Emerson Chen

August 28, 2015

August 30, 2015

Emerson Chen

August 28, 2015

PRELUDE:

Prelude and Fugue in d, Johann Sebastian Bach
God's Time is the Best, Johann Sebastian Bach

SALUTATION AND WELCOME, Dorien Day
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader:   By wisdom, the LORD founded the earth and established the heavens.
People:   In Christ are hidden all knowledge and wisdom; in Christ, we live and move and have our being.
Leader:   Wisdom cries out in the street and raises her voice in the square.
People:   Make your ear attentive to wisdom; incline your heart to understanding.
Leader:   Jesus calls out in the village and summons on the hillside:
People:   Let anyone with ears to hear, listen to what I am saying.
Leader:   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
People:   The grace of our LORD is the beginning of faith.
Leader:   Come, let us worship God together.

* HYMN No. 41: Stand Up and Bless the Lord

* 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, andthe 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. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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

ACT OF PRAISE: God is My Shepherd, Antonín Dvořák

Sora Choi, alto

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

* HYMN No. 498: I Love to Tell the Story

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Proverbs 10:22-32, Pew Bible, page 517

The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.
Doing wrong is like sport to a fool,
but wise conduct is pleasure to a person of understanding.
What the wicked dread will come upon them,
but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more,
but the righteous are established forever.
Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes,
so are the lazy to their employers.
The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.
The hope of the righteous ends in gladness,
but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.
The way of the Lord is a stronghold for the upright,
but destruction for evildoers.
The righteous will never be removed,
but the wicked will not remain in the land.
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

James 3:1-12, Pew Bible, page 981

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

THE SERMON: The Power of Words, Maudelin Willock

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
   Offering
   Offertory: O Rest in the Lord, Felix Mendelssohn
   * The Doxology(pew card)
   * Prayer of Dedication

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

* HYMN No. 702: I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord

* BENEDICTION
Response

POSTLUDE: Jesu, Priceless Treasure, Johann Sebastian Bach

TODAY WE WELCOME BACK Maudelin Willock to our pulpit. Maudelin is a recent graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She is a member of Grace Reformed Church of Flatbush (Brooklyn), where she leads the Mission and Outreach Ministry. Maudelin and Pastor Blaine are working together on the Commission for Women in the RCA.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

APPRECIATIONS: We thank Sora Choi for sharing her musical talents to enhance our worship service.

OUR WORSHIP HOURS will continue at the 10:00 AM hour through next week, Labor Day Sunday, September 6.

TO ALL WOMEN: WCC is hosting an ecumenical outreach and brunch, Sept. 19, 10 AM – 1 PM, encompassing all women from North Queens and Long Island churches. Rev. Liz Testa, who was the liturgist at Pastor Blaine’s installation is the guest speaker. RSVP to Judie Kellaway (718) 343-4688 before Sept. 5.

Women’s Homeless Shelter

Our church provides shelter every Friday night, year round, for up to 10 grateful women. This ministry needs your assistance to provide dinner, stay for a few hours or sleepover. The work is easy and fulfilling. Seasonal professional clothes, socks and underwear donations are appreciated as well. Please contact Maureen Saepia-Chen at 917-797-3031 or email.

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.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Jorel Andaluz, Grace Attanasio, Donald Calfa, Allegra DeMelo, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Lucy Leung-Eng, Rob Gessner, Jenny Hampton, Richard Holm, Robert Keller, Karen Krieg, Fritz Kunisch, Ann McCaffrey-Amalfitano, Rev. John H. Meyer, John Molino, Michael Patras, Keith Pearson, Dorothy Rama, Dorothy Reid, Josephine Rivera, Matthew Schulman, Peter Schumacher, Janice Serra, Carmela Stocchia, Emily Testut

Emerson Chen

August 22, 2015

August 23, 2015

Emerson Chen

August 22, 2015

PRELUDE: Adagio, Felix Mendelssohn

SALUTATION AND WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP, Emerson Chen

* HYMN No. 9: Sing Praise to the Father

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION(unison)

God of everlasting love, we confess that we have been unfaithful to our covenant with you and with one another. We have worshiped other gods: money, power, greed, and convenience. We have served our own self-interest instead of serving only you and your people. We have not loved our neighbor as you have commanded, nor have we rightly loved ourselves. Forgive us, gracious God, and bring us back into the fullness of our covenant with you and one another. Amen.

