You can watch today’s service here.
If you are watching our live stream this morning, you are invited to find a candle, so that we can all light candles at the same time.
OPENING PRAYER LITANY: PSALM 89
Pastor: Your love, O Lord, I will sing forever
Peoples: For your love is forever and your faithfulness is steadfast.
Pastor: The heavens and the earth praise your wonders, O Lord
Peoples: For who can be compared to you, God? Who is like you, God?
Pastor: You rule the raging of the sea and the surging of the waves.
Peoples: Yours are the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them.
Pastor: You made the north and the south and even the mountains rejoice in your name.
Peoples: Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne.
Pastor: Love and truth are your scepter and your crown.
Peoples: I love you, Lord, and add my voice to all those that worship you.
CALL TO CONFESSION (TERI MCDOWELL OTT, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Jesus invites us to be honest with ourselves and with each other. Let us pause now to examine our hearts and confess our sins to God.
I invite you to join with me in our unison prayer of confession, followed by a time either for silent personal confession.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (TERI MCDOWELL OTT, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
God of mercy, our need is great. The pandemic has left us tired, anxious and uncertain. We have stretched beyond our limits and numbed ourselves to our pain. We have accepted getting by as good enough. We have rejected your offers of spiritual food as unrealistic and impractical. Help us, Holy God, to acknowledge and confess our need. Help us embrace your command for Sabbath rest. Help us care for ourselves so we can continue to care for others. Amen.
Moment of silent prayer–people of God, what do you need to confess this week?
ASSURANCE OF PARDON (TERI MCDOWELL OTT, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Jesus invites the thirsty to drink from his well. Jesus invites the hungry to dine at his table. In Christ, we are forgiven, we are filled, we are made whole. Let us hear, accept and embody this Good News.
PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING (TERI MCDOWELL OTT, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Illuminating God, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Highlight the message you intend for us today through your Word read and proclaimed and set us on your path of righteousness. Amen.
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
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For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat: How often do we make time to eat together as the family of God (how often do we even make time to eat together with our family)?
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Do we take time for sabbath and spiritual retreat or do we set aside spiritual retreat for the needs of the community?
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[Jesus] saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them: “Compassion” literally means “with suffering.” How is compassion a part of the life of the church?
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’ Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.’
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
You can listen to Pastor Leia’s sermon, “A House of Cedar,” here.
HYMN I LOVE YOU, LORD
Words and music by Laurie Klein
© 1978 House of Mercy Music (admin. Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing)
Used by Permission. CCLI License #3456351
I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
to worship you; o my soul, rejoice.
Take joy, my King, in what you hear;
may it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE (TERI MCDOWELL OTT, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
God of grace,
You alone know our needs, the concerns that weigh heavy on our shoulders, responsibilities that are unrelenting, duties that are exhausting. There are days when the burdens we carry overwhelm us, days when we cannot see ourselves free.
And yet, the sky is full of your promise — the rainbow appears at the end of the storm, the fireflies dance when the sun goes down, the green leaves unfurl and reach for rain.
Turn our eyes, Holy God, to these signs of life and hope. Open us to the natural treasures of your uncompromising presence. Enlighten us to your glory as we pause to appreciate the summer days. Like a breeze cooling us in the hot humid air, your love embraces and satisfies the loneliest, most exhausted of souls. May our spirits know this summer Sabbath, so we can know your peace.
Compassionate God, we know you are close to all in need, and by our prayers for others we come closer to you. Hear our prayers of intercession for the people in our families, our community, our nation and our world.
We pray for the healing of those who are sick …
We pray for the poor and impoverished, the oppressed and the marginalized …
We pray for victims of violence, systemic and domestic abuse …
We pray for those whose lives have been shattered by tragedy or disaster …
We pray for those who grieve …
United as a family of faith and as the Body of Christ, we lift these prayers up to you, God our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Finally, hear us pray the prayer Christ taught us, saying…
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.
HYMN Let Us Build a House
© 1994 GIA Publications, Inc.
Let us build a house where love can dwell
And all can safely live
A place where saints and children tell
How hearts learn to forgive
Built of hopes and dreams and visions
Rock of faith and vault of grace
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions
All are welcome, all are welcome
All are welcome in this place
Let us build a house where prophets speak
And words are strong and true
Where all God’s children dare to seek
To dream God’s reign anew
Here the cross shall stand as witness
And a symbol of God’s grace
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus
All are welcome, all are welcome
All are welcome in this place
Let us build a house where love is found
In water, wine and wheat
A banquet hall on holy ground
Where peace and justice meet
Here the love of God, through Jesus
Is revealed in time and space
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us
All are welcome, all are welcome
All are welcome in this place
MORNING OFFERING (TERI MCDOWELL OTT, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
We are blessed. Now let us be a blessing to others through the presentation of our tithes and offerings.
If you are able to, please consider mailing your offerings to the church (210 Smith Street) or dropping them off in the mail slot. Alternatively, if you visit peoples presbyterian dot org, you’ll find a donate button at the top of the page that will link you directly to a secure page where you could make a donation online. We appreciate the generosity of the Peoples family as we live out our faith in MISSION and ministry.
PRAYER OF DEDICATION (TERI MCDOWELL OTT, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Holy God, you call us to live generous lives. You give to us abundantly so we may give to others. May your care for us be reflected in our offerings today, that these gifts might spread your love and your hope to a needy world. Amen.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (the Nicene Creed)
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
May God’s countenance be lifted upon you and give you peace.
From wherever you are, serve the Lord: Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit.