PRELUDE:
Prelude and Fugue in G, Johann Sebastian Bach
Sheep May Safely Graze and Pasture, Johann Sebastian Bach
SALUTATION AND WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)
* CALL TO WORSHIP, Nina Proschel
Leader: The God who raised Jesus from the dead
People: Calls us to worship this morning.
Leader: The Jesus who justifies us and gives us grace
People: Greets us and meets us in worship.
Leader: The Spirit who awakens faith and intercedes for us
People: Opens us to receive God’s power and peace.
Leader: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit invite us to worship.
People: Let us offer ourselves as living sacrifices.
* HYMN No. 17: Praise the Lord! O Heavens, Adore Him
* PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
Forgive us our sins, O Lord. Forgive us the sins of our youth and the sins of our age, the sins of our soul and the sins of our body, our secret and our whispering sins, our presumptuous and our careless sins, the sins we have done to please ourselves, and the sins we have done to please others. Forgive us the sins that we know, and the sins that we know not; forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all because of your great goodness. Amen.
* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
* Gloria Patri (pew card)
JUNIOR SERMON
ANTHEM: Jesus My Breath, My Life, My Lord, John Carter
Jesus my breath, my life, my Lord, take of my soul the inmost part; let vision, mind and will be stored with Christ the Master of my heart, my breath, my life, my Lord.
Jesus my Lord, my breath, my life, my living bread for every day, in calm and comfort, storm and strife, Christ be my truth, as Christ my way, my Lord, my breath, my life.
Jesus my life, my Lord, my breath, the pulse and beat of all my years, constant alike in life and death, and when eternal day appears my life, my Lord, my breath.
MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
Prayer Response, John Yarrington
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
* HYMN No. 92: Crown Him With Many Crowns
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Genesis 9:8-17, Pew Bible, page 6
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
Romans 6:1-14, Pew Bible, page 917
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
THE SERMON: Dead and Alive, Rev. Blaine Crawford
WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Offering
Offertory: Seek the Lord, John Carter
Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
* The Doxology (pew card)
* Prayer of Dedication
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH, Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 70
Leader: What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit?
People: To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven our sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed and sanctified us to be members of Christ, so that more and more we become dead to sin and live holy and blameless lives.
* HYMN No. 130: O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
* BENEDICTION
Response, John Yarrington
The peace of God which passeth all understanding, be with you now and evermore. Amen.
POSTLUDE: Hymn to Joy, Gordon Young
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGREGATIONAL LUNCHEON AND MEETING – Today, 12 noon
Election of Elders and Deacons. Annual reports. All are invited.
Elder nominees: Gerry Mendler, Sarah White
Deacon nominees: Krystal Andaluz, Gina Lombardo, Pam Lopez, Eileen Mahon, Joan Wagner
SPECIAL OFFERING FOR NEPAL: On April 25, Nepal was devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed over 8,000 people. This past Tuesday, less than 3 weeks later, this impoverished country suffered another 7.3 quake.
The Reformed Church in America's Global Mission team is responding with its partner in international disaster response, World Vision, which has national offices in Nepal.
On Sundays, May 24 and May 31, Church on the Hill will receive a special offering to help with the relief efforts. Please pray for the injured, the grieving, the displaced, and the medical and aid workers.
(Checks payable to Church on the Hill, Note in memo “Nepal Earthquake.”)
THE FLOWERS are given in loving memory of Somatee Shewnarain by her daughter, Reeta Dombrowski.
OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:
Van Drivers: Gerry and Jean Mendler
Greeters: Joan Pearson and Joan Werbel
Ushers: Jayne Halley, Stacy Muller, Joan Wagner, Dorothea Zelnick
Children and Worship: Judie Kellaway, Wai Chu
VAN MINISTRY: Volunteers are desparately needed to assist with driving members to worship services. If you can help, speak with Gerry Mendler after church or call (917) 362-6284 (day) or (718) 464-3464 (evening).
Also, if you need a ride to church on Sunday, speak with Gerry Mendler.
PRAYER REQUESTS: Jorel Andaluz, Grace Attanasio, Marilyn Cooney, Allegra DeMelo, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Elaine Good, Jenny Hampton, Richard Holm, Robert Keller, Karen Krieg, Fritz Kunisch, Ann McCaffrey-Amalfitano, Rev. John H. Meyer, John Molino, Michael Patras, Keith Pearson, Josephine Rivera, Matthew Schulman, Peter Schumacher, Janice Serra, Emily Testut