The Celebration of the Gospel
September 4, 2016 —16th Sunday after Pentecost
“I have set before you life and death. Choose life.”
— Deuteronomy 30.19
________We Gather as the Body of Christ______
GREETING
PRELUDE Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow John S. Norris, arr: Brian Buda
[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: Holy and Gracious God, grant us the courage to live in your wisdom.
All: Remind us that love casts out every fear.
Leader: Give us the grace to choose life, not death.
All: Help us to grow brave in our love of you.
Leader: Make us more ready to hear your call.
All: Rouse us from complacency and distraction.
Leader: Carry us through temptation and anxiety.
All: Open our hearts to trust and obey you.
* SONG Trust and Obey Blue hymnal # 467
CHILDREN’S TIME
___________We Attend to the Word___________
THE WORD IN SONG Jesus Loves Me arr: Barbara Brocker
(Susan Lee, Handbells)
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Loving God, draw our hearts to you. Guide our minds, fill our imaginations and control our wills, so that we may choose to follow you in all things. Give us the courage to dedicate our lives to you. Form us to live out the promise and purpose of your will. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT Deuteronomy 30.15-20
[Today’s texts examine the choices we make. Here God sets before us a choice: God’s ways, which lead to life, and the world’s ways, which lead to death. God implores us to choose life.]
God said: See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Holy One, walking in God’s ways, and observing God’s commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Holy One your God, obeying God, and holding fast to God; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham and Sarah, to Isaac and Rebekah, and to Jacob and Leah and Rachel .
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PSALTER Psalm 1
[ The Psalm notes the difference between those who choose the world’s ways, which are like chaff blown away by the wind, and those who choose God’s ways, who are like trees growing near water, never failing.]
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on God’s law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
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NEW TESTAMENT Philemon
[Philemon was indebted to Paul, and he owned a slave, Onesimus, who had run away to work with Paul. In this letter Paul returns Onesimus and asks Philemon to set him free, not as an obligation, which Paul could have demanded, but in love, asking Philemon to see Onesimus not as an inferior but as a brother.]
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love– and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother– especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
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GOSPEL Luke 14.25-33
[Jesus gets honest about the cost of discipleship. If you’re building a tower you first count the cost to make sure you can finish. Jesus tells us to count the cost of following him: we have to let go of all that we cling to and our loyalty to everything and everyone but God—even our own loved ones, even our own life.]
Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, when you have laid a foundation and are not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule you, saying, `This one began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
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SERMON Dr. Elizabeth Windsor
SONG Take My Life, and Let It Be Blue hymnal # 399
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Blue hymnal # 883
* SONG Love the Lord Your God Black hymnal # 2168
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Mother, 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.
PASSING THE PEACE
______We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS Amazing Grace Traditional, arr: Christine B. Anderson
* OFFERING SONG Doxology Blue hymnal #94
* OFFERING PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Send us out to share your grace and truth for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG O Jesus, I Have Promised Blue hymnal # 396
* 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 Fantasy on “Nun Danket” J. Stuart Archer
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]