CALL TO WORSHIP
Our call to worship is from Psalm 16:1-2, 9-11. Read it loud enough for your neighbor to hear or listen to it read.
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
opening hymn
Our hymn today is “Amazing Grace.”
Prayer of Confession
Offer this prayer aloud and place your trust that God goes ahead of us.
Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo.
Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image; through Jesus Christ, the light of the world.
We are forgiven in Jesus Christ. Sing along with this assurance of forgiveness.
We are forgiven. We are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God.
We are forgiven. We are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God.
THE WORD
Deuteronomy 31:7-8
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Affirmation of Faith
Our affirmation of faith today is from the United Church of Canada.
We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.
We believe in God:
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Duet
Tara Downie and Cyndi Zopff sing “Come Home.”
Welcome & Prayers of the People
Join us at 10:30 a.m. for a a time of gathering. This will include a brief commentary on Romans 8, prayer requests, and fellowship.
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/3577569746
Call-in: (312) 626-6799 and use meeting ID 357 756 9746.
Compassion Camp
Join us Wednesday night at 5:00 for Compassion Camp. Lisa Kaufer introduces Wednesday’s story. Here is the link to the Purple Table.
Benediction
Postlude & Offering
Contributions to the ministry of First Presbyterian Church may be made online by clicking the button below or mailed to First Presbyterian Church, 2910 Central Ave., Middletown, OH 45044.
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