November 27, 2013 - Thanksgiving Eve Service

PRELUDE:

Now Thank We All Our God, J. S. Bach 
Now Thank We All Our God, G. F. Kaufmann 

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION, Bruce Hoffacker

Leader:  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
People:  Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
Leader:  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
People:  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Leader:  Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

--Philippians 4: 4-7

* HYMN No. 376: We Gather Together

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison)     

Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.  We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.  In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.  Amen.

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

ANTHEM:  The Gift to Be Simple, arr. Bob Chilcott

The Chamber Choir

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'tis the gift to come down where you ought-a be, and when we find ourselves in a place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight.  When true simplicity is gained, to bend we shan't be ashamed, to turn will be our delight till by turning we come round right.

EVENING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
    Prayer response, Orlando Gibbons

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth Thy right hand to help and defend us, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

* HYMN No. 381:  Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Deuteronomy 26: 1-11, Pew Bible, page 158

When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lordyour God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to theLord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

John 6: 25-35, Pew Bible, page 867 

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON:  Our Daily Bread, Rev. Douglas Estella

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
    Offertory:  Amazing Grace, arr. Jackson Berkey

Amazing grace!  How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. 

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)      
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH 
    * Apostles’ Creed (pew card)        

* HYMN No. 374:  Now Thank We All Our God

* BENEDICTION 
    Response, Susan LaBarr

And for this shelter and this light, accept, O Lord, our thanks tonight, and for this shelter and light, accept, O Lord, our thanks tonight.

POSTLUDE:  Now Thank We All Our God, Sigfrid Karg-Elert

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

OUR CHANCEL - We express our gratitude to Connie Thorsen and Anne Avalos for decorating our chancel for Thanksgiving.

OUR USHERS this evening are Michael and Hong Chan

WE WELCOME back the Rev. Douglas Estella to the pulpit.  Rev. Estella served as pastor of the Sunnyside Reformed Church from 2000 to 2006. Currently he is a teacher at the Academy of Urban Planning in Brooklyn. Doug and his wife, Janet, live in Sunnyside with their daughter, Renee.

CHRISTMAS WREATHS – Thank you for supporting the YPF fund raiser.  Please pick up your wreaths after the service on Sunday, December 8 in Gessner Hall.

DEVOTIONAL BOOKLETS – Our Daily Bread devotional booklets can be found on a table at the back of the sanctuary.  You are invited to take a copy for use in your personal meditations.

AUCTION 2014 is scheduled for Saturday, January 11, 2014 in Gessner Hall.  If you have small, easily transportable items to donate, WE WILL PICK UP YOUR DONATIONS.  We do not take very heavy items or large furniture.  Call the Church Office or Ray Durney (718) 461-1947.   

LARGE PRINT BULLETINS are available.  Ask an usher if you need one.

VAN SERVICE is available for Sunday worship and grocery shopping every other Monday.  If you need a ride to church on Sunday or would like to join them for grocery shopping, speak with Gina Lombardo at (917) 767-2923. 

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Ed Moores, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright.

November 24, 2013 - Last Sunday after Pentacost: Christ the King

PRELUDE:
Now Thank We All Our God, J. S. Bach
Now Thank We All Our God, G. F. Kaufmann

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)             

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION (Psalm 46), Mary Bow

Leader:  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
People:  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
Leader:  Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. 
People:  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
Leader:  God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
People:  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Leader:  Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

* HYMN No. 376    We Gather Together

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)

Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess our sins.  You alone know how often we have wandered from your ways, wasted your gifts, and forgotten your love.  Have mercy on us, O Lord.  Forgive us, and help us to live in your light and to walk in your ways.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior.    Amen

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

ANTHEM:  Cantique de Jean Racine, Jean Fauré

O Lord of Hosts, how lovely are Thy dwellings. My soul longs for Thy courts, O Lord. My heart and flesh cry out. O blest are they whose hope is forever in Thee; who praise Thy name, who sing their songs within Thy holy house. O Lord, incline Thine ear; look down, my spirit longs for Thee. A Sun and Shield is the Lord of Hosts. O Lord of Hosts, how lovely are Thy dwellings. My soul longs for the courts of the Lord. In Thee I trust; look down and hear my prayer.

