TO OUR GUESTS, we extend a warm welcome. We invite you to participate in signing our Friendship Folder, adding your address and phone number if you'd like to receive our church newsletter or a pastoral call. When we pray the Lord's Prayer at Bethel, we say "sins...sin against us" rather than "debts..." or "trespasses..."; during "a time for sharing" we welcome prayer requests from the congregation. On first Sundays each month, all who put their trust in Christ and who have received baptism in any Christian church are invited to share his sacred meal. We are glad you are with us. Please come again.

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THE SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 26, 2004

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   Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel   Pethel

CALL TO WORSHIP   

We are those chosen by God for life in Christ.

We are called to be disciples and to share in Christ’s mission in the world.

But not by our own goodness or abilities are we enabled to fulfill our vocation to Christian life and leadership.

We are equipped by the Holy Spirit who gifts us according to God’s purpose for each of us.

Let us praise and worship God who counts us worthy in Christ, provides what we need, and authorizes our mandate for ministry.

PRAYER OF THE DAY   

*HYMN # 255  Now Praise the Lord   St. Anne

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Holy One: You have been merciful to us even while we have lacked mercy for others. You have offered us pardon while we demand penalty. You have accepted all, while we neglect most. You have shown us what is good while we have been unkind, unjust, and proud. We ask for your forgiveness, grace, and love. Amen.

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON   

We belong–body and soul, in life and in death–not to ourselves, but to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all our sins and has completely freed us from the dominion of evil. By the Holy Spirit, Christ assures us of eternal life, and makes us wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. Give thanks to God, for:

In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

MINUTE FOR MISSION   Peacemaking Offering
Tom Pickel

OLD TESTAMENT LESSON   Psalm 79:1-9

NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE   I Timothy 6:6-10, Luke 16:19-31

SERMON   Beyond Guilt: Money Matters
Rev. Marc Sherrod, ThD

*HYMN # 408   Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life   Germany

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – from “a Brief Statement of Faith”

We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

PRAYER CONCERNS AND A TIME FOR SHARING

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE & THE LORD’S PRAYER

*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION AND RESPONSE   God Be With You   Hymn # 540

*All who are able may stand.

This worship service is broadcast on WKTS 90.1 FM at 12:30 p.m. today.

PLEASE PRAY FOR: Tora Phillips, Fred Meers, Ginny Warlick, Carol Jane Row, Christine Woods, Al & Dot Davis, Ivy Basalone (Justin Trivette’s friend), Mary Sykes, Justin Winsbro, Ruth Moutoux, Susan Todd, Presbyterian Churches - Farner & Farragut

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THIS WEEK

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY: BODY RECALL – 9-10 AM

TODAY –	REA CIRCLE – 6:00 PM
TUE –	ALPHA – 6:30-9:30 PM
WED –	HANDBELLS – 5:30 PM CHOIR – 7:00 PM

  

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