( Cracked Pot used with permission of momentcaptured1) A good school teaches you resilience that ability to bounce back. Kate Reardon www.colonialucc.org 913 362 7735 May 31, 2015 10:15 a.m.
The Colonial Church in Prairie Village United Church of Christ Jesus is Lord Sunday Worship Service in the series Following the Way of Christ 1 Please silence your electronic devices in preparation for worship. * Please rise in body or spirit We Gather as God s People Gathering Music Te ofrecemos Honoré Welcome and Announcements (Please sign and pass pew pads and fill out Prayer Request cards you may have. You can place the Prayer Request cards in the offering plates later in the service.) A Moment to Lay Your Burdens Down * Opening Hymn #2 Glory, Glory Hallelujah * Call to Worship Psalm 81:1 10 Leader: Sing out loud to God, our strength! People: Shout for joy to Jacob's God! Take up a song and strike the drum! Sweet lyre along with harp! Leader: Blow the horn on the new moon, at the full moon, for our day of celebration! People: Because this is the law for Israel; this is a rule of Jacob's God. Leader: He made it a decree for Joseph when he went out against the land of Egypt. God said: People: I lifted the burden off your shoulders; your hands are free of the brick basket! Leader: In distress you cried out, so I rescued you. I answered you in the secret of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Listen, my people, I'm warning you! If only you would listen to me, Israel.
People: There must be no false god among you. You must not bow down to any idol. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up from Egypt's land. Open your mouth wide I will fill it up! 2 * Song of Praise Gloria #759 adapted Glory to the Creator, and to the Christ, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen. Amen. * Sharing God s Welcome (Greet everyone in the hope of peace and friendship.) Children s Conversation (Children of all ages are welcome to come forward to the chancel steps. Following the Conversation, children are welcome to remain to worship or to participate in our Sunday School.) This little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. We Hear God s Word A Word Proclaimed Treasure in Clay Jars 2 Corinthians 4:5 12 We don't preach about ourselves. Instead, we preach about Jesus Christ as Lord, and we describe ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. God said that light should shine out of the darkness. He is the same one who shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay pots so that the awesome power belongs to God and doesn't come from us. We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren't crushed. We are confused, but we aren't depressed. We are harassed, but we aren't abandoned. We are knocked down, but we aren't knocked out. We always carry Jesus' death around in our bodies so that Jesus' life can also be seen in our bodies. We who are alive are always being handed over to death for Jesus' sake so that Jesus' life can also be seen in our bodies that are dying. So death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
We Respond with Thanksgiving and Prayer 3 * Hymn #207 Just as I Am Call to Offering and Offertory Salvation Has Been Brought Unto Us Dupre * Doxology (#780 adapted; tune Old Hundredth) Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, you heavenly host: Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen. * Prayer of Dedication Generous God, take our gifts this day and use them so that we may be part of your great work in this world. Through our giving, bring justice and love closer to all, not just in our community but in the world beyond these walls. Strengthen our church and the whole United Church of Christ so that we grow together each day into a powerful voice for healing and peace. Amen. Time of Prayer Prayers of the People Believing that each joy and/or concern expressed is indeed a prayer, after each expression, the Pastor will say: Lord, in your mercy. And the people may respond: Hear our prayer. Praying in Silence
Our Lord s Prayer ( Our Father is the traditional way this prayer begins. You are invited to use whatever name for God you find most meaningful (Father, Mother, Creator, God, etc.). These names for God create a beautiful chorus.) 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. 4 We Depart to Serve * Hymn #375 Christ Jesus, Please Be by Our Side * Renew Our Covenant (Turn towards the center aisle as we bless one another with the promise of our covenant.) We covenant with the Lord and with one another and do bind ourselves in the presence of God to walk together in Christian Love. We seek to worship God in spirit and in truth and to love our neighbors as ourselves. With God s help we will honor Colonial Church in our conduct, support its program, and extend the influence of Christ throughout the world. * Congregational Song of Blessing #809 God Be With You God be with you, God be with you, God be with you till we meet again. O God be with you, God be with you, God be with you till we meet again. * Benediction and Postlude Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern J. C. Bach (Some liturgical elements used with permission of United Church of Christ Worship Ways.) Liturgist: Carrie Roberts Children s Conversation: Marilyn Uppman Greeter: Bill Sanderson Head Usher: Mariam Fleming Ushers: Marylee Battaglia, Bob & Judy LeVeau Mariam Fleming
