Bethel Presbyterian Church
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 17, 2006
11:00 a.m.
GREETING, WORDS OF WELCOME, RITUAL OF FRIENDSHIP AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of God's glory.
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
God says: I will put my law in their minds, and write them on their hearts,
And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
*HYMN #288 I Sing the Mighty Power Ellacombe
*CALL TO CONFESSION
*UNISON CONFESSION OF SIN
Eternal God, we confess that it is much easier to say we follow Jesus than to do it. We accept more readily the ways of the world than the strange Way of the cross. We love the lovely and lovable. We promote our own interests more easily than deny them. We seek our own gain before that of others. We aim to save our lives, not lose them. Forgive us, O God, and teach us to be faithful regardless of the cost, through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
*WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life has gone; a new life has begun. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace.
Thanks be to God. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE Gloria Patri Hymn #578
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
FIRST LESSON Proverbs 1:20-33
ANTHEM Chancel Choir
SECOND LESSON Psalm 19
SERMON Heaven’s Tale Rev. Bill Shenk
*HYMN #291 O God of Earth and Altar Llangloffan
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe in one true and living God.
We acknowledge one God alone, whose demands on us are absolute, whose help for us is sufficient. That One is the Lord, whom we worship, serve, and love.
God is greater than our understanding.
We do not fully comprehend who God is or how he works. God’s reality far exceeds all our words can say. The Lord’s requirements are not always what we think is best. The Lord’s care for us is not always what we want. God comes to us on his own terms and is able to do far more than we ask or think.
God is at work beyond our story.
We know that God is not confined to the story we can tell. The story itself tells us God works his sovereign will among all peoples of the earth. We believe God works beyond our imagining throughout the universe.
We acknowledge God’s freedom and grace.
Though we are unworthy, the Lord has made us his own in Christ. God has chosen us as his servants for the sake of the world and destined us to be his daughters and sons, giving us love and life, calling us to worship and honor him.
We believe with the church through the centuries
that God is what he has shown himself to be in his story with his people: One God who is the Creator and Sustainer, the Savior and Lord, the Giver of life within, among, and beyond us. We believe.
To worship God is highest joy. To serve God is perfect freedom. Amen.
SHARING OF PRAYER CONCERNS
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD’S PRAYER
DEDICATION OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
*DOXOLOGY Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow Hymn #592
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.
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
*HYMN #276 Great Is Thy Faithfulness Faithfulness
*CHARGE AND BLESSING
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE God Be with You Till We Meet Again Hymn #540
God be with you till we meet again:
Loving counsels guide, uphold you, With a Shepherd’s care enfold you:
God be with you till we meet again.
*POSTLUDE
