 |
| Flowers from Jim, Joey, and Marcy |
 |
| Jubilante Ringers warming up |
 |
| Signing up for the devotional |
 |
| Reformation painting by Pastor Charles |
 |
Fellowship treats to go
|
Today’s Meditation Verse
“I will praise the Lord with all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.”
—Psalm 146:2
Welcome...Pastor Charles
Prelude…Christopher Wahl
*Call to Worship...Amy Abshire
We have come to affirm our historic faith, To worship the God of our mothers and
fathers.
We have come to remember God’s benefits to us the
living, To respond in thanksgiving to the mighty
works of God in our lives. We have come to affirm our trust in the God of all
futures,
To whose name be blessing and honor, glory, and
power forever and ever. Amen.
—Bread for the Journey, Ruth Duck, Pilgrim Press, 1981, p.56.
*Hymn…“O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (UMH #117)
A Prayer for All Hallows Eve...Amy Abshire
Lord, tonight, we will face all that most concerns us:
our fears, the shadowed places of the mind; the
coming of winter darkness; the cold thin place
between waking and sleep. We call to mind the
powerless, the lonely, those who most fear the knock
at the door; all those deceived by the world’s empty
promises; all those cowed by menaces or threats. We
stand with those weak in body, mind, or spirit and
those seduced by treats or hurt by tricks. Lord, Your
light shines into every darkness. You told us: "pray 'deliver us from evil.'" Your Spirit gives us hope, gives us courage, a candle in the window unhurt by the wind.
Amen.
—Church of England
*Offering/Doxology (UMH #95)
Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations
Pastoral Prayer...Pastor Charles
Prayer of Intercession for Reformation Day...Pastor
Charles
Confident in the gracious and ever-widening mercy of God, let us
pray for the world, the body of Christ, and all who yearn for
wholeness of life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Liberate us from our bondage to sin, God of freedom, that Your
church would continually be reshaped and reformed by the fire of
the Holy Spirit. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Show Your righteousness, God of justice, that all who are
oppressed and marginalized, forgotten, and cast aside would be
given voice by elected leaders and compassionate citizens. Lord,
in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Make wars to cease in all the world, God of peace, that all strife,
violence, and bloodshed give way to reconciliation, compassion,
and new life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Take us by our hand, God of companionship, when we are
paralyzed by our fears and unable to step out in boldness. Give
us courage to walk confidently with You. Lord, in Your
mercy, hear our prayer.
Give your stillness, God of calm, to all who are facing illness,
surgery, or any uncertainty of health (especially). May they know
that their times are in Your ever-healing hands. Lord, in Your
mercy, hear our prayer.
Write Your law of love on our hearts, God of all, that we, like our
forebears in faith, would be unswerving in our witness to Your
grace that is ours through the gift of faith. Lord, in Your
mercy, hear our prayer. Listen to us when we call upon You, most merciful God, and
grant us grace to entrust our lives and our world to Your
unfailing love, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
—from St. James Lutheran Church - Bettendorf, Iowa
The Lord’s Prayer
Gospel Lesson: Mark 12:28-34...Amy Abshire
Special Music…Jubilante Ringers / “The Strife is O’er,”
arr. by Arnold B Sherman
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews (first verse in each chapter)...Pastor Charles
Pastor: This is the Word of God for the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon...Pastor Charles / “The first thing"
*Hymn…“Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know” (UMH #163)
*Words for the Journey...Pastor Charles
*Postlude...Christopher Wahl
