*Prelude with Henry - The Two Grenadiers by Schumann
*Prelude Pondering -
Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.
*Opening Prayer
Gracious God, Champion of the Universe, we so often fluff ourselves up. Aren’t we the only creatures who compose masterpieces of music and art? Don’t we govern ourselves, enrich ourselves, promote ourselves? Can’t we dunk basketballs, bat baseballs, spike volleyballs? Aren’t some of us masters of comic irony? Other creatures don’t practice rocket science. We do.
And yet. Here we are, frightened by a thing so small it can’t be seen under most microscopes. It’s not even an animal or a plant. It’s a virus, a mere parasite, dependent on our own living cells to replicate.
And yet it has shuttered our schools, cancelled our flights, and emptied our churches. It has consumed the attention of our leading scientists, wrenched our politics out of shape, dominated our conversations, and scared the daylights out of us.
We don’t want to get sick. And we don’t want to die.
We are afraid, O God. Afraid of a microorganism. Afraid of each other.
Great and quiet source of peace, quiet our fears. We are wary, uncertain, strung tight. Quiet our fears. We have no idea what the future will bring, but we do know you will be in our future to hold us there. We cannot quiet ourselves, O God. We cannot comfort ourselves, cannot heal ourselves, cannot help ourselves. All we can do is wash our hands and keep our distance. Our rocket science is no good to us for this threat.
O God, great and quiet source of peace, quiet us, your anxious ones, and let us cling for comfort to your suffering Son, Jesus Christ. Gather us under his wings. Remind us that he suffers with us, but he’s also the great physician. In him, let us not be afraid. Please, let us not be afraid. Amen.
*Call to Worship
We are are the body of Christ and parts of each other.
In the church, God has appointed apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, the ability to help others, leadership skills, different kinds of tongues.
We can’t all be all these things. Each of us has our own gifts.
Each of us is called to use our gifts on behalf of the body.
All of us can strive for the greater gifts. There is a better way, and that way is love.
Let us worship God.
*Opening Song - Here I am to Worship with Rex & Tim
*Prayer of Confession
Love is patient and kind; for our quick-temperedness and indifference, Lord, have mercy.
Love is not envious or boastful; for our petty jealousies and bragging, Lord, have mercy.
Love is not arrogant or rude; for our pretense and crass behavior, Lord, have mercy.
Love does not insist its own way; it is not irritable. For our false sense of our own importance and our resentful behavior, Lord, have mercy.
Love does not rejoice in wrong-doing; for our rejoicing in all the wrong things, Lord, have mercy.
Gracious God, show us mercy, forgive us our sins, and show us a more excellent way.
Silence is kept
*Assurance of Pardon (John 17:24-26)
Believe the good news. Jesus prayed for us saying, “Father, I want those you gave me to be with me where I am. Then they can see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, even the world didn’t know you, but I’ve known you, and these believers know that you sent me. I’ve made your name known to them and will continue to make it known so that your love for me will be in them, and I myself will be in them.” Believe that you are loved and forgiven.
People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God. Amen.
*Response: Glory to God
*Sharing the Peace of Christ
Leader: The peace of Christ be with you.
People: And also with you.
Please send Samantha a picture of yourself or your family passing the peace! Thank you for your help.
*Children's Time
*Scripture Reading - 1 Corinthians13:1-13 - First Corinthians Suite: Love Never Ends
Part 1 -
Part 2 -
Part 3 -
*Gospel Reading - John 15:25-33 and Sermon - Home (Not) Alone
*Offering - Pray Again
Please remember to send in your offering and pledge. If you are enrolled in electronic funds transfer, no need to do anything different. If you would like to give online using Paypal, click this link:
bit.ly/FPCsterling
*Prayer of Dedication
Thank you, God, for the love that illumines us, empowers us, and energizes us to care for others. Take these gifts, given in love, to do your work in the world, for we give them in Jesus’ name. Amen.
*Sharing Joys and Concerns, Pastoral Prayer, and The Lord's Prayer
*Joys and Concerns
We give thanks to God for:
Health care workers, grocery store workers, and all who work in essential services; resilient and flexible people who find a way where there sees to be no way; the kindness of people who look out for others; the gifts and talents of our staff and our worship team; the technology that keeps us connected; the love that surrounds and enlivens us.
Please hold in prayer:
Jane's brother, who had a heart attack; the Quigg family; all who are ill, and all who cannot be with loved ones who are ill. Pray for leaders in every nation, that they will lead with wisdom and compassion; the family of Joplin's cousin who died suddenly and unexpectedly last week. Mary Jo asks for prayers for a friend's adult daughter diagnosed with cancer, and for her friends Mona and Barb, each with medical issues. Toni and Di ask for prayers for Aunt Karen who is ill, and Toni's sister, Carol, with health challenges. Pastor Christiana requests prayers for her cousin, Tim, diagnosed with metastatic melanoma of the brain.
If you have joys and concerns to share, please email them or phone them in to the church, or post them on the church Facebook page.
*Closing Song - They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love
*Benediction
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