65 th Anniversary Sunday May 13, 2018

Transcription

1 Ascension Sunday 65 th Anniversary Sunday May 13, 2018 FAITH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Presbyterian Church in America 620 South Shirley Tacoma, Washington Ministers: Robert S. Rayburn, Steven A. Nicoletti

2 Ascension Sunday 65 th Anniversary Sunday May 13, 2018 Upon entering the sanctuary please maintain silence for the sake of the congregation s preparation for worship, and please make sure electronic devices are off or using silent mode. Sixty-Fifth Anniversary Sunday Faith Presbyterian Church was formally organized by Presbytery on May 8, The name Faith was adopted by the congregation on May 20, Prelude Song of the Ocean... Jon Schmidt ( ) For the Beauty of the Earth... arr. Jon Schmidt Welcome and Announcements +Silent Prayer Almighty Father, as we believe that our Lord Jesus has ascended into the heavens, so by faith may we ascend where he is, and in heart and mind be with him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen. Call to Worship With endless rejoicing, sing alleluia. J.S. Bach, from Cantata No. 15, arranged by Douglas E. Wagner *Hymn of Christ s Ascension See, the Conqueror Mounts in Triumph No Confession of Sin Silent Prayer Corporate Prayer Almighty God, we acknowledge from our hearts that we are unworthy of your grace and salvation. So little have we truly believed our Savior s conquest of sin and death on our behalf. How often we forget that the Lord Jesus now sits at the Right Hand where he rules over all things for the church, that there he intercedes for us, and that some day he will return from there to bring salvation to all who are waiting for him. How often we are weak or discouraged because we have forgotten that because Christ is in heaven we who belong to him are as much as seated with him there. How wrong of us that so great a Savior and salvation should not produce in us greater love and firmer hope. Forgive us for such little faith, restore to us the joy of our great salvation and help us to walk worthy of such through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3 Assurance of Pardon Who shall bring any charge against God s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:33-34 (ESV) *Confession of Faith Q. How does Christ s ascension to heaven benefit us? A. First, he pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of his Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, his members, to himself in heaven. Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit s power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God s right hand. The Heidelberg Catechism No. 49 Anniversary Anthem and Hymn Choir: Long may peace within this dwelling Have its resting place; Angel shields all harm repelling, God, our God of grace. May the dove-like Spirit guide us to the upright land! May the Saviour-Shepherd feed us from his gentle hand! Robert Murray McCheyne/John Wykoff *Congregation: Unless the Lord the House Shall Build No.365 (Psalm127) Congregation: Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heav nly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Choir: Amen Unison Reading of God s Law Matthew 6:25-34(ESV pp ) Worship of God with Tithes and Offerings My Jesus, I Love Thee.. arr. Adoniram J. Gordon ( ) We praise you, O God, our Redeemer, Creator; In grateful devotion our tribute we bring. We lay it before you, we kneel and adore you; We bless your holy name, glad praises we sing.

4 *Congregational Petitions With voices united our praises we offer, To you, great Jehovah, glad anthems we raise. Your strong arm will guide us, our God is beside us; To you, our great Redeemer, forever be praise. Julia Cady Cory (1902) Tune: Kremser Scripture Lesson Exodus 20:1-7 (ESV p. 61) Sermon Sincerely Serious About God! *Hymn Crown Him with Many Crowns No. 295 *Benediction +Silent Prayer O God, the King of glory, who has exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven; We beg you, do not leave us comfortless; but send to us your Holy Spirit to comfort us, and exalt us to the same place where our Savior Christ has gone, who lives and reigns with you and the same Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. The perfect wisdom of our God, revealed in all the universe; All things created by His hand, And held together at His command. He knows the mysteries of the seas, The secrets of the stars are His; He guides the planets on their way And turns the earth through another day. The matchless wisdom of His ways that mark the path of righteousness; His word a lamp unto my feet, His Spirit teaching and guiding me. And O the mystery of the cross, That God should suffer for the lost so that the fool might shame the wise And all the glory might go to Christ. O grant me wisdom from above to pray for peace and cling to love, And teach me humbly to receive the sun and rain of Your sovereignty. Each strand of sorrow has a place within this tapestry of grace; So, through the trials I ll choose to say, Your perfect will in Your perfect way. Words and music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend Arranged by Molly Ijames

5 Postlude Improvisation on Diademata..... Edward Broughton ( ) *Congregation standing +The congregation is invited to kneel CCLI License # Ascension Sunday May th Anniversary Sunday Morning Worship Sunday School Choir Rehearsal Evening Service Welcome & Announcement Elders Jim Price Mark Aown Congregational Petitions Leaders Mike Lee Isaac Dye Nursery Schedule Trish Papadopoulos & Katie Raines Lindsay & Mary Boyde Funches Emma St. John & Amy McCoy Sandy Milton & Jane Lewellen Coffee/Tea Hosts Jim & Stacey Sheridan Nancy Rowan Jim & Shari Roland Church Library Megan & Marilyn Schlaudraff Building Monitors Max LeFebvre Mark Murphy & 9:45 am 4:45 pm 9:45 am Prep for 11:00 Service 9:40 10:45 am Monday May 14 - Better English on Sixth 6:50 8:30 pm Tuesday May 15 - Ladies Bible Study, WIC Room 117 9:30 am 12:00 pm - Vacation Bible School Training, DeSoto Hall 7:00 8:00 pm - Samson Society, Pastor Rayburn s Office 7:00 8:00 pm

