The Celebration of the Gospel
June 10, 2018 — Third Sunday after Pentecost
Even though our outer nature is wasting away,
our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
— 2 Corinthians 4.16
________ We Gather as the Body of Christ_______
GREETING
PRELUDE Pastorale on “Blessed Assurance” Phoebe Knapp, arr: Robert Lau
[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: I give you thanks, O God, with my whole heart.
All: On the day I called, you answered me.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you accompany me.
Loving Christ, you save us by your presence.
Our physical form is passing,
but our inner nature is renewed.
By your Spirit, God, renew our souls and bring us to life anew.
* SONG Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise Blue hymnal # 103
____________ We Attend to the Word__________
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG And Can It Be arr. Benjamin Harlan
PRAYER
God of Life, we are present here for you. We lay aside the external attachments of our lives, and bring to you our inner being, our stories, our souls. Receive us, bless us and renew us by your Spirit. Speak your Word to us and create us anew: Let there be light. Amen.
(10:30) OLD TESTAMENT 1 Samuel 8.4-22, 11.14-15
[Today we begin the long tale of King David in the Old Testament readings, which will continue into August. Israel is a confederation of tribes under local “judges.” The people complain to the prophet Samuel that they ought to have a ruler like other “real” nations. Samuel thinks it’s a bad idea: rulers often abuse their power. But God says, “Go ahead and give them what they ask for. See how they like it.” So Samuel consents and anoints Saul as king.]
All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a ruler to govern us, like other nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a ruler to govern us.” Samuel prayed to Yahweh, and God said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being ruler over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the ruler who shall reign over them.”
So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a ruler. He said, “These will be the ways of the ruler who will reign over you: your ruler will take your youth and appoint them to ride the horses and chariots of battle, and to run before the chariots; some will be appointed as commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow the ground and to reap the harvest for the ruler, and to make implements of war and the equipment of the chariots. Your daughters will be taken to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. A ruler will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to their courtiers. They will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to their officers and courtiers. They will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and make them work for the ruler. They will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be their slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your ruler, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but God won’t be able to help you then.”
But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a ruler over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our ruler may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh. God said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and set a ruler over them.”
Samuel then said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the throne.” So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before God in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before God, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
+
(10:30) * PSALTER Psalm 138
[This Psalm exalts God, who is great yet who attends to the lowly. We put the meaning of our lives in the context of God’s desire, praying, “Lord, fulfill your purpose for me.”]
I give you thanks, Beloved, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.
On the day I called, you answered me,
you increased my strength of soul.
All the rulers of the earth shall praise you, O Holy One,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of Yahweh,
for great is the glory of God.
For though the Mighty One is high, God regards the lowly;
but the haughty God perceives from far away.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.
God will fulfill God’s purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O God, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
+
NEW TESTAMENT 2 Corinthians 4.13-18
[Paul has confidence that God, who raised Jesus, raises us also, so grace will continue to spread to more people. Paul looks not to mere visible appearances but to the invisible, eternal truth of things. Our outer nature is dying but our inner nature is being renewed.]
We have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke.” We believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Beloved Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into God’s presence. You see, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
+
GOSPEL Mark 3.20-35
[Mark, as he loves to do, tells a story within a story. People accuse Jesus of having demons but he says the only way he can cast out demons is if he has already “tied up the strong man,” robbed the demonic of its power. This is set in the frame of another story: Jesus’ family thinks he’s gone mad and want him to come home. But alarmingly he re-defines family, not as blood kin but whoever shares in doing God’s will.]
A crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When Jesus’ family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my sisters and brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my sisters and brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
+
SERMON
SONG Have Thine Own Way, Lord Blue hymnal # 382
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We give our hearts to you, God, creator of all, giver of life. Though our bodies are dying and the circumstances of our life are passing, your grace in us is eternal, and you are always re-creating us.
We follow Jesus, your Christ. He taught and healed; he loved and blessed all people. He gathered a community of radical inclusion and kinship that upended all forms of domination and exclusion. He invited us on the journey of death and resurrection. For his witness he was crucified, but you raised him from the dead, and he lives among us, our Beloved, our sovereign, our companion.
We live by your Holy Spirit, your eternal presence, your infinite love overflowing in us. By your spirit in us, though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. By your spirit we live lives of love and courage, of healing and blessing and justice. Trusting in the grace of forgiveness, the power of nonviolence, and the mystery of resurrection, we live and serve as one body to do your will, in the name of Christ, for the healing of the world. Amen.
* SONG Alleluia Black hymnal # 2014
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern 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_____
CELEBRATING OUR GIFTS Lina Abu-Absi
OFFERING OUR GIFTS
8:15: O Sing to the Lord – arr by Jason Krug (Ringtones)
10:30: I Come With Joy – Tune: LAND OF REST, arr: John Carter
* OFFERING SONG More Like You Black hymnal #2167
* 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. Help us, by the renewal of your Holy Spirit, to do your will in the name of Christ, for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG This Is a Day of New Beginnings Blue hymnal #383 v. 1-4
* 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
8:15: To God Be The Glory – arr by Sandra Eithun (Ringtones)
10:30: African Alleluia – Cathy Moklebust (Bells is St Matthew’s)
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]