The Celebration of the Gospel
July 7 , 2019 — 4th Sunday after Pentecost
“I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves..”
—Luke 10.3
_______ We Gather as the Body of Christ_______
GREETING
PRELUDE – Come, Ye Disconsolate – Samuel Webbe, arr: Mark Hayes
* CALL TO WORSHIP – from Psalm 30
Leader: O Holy One my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
All: Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
So my soul will praise you and not be silent.
O Holy One my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
* SONG – The Lone, Wild Bird – Black hymnal # 2052
PRAYER
Eternal God, you have poured the clear water of your grace
into the pitcher of our lives.
Our cup overflows.
Stir up your spirit in us, that we may hear your Word
and be changed,
and bear your grace into this thirsty world. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT – Galatians 6.1-5
[Paul talks about living in community. The point of God’s law is not for some people to be righteous, but for everybody to live together. Restore transgressors gently, and bear one another’s burdens. Pay attention to your own behavior instead of criticizing others or comparing yourselves to them.]
My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.
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GOSPEL – Luke 10.1-11, 16
[Jesus sends out disciples in pairs to go ahead of him (he is on his way toward Jerusalem) to cure the sick and proclaim the nearness of the Reign of God. He coaches them to travel light, spread peace, offer healing, and take nothing personally. (Upon their return they rejoice at their success, but Jesus reminds them that the real joy is their relationship with God.)]
Jesus appointed seventy-two people and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the overseer to send out laborers into the harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.
Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The Realm of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’
Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
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SERMON – Sent to mend
SONG Lord, You Give the Great Commission – Blue hymnal # 584, v. 1, 3, 4
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
__________We Share at Christ’s Table__________
OFFERING OUR GIFTS Story Of Jesus – John Sweney, arr: Hugh Livingston Jr.
* COMMUNION SONG
(Tune: Channel of Peace)
This is the table of your grace.
We set it with the gifts that you have given.
You call us, one and all, to share your grace,
that in this meal we know your love.
You grant your presence in this meal.
Your blood and body, given for our sake.,
your humble, suff’ring service and your love,
that we may be your Body now.
The bread you give is not for us alone;
the cup is meant for us to take and share. So you
send us out, to a hungry world.
We rely on your grace to bear us on.
You send us in the Spirit’s power.
You give us strength to take the journey on,
to go and serve and heal and to proclaim
this Realm of Love in Jesus’ name.
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING – Black hymnal # 2257
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 HOLY MEAL [Everyone is welcome at the table of Christ’s self-giving love.
The bread is wheat-, soy- and dairy free. We dip the bread in the juice.]
PRAYER OF BLESSING
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You have given us the healing power of your presence and your Word; you have filled us with your grace and your Spirit. Send us into the world to proclaim the Realm of your Love, to heal and to serve, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
_______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World____
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands – Blue hymnal #273
* 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 Nothing Between — C. Albert Tindley, arr: Brian Buda