Sunday, July 10, 2022
10:00 a.m.
Welcome and Announcements Rev. Tippens
Centering Words - Rev. Tippens
[Matthew 5:3]
Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’
Let those who desire the kingdom come now and worship God.
Prelude - Sanctuary - The Messengers
CCS WorshipCast License #12794; CCLI License #11363160
*Call to Worship (responsive) - Dr. Cecelia Short
[from Deuteronomy 30 (NRSV)]
For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you,
just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors,
when you obey the LORD your God by observing his commandments and decrees.
And because you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
*Congregational Hymn Great is They Faithfulness
UMH 140
WORDS: Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923;MUSIC: William M. Runyan, 1923 © 1923, renewed 1951 Hope Publishing Co.; CCS WorshipCast License #12794; CCLI License #11363160
1. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father; there is no
shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, thy com-
passions, they fail not; as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by
morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy
hand hath provided; great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
2. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and
stars in their courses above join with all nature in
manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by
morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy
hand hath provided; great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear
presence to cheer and to guide; strength for today and bright
hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by
morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy
hand hath provided; great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
*Opening Prayer (unison) - Dr. Cecelia Short
Holy God, who out of the abundance of your love gave your Son to redeem from sin all who believe in him, allowing us to live abundant lives, we ask that your Spirit continue to work in us and through us as a church and as individuals to produce the fruits of righteousness in this barren world. We confess that we have hard places in us that have not allowed our faith to grow. We let the problems of our lives prevent us from deepening our faith. We allow busyness to keep us from living faithfully. Help us to be willing to turn more of our lives over to you, so that they may glorify you with their abundance. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
*Psalter Psalm25:1-10 [Response2 UMHp.756] Dr. Cecelia Short
Response: Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness; make thy way plain before my face.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust,
Let me not be put to shame;
Let not my enemies exult over me.
Let none that wait for you be put to shame;
Let them be ashamed who are clothed with treachery.
Make me know your ways, O Lord;
Teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
For you are the God of my salvation;
For you I wait all the day long.
Response: Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness; make thy way plain before my face.
Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
For they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions;
According to your steadfast love remember me,
For the sake of your goodness, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore the Lord instructs sinners in the way,
And leads the humble in what is right,
And teaches them their way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
For those who keep the Lord's covenant and
Testimonies.
Response: Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness; make thy way plain before my face.
*Gloria Patri UMH 71
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Epistle Lesson - Colossians 1:1-14 (NRSV) - Dr. Cecelia Short
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,[c] who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[d] behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Gospel Lesson - Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 (NRSV) - Dr. Cecelia Short
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Prayers of the People - Rev. Tippens
Pastoral Prayer - Rev. Tippens
The Lord’s Prayer (unison)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory forever. Amen.
Anthem - Come Build a Church - Chancel Choir
CCS WorshipCast License #12794; CCLI License #11363160
Sermon - Miracle-Gro Christians - Rev. Tippens
Affirmation of Faith (unison) The Apostles Creed [UMH 881]
Dr. Cecelia Short
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 Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried*;
the third day he arose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at 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 Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Congregational Hymn -Take My Life, and Let It Be - UMH 399
WORDS: Frances R. Havergal, 1873; MUSIC: Louis J. F. Hérold, 1839; arr. By George Kingsley, 1839;TUNE: MESSIAH ©: NONE;CCS WorshipCast License #12794; CCLI License #11363160
1. Take my life, and let it be consecrated,
Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and
let them move at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for thee.
2. Take my voice, and let me sing always, only,
for my King. Take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee. Take my silver
and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.
3. Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be no
longer mine. Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne. Take my love, my
Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee.
*Blessing - Rev. Tippens
[Numbers 6:24-26]
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. ”
*Postlude - Dean Shinn
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