The friendly church with a place for you 505 S. Tyndall Parkway Panama City, Florida

PARKWAY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH The friendly church with a place for you 505 S. Tyndall Parkway Panama City, Florida 32404 850-785-7081 Mission Statement We are a nurturing church family, believing and witnessing to the Gospel of God s love by sharing our faith in Jesus Christ and ministering to the needs of the community and world. September 24, 2017 Ordinary Time - Proper 20 Ordinary Time www.parkwaypcfl.org

OUR DAY OF WORSHIP The Theme For The Day: Matthew narrates one of Jesus controversial parables, in which Jesus says the reign of God is like workers who get paid the same no matter when they start. When God changes his mind about punishing Nineveh for their evil ways, Jonah is angry. Yet God is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love. In baptism we receive the grace of God that is freely given to all. WE WELCOME ALL in worship this morning. We especially welcome those who are our guests today and hope that you will feel God s Spirit of grace and love among us here at Parkway. If you are looking for a Church Home, we invite you to consider our congregation. Please silence cell phones ( + ) Denotes to please stand, if you are able PRELUDE AS WE GATHER FOR WORSHIP L / Whether we embrace God s call in our lives or try to avoid it, C / God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. L / Whether we are long-timers or latecomers in the life of faith, C / God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. L / Whether our lives in Christ are comfortable or bring hardship, C / God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We praise God s name forever and ever! PRAYER OF THE DAY Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants. Because we cannot rely on our own abilities, grant us your merciful judgment, and train us to embody the generosity of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

+HYMN Bigger Than Big God, You made our big blue sky. You made the oceans deep and wide. God, You made the trees so tall, And Your love is bigger than it all. God, You re bigger than big, Stronger than strong, You re mightier than mighty, Louder than this song! Your love for me stretches farther than far. I can t imagine just how big you are, Just how big you are.

AS WE CONFESS OUR SINS AND HEAR THE PARDON (Please remain standing for the confession) + CALL TO CONFESSION L / Because we do not always live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, we confess before God and one another our sins and shortcomings. In repentance, let us turn toward God s grace and mercy. PRAYER OF CONFESSION C / God of abundant goodness, we confess that we want your grace for ourselves but often wish punishment or exclusion on others. We judge the efforts and motives of others while ignoring the faults of our own. Forgive us, we pray, when we let jealousy overtake us. Forgive us, we pray, when we are petty even in the presence of your generosity. Forgive us, we pray, when we feel slighted by you. May we ask once again for your mercy? Will you help us to be more merciful toward one another? We pray in the name of Christ Jesus, by whose grace we are saved. Amen. SILENCE FOR REFLECTION DECLARATION OF FORGIVENES P/ Almighty God, In His Mercy.. HYMN OF PRAISE Hallelujah SHARING THE PEACE L/ The peace of the Lord be with you. Halle, Halle, Hallelujah, Halle, Halle, Hallelujah Halle, Halle, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah (sing twice) People / And also with you. (Share the peace with those around you) CHILDREN S SERMON & CHURCH PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION Gracious God, your Word surprises, challenges, upsets, and overturns our way of seeing and thinking. Come and find us today wherever we are, however we are. By the power of your Holy Spirit, cause that which is withering in us to blossom and that which is exacting in us to broaden until we see as you see, and thereby glimpse the kingdom you are bringing. In Christ s name we pray. Amen.

FIRST READING Jonah 3:10--4:11 10 When God saw what [the people of Ninevah] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. 4:1 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lordand said, O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. 4 And the Lordsaid, Is it right for you to be angry? 5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 6 The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, It is better for me to die than to live. 9 But God said to Jonah, Is it right for you to be angry about the bush? And he said, Yes, angry enough to die. 10 Then the Lord said, You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals? Here ends our reading PSALM Psalm 145:1-8 L / Let us begin together: love. All: 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast L/ 1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. C / 2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. L / 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. C / 4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. L / 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. C / 6 The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness. L/ 7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. C / 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. love. All: 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast

SECOND READING PHILIPPIANS 1:21-30 21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23 I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26 so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. 27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28 and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God s doing. 29 For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well 30 since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Here ends our reading ANTHEM GOSPEL MATTHEW 20:1-16 [Jesus said to the disciples:] 1 The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, Why are you standing here idle all day? 7 They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard. 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first. 9 When those hired about five o clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. 13 But he replied to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous? 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last. This is the Word of the Lord! C / Thanks be to God!

