Bethel Presbyterian Church
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
October 9, 2005
GREETING, WORDS OF WELCOME, RITUAL OF FRIENDSHIP AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Worship the Lord with gladness.
And enter the Lord’s presence with songs of joy.
PRELUDE Allegretto Beethoven
CALL TO WORSHIP
God is good.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to God for God’s mighty works.
Rejoice in God always.
Let us worship the God of peace and understanding.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
*HYMN #461 God Is Here! Abbot’s Leigh
*CALL TO CONFESSION
Hear the words of the psalmist. The law of God is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of God are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of God are right, rejoicing the heart; the ordinances of God are true, and righteous altogether. Have we not doubted and denied God’s ways? In penitence and faith let us now turn to God, seeking the medicine of God’s grace.
*UNISON CONFESSION OF SIN
Almighty and Eternal God, our priorities are all mixed up. We are captive to wrong habits and mistaken prejudice. You call us to serve you and yet we make petty excuses. You call us to be sensitive to those who are oppressed; but we offer our prayers and go on our way. Show us once again how to be agents of your love, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
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. Amen.
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE Gloria Patri Hymn #579
NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 4:12-16
A MOMENT WITH THE CHILDREN
OLD TESTAMENT Genesis 32:22-32
SERMON Jacob’s Limp Rev. Marc Sherrod, ThD
*HYMN #324 Open My Eyes That I May See Open My Eyes
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Christ calls us to pilgrimage toward the kingdom. Jesus announced the coming of God’s kingdom and its hidden presence in the midst of the world’s kingdoms. He taught his disciples to seek God’s kingdom first. We believe Christ gives us and demands of us lives in pilgrimage toward God’s kingdom. Like Christ we may enjoy on our journey all that sustains life and makes it pleasant and beautiful. No more than Christ are we spared the darkness, ambiguity, and threat of life in the world. We are in the world but not of the world. Our confidence and hope for ourselves and other people do not rest in the powers and achievements of this world, but in the coming and hidden presence of God’s kingdom. Christ calls each of us to life appropriate to that kingdom; to serve as he has served us, to take up our cross, risking the consequences of faithful discipleship; to walk by faith, not by sight, to hope for what we have not seen. In that promise we affirm our faith. Amen.
SHARING OF PRAYER CONCERNS
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD’S PRAYER
DEDICATION OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
OFFERATORY MUSIC I Surrender All Weeden
*DOXOLOGY 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 #361 How Firm a Foundation Foundation
*CHARGE AND BLESSING
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE God Be with You Till We Meet Again Hymn #540
*POSTLUDE Rise Up and Serve the Lord Harris