January 20, 2019 – Second Sunday after Epiphany

WE COME TOGETHER AS GOD’S PEOPLE

Prelude         How Brightly Shines the Morning Star, BuxWV 223        Dieterich Buxtehude
                                         Dr. John Allegar, organ                                             (1637-1707)

+ Welcome                                                                             Rev. Kelley J. Jepsen (9:30)
                                                                                           Rev. Caroline V. Dennis (11:00)

Call to Worship          Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying                          Ken Medema
                                         Sanctuary Choir (b. 1943)
                        Dr. Michelle Louer, Director of Music and Fine Arts

Lord, listen to your children praying,
Lord, send your Spirit in this place;
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Send us love, send us power, send us grace.

(adapted from Psalm 130)
One: I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in God’s word I hope.

All: My soul waits for the Lord,
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.

One: Hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

All: And with God is great power to redeem.

One: Let us gather now to worship the God who loves and redeems.

Prayer of Adoration

* Hymn #487                 When Morning Gilds the Skies                              LAUDES DOMINI

Call to Confession

Silent Confession

Prayer of Confession

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love.
We know our sins, and we cannot overlook them. Sometimes we are tempted to serve with half-hearted energy or to speak the truth in whispered tones. Give us faith to risk a dangerous hope, to be ready to think as you teach, and to act as you lead. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

* Response of Praise                      Gloria Patri                                               (Hymn #579)

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.

* Passing of the Peace

Leader: The peace of Christ be with you.

People: And also with you.

* Hymn #148                           At the Name of Jesus                                KING’S WESTON

Ritual of Friendship and the Concerns of the Church                        Dr. John R. Koppitch

WE EXPERIENCE GOD’S WORD

Time with Children (11:00)

Prayer of Illumination                                                                     Elder Katie Baker (9:30)
                                                                                                Elder Robert Warhurst (11:00)

First Lesson                                       Psalm 13                                                      (p. 484)

Anthem                     When the Song of the Angels is Stilled                   Elizabeth Alexander
                                                                                                                           (b.1962)

When the song of the angels is stilled, the work of Christmas begins.
When the star in the heavens is gone, oh, the work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.

When the kings and the princes are home, the work of Christmas begins.
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
oh, the work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost…

Text: based on The Work of Christmas, Howard Thurman

Second Lesson                             Ephesians 1:15-23                                         (p. 1064)

Response

Leader: This is the word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

Sermon                                                                                       Rev. Christopher A. Henry

                                          “Speaking Christian: Prayer”
                               “...with the eyes of your heart enlightened,
                    you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
                 what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints...”
                                                 (Ephesians 1:18)

WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD

Invitation to Discipleship

* Affirmation of Faith  The Heidelberg Catechism, Question One

One: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

All: That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul,
in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer

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.

Offertory                                                                                 Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
                  Eins bitte ich vom Herren (from Kleine geistliche Konzerte, 1636)
                                 Caitlin Stewart, soprano; John Brewer, tenor

Eins bitte ich vom Herren, das hätte ich gern,
daß ich im Hause des Herrn möge bleiben mein lebelang,
zuschauen die schönen Gottesdienst des Herren,
und seinen Tempel zu besuchen.

One thing I ask of thee, Lord, and this is my prayer,
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord for evermore,
beholding the Holy presence of the Father,
within the holy temple of the Lord God.

* Doxology                                                                                              (Hymn #592)

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.

* Prayer of Thanksgiving

WE GO FORTH TO SERVE

* Closing Hymn #563                Lift Every Voice and Sing                      LIFT EVERY VOICE

* Charge and Benediction

* Benediction Response                      Amen, Amen                                         Spiritual

* Postlude                                          Grand Choeur                               Théodore Salomé
                                                                                                                    (1834-1896)