May 31, 2015 John 15: 26 27; 16:4b 15 Spirit for All 5 Strengthen the Church Next Sunday, many UCC congregations will be receiving the Strengthen the Church special mission offering of the United Church of Christ. Simply put, this offering builds the UCC s future today. Your gift to this offering helps start new UCC churches often in places where none exist. Gifts to Strengthen the Church also go to struggling churches needing a little help to renew themselves for ministry in a new day. Strengthen the Church helps our church to grow and thrive now and into the future. Many of tomorrow s church leaders will be the youth in our congregations today. Everyone agrees that a focus on youth is critical for the future of the church and for the lives of our youth today. Strengthen the Church supports creative programs for youth and young adults and nurtures current and future leaders. Your gift to the Strengthen the Church offering builds the UCC s future now by funding The Stillspeaking Ministry, new and renewing churches, youth and young adult ministries, and lay and pastoral leadership formation especially among women and people of color. Strengthen the Church gifts help to create vibrant church communities of extravagant welcome today, and ensure they will continue to exist into the future.
6 The readings for this week lead up to our Thursday morning Bible Study discussion at 10:00am in Pastor Aaron s Office. Monday Read Proverbs 16 18 The proverb form of wisdom literature was common in the Ancient Near East. The Egyptians believed that when a person died, their heart was weighed by the gods to assess its purity. Do 16:2 and its parallel 21:2 indicate some Egyptian influence in the Hebrew proverbs? In 17:2, the author claims a good slave will take the place of a poor child. Given what you know of Levitical law, is there a scenario in which this is possible? Most Christian and Jewish traditions hold gambling as sinful, despite there being no explicit condemnation of it in Scripture. Does 18:18 provide an endorsement of gambling, or is casting the lot somehow different? Tuesday Read Proverbs 19 21 Up to this point, the Proverbs have had a mixed opinion on wealth, but tend to see it as a sign of God s favor. When 19:4 says wealth brings many friends, but the poor are left friendless, is this an endorsement or condemnation of riches? In the time the Proverbs were being written, most metrics had yet to be standardized and even where standards existed they were not readily available. How, then can 20:10 s critique of diverse weights and measures be understood? When noble people were kidnapped, they were sometimes granted their freedom if they could provide a suitable ransom (such as Joseph s brothers in Egypt). When 21:18 describes offering the wicked as a ransom for the righteous, how is that system being exploited?
Wednesday Read Proverbs 22 23 22:17 begins a section of proverbs which is adapted from the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope and extends through 24:22. Do you see any Egyptian influences in this section? Do not rob the poor because they are poor is an interesting turn of phrase. Does this imply there are other, more valid reasons to rob people? 23:2 offers a knife to the throat as a solution for a big appetite. How does this solution fit the problem? 7 Thursday Read Proverbs 24 26 Continuing a tradition of questionable advice, 24:15 instructs the audience not to commit crime against the righteous. Why specify the righteous rather than a general instruction not to commit any crime? 25:6 7 gives instruction for how to behave in the presence of royalty, which are paraphrased by Jesus in Luke 14:8 10. What is it about this particular piece of advice which bears repeating? Multiple proverbs extol the virtue of providing for the poor, chapter 26 assails the poor for their laziness and verse 10 speaks specifically against hiring a fool or a drunkard. Does this chapter contradict the the ethos of the rest of this collection of sayings?
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