The Celebration of the Gospel
July 10, 2016 —8th Sunday after Pentecost
A Samaritan while traveling came near him;
and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
— Luke 10.33
________ We Gather as the Body of Christ______
GREETING
PRELUDE
[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 generosity, you provide for us abundantly.
All: We open our hearts to your presence.
Loving Christ, you grant us deep, deep mercy.
We open our hearts to your healing.
Holy Spirit, you fill us with compassion and grace.
We open our hearts to your power.
By your grace, make us grateful and merciful people. Amen.
* SONG Great Is thy Faithfulness Blue hymnal # 140
CHILDREN’S TIME
_____________We Attend to the Word_________
THE WORD IN SONG He Lives A. H. Ackley (SMUMC Quartet)
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor: The grace of God is 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 with the eyes of love,
to see all that is in us that is loving,
and all that is not loving.
For the love in our hearts we give you thanks.
For all that is not loving we ask your mercy.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE On Eagles’ Wings Blue hymnal # 143
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of love, your come to us in many ways. Open our hearts to hear and receive. Open our minds to wonder and grow. Open our souls to embrace and be changed. Speak your Word to us, and make us whole. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT Amos 7.7-17
[The prophet envisions God’s Word like a plumb line, an architect’s weight on a string, showing a perfect vertical: God wants justice to be clear. Amos announces doom for Israel because they oppress the poor, but the king and his priest don’t want to hear it. Amos preaches just the same. ]
This is what The Lord showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, holding a plumb line. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said, “Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’ ” And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ “Now therefore hear the word of the Lord. You say, “Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore thus says the Lord: “Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’ ”
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GOSPEL Luke 10.25-37
[Someone questions Jesus about the way to salvation. Reflecting on the commandment to love our neighbor, he asks “Who is my neighbor?” In response Jesus tells the story of a merciful Samaritan. The hero of the story turns out to be a hated enemy, not “one of us.” Our neighbor— even our savior— is the very one we want to distance ourselves from.]
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
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SERMON(S)
SONG Angels in Disguise Steve G-H
For the angels in all disguises who have loved us in so many ways,
we have come to expect your surprises; we have come to sing your praise.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive.
We have asked for your Word’s revealing without listening to all that you say,
and the ones who would bring us your healing we have pridefully turned away.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive
When we dare to be unprotected from a foe of Samaritan cast
when we welcome the ones we rejected, then we meet you, God, at last.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive.
Have we enemies? Love them dearly, for the pones we reject or despise
are the ones we will some day see clearly as your angels in disguise.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive.
NEW TESTAMENT Colossians 1.9-14
[Paul prays for the church in Colossae, that they will grow closer to God and more able to discern what delights God, and live in harmony with that awareness. Paul rejoices that we have been “rescued from the dominion of darkness” and brought into a new world, the realm of Christ’s grace. ]
Since the day we heard of your love in the Spirit, we have not ceased praying for you.
May we be filled with the knowledge of God’s will
in deep spiritual wisdom and understanding,
so that we may lead lives worthy of the Lord,
to God’s great delight,
as we bear fruit in every good work
and as we grow in the knowledge of God.
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from God’s glorious power,
and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience,
while joyfully giving thanks to the Holy One,
who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
God has rescued us from the power of darkness
and transferred us into the Realm of the Beloved,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Alleluia!
RESPONSE On Eagles’ Wings Blue hymnal # 143
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.
PASSING THE PEACE
_______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS
* OFFERING SONG Make Me a Servant Black hymnal #2176
* 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. You have blessed us in ways we have not expected, not even seen. Now send us out as your unnoticed angels to bless others, even our enemies, in the name and Spirit of Christ, for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG Christ Beside Me Blue hymnal #2166
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
* RESPONSE Please stand and sing to your 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
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]