PROCLAMATION PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH MISSIONS SUNDAY MARCH 8, 2015 6:00 PM
Welcome The Lord s Day Sunday, March 8, 2015 Welcome to Proclamation Presbyterian Church! Welcome to our annual Missions Conference. We are especially glad to welcome those representing various mission organizations. Each year Proclamation has a Missions Conference. If you have been here for a while you are familiar with the tradition. There are many reasons why churches have a time each year to emphasize missions. For some, like Proclamation, it is the time for seeking commitments and pledges for giving. This allows the Missions Committee to plan support levels for the coming year. Let me suggest some other reasons why it is important for us to emphasize missions. A Missions Conference tells us something about God who is a missionary or sending God. He sends his Son the Lord Jesus to come to earth to seek and to save the lost. He sends his church out into the world to carry the message of the Savior to the ends of the world (Mathew 28:19-20). He sends the Holy Spirit to equip us to be witnesses to the end of the earth (Acts 1:9). In celebrating missions we remember the character of God. Most of us who gather today have another reason to remember missions. We are Christians because God used missionaries to bring the Gospel of Christ to our ancestors. We sometimes forget that we have the Gospel because of the work of Christian missionaries throughout the centuries. I remember a colleague of mine who would remind me that when the Christian church began in Jerusalem my ancestors were running around killing one another. Like many Presbyterians my ancestors were Scots. At the time when the Apostles were first preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ many Scots or Picts were barely civilized tribes. They worshipped many gods and engaged in piracy. Saint Patrick referred to them as the apostate Picts. But missionaries brought the Gospel to the land of the Picts. God converted them and eventually they all were incorporated into Scotland the country that became the seedbed of Presbyterianism. When we remember that we are the beneficiaries of the mission enterprise, it is good for us to celebrate God s sending his Son and missionaries to unbelievers in order that the Holy Spirit may give them new hearts. 2 ***Please take a moment to silence all electronic devices. There are large print Bibles and hearing assist devices available in the narthex. We ask everyone to sign the Friendship Pad as it is passed down the row. As the pad is passed back along the row, I encourage you look at the names. Then you can greet one another by name.
GOD IS GREAT The focus of our worship today is the greatness of God. As we praise God and confess his greatness, millions of Muslims will be prefacing their prayers with the words Allahu Akbar meaning god is great. We need to be sure in our declaration that God is great that we can distinguish our praise from that of the enemies of the one true God. The Psalmist says: For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Psalm 96:4-5 We worship the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit the creator and redeemer. As we acknowledge God s greatness today, remember we can do so because our savior, the Lord Jesus, has saved us from our sins and made it possible to truly worship the great God. As the Psalmist said: great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. Be sure such praise comes from your lips and hearts. EVENING WORSHIP Preparation for Worship: Meditation and Prayer Ryan Kelly Musical Selection Welcome and Announcements Record of your Presence If you have not done so TODAY, please sign the blue attendance pad found in the pew back in front of you, pass it down the pew for everyone to sign and then return it to the end of the pew from which it was passed. PRAYER OF INVOCATION* CALL TO WORSHIP* Psalm 107:1-3 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. HYMN OF PRAISE AND ADORATION* Christ Shall Have Dominion Hymn No. 439 3
PRAYER OF ADORATION AND CONFESSION HYMN* We Rest on Thee Hymn No. 449 WORSHIP IN GIVING Siyahamba Proclamation Family Choir South African folk tune PASTORAL PRAYER OF INTERCESSION 4
PRESENTATION Dr. David Swarr and Rev. Samuel Chiang The State of Orality Final Frontiers and God s Creative Solutions Notes HYMN OF RESPONSE* We Have Heard the Joyful Sound Hymn No. 448 BENEDICTION* Postlude Songs used with permission. CCLI 660322 All Scripture references, unless otherwise noted, taken from ESV 5
