GARDEN CITY COMMUNITY CHURCH THE ORDER OF WORSHIP 10:30 A.M. May 29, 2016 THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI WE OPEN OURSELVES TO GOD S PRESENCE THROUGH MUSIC AND SONG WORDS OF WELCOME AND ACT OF FRIENDSHIP PRELUDE AND QUIET TIME OF PREPARATION QUOTATION OF THE DAY: Behold the mystery of your salvation laid out for you; behold what you are, become what you receive. (The Body of Christ) -St. Augustine s Sermon 272, on the nature of the sacrament of Holy Communion PRELUDE Elegy George Thalben-Ball TOLLING OF CHIMES AND LIGHTING THE CANDLES WE APPROACH GOD WITH PRAISE AND PRAYER RESPONSIVE CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 96: 1-4 Leader: O sing to the Lord a new song; People: Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Leader: People: Leader: People: Leader: People: Sing to the Lord, bless God s name; Tell of God s salvation from day to day. Declare God s glory among the nations, God s marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; God is to be revered above all gods. * HYMN NO. 26 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
UNISON PRAYER OF INVOCATION AND THE LORD S PRAYER O God, ever so near, we gather as witnesses to your promise that if we seek you with all our hearts, we will find you. Let your presence be known among us this day. Hear the confessions of our mouths and the yearnings of our hearts. Help us to change the narrowness of our vision and the pettiness of our living. Make us new again with your holy grace. Grant us the maturity to accept your many gifts in true humility and to use them with faithfulness. Grant to us your Spirit that our worship may have integrity and energy. May your abiding Love manifest through our actions and be the catalyst that draws others to you. We praise and give thanks to you in Jesus name as we pray the prayer he gave us. 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. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. CHILDREN S MESSAGE (To maintain a quiet and reflective time of worship, we invite parents with infants and toddlers to please accompany your children to the adult supervised Infant/toddler rooms and/or their Church School classes.) A TIME FOR CONFESSION AND RECONCILIATION UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION Mother/Father God, we have sinned against you and one another. We have not cared for one another as you commanded. We continue to project our own brokenness onto our brothers and sisters as we focus on their shortcomings, judging that which is not to our liking. We place unrealistic expectations upon ourselves and one another. As we come to know that perfection is yours alone, we assume a false humility that negates the gifts you have bestowed upon us for the building up of your kin dom. And yet, we expect others to do that which we are unwilling to do. We have forgotten who we are to you and to one another. Forgive our faults and restore us to at-one-ment. Help us to take responsibility for the gifts you gave us to heal the wounds inflicted upon your Body. May we be of One Spirit, and united in our mission. Keep us right-sized, reminding us always to pray for each other. WORDS OF ASSURANCE ***A TIME OF SILENT REFLECTION AND PRAYER***
* PRAISE RESPONSE HYMN No. 375 - Weave Weave, weave, weave us together. Weave us together in unity and love. Weave, weave, weave us together. Weave us together in love. * PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST WE LISTEN TO HEAR GOD S WORD SCRIPTURE READING 1 Kings 8: 22-23; 41-43 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built. GOSPEL READING Luke 7:1-10 After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us. And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my slave, Do this, and the slave does it. When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
ANTHEM: Saints Bound For Heaven arr. Robert Shaw/Alice Parker Our bondage it shall end by and by, by and by. From Egypt s yolk set free, Hail the glorious jubilee, And to Canaan we ll return by and by, by and by. Our deliverer He shall come by and by, by and by. And our sorrows have an end with our three score years and ten, And vast glory crown the day by and by, by and by. And when to Jordan s floods we are come, we are come. Jehovah rules the tide and the water He ll divide, And the ransom d host shall shout, we are come, we are come. Then with all the happy throng we ll rejoice, we ll rejoice. Shouting, Glory to our King, till the vault of heaven ring, And through all eternity, we ll rejoice, we ll rejoice! THE MESSAGE Behold Who You Are Rev. Kitt Von Braunsberg * HYMN NO. 386 We Are One in the Spirit OFFERING WE RESPOND WITH THANKSGIVING OFFERATORY ANTHEM Psalm 150 César Franck Alleluia! O praise ye the Lord, praise God in His temple. Praise ye the Lord in the firmament of His pow r. O praise Him for His might, and the greatness of His wonders: O praise Him, praise Him, according to His majesty. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord with sound of the trumpet. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord with the lute and the harp. Praise the Lord with the timbrel. Praise the Lord with the dance, O praise Him with the organ and instruments of strings. Praise Him, praise Him upon the loud cymbals. Praise Him, praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath, praise, praise the Lord. Alleluia.
* DOXOLOGY (Hymn No. 46) Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God for all that love has done; Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen. WE SEEK HELP AND BLESSING AS WE REDEDICATE OUR LIVES TO GOD S SERVICE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Doug Yasso The response to each petition is, We lift them up. For the safekeeping of our active duty military service members, for our veterans, and for the souls of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, for their families and loved ones For those facing a crisis of faith For the sick and suffering, for their families and caregivers, that they may be open to God s healing grace For those in need of a home or livelihood, and for the stranger in a strange land For families, that they may be a safe haven for each member For our children, that they may grow in gospel values For those survivors of abuse and injustice, that they may find peace For our nation, that its leaders may choose the common good over ideology For all in need of prayer For those unspoken concerns that weigh on our hearts All: We lift up our minds and our hearts to be opened to the grace and wisdom of your most Holy Spirit. * HYMN NO. 532 O Beautiful for Spacious Skies * BENEDICTION * BENEDICTION RESPONSE POSTLUDE Dorian Toccata in D minor Johann Sebastian Bach
WE DEPART IN PEACE AND IN THE JOY OF THE LORD *The Congregation is asked to stand. Those who find this difficult are welcome to remain seated. We invite anyone who would like to receive a blessing or a special prayer to speak with a minister after the worship service.