The Celebration of the Gospel
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 17, 2014
Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
—Romans 8.39
________ We Gather as The Body of Christ______
GREETING
PRELUDE Ubi Caritas Gerald Near
* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Holy God, earth beneath our feet—
All: Holy Word, hope in our darkness—
Holy Spirit, breath within the breath—
You intend only good, and make your light shine in all our darkness.
We praise you. We thank you. We worship you.
* SONG Praise to the Lord, the Almighty Blue hymnal # 139, vv. 1,3,4
CHILDREN’S TIME
___________ We Attend to the Word___________
THE WORD IN SONG Amazing Grace traditional, arr. by J. Curnow (Marie Machacek, trombone)
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, help us to see ourselves honestly,
to see each moment we intend love,
and each moment we intend otherwise.
Trusting, by the grace of Christ, that you intend only love,
we offer ourselves to you:
receive us, forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE Bless the Lord, My Soul Black hymnal #2013
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of grace, your only will is blessing. Give us faith to entrust ourselves to you: to listen, to be blessed, to be changed by your grace. We pray in the name of Christ and in the power and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT Genesis 45.1-15
[Joseph has been sold into slavery by his brothers. They don’t know it, but he has survived and become a great leader in Egypt. Because of a famine they have come to Egypt for food, and the official who deals with them is Joseph, but they don’t recognize him. For a while he pretends not to know them, but then he reveals himself.]
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; God has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’
“And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
* PSALTER A reflection on Psalm 133
Look, how good and pleasant it is
when we live together in unity!
Rich and poor, native and foreign, insider and outsider in unity—
like the champagne of a great celebration!
Deserving and undeserving, honored and condemned, loved and hated—
like the best cake at a party.
Wise and foolish, right and wrong in unity—
it is like morning dew shining on the mountain of God.
For there God has commanded blessing:
blessing and life forever.
NEW TESTAMENT Romans 8.26-39
[Paul assures us that though we don’t know how to pray, God prays in us. All things work for good: God has predestined us to be loved, to be like Christ, to be glorious with love. Nothing can separate us from God’s love.]
The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit prays in us with sighs too deep for words. And God, who knows everything in our hearts, understands, because the Spirit speaks for God’s holy people according to God’s desire for us.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose. For God has chosen people from the beginning to share the image of the Only Begotten, so that Christ would be the firstborn in a large family. And when people are chosen they are called, and when they are called they are made right with God, and when they are made right with God they shine with God’s glory.
So then here’s what this means: If God is for us, who could be against us? God did not hold back the Only Begotten, but gave Christ up for all of us, so trust that God will also give us everything else. Who will bring any charge against God’s chosen ones? Since it is God who justifies, who has the power to condemn? Our judgment is in the hands of Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who is on our side.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or poverty, or danger, or violence? As scripture says, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are looked on as if we are sheep to be slaughtered.” No!— in all these things we are more than conquerors through the One who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
GOSPEL Matthew 15.21-28
[A Canaanite (pagan) woman seeks help from Jesus. At first he rejects her because she is not Jewish. But in response to her tenacious faith, he grants her prayer.]
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
SERMON
SONG Be Still, My Soul Blue hymnal #534
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH from Romans 8.35-39 Blue hymnal # 887
* SONG Bless the Lord, My Soul Black hymnal #2013
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
PASSING THE PEACE
______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS My Faith Looks Up to Thee Lowell Mason arr. by J. Curnow
* OFFERING SONG Glory Be to the Father Blue hymnal #70
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 as agents of your blessing to all people, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG Thy Holy Wings, O Savior Blue hymnal #502
* 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 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say Aaron David Miller
(During the postlude we will pray for anyone who wishes, around the candle at the side.)