Missions Sunday Speakers The State of Orality - Final Frontiers and God s Creative Solutions Dr. David Swarr With an extensive background and a PhD in intercultural organizational leadership, he is President/CEO, of DAVAR Partners International - an audio Scripture engagement organization serving over 600 partner organizations in 90 nations. He has over 30 years experience in senior executive roles in both non-for profit and business organizations. In these roles he has lived and served on four continents. David is based in the USA and Israel. Rev. Samuel Chiang Rev. Samuel Chiang is executive director of the International Orality Network (ION). Born in Taiwan, he grew up and worked in Canada and graduated from Dallas Seminary. Formerly the Chief Operating Officer of TWR, Samuel has also written extensively on China and Asia, and has been published in Chinese, English, French, and Dutch. He has authored book chapters in diverse genres including innovation, orality, and persecution. He and his bride, Robbi, have three Gen Y children. ION has over 1,200 member organizations ranging from the larger to the smaller dispersed across all time zones. Upcoming Events Sat. 3/21 Metro-West Presbytery Women s Morning of Prayer March 21, Olive Street Presbyterian Church, 8:45 am 2:00 pm Sat./Sun. Westminster Seminary Conference on Science & Faith 3/20-21 March 20-21, Proclamation Church For registration information, go to www.wcosaf.com Flyers are on the narthex table Sun. 3/29 Special Palm Sunday Choral Presentation March 29, Proclamation Church, 6:00 pm 4/24-26 Phila. Conference on Reformed Theology Friday, April 24 Sunday, April 26 Proclamation Presbyterian Church Speakers: Joel Beeke, Iain Duguid, Richard Phillips For registration information, go to www.alliancenet.org Flyers are on the narthex table 6
Report from the Pulpit Search Committee Given on March 1, 2015 by Dan Correnti Good morning, As you recall, three weeks ago I reported that the Pulpit Search Committee was in the process of considering several highly qualified candidates who had recently come to our attention. Since that time, we have visited churches, conducted interviews, listened to sermons, evaluated written information and checked references. While the outcome of this process has not been determined for sure, the focus of our attention has narrowed significantly, and we are very encouraged by the developments of the past few weeks. For those of you who have not previously participated in a search for a new pastor, Presbyterian style, it might be helpful if I highlighted the additional steps we would need to take to bring a new Senior Pastor on board: 1. When the Search Committee believes it has identified the candidate to fill this position, we will arrange a meeting between that individual and the Session. This meeting is to ensure that both the candidate and the Session have good reason to believe that a working relationship can be established. 2. The next step would be for the Search Committee to request that a special congregational meeting be called to elect a new Senior Pastor. This meeting would be held about 30 days after written notification is sent to the congregation. 3. Just prior to the congregational meeting the candidate, and perhaps his family, will be introduced to the congregation through various activities held here at the church. 4. On the day of the congregational meeting, the candidate will preach, and after the worship service the congregation will vote on whether or not it wants this man to serve as its next Senior Pastor. Depending on the outcome of the vote, the candidate would then decide whether or not to accept this position. 5. The final step of the process would be to have the candidate approved by the Presbytery. You have been very patient with us and with the process. Our thanks go out to you for that. As always, we ask that you continue to pray for discernment for the candidates, the Session, the Pulpit Search Committee and for yourselves. We will continue to keep you posted on a regular basis. May God bless each of you as we await His direction on this matter. 7
Holy Week Services Sun. 3/29 Special Palm Sunday Choral Presentation The Seven Last Words of Christ by Théodore Dubois March 29, Proclamation Church, 6:00 pm Thurs. 4/2 Maundy Thursday Service/Lord s Supper April 2, Proclamation Church, 7:00 pm Fri. 4/3 Good Friday Service Sun. 4/5 Easter Sunday April 3, Proclamation Church, 12:00 1:00 pm April 5, Proclamation Church, 11:00 am & 6:00 pm Worship This Week at Proclamation Monday 9:45am 7:00pm Tuesday 7:00pm Wednesday 8:45am 1:30pm 5:45pm 7:00pm ESL Classes Reinhart Memorial Service Small Group Women s Bible Study Pastoral Staff Meeting Adult Handbell Rehearsal Chancel Choir Rehearsal Girls of Grace Boys of the Bible Refinery (Middle School) Small Group Women s Bible Study Thursday 2:30pm 6:30pm 7:00pm Friday 6:00pm Saturday 9:00am Kid s ESL Class Pulpit Search Committee Missions Committee Meeting Japanese Worship Team Practice Men s Bible Study Next Sunday, March 15 Morning Worship Rev. Allen Curry s message will be A Prayer to be Made Worthy (2 Thess 1:1-12) Evening Worship Rev. Allen Curry s message will be Impossible (Acts 9:1-9) 8