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

ACT OF PRAISE: Thy Perfect Love, John Rutter

Maureen Saepia-Chen, soprano
Sora Choi, alto
Emerson Chen, tenor
Phil Chin, baritone

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
Response: Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord, Felix Mendelssohn

* HYMN No. 399: O God, Who Gives to Humankind

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Proverbs 10:1-12, Pew Bible, page 516

The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise child makes a glad father,
but a foolish child is a mother’s grief.
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
A child who gathers in summer is prudent,
but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.
Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
The wise of heart will heed commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.
Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
but the one who rebukes boldly makes peace.
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.

James 5:1-6, Pew Bible, page 982

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

THE SERMON: Wisdom for the Righteous Community, Rev. Blaine Crawford

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
   Offering
   Offertory: How Lovely are the Messengers, Felix Mendelssohn
   * The Doxology(pew card)
   * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH, Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 107

Q. Is it enough then that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way?

A. No. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves,
to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.

* HYMN No. 669: God of Grace and God of Glory

* BENEDICTION
Response: The Lord Bless You and Keep You, Peter C. Lutkin

POSTLUDE: Chaccone, Louis Couperin

ANNOUNCEMENTS

APPRECIATIONS: We thank Maureen Saepia-Chen, Emerson Chen, Phil Chin and Sora Choi for sharing their musical talents to enhance our worship service.

OUR WORSHIP HOURS will continue at the 10:00 AM hour through Labor Day Sunday, September 6.

Women’s Homeless Shelter

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.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Jorel Andaluz, Grace Attanasio, Donald Calfa, Allegra DeMelo, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Lucy Leung-Eng, Rob Gessner, Jenny Hampton, Richard Holm, Robert Keller, Karen Krieg, Fritz Kunisch, Ann McCaffrey-Amalfitano, Rev. John H. Meyer, John Molino, Michael Patras, Keith Pearson, Dorothy Reid, Josephine Rivera, Matthew Schulman, Peter Schumacher, Janice Serra, Carmela Stocchia, Emily Testut

Emerson Chen

August 16, 2015

Emerson Chen

August 16, 2015

PRELUDE: Second Sonata, Felix Mendelssohn

SALUTATION AND WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP, Maureen Saepia-Chen

* HYMN No. 2: Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION(unison)

Lord, we have sinned, without considering how much you love us. You see our sins more clearly than we can ourselves. You know when we are untruthful and when we think evil of others. You see our anger and unfairness to others. You know how hard it is for us to forgive. Forgive us and make us clean, so that we can obey your call to take up your cross and follow you. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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

ACT OF PRAISE: The Prayer, Sager and Foster

Maureen Saepia-Chen, soprano
Emerson Chen, baritone

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

* HYMN No. 353: For the Beauty of the Earth

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Proverbs 9:1-6, Pew Bible, page 516

Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
“You that are simple, turn in here!”
To those without sense she says,
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”

Luke 14:15-24, Pew Bible, page 849

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

THE SERMON: Take a Seat at Wisdom’s Table, Maudelin Willock

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
   Offering
   Offertory: The Prayer Perfect, Oley Speaks
   * The Doxology(pew card)
   * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

* The Apostles’ Creed (pew card)

* HYMN No. 520: 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

* BENEDICTION
Response

POSTLUDE: Fugue, Felix Mendelssohn

WE WELCOME Maudelin Willock to our pulpit today. Maudelin is a recent graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She is a member of Grace Reformed Church of Flatbush (Brooklyn), where she leads the Mission and Outreach Ministry.

