Order of Worship

Prelude: Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Call to Worship: Psalm 103

Let my whole being bless the Lord!
    Let everything inside me bless his holy name!
Let my whole being bless the Lord
    and never forget all his good deeds:
     how God forgives all your sins,
    heals all your sickness,
     saves your life from the pit,
    crowns you with faithful love and compassion,
     and satisfies you with plenty of good things
        so that your youth is made fresh like an eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness;
    does justice for all who are oppressed.
God made his ways known to Moses;
    made his deeds known to the Israelites.
The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
    very patient, and full of faithful love.
God won’t always play the judge;
    he won’t be angry forever.
He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin
    or repay us according to our wrongdoing,
    because as high as heaven is above the earth,
    that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.
As far as east is from west—
    that’s how far God has removed our sin from us.

Hymn #435: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

Prayer of Confession & Assurance of Forgiveness

Gloria Patri

Circle Time

Prayer of Illumination

Scripture Reading: Jonah 4

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and 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. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 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.

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. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 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.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 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. 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?”

Sermon: “The Parable of the Plant, Worm, and Wind”

Duet: On Eagle’s Wings sung by Mick and Tony Susco

Affirmation of Faith: Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Welcome & Announcements

Prayers of the People

Benediction

Postlude: Just a Closer Walk with Thee

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