O Say Can You See A Service for a National Holiday LA7
O Say Can You See A Service for a National Holiday Leader s Guide LA7 3
O Say Can You See A Service for a National Holiday Index About This Service...5 Newsletter/Bulletin Notices... 6-9 Order of Service...10-14 Complete Script For Memorial Day... 15-23 Complete Script For Independence Day... 24-32 Complete Script For Labor Day... 33-41 Complete Script For Veterans Day...42-50 Music Guide... 51-61 By Carol Geisler. Image: Shutterstock.com. 2015 by for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026. 800-325- 9414. www.creativecommunications.com. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Purchase of this kit gives the purchaser the copyright release to use the material in any format for use in worship. 4 LA7
O Say Can You See A Service for a National Holiday About This Service O Say Can You See is a complete order of service for all or any of the national holidays of the summer and fall Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day. Based on the famous phrase from our National Anthem, the service asks parishioners to see the hand of God at work in our nation and to help others see that so many of our country s blessings have come from him. The kit includes the hymns Before You, Lord, We Bow, Blessed Jesus, at Your Word, God Bless Our Native Land and The Star-Spangled Banner, Bible readings, sermons, children s sermons and prayers for all your national holiday needs. This kit includes an order of service, prayers, sermons, children s sermons, music, as well as a CD- ROM (Mac/PC) with the text of the entire kit in.rtf (rich text format) and a PowerPoint document of all four services with text (with a copyright release) for use on screens. LA7 5
O Say Can You See A Service for a National Holiday Complete Script For Independence Day The Opening Hymn and Responsive Reading are sung to tune Darwall s 148th 66 66 88 and spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation: (Francis Scott Key, who wrote our national anthem, wrote the words to this hymn.) Before you, Lord, we bow, our God who reigns above And rules the world below, boundless in pow r and love. Our thanks we bring in joy and praise, Our hearts we raise to you, our King! The nation you have blest may well your love declare, From foes and fears at rest, protected by your care. For this bright day, for this fair land Gifts of your hand our thanks we pay. P P O say can you see? Our country s national anthem begins with those words. What do you see? We see the blessings of freedom to live and work in peace, to worship our God and Savior. We see and honor the countless members of the armed forces and the many who gave their lives to preserve our nation and our freedom. P P O say can you see? What do you see? 24 LA7
We see God working in the lives of people who labor in many callings, caring for their families, protecting and governing us. P P O say can you see? What do you see? We see the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died and rose from death to win forgiveness and eternal life. We see the work that lies before us as witnesses to his redeeming love. By faith we see the great day when we will be raised from death to live forever in his presence. Earth, hear your Maker s voice; your great Redeemer own; Believe, obey, rejoice, and worship him alone. Cast down your pride, your sin deplore, And bow before the Crucified. And when in pow r he comes, oh, may our native land From all its rending tombs send forth a glorious band, A countless throng, with joy to sing To heav n s high King salvation s song! The Responsive Reading, Psalm 33:16-20, is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation: The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, That he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. The Confession and Absolution is spoken responsively by the pastor and the congregation: Let us confess our sins to God, trusting in his steadfast love. Almighty God, we have sinned against you in our thoughts, words and actions. We fail to show gratitude for your grace and gifts. We fail to live as faithful citizens of your kingdom. For the sake of Jesus, for the sake of your steadfast love, have mercy on us and forgive us. LA7 25
God has had mercy on us and sent his Son to be our Savior. For the sake of Jesus, who died and rose for us, I announce to you that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. The Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune O Jesu Christe, Wahres Licht LM: O Christ, our true and only light, enlighten those who sit in night; Let those afar now hear your voice and in your fold with us rejoice. Fill with the radiance of your grace the souls now lost in error s maze; Enlighten those whose inmost minds some dark delusion haunts and blinds. The Children s Message is delivered by the pastor or other worship leader: (Needed: a small American flag and a cross or crucifix) P P (Hold up the flag.) Can you tell me what this is? (Let children answer.) This is an American flag. It s a symbol of our country. Where might you see a flag? (Let children answer.) Flags fly above buildings and offices. Sometimes soldiers carry flags in parades. We see flags at baseball games or football games. Our national anthem, our country s special song, was written about the American flag. It begins with the words, O say can you see. After a terrible battle, the man who wrote the song, Francis Scott Key, saw the American flag still flying over the fort. When he saw the flag the star-spangled banner he knew that the Americans had won the victory. Whenever we see a flag or hear our national anthem, we remember that we live in the United States of America. We are proud of our country and proud of the men and women who help us to protect our freedom. (Hold up the cross.) Can you tell me what this is? (Let children answer.) This is a cross, a reminder that Jesus died on the cross for us. Where do you see crosses? (Let children answer.) You can see crosses inside and outside of churches like ours. Some people might wear a necklace with a cross, or you might have a cross hanging on the wall in your house. Whenever we see a cross, we remember that we belong to Jesus Christ. We remember that he died on the cross and came alive again to set us free from our sins. The cross reminds us that Jesus won the victory over sin, death and the devil. We give praise and thanks to God for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Jesus won the victory and set us free from our sins. Let s give thanks to God for our country and for our Savior Jesus Christ: Heavenly Father, thank you for our country, the United States of America. Help us to be good citizens of our country. Most of all, we thank you for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Help us to tell others about Jesus so that they will come to believe in him too. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. 26 LA7
The Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune O Jesu Christe, Wahres Licht LM: Shine on the darkened and the cold; recall the wand rers to your fold. Unite all those who walk apart; confirm the weak and doubting heart, That they with us may evermore such grace with wond ring thanks adore And endless praise to you be giv n by all your Church in earth and heav n. The Old Testament Lesson, Isaiah 52:7-10, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns. The voice of your watchmen they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. The New Testament Lesson, Acts 4:13-20, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. The Gospel Lesson, John 9:24-38, is spoken by the pastor or other worship leader: So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered, Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. They said to him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? And they reviled him, saying, You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. LA7 27
We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from. The man answered, Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered him, You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered, And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. He said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him. The Sermon Hymn is sung by the congregation to the tune Liebster Jesu, Wir Sind Hier 78 78 88: Blessed Jesus, at your Word, we are gathered all to hear you. Let our hearts and souls be stirred now to seek and love and fear you, By your teachings, sweet and holy, drawn from earth to love you solely. The Sermon for Independence Day, O Say Can You See, based on John 9:24-38, is delivered by the pastor: P P Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn s early light, what so proudly we hail d at the twilight s last gleaming? Francis Scott Key, the American lawyer who wrote those words, watched a battle from a British ship in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. Key, who was aboard the British ship in 1814 to arrange for an exchange of prisoners, watched the British Navy bombard Fort McHenry. Throughout the night, the rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air revealed that the American flag, with its broad stripes and bright stars, was still flying over the fort. But what would the dawn s early light reveal? Would the American flag still be waving over the fort? It was, and inspired by that proud sight, Key wrote the poem that would be set to music and become our national anthem. O say can you see? We sing that anthem with pride. What does the dawn s early light reveal to us? What can we see when we look to the past and the present? The light reveals a nation founded on freedom. The light reveals thousands upon thousands of men and women, members of our armed forces, who died in the fight that brought our nation into being, who died to preserve our nation and the freedom on which it was founded, who died in battle to establish or preserve the light of freedom for people around the world. We honor their memory and give thanks to God for the sacrifice they made. The light also reveals the men and women who served in the armed forces in the past and those who presently serve, men and women willing to risk their lives to protect and defend our nation s Constitution, and with it, the freedom we enjoy. What else does the light reveal? We look out into this congregation, into our city, our state and across our nation, and see the people who labor and earn to provide 28 LA7
food and shelter for their families, who work to build and preserve this country. O say can you see? For all that the light reveals, we give thanks to God, who has so richly blessed us. O say can you see? That wasn t the question asked of the blind beggar from today s Gospel reading. The question put to him was, How were your eyes opened? His response was simple: The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight. The Pharisees, who chose to remain in the dark when it came to believing in Jesus, questioned the former blind man; they even questioned the beggar s parents. The Pharisees challenged and threatened. They asked the beggar about Jesus. This healing rabbi, they thought, could not be from God. The now brighteyed beggar responded, Do you also want to become his disciples? Furious, the Pharisees ridiculed and threatened the man and finally threw him out, but Jesus found him. O say can you see? Unlike the Pharisees, who chose to remain blind, the beggar saw his Savior and believed. O say can you see? The disciples of Jesus had seen a lot. They saw their Lord hanging on the cross. They saw his dead body taken down, wrapped for burial and sealed in a guarded tomb. And on the third day after that, they saw Jesus alive! They saw the scars left by the nails in his hands and feet and the wound in his side from the spear. Jesus Christ stood before them, alive and in the flesh! He had risen from the dead, just as he had promised, and the disciples couldn t stop talking about what they had seen! They went into the temple of Jerusalem and proclaimed the good news of Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead. They proclaimed in Jesus forgiveness and eternal life for all who believed in him, and they were arrested because of their bold proclamation. The religious leaders ordered the disciples to stop preaching about Jesus, but the disciples couldn t stop. Peter answered for all of them: Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. O say can you see? The disciples had seen their risen Lord, and they couldn t stop talking about him. O say can you see? In the darkness, Francis Scott Key caught sight now and then of the star-spangled banner waving bravely over Fort McHenry. What would you have seen at that execution site outside of Jerusalem two thousand years ago? What would you have seen in the darkness that settled over those three crosses outside the city walls? On the center cross a battle had been fought and, to all outward appearances, that battle had been lost. No banner fluttered proudly in the breeze. The Son of God bowed his head and died. His enemies had triumphed. The Messiah, the King of the Jews, was dead. But what was revealed in the darkness was not a defeat at all. On that cross, in the sacrifice of his only Son, God was reconciling the world to himself. The innocent Lamb of God carried our sins to the cross and suffered the punishment that we deserve. He was declared guilty so that the verdict handed down to us could be Not guilty! The debt of our sins was paid, and Jesus body was taken down from the cross. He was hastily anointed, wrapped for burial and sealed in a borrowed LA7 29
Tune... National Anthem 664 6664 1 & b 4 3 1? b 4 3 6 &? b b. 6. 11 & b 11? b..... j J j J.. j J... j J...... j J 60 LA7
[An alternate closing hymn is God Bless Our Native Land, sung to the tune National Anthem 664 6664] God bless our native land; firm may she ever stand Through storm and night. When the wild tempests rave, Ruler of wind and wave, do thou our country save by thy great might. So shall our prayers arise to God above the skies; on him we wait. Thou who art ever nigh, guarding with watchful eye, To thee aloud we cry: God save the state! LA7 61