The Celebration of the Gospel
August 12, 2018 — 12th Sunday after Pentecost
Out of the depths I cry to you…
— Psalm 130.1
_______We Gather as the Body of Christ_______
GREETING
PRELUDE Canon in D Johann Pachelbel
[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: God of stillness, we come from busy lives, and surrender them to your grace.
All: You are the home of our hearts.
We come with all our memories and feelings, alliances and attachments.
You are the home of our hearts.
We come amidst all our swirling desires and emotions to find ourselves.
You are the home of our hearts.
Here we find ourselves in you, every part of us, and all of us together.
You give yourself to us, and we give ourselves to you.
In joy we worship you. Alleluia!
* SONG The Fragrance of Christ Black hymnal # 2205
____________We Attend to the Word__________
CHILDREN’S TIME
THE WORD IN SONG
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 what is in us that is loving,
and what is not loving.
God, we recall when we have been in harmony with you, or with life, and we give thanks. [silent prayer…]
We recall when we have been out of harmony, and we seek your grace.
[silent prayer…]
God of mercy, in Christ you have shown us your grace.
Forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE Bless the Lord
Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
PRAYER
Gentle God, we come before you with all that is in our hearts: our feelings and memories, our hopes and fears and desires. You receive each of us in our wholeness. Speak your Word, to bless our hearts and all that is in them, and in your love transform us more fully into the image of your love. We open our hearts to the grace of your Spirit, in the name and the presence of Christ. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT Job 23.1-7, 16-17; 30.27-28
[Job, who has been suffering, cries out to God in anguish (maybe sorrow, anger and fear mixed together?): “My inward parts are in turmoil!”]
Then Job answered: “Today also my complaint is bitter;
God’s hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find God,
that I might come even to God’s dwelling!
I would lay my case before God,
and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would learn what God would answer me,
and understand what God would say to me.
Would God contend with me with great power?
No; but God would give heed to me.
There an upright person could reason with God,
and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.
But I am terrified at God’s presence;
when I consider, I am in dread.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.;
If only I could vanish in darkness,
and thick darkness would cover my face!
My inward parts are in turmoil, and are never still;
days of affliction come to meet me.
I go about in sunless gloom;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
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* PSALTER Psalm 130 Steve G-H
[A cry to God from the depths of our hearts, where there is guilt, yearning and hope.]
Out of the deepest depths I cry to you, O God.
O listen with your heart, and hear my pleading voice.
If you counted sins, then no one could stand with you;
but God, you forgive.
I wait for you, O God, for in your word I hope.
I wait for you, Love, more than those who wait for dawn,
yes, more than those who watch for the morning light
I wait for you.
O Hope, O Israel, O hope in the Lord.
For with our God is love, God’s steadfast, faithful love,
and power to redeem; for God is the one
who will redeem us from sin.
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NEW TESTAMENT Ephesians 4.25 – 5.2
[Encouragement to “put away all bitterness and wrath,” to “be angry but do not sin.”]
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. You may be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. Be kind to one another. Be tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
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GOSPEL Mark 9.14-29
[A boy is possessed by a spirit that “often casts him into the fire and into the water.” Jesus heals him, saying such can only be done in prayer.]
Jesus came to the disciples, and saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. When the whole crowd saw Jesus, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.” He answered them, “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him.
When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you are able! —All things can be done for the one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!” After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “This kind can come out only through prayer.”
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SERMON Emotions
SONG Healer of Our Every Ill Black hymnal # 2213
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]
THE PRAYER OF JESUS [sung]
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
______We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring J.S. Bach
* OFFERING SONG Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow 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. Send us into the world with your grace in our hearts, to serve you with joy and tenderness, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG Christ Beside Me Black hymnal #2166
* 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 Sonata in A flat Thomas Arne