]
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 PEACE OF CHRIST
______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS – Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross – W.H. Doane, arr: Mark Hayes
* OFFERING SONG – Spirit of the Living God – Blue hymnal # 393
* 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 have received us with blessing and changed our hearts with your presence. Send us now with that grace to share it with all the world, in the name and spirit of Christ. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – The Spirit Sends us Forth to Serve – Blue hymnal #2241
* 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 – A Mighty Fortress – Tune: EIN FESTE BURG – Setting by Johann Pachelbel