The Celebration of the Gospel
October 27 , 2019 — 20th Sunday after Pentecost
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”.
—Luke 18.13
______We Are Received as Children of God____
GREETING
PRELUDE – Prelude in B Minor – César Franck
[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.]
(10:30) WHAT WE COME WITH
* CALL TO WORSHIP – (from Ephesians 2.4-10)
Leader: God, you are rich in mercy.
All: With great love you have loved us.
Though we were dead in our sins
you have made us alive together with Christ.
By grace we have been saved.
We are what you have made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which you prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Alleluia!
* SONG – We Walk by Faith – Black hymnal # 2196, v.1-4
_____ We Are Transformed by the Love of Christ ____
(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us – Words: Dorothy A. Thrupp, Music: Joel Raney
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
PRAYER
God of mercy, we come before you with all our sin, and all our beauty. You receive us with such deep love. We open our heart to you now. Speak your Word to us and transform us by your grace. We pray in the name and the company of Christ. Amen.
(10:30) HEBREW BIBLE – Joel 2.21-29
[Rain and abundant crops following years of locust infestations are a symbol of God’s forgiving and renewing grace. Despite our past sins, God pours out God’s spirit on everybody alike—without exception.]
O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for God has given the early rain for your vindication,
God has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army,
which I sent against you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female slaves, in those days,
I will pour out my spirit.
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(10:30) * PSALTER – Psalm 32
[We experience pain from our guilt—and life-giving release when, trusting God’s forgiveness, we confess. God’s steadfast love surrounds us.]
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom God imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to God,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule,
without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in God.
Be glad in the Holy One and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
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NEW TESTAMENT – from Ephesians 2.1-10
[We are dead in our fears and desires but God saves us and bring us to life. This is not our doing at all, but God’s, entirely unrelated to our earning or deserving.]
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived.. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our egos, slaves of our selfish desires.
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which God loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ —by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Christ. God will show immeasurably rich kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
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GOSPEL Luke 18.9-14
[Jesus tells a parable about two people at their prayers: a Pharisee, who would be thought of as a good person, and a tax collector, who would be labeled as a “bad” person. Which one gets closer to God? Surprise!]
Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two people went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing alone, prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but in profound humility said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this one went home justified rather than the other. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
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SERMON Be merciful to me, a sinner
SONG – Heart of Heaven – Steve G-H
There’s a heart in heaven that knows you,
and speaks your name in love from heaven’s throne,
that has laughed and labored here beside you,
and says, “I know your journey as my own.”
There are eyes in heaven that adore you,
and weep with joy at the beauty of your soul,
for they see the courage of your living,
and share your deepest yearnings to be whole.
There’s a tear in heaven that remembers,
there’s a deep, weary sigh that understands;
there are gentle, wounded hands that know the struggle
to do the work of God with human hands.
There’s a voice from heaven within you,
a spring of life-giving water flowing free.
Let it flow, let grace and peace shine in you
with heaven’s loveliness for all to see.
Oh, the heart of heaven is within you,
the universe embraces you in love,
for the humble One who walks beside you
is the One who rules the sun and stars above.
(10:30) PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we open ourselves in honesty to God.
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.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE In God Alone
In God alone my soul can find rest and peace,
in God my peace and joy.
Only in God my soul can find its rest, find its rest and peace.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer at the microphone.]
RESPONSE: This is my prayer. All: This is our prayer.
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
___ We Are Sent in the Power of the Holy Spirit___
RECEIVED… TRANSFORMED… SENT…
OFFERING OUR GIFTS – Holy Is the Lord – Franz Schubert, arr: Fred Bock
* OFFERING SONG
Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow – Blue hymnal #94
* 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. Send us into the world with humility, trust and forgiveness, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – Breathe On Me, Breath of God – Blue hymnal #420
* 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 – O How He Loves You and Me – Kurt Kaiser, arr: Fred Bock