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Sunday, May 18, 2025 -- 10:30am Worship Service
Introit - Hymn 399, God Welcomes All Sing 3x
God welcomes all,
strangers and friends;
God’s love is strong
and it never ends.
Greeting & Announcements
Prelude - Allegro in C, Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Call to Worship - based on Psalm 148
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings and Queens of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike, old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
+ Hymn 14 - For the Beauty of the Earth
+ Call to Confession
+ A Prayer of Confession
Loving God, Christ taught us, his disciples, to love others as he loved each of us. He loved Peter, whom he once had to tell to get behind him. He loved both Mary and Martha, who each had different ways of showing their devotion. He even washed Judas’ feet. Forgive us for when we fail to love - when we are hateful and not loving; when we are hurtful and not kind; when we are selfish and not generous; when we are prejudiced and not impartial. Help us to remember that we are forgiven and never forsaken. Hear now our silent prayers of confession.
• Assurance of Pardon
• Response to Forgiveness: Hymn 582 Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me
Passing of the Peace
Children’s Message & Teacher Appreciation
Prayer for Openness
Testify to us, O God, by the voice of your Spirit. Put your law in our hearts, write your word in our minds, and show your will in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Scripture Reading - Revelation 21.1-6, NT pg 259
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
This is the written testimony to the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Anthem - Be Thou My Vision, arr. Craig Courtney, Chancel Choir, Susan Carey, piano
Scripture Reading - Acts 11:1-18, NT 130
Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners, and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Sermon - “One Step at a Time”- Rev. Matt Falco
Statement of Faith - The Confession of 1967, Section A. The Mission of the Church - 1. Direction
(9.31) To be reconciled to God is to be sent into the world as God’s reconciling community. This community, the church universal, is entrusted with God’s message of reconciliation and shares God’s labor of healing the enmities which separate people from God and from each other. Christ has called the church to this mission and given it the gift of the Holy Spirit. The church maintains continuity with the apostles and with Israel by faithful obedience to his call.
(9.32) The life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ has set the pattern for the church’s mission. His human life involves the church in the common life of all people. His service to men and women commits the church to work for every form of human well-being. His suffering makes the church sensitive to all human suffering so that it sees the face of Christ in the faces of persons in every kind of need. His crucifixion discloses to the church God’s judgment on the inhumanity that marks human relations and the awful consequences of the church’s own complicity in injustice. In the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming, the church sees the promise of God’s renewal of human life in society and of God’s victory over all wrong.
(9.33) The church follows this pattern in the form of its life and in the method of its action. So to live and serve is to confess Christ as Lord
+ HYMN 374 - O Holy City, Seen of John
Prayers of the People & THE LORD’s PRAYER
Offering
• INVITATION
• Offertory - Bow Down Low, Shaker song arranged by David Bridges, Chancel Choir
• Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessing flow Praise Christ the Word in flesh born low;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore; One God, Triune, whom we adore. Amen.
• Prayer of Dedication
+ HYMN 81 - Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
Charge & Benediction
Benediction Response - Hymn 295, Go To the World(verses 3 and 4)
Go to the world! Go struggle, bless, and pray; the nights of tears give way to joyous day.
As servant church, you follow Christ’s own way. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Go to the world! Go as the ones I send, for I am with you till the age shall end,
when all the hosts of glory cry “Amen!” Alleluia. Alleluia.
Postlude - Jubilation from Solomon, Georg Frederik Handel (1685-1759)
God welcomes all,
strangers and friends;
God’s love is strong
and it never ends.
Greeting & Announcements
Prelude - Allegro in C, Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Call to Worship - based on Psalm 148
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings and Queens of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike, old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
+ Hymn 14 - For the Beauty of the Earth
+ Call to Confession
+ A Prayer of Confession
Loving God, Christ taught us, his disciples, to love others as he loved each of us. He loved Peter, whom he once had to tell to get behind him. He loved both Mary and Martha, who each had different ways of showing their devotion. He even washed Judas’ feet. Forgive us for when we fail to love - when we are hateful and not loving; when we are hurtful and not kind; when we are selfish and not generous; when we are prejudiced and not impartial. Help us to remember that we are forgiven and never forsaken. Hear now our silent prayers of confession.
• Assurance of Pardon
• Response to Forgiveness: Hymn 582 Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me
Passing of the Peace
Children’s Message & Teacher Appreciation
Prayer for Openness
Testify to us, O God, by the voice of your Spirit. Put your law in our hearts, write your word in our minds, and show your will in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Scripture Reading - Revelation 21.1-6, NT pg 259
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
This is the written testimony to the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Anthem - Be Thou My Vision, arr. Craig Courtney, Chancel Choir, Susan Carey, piano
Scripture Reading - Acts 11:1-18, NT 130
Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners, and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Sermon - “One Step at a Time”- Rev. Matt Falco
Statement of Faith - The Confession of 1967, Section A. The Mission of the Church - 1. Direction
(9.31) To be reconciled to God is to be sent into the world as God’s reconciling community. This community, the church universal, is entrusted with God’s message of reconciliation and shares God’s labor of healing the enmities which separate people from God and from each other. Christ has called the church to this mission and given it the gift of the Holy Spirit. The church maintains continuity with the apostles and with Israel by faithful obedience to his call.
(9.32) The life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ has set the pattern for the church’s mission. His human life involves the church in the common life of all people. His service to men and women commits the church to work for every form of human well-being. His suffering makes the church sensitive to all human suffering so that it sees the face of Christ in the faces of persons in every kind of need. His crucifixion discloses to the church God’s judgment on the inhumanity that marks human relations and the awful consequences of the church’s own complicity in injustice. In the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming, the church sees the promise of God’s renewal of human life in society and of God’s victory over all wrong.
(9.33) The church follows this pattern in the form of its life and in the method of its action. So to live and serve is to confess Christ as Lord
+ HYMN 374 - O Holy City, Seen of John
Prayers of the People & THE LORD’s PRAYER
Offering
• INVITATION
• Offertory - Bow Down Low, Shaker song arranged by David Bridges, Chancel Choir
• Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessing flow Praise Christ the Word in flesh born low;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore; One God, Triune, whom we adore. Amen.
• Prayer of Dedication
+ HYMN 81 - Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
Charge & Benediction
Benediction Response - Hymn 295, Go To the World(verses 3 and 4)
Go to the world! Go struggle, bless, and pray; the nights of tears give way to joyous day.
As servant church, you follow Christ’s own way. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Go to the world! Go as the ones I send, for I am with you till the age shall end,
when all the hosts of glory cry “Amen!” Alleluia. Alleluia.
Postlude - Jubilation from Solomon, Georg Frederik Handel (1685-1759)