ORDER OF WORSHIP August 30, 2015 14 th Sunday after Pentecost 22 nd Sunday in Ordinary Time / Proper 17 *Congregation Stands (If you prefer, It is acceptable to remain seated.) Welcome to Knox Presbyterian Church! Please sign and pass the Friendship Book ( pew pad ) if you have not already done so. Our prayer is that you will experience the presence of the eternal, as we worship our God together. We invite you to take the time during the prelude to focus your heart and mind in worship. WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS John McCallum PRELUDE Spirit of the Living God Piano Iverson/Carter John McCallum God has lavished us with every perfect gift from above and called us to living intimacy through the beloved one, Jesus Christ our Lord. CALL TO WORSHIP Reprinted by permission of Westminster John Knox Press from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion. 2015. *SONGS OF WORSHIP: I SING THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD (Hymn #52) I sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise, that spread the flowing seas abroad and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule by day; the moon shines full at his command and all the stars obey. I sing the goodness of the Lord that filled the earth with food; he formed the creatures with his word and then pronounced them good. Lord, how your wonders are displayed
where'er I turn my eye, if I survey the ground I tread or gaze upon the sky! There's not a plant or flower below but makes your glories known; and clouds arise and tempests blow by order from your throne; while all that borrows life from you is ever in your care, and everywhere that I may be, you, God, are present there. I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY (Hymn #506) I heard voice of Jesus say, Come unto me and rest; Lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast. I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn, and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad. I heard the voice of Jesus say, Behold, I freely give the living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live. I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream, my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him. I heard the voice of Jesus say, I am this dark world s light; look unto me, your morn shall rise, and all your day be bright. I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my star, my sun; And in that Light of life I ll walk, till traveling days are done. Caber Welch Let us confess our sins to our loving God who calls us close through our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayer of Confession Loving, righteous God, TIME OF PRAYER
our hearts are defiled with the wickedness you hate. You have called us to yourself, but we have gone away. Forgetting your living Word, we cling to dead traditions. Deceiving ourselves, we abandon your commandments. Hypocrites, we honor you with our lips while our hearts are far from you. Cleanse our hearts from evil intentions; cleanse our tongues from evil words so that our worship may be pure and undefiled and we may live with you in love for others. Amen. [Silent Prayer] Declaration of Forgiveness Our generous God has given us the perfect gift of forgiveness, Jesus Christ our Lord, who has liberated us from dead tradition and made us new by the living Word, filling our hearts with God s love. Reprinted by permission of Westminster John Knox Press from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion. 2015. HYMN: THIS IS MY SONG (Purple Hymnal #340) This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. My country s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine. So hear my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine. This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth s kingdoms: thy kingdom come; on earth thy will be done. Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him, and hearts united learn to live as one. So hear my prayer, O God of all the nations: myself I give thee; let thy will be done. OFFERING OF OURSELVES & OUR GIFTS: *Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below Praise him above ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. Offertory Prayer Living God, thank you for your gifts of life fragrant flowers, fruitful vines, singing creatures, and our own lives, renewed in Christ. Let your grace infuse the gifts we offer with life-giving power for those in need. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Reprinted by permission of Westminster John Knox Press from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion. 2015. Bringing our gifts forward and/or lighting a candle Offertory Amazing Grace Piano arr. Carter PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Rev. Don Meekhof READING OF THE SCRIPTURES: Song of Solomon 2:8 13 (NIV) 8 Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. Chenayla Welch
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. 10 My beloved spoke and said to me, Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. 11 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. 12 Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me. Psalm 45:1 2, 6 9 (NIV) 1 My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. 2 You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. 6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. 8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. 9 Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir. James 1:17 27 (NIV) 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change
like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. MESSAGE Vision Ryan Moore *CLOSING SONG BE THOU MY VISION (Hymn #532) Be thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word, I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord; thou and thou only, first in my heart, high King of heaven, my Treasure thou art. High King of heaven, my victory won, may I reach heaven s joys, O bright heaven s Sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my Vision, O Ruler of all. BENEDICTION Ryan Moore POSTLUDE To God Be the Glory Piano Doane/Carter * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A special thank you to Faith McCallum for planning the hymns and playing the piano for us today!