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.
CALL TO WORSHIP (Katherine Hawker, BASED ON Mark 4:26-32)
Called to be branches in Christ’s body,
we yearn to be connected to the vine.
Called to be mustard bushes offering shade to God’s creatures,
we search for places to plant the seeds of faith.
Called to be growing with God in the midst of this world’s painful questions,
we seek God’s nurturing presence.
OPENING PRAYER (Nancy C. Townley, based on Mark 4:26-32)
God of small seeds and mighty plants, you take our meager lives and with your love cause them to produce acts of loving kindness for you in this world. You hear our cries and find us when we are lost and wandering in fear. You bring us home with you so that we may be made whole, rejoicing in your goodness. Help us to joyfully serve you all our days, knowing that you are always watching over us. Prepare our hearts to receive your word and our spirits to respond in eagerness to serve you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
CALL TO CONFESSION (JOHN Cleghorn, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Scripture reminds us that our sins are like scarlet. But we are invited to confess those sins to a God who has always seen beyond our limitations, faults and failures. Let us turn again to our God of abundant grace and ready mercy.
I invite you to join with me in our unison prayer of confession, followed by a time either for silent personal confession.
Moment of silent prayer–people of God, what do you need to confess this week?
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (JOHN Cleghorn, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
God of generations and eons, we come to you confessing that we prefer the deceptive comfort of our short attention span. Lord of all things, small and large, we acknowledge that we seek after the “bigger and better” version of our lives. Creator who offers us the peace that passes all understanding, we know the meaning of Scripture’s plea: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”
God of unending patience and mercy, relieve us of the tyranny of believing that we see all there is. Renew in us faith and trust the grandeur of your time-transcending providence. Grant us the gift of faith that rests in things unseen. Teach us, again and again, what it means to trust in you. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON (JOHN Cleghorn, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Friends, hear the good news. Our God is always a step ahead of us, calling us to grow in the gift of our forgiveness made available to us in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING (JOHN Cleghorn, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Sovereign God, Quiet all the voices within our heads, hearts and spirits. Open our ears that we may receive your truth above the din of the world. And open us anew to how you work through the smallest, least likely things, even us, to advance your kingdom on earth. Amen.
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING
MARK 4:26-34
Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
- How have you heard the seed/kingdom of God parables that Jesus tells in Mark 4 interpreted through the years? Has your understanding of those parables evolved or changed and, if so, how?
- As the world and our congregations emerge from the pandemic, how can these stories equip us with new eyes to see what comes next in life and in church? What least expected places might we keep an eye on where God may do a new thing?
- It is very easy to get discouraged by the events of the world and it is hard to be content simply “sowing the seeds” without seeing the harvest. Can we, like the farmer, have faith the harvest is coming and be content not knowing exactly how that is happening?
HYMN Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness
lyrics by James K. Manley, 1975
music by James K. Manley, 1976
© 1978 James K. Manley
Used by Permission. CCLI License #3456351 and ONELICENSE # 738214-A
refrain:
Spirit, spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness, calling and free.
Spirit, spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, wind, wind on the sea.
You moved on the waters; you called to the deep;
then you coaxed up the mountains from the valleys of sleep;
and over the eons you called to each thing,
“Awake from your slumbers and rise on your wings.”
(refrain)
You swept through the waters; you stung with the sand;
and you goaded your people with a law and a land.
When they were confounded with idols and lies,
then you spoke through your prophets to open their eyes.
(refrain)
You call from tomorrow; you break ancient schemes;
from the bondage of sorrow the captives dream dreams.
Our women see visions; our men clear their eyes.
With bold new decisions, your people arise.
(refrain)
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING
1 SAMUEL 15:34-16:13
Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
HYMN We Are Standing on Holy Ground
music and lyrics by Geron Davis, 1983
© 1983 Songchannel Music Company and Meadowgreen Music Company (admin. EMICMGPublishing.com)
Used by Permission. CCLI License #3456351
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE(JOHN Cleghorn, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
God of all times, places and peoples, we came today so full of concerns, confessions, hopes, dreams and questions. We came because the world is full of voices and distractions that would take our eyes off you and your will for us. We came seeking that which is worthy of our trust. We came because you promise us the sufficiency of faith, hope and love.
You are a God who hears all prayers and who is working out your will in ways we cannot always see. You are also a God who invites our prayers and petitions, for that is how we are called to be with you. So we lift up the prayers you already know are on our hearts, the concerns you know that keep us up at night, the worries and anxieties that ground us in our need for you.
We pray for a wayward world that loves violence and abides inequality that breaks your heart; for a nation in sore need of healing; for mercy and empathy for the one we do not understand; for those in our congregation and families who wait for news of a diagnosis, who are living with health challenges, who care for the sick and dying. May they feel your Spirit surround, embrace and encourage them.
Triune God, as we prepare to go out from this place, teach and sustain us as your children and servants, that we may bear witness to your unexpected choices and your wondrous and mysterious means of working in ways that we might never imagine.
For we pray all this in the name of the one who came to show us your love, Christ Jesus, who taught us to pray, 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 Reckless Love
music and lyrics by Caleb Culver, Cory Asbury, and Ran Jackson
© 2017 Cory Asbury Publishing, Richmond Park Publishing, Watershed Worship Publishing, Bethel Music Publishing
Used by Permission. CCLI License #3456351
Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah
When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah
MORNING OFFERING (JOHN Cleghorn, PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK)
Whether our response to God’s grace today is the size of the mustard seed or the size of the bush that houses all of the birds, our Lord receives our gifts with the same gratitude and the same promise that it will bear abundant fruit in God’s kingdom. So let us give joyfully.
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 (Katherine Hawker, liturgyoutside.net)
May the offerings brought this day be used as seeds, planted faithfully and nurtured lovingly so that God’s way may be realized anew in this world. Grant us the humility we need to plant and then tend your precious garden. Amen.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (FROM The Confession of 1967)
God’s sovereign love is a mystery beyond the reach of the human mind. Human thought ascribes to God superlatives of power, wisdom, and goodness. But God reveals divine love in Jesus Christ by showing power in the form of a servant, wisdom in the folly of the cross, and goodness in receiving sinful people. The power of God’s love in Christ to transform the world discloses that the Redeemer is the Lord and Creator who made all things to serve the purpose of God’s love.
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.
VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR
If you are using this page to follow along with today’s worship service while it is being live streamed, please join us for virtual coffee hour! Turn on your video camera and join us after the benediction with THIS LINK. You could also join over the telephone by dialing (312) 626-6799 and entering the meeting code 146 874 134, followed by the password 075003. You can find other events throughout the week on our CALENDAR.