14.09.21 Ordinary Time 25A English

Hymn:  Christ has changed the world’s direction (Shirley Erena Murray / NEW DIRECTIONS, Barry M. Brinson)*
Call to Worship
Song:  Si fui motive de dolor (Sara M. de Hall / Pablo Sosa)

Prayer of Confession
Song of Praise:  Glory to God (Paul Vasile)*

Prayer of the Day

Gospel Acclamation (Howard Hughes)

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon:  (Rev. Elizabeth Gibbs Zehnder)
Hymn:  There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (Frederick William Faber / IN BABILONE, Dutch traditional) 

Affirmation: Random acts of peace

Prayer Song:  Casa del Sol Prayer of Jesus (Philip J. Newell, based on the Lord’s Prayer / Daniel E. Poole)*
Silent Meditation
Prayers of the People
Announcements

Hymn:  God gives us a future (Elizabeth J. Smith / CAMBERWELL, Michael Brierley) 

*Seasonal for Ordinary Time/September

Forces:
Soprano

Piano/Organ

 September 21, 2014

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Please stand, all who are able.

Hymn

Christ has changed the world's direction!

Christ can change the human heart:

agents of the new creation

mend the people torn apart;

               so are we

               charged to be

go-betweens for unity.

Peace will be our way of thinking:

common wealth and common state.

Gone the wounds, the words and weapons

that conspire to hurt and hate,

               and no power

               shall devour

earth or air where peace might flower.

Debts and doubts will be forgiven,

cancelled in the name of God,

olive trees again be planted

there where soldiers' boots have trod,

               hunger fed,

               terror fled,

justice shining in its stead.

What have we as commendation,

sent to speak, as speak we must?

Love will be our global language,

hands an enemy can trust,

               faith to faith,

               race with race,

all shall find a meeting place.

Envoys of a High Commission,

gifts of hope we find to share,

Christ the Spirit reconciling,

Christ our internet of care.

               Though we stall,

               fail or fall,

shall we now refuse God's call?

Call to Worship

One:  Today is not like any other day, and this hour not like any other hour.

Each is unique and unrepeatable; we will not be able to visit it again.

Therefore let us delight in this opportunity, explore its dimensions,

and find in its depths the God who is perpetual love mercy and peace.

The joy of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

All:  And also with you.

One:  God is our strength and our song

All:  and has become our salvation.

Please be seated

Song

If I have been the source of pain, O God;

if to the weak I have refused my strength;

if, in  rebellion, I have strayed away;

forgive me, God.

If I have spoken words of cruelty;

if I have left some suffering unrelieved;

condemn not my insensitivity;

forgive me, God.

If I’ve insisted on a peaceful life,

far from the struggles that the gospel brings,

when you prefer to guide me to the strife,

forgive me, God.

Receive, O God, this ardent word of prayer,

and free me from temptation’s subtle snare,

with tender patience, lead me to your care.

Amen, Amen.

Prayer of Confession: The tyranny of vengeance

NOT ON PPT

God is always more eager to forgive than we are to confess.

Let us pray.

One:  Here we are again, God

With all that makes us who we are,

all that fills our lives;

Carrying into this place of joy and freedom

the burdens we just can’t seem to lay down,

The weight of all the scores we long to have settled,

the justice we want to demand

for the wrongs we have suffered

All:  Yet we also know what would happen if you were to deal with us justly;

with our greeds and violences, our betrayals and lusts.

If justice was served in our lives we could not stand.

One:  So forgive us our wrongs, God,

forgive us as we do not deserve;

forgive us against the demands of justice;

And forgive our obsession that justice be done

to those who have wronged us.

All:  May our worship lead us to the place

where our hunger for grace and mercy may be filled,

And where we may be freed from the tyranny of vengeance.

—silent reflection—

One:  Amen.

Please stand, all who are able.

Song of Praise

Glory to God, whose goodness shines on me,

and to the Son, whose grace has pardoned me,

and to the Spirit, whose love has set me free.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  Amen.

///World without end, without end.  Amen.///

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  Amen.

Prayer

NOT ON PPT

To our souls made brittle by constant score keeping

You are the moisture that softens

and washes the record clean;

To our hearts exhausted from carrying the burden of being right

You are the bed that beckons us to rest

and slip into the dream of being loved;

To our minds confused by the logic of law

You are the unreasonable child

who leads us to dance impishly across the lines;

For all this we praise You,

and for the shocking freedom it brings we thank You.