6 Wednesday May 16 - Prayer Meeting, 7:00 pm, Sanctuary, Q. 98 What is prayer? Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies. --Shorter Catechism - ESL Writing Class, Room 302 5:45 6:30 pm - Sr. High Youth Group, DeSoto Hall 7:00 8:30 pm - Jr. High Youth Group, Room 301 7:00 8:30 pm - Choristers, Choir Room 7:00 8:15 pm Thursday May 17 - Knitting Friendships, WIC Room 117 1:00 3:00 pm - PNW Presbytery Meeting, Christ Church Bellingham Friday May 18 - PNW Presbytery Meeting, Christ Church Bellingham - Covenant High School Art Show & Concert, 7:30 pm Saturday, May 19 - Women in the Church Field Trip, Monarch Park 8:45 am 2:30 pm Pentecost Sunday May 20 Morning Worship Sunday School Choir Rehearsal Evening Service Welcome & Announcement Elders Mark Aown Jerry Savage Congregational Petitions Leaders Jim Sheridan Colin James Nursery Schedule Hannah Lawty & Cessalie Darby Rachel Nicoletti & Christina Pulliam Marcia Brodersen & Dana Isenberger Denise Welch & Amy Lewis Coffee/Tea Hosts Zach & Katie Raines Tina LeFebvre Tamara Woodard Church Library Felicity Matsuda Building Monitors Sam Green Kirk Bentson & 9:45 am 4:45 pm 9:45 am Prep for 11:00 Service 9:40 10:45 am

7 Upcoming Events For details please see Information/Events on the web site. May 22 Wedding Shower for Elissa Hastings May 28 Memorial Day, Church Office Closed June 1 Covenant High School Commencement June 3 Sunday School Promotion Sunday This Evening Tonight, from 1 Peter 4, a subject fewer and fewer Christians in our time ever hear preached: The Difficulty of Salvation. The Lord s Supper will be served. The Lord s Supper is observed every Lord s Day at Faith Presbyterian Church alternating between the morning and the evening services. The officers have wanted to retain evening communion not only because all the Lord s Suppers explicitly mentioned in the New Testament were in the evening, but as well to reinforce the importance of Sunday evening worship as a regular part of the observance of the Lord s Day. Thank You from Mike Simpson Thank you all for the privilege of serving the Lord and you. The Lord has been very kind and gracious to me and my family over the last 20 years. In John s Gospel story of the wedding at Cana we read, When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew) John 2:9 ESV. Working in the church office is like being one of those servants. Not in the smug sense, but in the sense that we get to really see and know the joys and sorrows, happiness and sadness of the folk in our church family. I would like to thank Patsi Arkin & Kim St. John for their cheerful help and willingness to provide me with their wise female point of view. I would like to thank Ned St. John for his very helpful practical advice. I would like to thank our church officers, the elders and the deacons, for their wisdom, leadership, and patience. And I would like to thank our ministers for their invaluable spiritual admonitions, leadership, advice, and encouragement. It has truly been a pleasure to work with such fine Christians. Women in the Church Field Trip this Saturday Ladies, please join us for our annual adventurous WIC Field Trip to Monarch Park, a contemporary sculpture park and a center for the arts in Tenino on the Chehalis Western Trail. We will lunch in downtown Olympia. Meet at the church at 8:45 am, Saturday, May 19th, to travel by our school bus, and return by 2:30 pm. Please sign-up today in the Narthex. Celebrating a June Bride! Elissa Hastings and Joe Burke are soon to be wed! Ladies, please join us at a wedding shower for Elissa on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. in DeSoto Hall. Joe and Elissa are registered at Amazon and Zola. If you would like to contribute to the group gift, the wedding box will be in the narthex today and next Lord s Day for your contributions. Faith Presbyterian Church New Directory You will find the directory proof pages displayed in the Narthex today for changes, additions and corrections. Please take a moment to review your information; we want it to be as accurate as possible. Note that birthdays are listed on the last several pages; we work our way through this list, adding new names for prayer each week to our Wednesday prayer meeting handout. You may also contact the church office with directory changes. If you are new to the church since the publishing of our last directory, we would very much like to include you in this update. Please feel free to write your information on the pages provided in the narthex or provide it to the church office.

8 Covenant High School Art Show & Concert this Friday, May 18 The doors will open for the Spring Art Show at. There will be a wide variety of student art work to view including senior mini shows. The Jazz Band will begin playing at 6:30 pm, and the Spring Choir Concert follows at 7:30 p.m. Concert prelude begins at 7:15. Graduation 2018 Faith Presbyterian Church would like to join in congratulating our members who are graduating from high school or higher education this spring. If you know of a graduate we can congratulate, call or the church office by May 27 th with their name and the school (homeschool) from which they are graduating. Calling All Astronauts and Space Cadets! Sign up for Genesis 1: Space Probe VBS and get ready for a spectacular space odyssey! Young astronauts will learn about our Living God, the Creator of the universe through eyewitness storytellers, engaging classroom time, crafts, skits, and lively music! We hope to see a lot of new faces, too; so be sure to invite friends and neighbors! If you have any questions, please be in touch with Star Commander Rachel Moore or co-commander Heidi Bone. Mission Dates: Mon. July 9 - Fri. July 13 Mission Time: 9:00am - 12:00pm Astronaut Ages: 4yrs - Grade 6 (completed) Register online at vbspro.events/p/events/faithtacoma/ or find the link on the events page of the church website as well as our Facebook page: facebook.com/faithtacomavbs/. See you at Mission Control! ACM Summer Singing Camp The ACM Summer Singing Camp scheduled for July will no longer be held. Study Group on Ethnic Relations A study group is meeting Sundays to continue exploring issues discussed during the recent Sunday School class, State of the Disunion. If you are interested in participating, please contact Jerry Savage. Barnabas Project Gentle reminder: Writing submissions and picture submissions (which should include family name, event, and date or however much information is remembered) need to be submitted into the Barnabas Project box in the Narthex. Near this box are large envelopes along with acid free paper. Please take an envelope and several pieces of acid free paper to complete your words of encouragement on. When you are finished, drop your envelope into the box making sure to include your name on the outside. Thanks! Please have all submissions in by Sunday, May 27 th. Thanks! Explanation of the Cover Symbol The anchor is an ancient Christian symbol for hope. It is derived from Hebrews 6:19: We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul... When combined with a cross it makes plain that Christian hope is in Christ and His redemption. The symbol was frequently used in this sense in the catacombs of ancient Rome.

9 Adult Sunday School The Women of Faith Class I (WIC Room 117) We are reading and discussing Song of the Nightingale: One Woman s True Story of Faith and Persecution in Eritrea by Helen Berhane. The Women of Faith Class II (Covenant High School Office) We are studying together the book Alive in the Spirit by A.W. Tozer. The Word of Faith Class (Sanctuary) Pastor Rayburn continues with A Survey of the Old Testament. High School Sunday School (Meeting in room 301 today) Pastor Nicoletti and the high school class continue their year-long study of Dante s Divine Comedy. Better English on Sixth ESL Sunday School (Room 304) Kathy Lewis facilitates the Better English class where individual American partners help each international who wishes to read or discuss material at an appropriate level of English. Please contact Kathy or Jonathan Nichols if you would like to become a partner or assist Better English on Sixth in any way. Men of Faith, Morning Prayer Meetings & Devotions There are opportunities to meet with fellow Men of Faith for prayer and devotions each week: Wednesday mornings with Phil Perkins: We meet at Old Town Anthem coffee shop at 2312 N. 30th St., Tacoma. This group meets at 6 am for Bible reading and prayer. After several years we continue to focus solely on the Psalms which serve as a life guide. One of the ancient church fathers, Athanasius wrote, Whatever your particular need or trouble, from this same book (the Psalms) you can select a form of words to fit it, so that you...learn the way to remedy your ill. Thursday mornings with Thom Wilson, 6:30 am at the church. Join us in studying through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah as we pray for our concerns and the world around us. College & Career Community Groups College & Career is a young adult ministry of Faith Presbyterian Church. The goal is to provide opportunities for young adults 18 and older, whether single or married, to do life together throughout the week and form deep Christian friendships. C&C Community Groups are weekly small groups that meet in a home for dinner and fellowship. We have one group that meets on Thursdays at Nate and Rachel Shelden s home at 6:30, and another group that meets on Tuesdays at Isaac and Elsie Dye s home at 6:30. For more details, or if you re interested in joining a C&C Community Group, please contact one of us and we ll help you get connected! Meals on Wheels The purpose of Meals on Wheels is to provide meals for those families needing extra help due to illness, death in the family, adoption or childbirth. If you know of a need, please contact Kathy Haass, Alisha Bennett or the church office. Meal needs will be requested via TNT (This n That), the church s announcement system. To receive TNT s, please contact the church office. Thank you! Nursing Mothers In addition to the nursery rooms, Room #117 the Women in the Church room, is open and available for your convenience during all Worship Services. The service can be seen and heard in the WIC room. Hearing Assistance If you would like a device to help with hearing the worship service, please see a Deacon.