+ HYMN: (vs 1,3,5,7) How Sweet The Name Of Jesus Sounds SERMON PASTOR RIC

+ CREED Apostles Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. OFFERING DOXOLOGY AS WE RESPOND TO GOD (The congregation may be seated) (Please complete Prayer Cards and hand to an usher) INVITATION TO THE OFFERING L/ Whether we have much or only a little, we can share our daily bread so that all will be fed. As we have received, so now we give, in the vineyard of the Lord, our tithes and offerings. C / Blessed be God forever. OFFERTORY ANTHEM PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING L / God of the harvest, we are privileged to be counted among those whom you have called, graced to have been given your work to do, blessed to receive more than we will ever earn. Accept, we pray, our thanksgivings and offerings, and do what you choose with what already belongs to you. In Christ s name we pray. Amen. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE: CURRENT: Margo Adams, Carol Forehand, Georgie Krobetzky, Faye Jackson, Rhema Drayton, Storm Victims CONTINUING: Tony Abbott, Ed Brown, Pastor Reid, Nick Cosford, Doris Dixon, Ida Mae Fleming, Anne Freeland, Mary Gordon, Anna Jones, Helen Lawson, Lee Masters, Chris Meek, Marty Reed, Joan Scherer, Marilyn Schubert, Myrt Shoemaker, Marge Smith, Jean Olson HOMEBOUND: Darol Keefer, Gordon Merkel, Julie Reith, Model Richardson, Bertie Shuster, Alan Stone, Barbara VonNyvenheim, Millie Miller, Helen Gustafson, Jackie Hogan THE LORD S PRAYER Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen. BLESSING Go out into the world in peace; have courage; hold onto what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak, and help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