APPRECIATIONS: We thank Emerson and Maureen Chen for sharing their musical talents to enhance our worship service.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OUR WORSHIP HOURS will continue at the 10:00 AM hour through Labor Day Sunday, September 6. We hope you will give our worship your support through prayer and attendance.

Women’s Homeless Shelter

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.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Jorel Andaluz, Grace Attanasio, Donald Calfa, Allegra DeMelo, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Lucy Leung-Eng, Rob Gessner, Jenny Hampton, Richard Holm, Robert Keller, Karen Krieg, Fritz Kunisch, Ann McCaffrey-Amalfitano, Rev. John H. Meyer, John Molino, Michael Patras, Keith Pearson, Dorothy Reid, Josephine Rivera, Matthew Schulman, Peter Schumacher, Janice Serra, Carmela Stocchia, Emily Testu

Emerson Chen

August 9, 2015

Emerson Chen

August 9, 2015

Prelude:

Sheep May Safely Graze and Pasture, J.S. Bach
Prelude on 'Mercy', Gordon Young

SALUTATION AND WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* Gloria Patri (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP, Bruce Hoffacker

Leader:   By wisdom, the LORD founded the earth and established the heavens.
People:   In Christ are hidden all knowledge and wisdom; in Christ, we live and move and have our being.
Leader:   Wisdom cries out in the street and raises her voice in the square.
People:   Make your ear attentive to wisdom; incline your heart to understanding.
Leader:   Jesus calls out in the village and summons on the hillside:
People:   Let anyone with ears to hear, listen to what I am saying.
Leader:   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
People:   The grace of our LORD is the beginning of faith.
Leader:   Come, let us worship God together.

* HYMN No. 190: Songs of Thankfulness and 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 hands to you in praise, but our feet have 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 the healing that comes from your presence and peace. Amen.

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

ANTHEM: The Yearning, Craig Courtney

There is a yearning in hearts weighed down by ancient grief and centuries of sorrow. There is a yearning in hearts that in the darkness hide and in the shades of death abide, a yearning for tomorrow. There is a yearning, a yearning for the promised One, the Firstborn of creation. There is a yearning for the Lord who visited His own, and by His death for sin atoned, to bring to us salvation. Emmanuel, Emmanuel, within our hearts, the yearning. There is a yearning that fills the hearts of those who wait the day of His appearing. There is a yearning when all our sorrows are erased and we shall see the One who placed within our hearts the yearning. Emmanuel, Emmanuel, within our hearts, the yearning.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Proverbs 8:22-36, Pew Bible, page 515

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth—
when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil.
When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race. “And now, my children, listen to me:
happy are those who keep my ways.
Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
Happy is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord;
but those who miss me injure themselves;
all who hate me love death.”

John 1:1-5, Pew Bible, page 862

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

THE SERMON: Delighting in God's Wisdom, Rev. Blaine Crawford

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
The 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

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING & INTERCESSION
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.

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Offering
Offertory: Ubi Caritas, Z. Randall Stroope

TRANSLATION: Where there is charity and love, God is there.

* The Doxology (pew card)
* Prayer of Dedication

* HYMN No. 145: Of the Father's Love Begotten

* 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: Hymn to Joy, Gordon Young

ANNOUNCEMENTS

APPRECIATIONS: We thank members of the Chamber Choir for sharing their musical talents to enhance our worship service.

OUR FLOWERS are given by Angela Edward in loving memory of her son, Sandeep.

OUR WORSHIP HOURS will continue at the 10:00 AM hour through Labor Day Sunday, September 6. We hope you will give our worship your support through prayer and attendance.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Jorel Andaluz, Grace Attanasio, Donald Calfa, Allegra DeMelo, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Lucy Leung-Eng, Rob Gessner, Jenny Hampton, Richard Holm, Robert Keller, Karen Krieg, Fritz Kunisch, Ann McCaffrey-Amalfitano, Rev. John H. Meyer, John Molino, Michael Patras, Keith Pearson, Dorothy Reid, Josephine Rivera, Matthew Schulman, Peter Schumacher, Janice Serra, Carmela Stocchia, Emily Testut