The Church on the Hill
Communion Service
August 11, 2013 10:00 A.M.
* All who are able, please stand.
Reminder: Please turn off your cell phone. Thank you.
PRELUDE: Lord Jesus, Christ, Be Present Now Paul Manz
WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* Gloria Patri (pew card)
* Call To Worship (Adapted from Psalm 8) Roslyn Andela
Leader: O Sovereign Lord! How majestic is your name!
People: You have set your glory above the heavens!
Leader: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, the stars that you have established, what are human being that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
People: Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
Leader: Grace and Peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
* SALUTATION
* HYMN No. 34 Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
* PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Jesus, who sat at the table with outcasts and sinners, we confess that too often our words and actions are not consistent with our beliefs. Often we ignore the needy, show indifference to the lonely, and reject those who seem different from us. Forgive us we pray. Empower us to reach out in love and acceptance through your name. Amen.
* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
JUNIOR SERMON
ANTHEM: from Elijah Felix Mendelssohn
The Chamber Choir
O come, everyone that thirsteth, O come to the waters, O come unto Him. O hear, and your souls shall live forever.
SCRIPTURE LESSON
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Pew Bible, pg. 977
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
THE SERMON Elbow Room Donna M. Field
WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Offering
Offertory: Rejoice in the Lord Alway Henry Purcell
The Chamber Choir
Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice! Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord.
* The Doxology (pew card)
* Prayer of Dedication
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
* Apostles’ Creed (pew card)
SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
Remembering with Love and Hope (pew card)
Invitation
Communion Prayer
Sanctus (pew card)
Mystery of the Faith (unison)
Christ has Died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.
Words of Institution Elder Dorien Day
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING & INTERCESSION
Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
Prayer response: Kittery William Billings
Our Father who in heaven art, all hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done throughout this earthly frame.
* HYMN No. 669 God of Grace and God of Glory
* BENEDICTION
Response: Henry Purcell
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord.
POSTLUDE: God of Grace Paul Manz
WE WELCOME DONNA MARIE FIELD to the pulpit. In May 2013, Donna graduated from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary with a Masters in Divinity degree. She will be leading our worship services until a permanent minister is in place.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
AUGUST 11, 2013
OUR WORSHIP HOURS will continue at the 10:00 AM hour through Labor Day Sunday, September 1, 2013. We hope you will give our worship your support through prayer and attendance.
APPRECIATIONS: Today we thank the Chamber Choir for sharing their musical talents to enhance our worship service.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL, starts tomorrow
August 12-16, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
Kingdom Rock – Where Kids Stand Strong for God
CROP WALK September 22, 2013 – Donation envelopes are available in the back of the sanctuary and in the church office.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
- Please consider prepaying your pledge before you leave on vacation. This will help the summer cash flow problem.
- Please submit your pledge (estimate of giving) cards for 2013. If you have already done so, thank you.
- If you have not given a special offering for your assessment ($93 per member), please help us by making the payment. The Synodical and Classical Assessment is the amount we owe Reformed Church in America for your membership.
YEAR-ROUND COLLECTIONS –
- Donations for the Food for Kids Ministry should be brought to the Church office. During the school year, this food will be given to families in need in Jamaica, New York.
- Donations for pets brought to the church office will be given to Worthy Pause to be distributed to local animal shelters.
- Christmas cards (with Forever Stamps on the envelopes) are collected in a basket in Gessner Hall. These cards will enable inmates at the Nassau County Correction Center to correspond with their loved ones.
PRAYER REQUESTS: Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Ann Martin, John Molino, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright.