First Congregational United Church of Christ River Falls, Wisconsin. August 26, 2018

Transcription

1 First Congregational United Church of Christ River Falls, Wisconsin August 26, 2018

2 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN August 26, 2018 Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 9:30 am Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. ~Thomas Merton Welcome to our guests who are visiting with us today! Join us for coffee in the Fellowship Hall following the 9:30 worship service. ~The Nursery is available for young children. ~Church Mouse activity bags are available for children. ~Large print bulletins and hearing impaired devices are available from the ushers. ~Please stand when noted by the * ~Congregation responses are in bold. No matter who you are. No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here! As Jesus courageous disciples, living God s grace, we strive to: ~ Worship faithfully ~ Welcome openly ~ Grow spiritually ~ Care passionately ~ Serve generously PRELUDE ANNOUNCEMENTS SILENCE AND RINGING OF THE BELL Fendrick & Peck CALL TO WORSHIP L: All your creation sings your praise, O God! P: The rivers sing, the mountains clap, the prairies shout, the fields lift their abundance to you. L: The skies alight with your glory, the stars and planets shine upon us. P: We cannot fathom the magnitude of your glory, God. We give you thanks for all creation. We worship and adore you! Through Jesus Christ you come to us in all your goodness and love. L: God is good! All: Come now, let us worship the living God! Amen. *HYMN I Sing the Mighty Power of God #12

3 *PRAYER OF CONFESSION Creator God, in the thick of all our busy-ness we so easily crowd you out of our lives. In the uncertainty of our times we can be overwhelmed with anxiety. In the struggle to restore our health we wonder where you are. In our youth and in our aging we lose sight of you. Sometimes God, we are afraid of life itself. Forgive us, God, and help us to know your presence with us every moment, every day. Amen. *ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS L: God abides with us always. And God welcomes us back into the loving embrace of love that forever sustains us. P: Thanks be to God! L: Through the life and witness of Jesus Christ we find forgiveness for our waywardness and wandering from God s ways. P: Thanks be to God for the gift of life we receive through the living Christ. L: May God bless us, lead us in life s journey, and keep us always! P: Thanks be to God! L: May the peace of the Lord be with you all. P: And also with you. *PASSING OF THE PEACE (Please greet one another with signs of peace) *GLORIA (Sung twice) SPECIAL MUSIC Fendrick & Peck

4 SCRIPTURE LESSON Daniel 6:16-23 PSALM 84:1-4, 8-9, (Cantor will introduce; congregation, please join in when directed) L: How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! P: My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. L: Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. P: Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. L: O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! P: Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. L: For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. P: No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you. R SCRIPTURE LESSON Ephesians 6:10-20 SERMON Rev. Dave Ostendorf *HYMN Come, O Fount of Every Blessing #459

5 *STATEMENT OF FAITH (taken from the New Zealand Church) You, O God, are supreme and holy. You create our world and give us life. Your purpose overarches everything we do. You have always been with us. You are God. You, O God, are infinitely generous, good beyond all measure. You came to us before we came to you. You have revealed and proved your love for us in Jesus Christ, who lived and died and rose again. You are with us now. You are God. You, O God, are Holy Spirit. You empower us to be your gospel in the world. You reconcile and hear; you overcome death. You are our God. We worship you. Amen. THE PRAYERS & LORD S PRAYER (debts/debtors) 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 debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. OFFERTORY Fendrick & Peck With Our Voices We ll Tell

6 *PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING Loving God, for the blessings of this day and all our days, we thank you. We pray that these gifts, offered in gratitude for all you have done for us, might speed the day when your love and peace prevails. Use them in this place and wherever you might take us. Amen. *HYMN Be Now My Vision #451 *COMMISSIONING Go from this place in peace, strong and committed to building a world where God s love is ever-more abundant, lived and seen in you and through you and by you. May you be strong in the faithfulness of the living God who dwells with you and among us, calling us to live as the beloved community of Christ. Amen. POSTLUDE Fendrick & Peck Reprinted music used by permission under the following licenses: OneLicense.net A CCLI License Fendrick & Peck Folk Music duo Fendrick & Peck are our special music guests today. They will share their music during worship and will move to the Fellowship Hall following the service to keep the music going. They have been featured artists in many venues sharing music from their albums, and have been hailed as the future of folk music through their annual tours throughout the Midwest, New England and Mid Atlantic areas.

7 Assisting in today s worship service are: Liturgist: Jean Smith Coffee Fellowship: Music Committee Ushers: Kathy & Beth Rausch, Lee Lueck, Suzanne Hagen Welcomers: Jean Smith, JoAnn Lentz Nursery: Kaye Anderson Organist: Marsha Pearson Rover: Carole Mottaz Trustee: Tim Bylander Counters: Bob Ferguson, Jean Smith Among Friends Coordinator: Norma Revels Music Coordinator: Marsha Pearson Choir Director: Scott Perau Bell Choir Director: Ross Fugl Church Moderator: Neal Prochnow Church Secretary: Missy Luedtke Youth Pastor: JaNae Westrich Minister for Community: Rev. Dave Ostendorf CE Minister: Rev. Stacy Johnson Myers Senior Pastor: Rev. Chris Myers Altar table flowers are given by Marsha Pearson in honor of our special music guests, Fendrick & Peck.

8 Sun., Aug 26 Mon., Aug 27 Tues., Aug 28 Thurs., Aug 30 Sun., Sept 2 Mon., Sept 3 First Congregational UCC, 110 N. Third Street, River Falls, WI Tel: office@firstchurchrf.org Fax: :30 am - Worship Service 10:30 am - Coffee Fellowship 11:00 am - WEVR Broadcast 11:30 am - Fendrick & Peck 6:00 pm - Among Friends Board Meeting 9:00 am - Yoga 9:00 am-3:00 pm - Among Friends 9:00 am - Yoga 9:30 am - Worship Service 10:30 am - Coffee Fellowship 11:00 am - WEVR Broadcast - Labor Day Church Office Closed Rally Day, Sunday September 9 Rally Day is the beginning of the church program year. Our schedule that day will be: 8:00 am Choir Practice 9:00 am Early Worship 9:00 am Adult Forum 10:00 am Coffee Fellowship 10:30 am Late Worship with Sunday School 11:30 am Sunday School and Confirmation Kick Off Event with Root Beer Floats! Join us as we begin an exciting programming year!

9 Please remember the following in your prayers this week: Those who are ill or recovering: - Audrey Johnson (mother of Linn Lawrence), Janine Schulze (Dale Olson s sister), Steve (brother in law of Carole Mottaz), Rae and Mike Farley, Carolyn (mother of Paula Tiede), Nancy (sister of Bobbie Kuhn), Peg Thompson, Roger Becker (nephew of Sonny Miner), Barb (sister of Sue Simonet), Mary Morse (Dan Rude s sister), Ashton and Cameron (twin babies born 10 weeks early to friend of Wendy Hill), Dan Turner (father of Mike Danielson), Finley (niece of Sheila Peterson), Nancy (sister of Ruth Reilly), Dan Rude, Anna (granddaughter of Barbara Stephens), Doris (grandmother of Alison Conley, married here last week) Prayers for the ministry of our congregation: - For those who share their musical gifts with us each Sunday - For Kathy Rausch who shared her faith story last week as part of the Tell Me a Story moment - For those who enjoy our Yoga and Among Friends ministries - For Church Council who recently that as our leaders they may help us discern God s call to our church - For Committees and Boards who met last week - For those who trained for the Saints Program to preserve, record & share the faith stories of our church saints Prayers for our world: - For firefighters, especially those working on wild fires out West - For those killed and injured in the bridge collapse in Italy - For college students getting ready for school and new roommates! - For those back to school shopping - For teachers getting classrooms ready - For families trying to cram in last minute vacations - For those struggling with depression and mental health issues, that they may find hope - For our political leaders that our nation might work justly and for the common good - For those working to care for our delicate creation and the daily decisions we make to help do this Prayers of thanksgiving: - For Alison Conley and Anthony Bos married here Saturday, August 18th - For all who made the School Supply Give Away a big success - For the beautiful cathedral constructed by our VBS kids and their teen/adult helpers - For the gift of technology and mind of Christ to help us know its limits and boundaries - For Jim and Bobbie Kuhn who organize and clean our church pews each week - For those who are pregnant that God may watch over them and keep them healthy Those grieving the loss of loved ones: - For the family of Nora Roen (Wayne Roen s mother) who died recently - For the Morrow family as they interred Chuck Morrow at Greenwood cemetery recently - For the Seidl family as they mourn the death of Bodey, a RFHS senior - For the family of Tillie Most who died recently, mother of Sue Simonet and Betty Most - For those who are grieving including the Williams family If you have people you wish to include on our prayer list, please see the pastor or use the blue prayer cards in the pews or on the back sign-up table.

10 NOTES

11 AUGUST 26, 2018 (B) FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST SCRIPTURE LESSON: Daniel 6:16-23 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you! A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions? Daniel then said to the king, O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong. Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. SCRIPTURE LESSON: Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.