July 4, 2021 – Order of Worship
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – To Hear and Be Heard
Music While You Wait
Welcome, Announcements, Joys & Concerns Todd Siefker
Intergenerational Coordinator
Prelude “Simple Gifts“ Michael Danner
By: Russell Shultz-Widmar
Invocation Ginger France
Worship Leader
One: The prophets of old spoke of God’s justice,
even when it was unwelcome.
Who will hear their message?
All: We will listen and we will hear!
One: Responding to God’s call, Jesus traveled,
preaching and teaching all who would listen.
Who will hear his message?
All: We will listen and we will hear!
One: Christ sent out disciples two by two,
to spread the good news in any place
that would welcome them.
Who will hear their message?
All: We will listen and we will hear!
One: God’s prophets are among us still,
around the world and in these pews.
Who will hear their message?
All: We will listen and we will hear!
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 123 responsively)
One: Have mercy on us, O God.
To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
All: As the eyes of subjects look to the hand of their ruler,
so our eyes look to the Sovereign our God,
until God has mercy upon us.
One: Have mercy upon us, O God, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
All: Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those
who are at ease, and its fill of the contempt of the proud.
Have mercy upon us, O God, have mercy upon us, O God
Assurance of Pardon
One: If I have been a source of pain, O God;
If to the weak I refused my strength;
All: If in rebellion, I have strayed away,
Forgive me, God.
One: If I have spoken words of cruelty;
If I have left some suffering unrelieved;
All: Condemn not my insensitivity;
Forgive me, God.
One: If I’ve insisted on a peaceful life,
Far from the struggles that the gospel brings,
All: When you prefer to guide me to the strife.
Forgive me, God.
One: Receive, O God, this ardent word of prayer,
and free me from temptation’s snare,
All: With tender patience, lead me to your care.
Amen. Amen.
Gathering Hymn #594 “How Beautiful, Our Spacious Skies”
How beautiful, our spacious skies, our amber waves of grain;
our purple mountains as they rise above our fruitful plain.
America! America! God’s gracious gifts abound,
and more and more we’re grateful for life’s bounty all around.
Indigenous and immigrant, our daughters and our sons:
O may we never rest content till all are truly one.
America! America! God grant that we may be
a sisterhood and brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
How beautiful, sincere lament, the wisdom born of tears,
the courage called for to repent the bloodshed through the years.
America! America! God grant that we may be
a nation blessed with none oppressed, true land of liberty.
How beautiful, two continents, and islands in the sea
that dream of peace, nonviolence, all people living free
America! America! God grant that we may be
a hemisphere where people here all live in harmony.
Listening to the Still Speaking Word
Lesson from the Old Testament – Ezekiel 2:1-5 Ginger France
Worship Leader
He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD.” Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
Prayer of Illumination #283 “Spirit of the Living God”
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Gospel Lesson – Mark 6:1-13 Ginger France
Worship Leader
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is his wisdom that has been given to Him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house. And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except for a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Prayer of Illumination #283 “Spirit of the Living God”
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Message “Eating the Whole Scroll with Ezekiel on the 4th of July"
Todd Siefker Intergenerational Coordinater
Hymn of Reflection #18 “Guide Me, O My Great Redeemer”
Guide me, O my great Redeemer, pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty, hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain, where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer, ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
When I reach the River Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell’s destruction, land me safe on heaven’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.
Responding to God with Our Lives
Call for the Offering Ginger France
Worship Leader
Having heard God’s call of generosity,
let us listen and respond with open hearts.
Offertory “Voluntary” Michael Danner
by John Stanley
Prayer of Dedication Ginger France
Worship Leader Outspoken Prophet,
hear the message we are speaking through these our gifts
and aid us in spreading that message of hope and love
to those whose voices have been silenced.
May they strengthen our congregation
so that we may continue to listen to those in need.
Parting Hymn #591 “This Is My Song”
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine,
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
But other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight, too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
O hear my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.
Benediction Ginger France
Worship Leader
Go out now with eyes and ears open,
to hear and be heard
as you share the good news with one another.
Postlude “Fugue in G Major” Michael Danner
by Dietrich Buxtehude
To Hear and Be Heard: An Intergenerational Liturgy for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost was written by the Rev. Dr. Laurel Koepf Taylor, Eden Theological Seminary, Saint Louis, Missouri.
Worship Ways – Copyright 2021, Faith INFO Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115-1100. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education. All publishing rights reserved.
