FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ORDER OF WORSHIP
January 28, 2024
PRELUDE
WELCOME
ANNOUNCEMENTS
-TUESDAY MORNING COFFEE GROUP 9:30ish AM at First Lutheran Mission Coffee House
- PIECES AND PRAYERS will meet on Tuesday at 1:30 PM at the FPC Quilting Room
-THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY at 9:30 AM in the FPC Center Meeting Room (Jan. 4 start new study on Exodus)
CALL TO WORSHIP (from Psalm 111)
Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.
Great are your works, O Lord, pondered by all who delight in them.
Majesty and splendor mark your deeds, and your righteousness endures forever.
You cause your wonders to be remembered; you are gracious and full of compassion.
*OPENING HYMN #293 (Blue) “This Is My Father’s World”
This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father's world: O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world: The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one.
CALL TO CONFESSION
Jesus calls us to enter the joy of discipleship, the joy of following in his way. But sin clings closely, and we struggle to respond fully to Christ’s invitation. Let us seek God’s forgiveness so that we may know more deeply the joy God intends.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Merciful God, in Jesus, we have seen your glory. Yet our sinfulness often blocks out the light of Christ. We are quick to accuse and slow to confess. We find faults easily in others while ignoring our own shortcomings. We have squandered your gifts. We have turned from your ways. We have ignored your Word. Have mercy on us, compassionate God. Pour out your Holy Spirit on our sinful lives. Wash us with your love and cleanse us with your grace that day by day we might move closer to the people you would us be. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Relentlessly God seeks us out with abundant grace and boundless mercy. This is good news! In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
*GLORIA PATRI (on screen)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
And ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, Amen.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Gracious God, illumine these words by your Spirit that we might hear what you would have us hear and be who you would us be, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
15The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. 16This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” 17Then the LORD replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. 19Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak — that prophet shall die.”
Psalm 111:1-10 (Responsive Reading)
1 Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
All The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
1Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him.
4Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as in fact there are many gods and many lords — 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
7It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
GOSPEL Mark 1:21-28
21They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
SERMON “The Prophets Among You” Steve Van Buren
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (from Colossians 1:15-20)
Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible. All things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Jesus Christ is head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Amen.
HYMN #324 (Blue) “Open My Eyes That I May See”
Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my ears that I may hear voices of truth Thou sendest clear,
And while the wave notes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere.
Open my heart and let me prepare love with Thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!
CALL FOR THE OFFERING
With gratitude for God’s faithfulness and with thanksgiving for all that we have received, let us bring our gifts to God.
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
O God, with faith and hope, we offer these gifts. Use them, even as you use us, to accomplish your purposes in Jesus Christ, the Head of the church and the Lord of our lives. Amen.
*DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Holy God, eternal yet immediate, beyond yet near, we praise you for all that you have made, for grace that amazes, for mercy that cleanses, and for love that never lets us go. Hear our prayers, our shouts and our sighs, our whispers and our cries, and that which we can only speak deep within. Hear our prayers, for we long for all to be well, for all to be right, for all to be whole. Comfort the sick and encourage those who strive to heal them. Hold the mournful and grant them peace that passes understanding. Enlighten our leaders and give them a vision that promotes the common good. Shelter those reeling from stormy blasts. Sustain those starting on new adventures. Satisfy those who hunger and thirst for justice. We pray for teachers and students, for parents and children, for caregivers and care receivers, for gifts of knowledge and wisdom passed one to another. Refresh your church. Give us a creative spirit as we travel together, sharing life and ministry. Renew our commitment to using well your abiding gifts of faith, hope and love. You have shown us in Jesus an example of courageous compassion and risky generosity and bold truth-telling. Help us to follow in his way so that we might know the fullness of life you intend for us all. God of each day and all days, hear us, hold us and keep us, for the sake of Jesus our Savior, who taught us to pray like this:
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, Amen.
(PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE LIST)
Susan H (MK’s daughter)
Andrew L
Bob O, Nancy as caregiver
Darwin L, Jeanne as caregiver
Our homebound or in care members: Richard C (Dolores as caregiver), Bob J (Jan as caregiver), Delores K, Rose P, Joyce R, Dee W (Please reach out and call)
This Week’s Prayer Families: Jeannie & Tom M, Maria M, Mike & Judy M
Those Who Mourn: The family/friends of John Peterson and Cliff Rindels and all who have lost loved ones
*CLOSING HYMN #267 (Blue) “All Things Bright and Beautiful”
Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors, God made their tiny wings. [Refrain]
The purple-headed mountain, the river running by,
The sunset and the morning that brightens up the sky. [Refrain]
The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden: God made them every one. [Refrain]
God gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well. [Refrain]
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Let us go from this place trusting that in Jesus Christ God is with us and for us in every place. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with you and abide with you this day and forevermore. Amen
POSTLUDE
ORDER OF WORSHIP
January 28, 2024
PRELUDE
WELCOME
ANNOUNCEMENTS
-TUESDAY MORNING COFFEE GROUP 9:30ish AM at First Lutheran Mission Coffee House
- PIECES AND PRAYERS will meet on Tuesday at 1:30 PM at the FPC Quilting Room
-THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY at 9:30 AM in the FPC Center Meeting Room (Jan. 4 start new study on Exodus)
CALL TO WORSHIP (from Psalm 111)
Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.
Great are your works, O Lord, pondered by all who delight in them.
Majesty and splendor mark your deeds, and your righteousness endures forever.
You cause your wonders to be remembered; you are gracious and full of compassion.
*OPENING HYMN #293 (Blue) “This Is My Father’s World”
This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father's world: O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world: The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one.
CALL TO CONFESSION
Jesus calls us to enter the joy of discipleship, the joy of following in his way. But sin clings closely, and we struggle to respond fully to Christ’s invitation. Let us seek God’s forgiveness so that we may know more deeply the joy God intends.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Merciful God, in Jesus, we have seen your glory. Yet our sinfulness often blocks out the light of Christ. We are quick to accuse and slow to confess. We find faults easily in others while ignoring our own shortcomings. We have squandered your gifts. We have turned from your ways. We have ignored your Word. Have mercy on us, compassionate God. Pour out your Holy Spirit on our sinful lives. Wash us with your love and cleanse us with your grace that day by day we might move closer to the people you would us be. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Relentlessly God seeks us out with abundant grace and boundless mercy. This is good news! In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
*GLORIA PATRI (on screen)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
And ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, Amen.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Gracious God, illumine these words by your Spirit that we might hear what you would have us hear and be who you would us be, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
15The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. 16This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” 17Then the LORD replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. 19Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak — that prophet shall die.”
Psalm 111:1-10 (Responsive Reading)
1 Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
All The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
1Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him.
4Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as in fact there are many gods and many lords — 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
7It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
GOSPEL Mark 1:21-28
21They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
SERMON “The Prophets Among You” Steve Van Buren
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (from Colossians 1:15-20)
Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible. All things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Jesus Christ is head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Amen.
HYMN #324 (Blue) “Open My Eyes That I May See”
Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my ears that I may hear voices of truth Thou sendest clear,
And while the wave notes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere.
Open my heart and let me prepare love with Thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!
CALL FOR THE OFFERING
With gratitude for God’s faithfulness and with thanksgiving for all that we have received, let us bring our gifts to God.
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
O God, with faith and hope, we offer these gifts. Use them, even as you use us, to accomplish your purposes in Jesus Christ, the Head of the church and the Lord of our lives. Amen.
*DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Holy God, eternal yet immediate, beyond yet near, we praise you for all that you have made, for grace that amazes, for mercy that cleanses, and for love that never lets us go. Hear our prayers, our shouts and our sighs, our whispers and our cries, and that which we can only speak deep within. Hear our prayers, for we long for all to be well, for all to be right, for all to be whole. Comfort the sick and encourage those who strive to heal them. Hold the mournful and grant them peace that passes understanding. Enlighten our leaders and give them a vision that promotes the common good. Shelter those reeling from stormy blasts. Sustain those starting on new adventures. Satisfy those who hunger and thirst for justice. We pray for teachers and students, for parents and children, for caregivers and care receivers, for gifts of knowledge and wisdom passed one to another. Refresh your church. Give us a creative spirit as we travel together, sharing life and ministry. Renew our commitment to using well your abiding gifts of faith, hope and love. You have shown us in Jesus an example of courageous compassion and risky generosity and bold truth-telling. Help us to follow in his way so that we might know the fullness of life you intend for us all. God of each day and all days, hear us, hold us and keep us, for the sake of Jesus our Savior, who taught us to pray like this:
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, Amen.
(PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE LIST)
Susan H (MK’s daughter)
Andrew L
Bob O, Nancy as caregiver
Darwin L, Jeanne as caregiver
Our homebound or in care members: Richard C (Dolores as caregiver), Bob J (Jan as caregiver), Delores K, Rose P, Joyce R, Dee W (Please reach out and call)
This Week’s Prayer Families: Jeannie & Tom M, Maria M, Mike & Judy M
Those Who Mourn: The family/friends of John Peterson and Cliff Rindels and all who have lost loved ones
*CLOSING HYMN #267 (Blue) “All Things Bright and Beautiful”
Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors, God made their tiny wings. [Refrain]
The purple-headed mountain, the river running by,
The sunset and the morning that brightens up the sky. [Refrain]
The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden: God made them every one. [Refrain]
God gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well. [Refrain]
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Let us go from this place trusting that in Jesus Christ God is with us and for us in every place. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with you and abide with you this day and forevermore. Amen
POSTLUDE