Page Updated by Sunday Morning
Sunday, July 5, 2026 -- 10:30am Worship Service
From left to right: Frederick Douglass, daguerreotype portrait taken by Samuel J. Miller, 1847-1852. Emma Lazarus, portrait by Allison Adams. bell hooks, photo by Margaret Thomas for The Washington Post, 1999.
INTROIT 411 - God Is Here Today (first time in English, second time in Spanish)
God is here today;
as certain as the air I breathe,
as certain as the morning sun that rises,
as certain when I sing you’ll hear my song.
Dios está aquí,
tan cierto como el aire que respiro,
tan cierto como la mañana se levanta,
tan cierto como que le canto y me puede oír.
GREETING & ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of God’s kingdom, and tell of God’s power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of God’s kingdom.
God’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and God’s dominion endures throughout all generations.
+ HYMN 331 - God of the Ages
+ CONFESSION & PARDON
Creator of all things good, on this weekend that we celebrate our nation’s independence, we confess our failings and the ways that we have fallen short of who you call us to be. We have enslaved others in pursuit of our own prosperity. We have used our military and national resources for political gain rather than for peace. We have closed off our borders to those most in need of refuge and help. Forgive us, O God. Help us to remember the fullness of our history, to repent of what has harmed your children, and to work so that the actions and values of our nation reflect your love for the whole world, and not only for ourselves. Listen now as we offer our silent prayers of confession.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God.
RESPONSE TO FORGIVENESS - 581- Gloria Patri
PASSING OF THE PEACE
CHILDREN'S MESSAGE
PRAYER FOR OPENNESS
God of abundant life, your grace is our daily bread. Nourish us by your Word and fill us with your Spirit so that we may grow in faith and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING- Matthew 11.27-30 NT pg 11 (NRSVUE)
[Then Jesus said,] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Leader: For the Word of God in scripture, for the Word of God among us, for the Word of God within us
ALL: Thanks be to God
OFFERING
OFFERTORY - I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light, Dodd Lamberton, Chancel Choir
SERMON - “Independence, Freedom, Welcome, and Love”
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
+ STATEMENT OF FAITH- from the Barmen Declaration 8.16-18
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] joined and knit together.” (Eph. 4:15–16.)
The Christian Church is the congregation of the [kindred] in which Jesus Christ acts presently as the Lord in Word and Sacrament through the Holy Spirit. As the church of pardoned sinners, it has to testify in the midst of a sinful world, with its faith as with its obedience, with its message as with its order, that it is solely his property, and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance.
We reject the false doctrine, as though the church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions.
+ HYMN 338 - O Beautiful, For Spacious Skies
THE LORD'S SUPPER
INVITATION
PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Response 559 - Holy, Holy, Holy
Response 560 - Christ Has Died; Christ Has Risen
THE LORD'S PRAYER (DEBT & DEBTORS)
WORKS OF INSTITUTION
COMMUNION OF THE PEOPLE
The congregation is invited to come forward to take a piece of bread and dip it in the cup. There is gluten-free bread on the table. If you would prefer to receive Communion in your pew, an elder or deacon will serve you. After consuming the bread and the cup and returning to your seat, turn your mind to what God is inviting you to consider in this moment of stillness.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Nourishing God, thank you for inviting us to your table where all are welcome, and for feeding us with the bread of life and quenching our thirst with the cup of blessing. As you have filled our lives with love and hope, may we be a source of your love and hope for others who hunger and thirst for good news. Amen.
COMMISSIONING OF THE MSPC YOUTH GROUP
+ HYMN 378 - We Wait the Peaceful Kingdom
+ CHARGE & BENEDICTION
+ BENEDICTION RESPONSE -Hymn 372, O For A World (verses 1 and 5)
O for a world where everyone
respects each other’s ways,
where love is lived and all is done
with justice and with praise.
O for a world preparing for
God’s glorious reign of peace,
where time and tears will be no more,
and all but love will cease.
POSTLUDE- Toccata on "America",Douglas J. Benton (b. 1948)
INTROIT 411 - God Is Here Today (first time in English, second time in Spanish)
God is here today;
as certain as the air I breathe,
as certain as the morning sun that rises,
as certain when I sing you’ll hear my song.
Dios está aquí,
tan cierto como el aire que respiro,
tan cierto como la mañana se levanta,
tan cierto como que le canto y me puede oír.
GREETING & ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of God’s kingdom, and tell of God’s power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of God’s kingdom.
God’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and God’s dominion endures throughout all generations.
+ HYMN 331 - God of the Ages
+ CONFESSION & PARDON
Creator of all things good, on this weekend that we celebrate our nation’s independence, we confess our failings and the ways that we have fallen short of who you call us to be. We have enslaved others in pursuit of our own prosperity. We have used our military and national resources for political gain rather than for peace. We have closed off our borders to those most in need of refuge and help. Forgive us, O God. Help us to remember the fullness of our history, to repent of what has harmed your children, and to work so that the actions and values of our nation reflect your love for the whole world, and not only for ourselves. Listen now as we offer our silent prayers of confession.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God.
RESPONSE TO FORGIVENESS - 581- Gloria Patri
PASSING OF THE PEACE
CHILDREN'S MESSAGE
PRAYER FOR OPENNESS
God of abundant life, your grace is our daily bread. Nourish us by your Word and fill us with your Spirit so that we may grow in faith and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING- Matthew 11.27-30 NT pg 11 (NRSVUE)
[Then Jesus said,] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Leader: For the Word of God in scripture, for the Word of God among us, for the Word of God within us
ALL: Thanks be to God
OFFERING
OFFERTORY - I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light, Dodd Lamberton, Chancel Choir
SERMON - “Independence, Freedom, Welcome, and Love”
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
+ STATEMENT OF FAITH- from the Barmen Declaration 8.16-18
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] joined and knit together.” (Eph. 4:15–16.)
The Christian Church is the congregation of the [kindred] in which Jesus Christ acts presently as the Lord in Word and Sacrament through the Holy Spirit. As the church of pardoned sinners, it has to testify in the midst of a sinful world, with its faith as with its obedience, with its message as with its order, that it is solely his property, and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance.
We reject the false doctrine, as though the church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions.
+ HYMN 338 - O Beautiful, For Spacious Skies
THE LORD'S SUPPER
INVITATION
PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Response 559 - Holy, Holy, Holy
Response 560 - Christ Has Died; Christ Has Risen
THE LORD'S PRAYER (DEBT & DEBTORS)
WORKS OF INSTITUTION
COMMUNION OF THE PEOPLE
The congregation is invited to come forward to take a piece of bread and dip it in the cup. There is gluten-free bread on the table. If you would prefer to receive Communion in your pew, an elder or deacon will serve you. After consuming the bread and the cup and returning to your seat, turn your mind to what God is inviting you to consider in this moment of stillness.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Nourishing God, thank you for inviting us to your table where all are welcome, and for feeding us with the bread of life and quenching our thirst with the cup of blessing. As you have filled our lives with love and hope, may we be a source of your love and hope for others who hunger and thirst for good news. Amen.
COMMISSIONING OF THE MSPC YOUTH GROUP
+ HYMN 378 - We Wait the Peaceful Kingdom
+ CHARGE & BENEDICTION
+ BENEDICTION RESPONSE -Hymn 372, O For A World (verses 1 and 5)
O for a world where everyone
respects each other’s ways,
where love is lived and all is done
with justice and with praise.
O for a world preparing for
God’s glorious reign of peace,
where time and tears will be no more,
and all but love will cease.
POSTLUDE- Toccata on "America",Douglas J. Benton (b. 1948)