JUNIOR SERMON                   

ANTHEM:  Requiem, Eliza Gilkyson

The Chamber Choir

Eliza Gilkyson’s “Requiem” was written in 2003 as a cry of grief for the victims of the Asian Tsunami. We offer it today as an ongoing prayer for all those whose lives have been shattered by nature's power.

Blessed Jesus, full of grace, awaken all our homes are gone, our loved ones taken, taken by the sea; blessed Jesus, calm our fears, have mercy - drowning in a sea of tears, have mercy; hear our mournful plea. Our world has been shaken, we wander, our homelands forsaken.  In the dark night of the soul bring some comfort to us all, O blessed Jesus come and carry us in your embrace that our sorrows may be faced.  Jesus, fill the glass to overflowing.  Illuminate the path where we are going. Have mercy on us all.  In funeral fires burning each flame to your mystery returning.  In the dark night of the soul your shattered dreamers, make them whole, O blessed Jesus help us to behold your gentle face - lead us to a higher place.  In the dark night of the soul our broken hearts you can make whole, O blessed Jesus come and carry us in your embrace, let us see your gentle face, Jesus.

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
    Prayer response, Louis Lewandowski

How good it is to thank the Lord, to praise Thy name, O Thou Most High; to tell Thy kindness through the day, Thy faithfulness when night draws nigh.

With joyous psalms and with the harp, will I Thy marvels gladly sing; Thy works have made my heart rejoice, I triumph in Thy work, my King!

*HYMN No. 379:  For the Fruit of All Creation

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Jeremiah 23: 1-6, Pew Bible, page 633

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. The days are surely coming, says theLord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Luke 23: 33-43, Pew Bible, page 859

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON:  The King’s Cross, Rev. Douglas Estella

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
    Offertory:  With Heart and Hands, John Rutter

For all the blessings you have granted us, Lord, give us thankful hearts, we pray: for life and health and happiness, and for the gift of each new day; for all our families and loved ones, the friends we meet along our way, we thank you, Lord, they are your gifts: Lord, we praise you, Lord we bless you, in your service let us all your love repay. Look all around you: you'll see a miracle or two; every valley, hill and mountain is calling to you.  For all the wonders of creation, a world whose marvels we behold: where winter turns to spring again; the changing scenes of life unfold, but there is One who never changes: through all eternity the same: be with us, Lord, for evermore: Alleluia, Lord, we praise your Holy Name.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices; who from our mother's arms hath blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.  Amen.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)      
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH 
    * Apostles’ Creed (pew card)        

* HYMN No. 375:  Sing to the Lord of Harvest

* BENEDICTION 
    Response:     Alleluia, Amen!    Charles Villers-Stanford

POSTLUDE:  Now Thank We All Our God, Sigfrid Karg-Elert

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

WE WELCOME back the Rev. Douglas Estella to the pulpit.  Rev. Estella served as pastor of the Sunnyside Reformed Church from 2000 to 2006. Currently he is a teacher at the Academy of Urban Planning in Brooklyn. Doug and his wife, Janet, live in Sunnyside with their daughter, Renee.

OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:

Van Drivers: Debra Rossi (AM) and Buck Kellaway (PM)
Coffee Hour Host: Rhoda Jabbour 
Greeters: Linda Diez and Marion Durney
Ushers: Virginia Andrews, Irma Karle, Irma Schubert, Dorothea Zelnick and Head Usher, Jerry Good
Children and Worship: Sharon Rivilli and Wai Chu
Childcare: Judie Kellaway

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright.