Amen.

Please stand, all who are able.

Gospel Acclamation

Gospel Reading

Matthew 18:21-35

NOT ON PPT

Then Peter came and said to Jesus, “Sir, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.“  For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father-Mother will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Reader:  The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

All:  Thanks be to God!

Please be seated

Sermon

Please stand, all who are able.

Hymn

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,

like the wideness of the sea;

there’s a kindness in God’s justice,

which is more than liberty.

There’s no place where earthly sorrows

are more felt than in God’s heaven;

there’s no place where earthly failings

have such kindly judgment given.

For the love of God is broader

than the measures of our minds;

and the heart of the Eternal

is most wonderfully kind.

If our love were but more faithful,

we would gladly trust God’s word;

and our lives would show thanksgiving

for the goodness of our God.

Affirmation: Random acts of peace making

One:  In a world where violence seems to rule,

All:  we commit, O God, to small random acts of peace making.

One:  Where people are oppressed

because they look, act, speak, think or love differently

All:  we will affirm their freedom.

One:  Where people are exploited

because they lack the strength or resources to refuse,

All:  we will seek to create alternatives.

One:  Where people are controlled

through threat and fear,

All:  we will offer safety and hope.

One:  Where people believe their violence and power

give them the right and ability to act as they please

All:  we will call them to account.

One:  Wherever violence is done to another,

through physical force, manipulation of truth,

or the subtle workings of power,

All:  we will opt out,

we will speak out,

and we will stand out in opposition,

through small, random acts of peace making.

In Jesus' Name.

Please be seated

Prayer Song

Cantor:  Ground of all being,

All:  Ground of all being,

Cantor:  Mother of life,

All:  Mother of life,

Cantor:  Father of the universe, your name is sacred, beyond speaking.

May we know your presence,

All:  May we know your presence,

Cantor:  may your longings be ours,

All:  may your longings be ours,

Cantor:  our longings in heart and action.

May there be food

All:  May there be food

Cantor:  for the human family today,

All:  for the human family today,

Cantor:  for the whole earth’s community.

Forgive us the falseness

All:  Forgive us the falseness

Cantor:  of what we have done,

All:  of what we have done,

Cantor:  as we forgive those who are untrue to us.

Do not forsake us

All:  Do not forsake us

Cantor:  in our time of conflict,

All:  in our time of conflict,

Cantor:  but lead us into new beginnings.

For the light of life,

All:  For the light of life,

Cantor:  the vitality of life,

All:  the vitality of life,

Cantor:  and the glory of life are yours,

now and forever.

Amen.

All:  Amen.

Cantor:  Amen.

All:  Amen.

Silent Meditation

Prayers

News of the People

Not on ppt:

Welcome cards

Service concludes with bilingual celebration

9/27 Presbytery mission gathering

9/28 Blood drive

10/4 Women’s gathering

10/11 Disaster preparedness workshop

Offerings

(regular and food)

Song

Dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace)

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Please stand, all who are able.

Hymn

1.  God gives us a future
daring us to go
into dreams and dangers
on a path unknown.
We will face tomorrow
in the Spirit's power
we will let God change us
for new life starts now.

2.  We must leave behind us
sins of yesterday
for God's new beginning
is a better way.
Fear and doubt and habit
must not hold us back:
God gives hope, and insight
and the strength we lack.

3.  Holy Spirit, teach us
how to read the signs
how to meet the challenge
of our troubled times.
Love us into action
stir us into prayer
till we choose God's life, and
find our future there.

Song

1.  In the midst of every blessing

may my heart be filled with grace.

Streams of goodness, ever flowing

call for songs of highest praise.

May my words be filled with gratitude;

may my glad heart humble be.

As a holder of a blessing

May I share it gratefully.

2.  In the midst of every trial

may my heart be filled with grace.

Streams of comfort, ever flowing

call for songs of highest praise.

May I find the strength within me;

may I sense it everywhere.

As I face what must be handled

may I find truth I can share.

3.  In the midst of all our living

may our hearts be filled with grace.

Streams of goodness ever flowing

call for songs of highest praise.

May we seek and find encouragement;

may our choices worthy be.

As we journey on together,

may we know integrity.