THE COMMUNITY GATHERS
IN THE PRESENCE OF THE RISEN CHRIST
GATHERING MUSIC
Joyce Rhodes, organ
“Jesus, Lover of My Soul” ~ arr. Carolyn Hamlin
“Lobe den Herren” – “Praise to the Lord” ~ Johann Sebastian Bach
PRELUDE
Joyce Rhodes, organ
“Lobe den Herren” – “Praise to the Lord” ~ Johann Gottfried
CONGREGATIONAL CENTERING
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
THE SACRAMENT OF SILENCE
INSTRUMENTAL
“Spirit Song” ~ UMH #347
“Spirit Song” ~ arr. Anita Graves
WORDS OF WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
*CALL TO WORSHIP
Penny Herman
L: The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
P: And also with you.
L: We join together hungry, longing to be nourished by the food you offer us.
P: God of Sustenance, give us this day our daily bread.
L: As you care for fields and vineyards that produce bread and wine, tend to our bodies by giving us what we truly need.
P: God of Abundance, give us this day our daily bread.
L: Rich crops you have prepared are now ready for harvest by hands and heart.
P: God of Providence, give us this day our daily bread.
*OPENING PRAYER (In Unison)
Penny Herman
God of our hopes and dreams, we are empty, and long to be filled; we are hungry, and long to be fed; we are lost, and long to be found. Gather us into your love and pick up the pieces of our lives as Jesus gathered up the fragments of the five loaves and two fish. Call us anew to eat our fill and to find our true nourishment in Christ, the Bread of Heaven. Amen.
*HYMN
Maggie Harris, Sue Livingstone, John Palmer
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” ~ UMH #139
TIME FOR CHILDREN
THE COMMUNITY PROCLAIMS AND HEARS THE WORD
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (In Unison) Penny Herman
Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Penny Herman
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
L: The Word of Life.
P: Thanks be to God. Amen.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION & ASSURANCE OF GOD’S LOVE
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
L: Let us confess the ways we have missed the mark and fallen short of God’s best for our lives.
P: Compassionate One, to you we pray. Show us the Way of Love for love is the root of grace and the foundation of mercy. Forgive us when we lose our way, and when our own wants and wishes make us blind and deaf to the needs and concerns of others. Forgive us when bitterness and envy take root and weaken the seed of compassion you have planted within us. Reclaim the foundation of our lives, that we may be rooted and grounded in love and filled with the fullness of your presence.
L: May God grant you the power to grasp the fullness of love’s width, length, height, and depth. For God’s love is sufficient to gather the fragments of our lives, transform them and make us whole. Hear the Good News: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Glory to God! Amen.
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
L: Let us affirm our faith as one.
P: I believe in God the Creator, who made me and all things, who set me on my path in this world. I believe in God the Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, who is one with the Creator, who walked through this world, taking on human form. He lived and worked among people like me. He walked God’s path, suffered death on the cross, and rose from the dead as a sign of Love’s victory. I believe in God the Holy Spirit, my counselor and guide, who is one with the Creator and the Christ, who brings me into communion with all people; who calls me to walk through this world, caring for creation and loving the people I meet along the way. I believe in God, revealed in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
PRAYER CARDS COLLECTED
HYMN
Maggie Harris, Sue Livingstone, John Palmer
“Jesus, Lover of My Soul” ~ UMH #479
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
SCRIPTURE READING
Penny Herman
John 6:1-21
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
L: The Word of Life.
P: Thanks be to God. Amen.
SERMON
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
God Can Do a Lot with a Little
THE COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO THE WORD
WORSHIP WITH TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Penny Herman
As people who are no longer empty but filled, no longer hungry but fed, no longer lost but found,
Let us worship with our tithes and offerings with heartfelt commitment and praise.
OFFERTORY
Joyce Rhodes, organ
“Arioso” ~ Johann Sebastian Bach Bach
*DOXOLOGY
“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” ~ UMH 95
*HYMN
Maggie Harris, Sue Livingstone, John Palmer
“Blest Be the Dear Uniting Love” ~ UMH #566
THE COMMUNITY DEPARTS FOR MINISTRY
*BENEDICTION
Rev. Jeffrey D. Hall
POSTLUDE
Joyce Rhodes, organ
“Jubilate Deo Omnis Terra” ~ Dom Paul Benoit
* Stand as you are able