November 17, 2013

PRELUDE:

Praise to the Lord, Paul Manz
Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now, Paul Manz

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)             

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION - Psalm 98: 1-6, Nancy Gessner

Leader:  Sing a new song to the Lord, who has worked wonders, whose right hand and holy arm have brought salvation!
People:  The Lord has made known salvation; has shown justice to the nations; has remembered truth and love for the house of Israel.
Leader:  All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 
People:  Shout to the Lord all the earth, sing out for your joy.
Leader:  Sing Psalms to the Lord with harp, with the sound of music.
People:  With trumpets and the sound of the horn, acclaim the King, the Lord! 
Leader:  Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

* HYMN No. 66: The God of Abraham Praise

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison)     

Most gracious and most merciful God, we confess to you and to one another that time after time we have entered your presence with countless prayers but with hearts that have been closed to your grace. We have lifted our hearts and hands to you in praise, but our feet still walked in the ways of evil. We have rehearsed your commandments but have refused to see your face in the needs of our neighbor. We pray Lord, that you forgive our lack of faith and pardon our acts of injustice. Grant us healing that comes from your presence and the cleansing of your all-powerful Word, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

ANTHEM:  Come, Jesus, Holy Son of God, G. F. Handel

Come, Jesus, Holy Son of God, come.  Thy truth unseal.  Thy love reveal. Lord, hear Thou in mercy our prayer to Thee.  Come in Thy might.  Send forth Thy light. For Thee we long.  Hear Thou our prayer.  O hear Thou our prayer. To Thee be glory now and evermore.

JUNIOR SERMON        

ANTHEM:  Feed My Lambs, Natalie Sleeth

The Junior Choir

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
Prayer Response, George Whelpton

Hear our prayer, O Lord; incline thine ear to us, and grant us thy peace. Amen.

* HYMN No. 320:  Come, Let Us Praise the Lord

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Isaiah 65: 17-25, Pew Bible, page 607

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well. Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Luke: 21: 5-19, Pew Bible, page 856

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.    

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON: Time, Like an Ever Rolling Stream, Elder Norman Haight

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
    Offertory:  Great Lord God!, G. F. Handel

Great Lord God!  Thy kingdom shall endure forevermore.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)      
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH, from the Heidelberg Catechism Q &A 54

I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word, out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, protects and preserves for God's self a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith. And of this community I am and always will be a living member.  Amen.

* HYMN No. 78:  O God, Our Help in Ages Past

* BENEDICTION 
    Response, J. S. Bach

The Lord bless you, yea, now and evermore.

POSTLUDE:  Praise to the Lord, Max Drischner

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WE WELCOME ELDER NORMAN HAIGHT TO THE PULPIT.
Elder Haight, is a Candidate for Word and Sacrament in the RCA under care of the Classis of Rockland-Westchester.  He is a recent graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary this past May, having served for a year as Student Minister at historic Old First Reformed Church of Park Slope, Brooklyn.   He is a resident and native of Peekskill, NY. 

OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:

Van Drivers: Royce Gothelf
Coffee Hour Host: Congregation Care Committee 
Greeters: Vivian and Peter Sclafani
Ushers: Wai and Richard Chu, Cathy and Tom Doyle; Head Usher, Jerry Good
Children and Worship: Kathy Bracken and Rhoda Jabbour
Childcare: Adriene Toy

YOUTH GROUP BROWN BAG SUNDAY: Next Sunday, November 24th the YPF will be collecting donations for the Greenpoint Church in Brooklyn, NY.  We are collecting clear plastic recycling bags, extra large black garbage bags, deep aluminum pans, olive oil, and butter.  These are all desperately needed items in the food ministry that Greenpoint Church provides to our community.  We will be delivering the items after church on that Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Thank you so much for your support of this YPF service project!

VAN SERVICE is available for Sunday worship and grocery shopping every other Monday.  If you need a ride to church on Sunday or would like to join them for grocery shopping, speak with Gina Lombardo at (917) 767-2923. 

COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Please pick a date on the Sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in Gessner Hall or see Rhoda Jabbour.

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Ed Moores, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright.

November 10, 2013

PRELUDE:

Choral, Josef Jongen
Solemn Melody, H. Walford Davies

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION, Patrick Mahowald

Leader:    I will call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
People:    Incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Leader:    Wondrously show your steadfast love, 
People:    O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
Leader:    Guard me as the apple of your eye;
People:    Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
Leader:    Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen

--Psalm 17: 6-8

* HYMN No. 26: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison)  

Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, whose face is hidden from us by our sins, and whose mercy we forget in the blindness of our hearts: cleanse us from all our offenses, and deliver us from proud thoughts and vain desires, that with reverent and humble hearts we may draw near to you, confessing our faults, confiding in your grace, and finding in you our refuge and strength; through Jesus Christ your Son.  Amen.

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

ANTHEM: I Love Thee, arr. Benjamin Harlan

I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, my Lord; I love thee, my Savior, I love thee, my God: I love thee, I love thee, and that thou dost know; but how much I love thee my actions will show.  O Jesus, my Savior, with thee I am blest, my life and salvation, my joy and my rest: Thy name be my theme, and thy love be my song; Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my tongue.  Oh, who's like my Savior?  He's Salem's bright King; He smiles and He loves me and helps me to sing: I'll praise Him, I'll praise Him with notes loud and clear, while rivers of pleasure my spirit shall cheer.

JUNIOR SERMON

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
    Prayer response, arr. Robert Shaw

I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms,  In the arms of my dear Saviour, Oh!  There are ten thousand charms.

Teach me some melodious sonnet Sung by flaming tongues above; Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Come thou fount of ev'ry blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise.

* HYMN No. 477: O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Job 19:23-27, Pew Bible, page 405

“O that my words were written down! O that they were inscribed in a book! O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Luke 20:27-38, Pew Bible, page 855

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.” Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON: An Embodied Hope, Rev. Douglas Estella

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
    Offertory: Behold Now, Praise the Lord, Everett Titcomb

Behold now, praise the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord. Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord, even in the courts of the house of our God. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
    * Apostles’ Creed (pew card)                                                                                     

* HYMN No. 710: We Are Called to Be God's People

* BENEDICTION
    Response, Martin Shaw

And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost be among you and go with you forever and ever. Amen.

POSTLUDE:                            Prelude in Classic Style                        Gordon Young

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

WE WELCOME back the Rev. Douglas Estella to the pulpit.
Rev. Estella, an Elmhurst, native, is an ordained minister in the RCA. He served as pastor of the Sunnyside Reformed Church from 2000 to 2006. For the past seven years, Doug has served as a teacher at the Academy of Urban Planning, a public high school in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn where he teaches English as Second Language. During that period, he continues to assist churches with regular pulpit supply. Doug and his wife, Janet, live in Sunnyside with their daughter, Renee. 

THE FLOWERS are given by the Heckel and Krsnak families in honor of Elaine Good’s birthday.

OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:

Van Driver: Gerry Mendler
Coffee Hour Host: Rhoda Jabbour
Greeters: Barbara Andrade and Angela Edward
Ushers: Cindy and Joe Macaluso, Jean and Gerry Mendler and Jerry Good
Children and Worship: Judie Kellaway and Michael Iovale
Childcare: Marie Mark

VAN SERVICE is available for Sunday worship and grocery shopping every other Monday.  If you need a ride to church on Sunday or would like to join them for grocery shopping, speak with Gina Lombardo at (917) 767-2923.

COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Please pick a date on the Sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in Gessner Hall or see Rhoda Jabbour.

YEAR-ROUND COLLECTIONS –

·         Donations for the Food for Kids Ministry should be brought to the Church office.  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, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Ed Moores, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright, Joan Werbel.