Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Bulletin for 07/19, 2020
Prelude – “I Am A Poor Wayfaring Stranger” – Thad Goodwin
(Trad. Afro-American Spiritual, arr. Anna Laura Page)
Announcements and Centering
Call to Worship – Rev. Wesley Snedeker
We come to celebrate God’s blessings to us.
People: Surely God is in this place!
We come to open ourselves to God’s guidance and love.
People: Surely God is in this place!
We come to see more clearly God’s presence in our lives.
People: Surely God is in this place!
We come to see God in this community of seekers.
People: Surely God is in this place!
We come to pray, praise, and offer ourselves to God.
People: Surely God is in this place! Let us worship!
Invocation
Holy One, you know us already.
Help us to know you better.
Let us see you all around us.
Fill our worship with your Spirit
so that we may learn to recognize your presence
in all places. Amen.
Children’s Sermon
Scripture Reading – Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
Special Music – “Bring Back the Springtime” – Amy Maneval /Ann Garvelink
Sermon – “Let’s Not Be in a Hurry to Get Back in the Building” – Rev. David Bucey
Call to Offering
What we have received comes from seed sown in us by Jesus Christ.
Having received the blessings of the harvest begun in us,
let us return to God fruits of the blessings we have received.
Offertory Music – “I was a There to Hear Your Borning Cry” – Thad Goodwin / Amy Maneval
Prayer of Dedication
Loving God, we offer back to you what we have been given:
our treasure, our time, and our lives.
Bless our gifts and multiply them for your purposes.
Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Silent Prayer
Lord’s Prayer
Benediction (Based on Isaiah 55: 12-13)
God’s spirit is always with you.
Wherever we go, God is there!
If you ascend to heaven,
God is there.
If you settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
God is there.
In all places, God holds you fast.
May you know deeply the presence of God:
Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit.
Go with God.
Surely God is in this Place. Amen.
Postlude – “God of Grace and God of Glory” (arr. Paul Manz) – Thad Goodwin
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