+HYMN There s A Wideness In God s Mercy

ANNOUNCEMENTS fvü ÑàâÜx g{éâz{àá These texts let us struggle with what to do when things don t turn out as we had expected especially when life that comes from God doesn t fit our expectations. Hearing unhelpful complaints, we wrestle to find better ways of lamenting and bringing our grievances before God. Today s texts are all about expectations. For many people this time of year is full of them: teachers are setting expectations for behavior in the classroom; athletes are beginning to discover what they might expect from their seasons; stewardship committees are talking about what to expect in this year s campaign; parents are walking the balance between high expectations for their kids and too much pressure on everyone. For many, expectations become a quietly borne burden, a constant fear that they will disappoint. But for others unemployment or illness has brought all of that to a frightening halt. For yet others no one has asked for their gifts, and they begin to despair that they have anything to offer. OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD, our Shoebox Ministry has started. Shoeboxes and the supply list are located on the table in the narthex (lobby). Please take one or more shoeboxes to fill and bring them back to the table when finished. For more information, please speak with Lisa Davis, our Coordinator for the project! We will also be having special Sundays in September and October so that you may bring in some of the supplies needed to fill the shoeboxes. OUR WORSHIP SERVICE next Sunday will really be special. Undivided, the Gospel group, will be providing the music and our message will be provided by Aurea McGarry, an inspirational speaker that has overcome many odds in her life. Invite your friends and family members to attend this very special worship service next Sunday! Household Prayer: Morning New every morning are your mercies, Lord. Your steadfast love stayed with me through the night and greets me as I rise this day. This morning, I remember and give thanks for parents and grandparents, for teachers and friends in generations past who showed your love and told your stories to me. I pray that I will also share this faith with a new generation so that our praise of you continues forever. I will not be idle today, but will find a way to do whatever work you set before me with a glad and generous heart. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. Household Prayer: Evening Here at the close of the day, O God, I come to you with open hands to receive the gift of your grace with a thankful spirit. If there is in me any trace of anger or resentment left over from the day, from some slight, big or small, real or imagined, blow it away with the breath of your peace. In the lengthening shadows of evening, comforted by a softer light in stars and moon, quiet within me the duties and cares of the day now past, enabling me to rest in you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS SCRIPTURES TO CONTEMPLATE FOR NEXT SUNDAY: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 - The fairness of God s way Psalm 25:1-9 - Remember, O L, your compassion and love. (Ps. 25:6) Philippians 2:1-13 - Christ humbled to the point of death on a cross Matthew 21:23-32 - A parable of doing God s will OUR OLD HYMNALS have been removed from the pews since we no longer use hymnals in our worship. If you would like to have a few, please take them. If you or a loved one gave one of these hymnals, you may sort through them to find that special hymnal. THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 TH, we are collecting items for the shoebox ministry. We are collecting toys that children will immediately embrace such as dolls, toy trucks, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yoys, jump robes, balls, toys that light up and make noise (with extra batteries, etc. Please do not include used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out of date candy, liquids or lotions; medications or glass containers; aerosol cans. If you forgot today, you may bring them next Sunday. ANGELS ARE CALLING! The display for this year s Storytelling Event will be made up of angels. We are requesting and inviting you to share your angels with us for the day. You may bring them ahead of time and let someone else put them on the display or you may bring them on Friday, September 29 th during the day and place them yourself. Please identify your angels in some way so that they are not confused with someone else s angels. OUR FOOD PANTRY will be collecting cans or boxes of SOUP throughout September. Please bring your cans or boxes of soup and place them at the wooden cross in the narthex. Beginning in October and the first part of November, we will be collecting Thanksgiving foods such as canned yams, chicken gravy (bottled or box), green beans. THE REV. DR. DAVID JEREMIAH, a world-renown speaker, is bringing A Life Beyond Amazing, his new tour, to Tallahassee this fall. Join us at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center on October 5, 2017 where Dr. Jeremiah will teach on the abundant and amazing life God has planned for us. Tickets are free but we must secure them. If there is enough interest, we will take the van to Tallahassee. The event is at 7:00 PM (EST). For more information or to show your interest, please speak with Al Borovich. THE ADULT LUNCHEON will be this Tuesday, September 26 th meeting at 11:30 AM at Rodeo s Restaurant. Come be a part of a great fellowship and pick up some tasty food while you are there. For more information or for a ride, please contact Bruce Davis.

This Week s Ministry Calendar at Parkway Today September 24, 2017 Ordinary Time -Proper 20 9:00 AM Sunday School For All Ages 10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Fellowship Monday: 7:00 PM AA in Skipper s Nest Tuesday: 11:30 PM Adult Luncheon 6:00 PM Session Meeting Wednesday: 11:30 AM Wednesday Workers 5:30 PM Youth 5:30 PM Bells 6:30 PM Choir 7:00 PM AA in Skipper s Nest Thursday: 9:30 AM Food Pantry Saturday: 7:00 PM AA in Skipper s Nest Next Sunday 9:00 AM Sunday School For All Ages 10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Fellowship Daily Devotionals are available on the Welcome Table. Our Saints Serving This Sunday Elder of the Day: Mandy Kuchta Lay Assistant: Kathy Riley Children s Church Teachers: Jean Olson and Linda Bonacasa Fellowship Time is important to the life of the congregation. We always want to provide wonderful treats during this time. If your last name begins with J-M would you please bring goodies for next Sunday s fellowship. If you don t see your birthday or anniversary please call the office @ (850) 785-7081, so KC can update correct information. All hymns & liturgy in this bulletin are used by permission from copyrights purchased by Parkway Presbyterian Church Attendance last Week: 81 Give us a call: Office #:(850)785-7081 Office Fax #: 763-5101 Pastor s #: 960-7222 Office Hours: Monday: 7:30-3:30 Wed: 7:30-12:00 Fri: 7:30-3:00 HEARING DEVICES are available for those who need hearing assistance in our worship service. Please see Jean at the control desk in the back of the sanctuary to procure one for use during the worship service. A BIG THANK YOU to all who contributed to PDA $1,755