Bulletin – Sunday, August 17, 2025 – Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, August 17, 2025
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
We Gather as People of Faith
Welcome
Announcements
Lighting the Christ Candle
One: Amid the conflict, doubt, and apathy, the light of Christ shines out.
All: The light of Christ comes, healing, challenging, restoring.
One: Gathered as a faith community, we are encouraged and inspired by the light of Jesus.
All: The renewing spirit of Jesus the Christ is with us as we worship.
One: Thanks be to God! Alleluia!
Call to Worship
With words, music and fellowship we gather today to replenish our hearts and minds with the spiritual food offered to us through the spirit of our Creator, God. We gather with gratitude for the transformation that we experience in our time together and in our humble acknowledgement of our need for God’s grace, mercy, and love in our lives.
Hymn – “How Great Thou Art” (VU #238)
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works thy had hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow’r thro’out the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
When thro’ the woods and forest glades I wander,
I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
But when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly breading,
He bled and died to take away my sins.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And then proclaim, “My God, how great thou art!”
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Prayer of Approach and Confession
O Loving God, who is present here among us always, grant us forgiveness for the things we have done and those we have left undone. For our inability to see your transforming presence right here among us, have mercy. For the times that we have failed to see your grace in our lives, we look for humility and greater sight. Oh Loving one, we know that when we open our hearts and minds in the gathering of your faithful, we are transformed.
Words of Assurance
The God revealed to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, seeks us and knows us. God in all of creation welcomes us into deep and biding relationship that we may know we are not alone. We await with trust and in joyful expectation, the healing and love poured out for us in the Spirit of God that is always with us in darkness and in light. No matter what challenges face us in the world, God abides with us here and now, on earth as in heaven for all eternity. Amen.
Sung Response – “Trust These Words”
Trust these words: you are forgiven!
Through Christ’s mercy, broken hearts can be restored;
Trust these words: you are forgiven!
Live in peace, beloved, know you are adored;
Trust these words, trust these words, trust these words.
Trust these words: we are forgiven!
Through God’s mercy broken lives can be restored;
Trust thee words: we are forgiven!
Live in grace and peace, oh, love and serve the Lord;
Trust these words, trust these words, trust these words.
Trust these words.
A Story for All
We Hear God’s Word
Hymn: “I am a Child of God” (MV #157)
I am a child of God, I am a glimpse of God’s new creation.
I am a child of God, I am a child of God.
I am an endless prayer, I am a yearning for contemplation,
I am an endless prayer, I am an endless prayer.
I am an angry voice, I am compassion and consternation,
I am an angry voice, I am an angry voice.
I am a cry for peace, I am commitment and dedication,
I am a cry for peace, I am a cry for peace.
I am a song of joy, I am the moment of jubilation,
I am a song of joy, I am a song of joy.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 82
One: 1 God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”:
All: 2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
One: 3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
All: 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
One: 5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
All: 6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’
One: 7 But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.”
All: 8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
Gospel Reading: Luke 12:49-56
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
May God speak to us through these readings of scripture.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “Being Nice is Important: It is Just Not Enough”
Anthem: “Forgive Us Lord, for Passing By”
Forgive us, Lord, for passing by when children cry for bread.
Forbid it, Lord, that justice lie in tatters cold and dead.
Outside these walls run desperate streets where greed is law and life is cheap.
We bar the doors, refuse to see or hear the words you said:
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
Convict us, Lord, we dance and laugh, ignoring those who weep.
Correct us, Lord, our golden calf has lulled our hearts to sleep.
The gap between the rich and poor grows ever wider, shore to shore.
There’s racial hate, religious war, and wolves among the sheep.
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
Indwell us, Lord, and purify our hands to work for you.
Enlist us, Lord, to serve nearby, and cross the waters, too.
Your image bearers on the earth will never know how much they’re worth
Unless we love and help them first and show the way to you.
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
Let justice roll like a river, like a river, let it roll.
We Respond to God’s Word
Invitation to Share
Offering Sung Response – “There’s Enough for All”
There’s enough for all if we would learn to share it,
There’s enough for all, oh, help us to believe.
There’s enough for all.
Let’s bring our loaves and fishes, and offer them to Jesus.
There’s more than enough for you and me.
Offering Prayer
Prayers of the People
One: Oh Loving Creator, hear our prayer
All: And transform our hearts and minds.
Passing of the Peace
The Prayer Jesus Taught Us:
One: Please join me in praying as Jesus taught us:
All: Our Creator who is like our Mother and 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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
We Go Into God’s World
Hymn – “When We Speak Truth to Power”
When we speak truth to power, our God is glorified;
In acts of holy boldness the Lord of all takes pride.
We’re called to seize the moment, to step beyond our fear
And speak the way of Jesus to those who need to hear.
At times the truths we utter the powerful might hate.
It’s then our God calls louder, “Speak up, don’t hesitate!
My Word will be your armor, my love will light your way;
I’ll walk this walk beside you, each step and everyday.”
As immigrants are threatened and told they don’t belong
And trans folks are diminished, their truth dismissed as wrong,
The voice of Jesus beckons, as through all time it’s done:
“Go welcome in the stranger, find me in everyone!”
Great God of grace and mercy, of all that’s just and true,
Each refugee you treasure, and every rainbow hue.
In these and other matters, equip us all to be
Your voice of truth to power that speaks out faithfully!
Commissioning
Now transformed, healed, and renewed through this time of worship, let us go out into the world ready to be instruments of peace with justice, and respect with conviction and let us continue to attune our hearts and minds to the presence of the Spirit in all we do and all we meet.
Benediction
May God’s presence be shown clearly to us as we go out into the world. May Christ walk with us as we build right relations, transforming our hearts and minds through all we meet. May the Wisdom spirit guide us being co-creators of the kingdom of heaven here on earth as in heaven.
Sung Response – “May the Peace of Christ”
May the peace of Christ be with you,
May the love of God dwell deep in your heart.
May the Spirit enlighten your way.
May you walk in the comfort of God’s care.
