PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 2nd Sunday of Christmas January 2, 2022
~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to Pioneer’s blog worship service.
Though we are accessing this remotely and unable to look each other in the eye,
we are still the Pioneer faith community, gathered as children of God to
worship, to be spiritually fed, and to be equipped to go out to serve in
Christ’s name—though we do it differently during this pandemic.
Pioneer offers worship in several modes:
a)
The
blog.
b)
The
blog service mailed through US Postal service.
c)
Sermons
only, mailed to those who so request.
d)
Zoom
services at 10:00 Sunday mornings.
e)
Live
worship with masks and social distancing has plenty of room for additional
worshipers.
We will share the
Lord’s Supper as part of this worship service. So please pause
and gather your choice of bread and beverage. While the bread and grape juice
served in community and led by the pastor in person is our tradition, we are
facing times that call for us to do worship in new ways rather than being tied
to rigid tradition—much like the early church.
-
Virginia
Desilets’ 100 birthday potluck celebration downstairs following worship.
-
Tuesday,
January 4, 10:30, Women’s Spirituality
-
Tuesday,
January 11th, 6:00 p.m. Session
-
Thursday, January 13, 8:30 a.m. Men’s Bible
Study
-
M&M
meets next Sunday following worship
Now allow yourself a brief time of silence
as you open your hearts and feel God’s presence with you, right where you are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BAPTISM: Friends, remember your baptism … and be thankful.
CALL TO WORSHIP
God’s face is shining on us in this new
year.
God’s majesty and glory fill the heavens.
How
amazing are the works of God!
Who
are we that God should care for us?
God calls us by name and promises to bless
us.
God names us as children and heirs with
Christ.
We
can leave behind our slavery to things.
We
can aspire to spiritual fulfillment.
The God who exalted Jesus calls us to
discipleship.
We are being saved to do God’s work in the
world.
God
is at work in us, doing great things.
What
we do is for God’s glory and honor.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
From near and far, we come to worship.
Amid our joys and sorrows, we come to praise. In our strength and in our
weakness, we gather for refreshment and renewal. You have called us together
like a shepherd keeps a flock. As a gardener waters growing plants, you care
for us and provide for our growth. Praise be to you, O God, for your protecting
love and freeing grace. Shine upon us here that we may know your truth and
receive it into our lives. Amen.
OPENING
SONG: “I Am the Light of the World” LU #144
CALL TO CONFESSION
God has set before us straight paths to
follow, but we have stumbled along our own byways. God shows us the way of
peace, but we choose the vanity of competition and strife. God gives us the
day, but we flee into the deepest night. God is calling us now to repentance
and new life.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Infinite
God, look upon your finite creatures, broken and bereaved, with compassion and
consolation. We view your world with unseeing yes. We listen to the cries of
your hurting people with ears that do not hear and hearts that do not feel
their plight. The wind blows among us, but we do not discern your Spirit. You
offer wisdom and insight, but we reject your counsel. You present to us the gospel
of salvation, but we turn away from its saving grace. O God, help us change the
direction of our lives so we may act like your children and reflect your love
into the world. (continue
with personal prayers………..) Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.
The old life has gone; the new life has
begun.
Friends, believe the Good News!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and
restored to new life!
PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Let us extend the peace of Christ in heart
and prayer to one another.
GLORY
BE TO THE FATHER
SCRIPTURE
1: Galatians 4:4-7
But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son,
born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so
that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent
the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So
through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.
SCRIPTURE 2: John 1:1-18
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 were made
through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was
life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was
John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might
believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.
The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in
the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He
came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who
received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of
God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will
of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace
and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
(John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, `He who
comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'") And from his fullness
have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.
SERMON: “Grace Upon Grace”
So, did you all stay up and usher in 2022? There is something about experiencing that
moment when the old is finished and a fresh start lies ahead. There is, in a
sense, a reckoning that comes with the ending of one year and the beginning of
another. It is a time of looking back
and looking forward.
There is something
that compels us to take note of the passing of time in a way that our birthdays
don’t, though they more literally provide a marker for our year and our
lives. However briefly, we look at what
we did and didn’t do during the past year and then we see the unmarked pages of
the next year where we have the opportunity for a clean start. That is what is appealing about the blank pages
of the 2022 calendar. We can freshly
resolve--hence our resolutions--that things will be different in this
year. The pages of that calendar will be
filled with more noble, more noteworthy actions and events. However briefly lived, we have a new
beginning.
Our
reading brings us the poetic words traditionally attributed to John, the
disciple of Jesus who was also called the Beloved Disciple. His words echo the start of Genesis: “In the
beginning.......” We join those words
with today’s passage: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
Theologically,
that point “the Word became flesh and lived among us” is the new year. It is the ushering in of the kingdom of
God. It is the marker for the fresh
start for all of humanity. It is the
chance to start over, to get it right.
In this new beginning, Jesus provides access to God in ways that were
not possible previously. This new, fresh
access to God, Jesus made possible because his revelation of God comes from his
intimate relationship with God.
There
are four gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Three of them--Matthew, Mark, and Luke--are
called the Synoptic Gospels. The term
‘synoptic’ means ‘seen together.’ They
pretty much parallel each other. We find
many of the same events, teachings, and parables. The differences generally lie in the theology
the writer is trying to convey and the audience who receives it.
The
fourth gospel--the Gospel of John--from which we take today’s reading, doesn’t
fit the pattern. Mark, the briefest of
the gospels is straightforward, tells the events with little dialogue from
Jesus, presents Jesus as the Son of God and Jesus’ works as signs of God’s
power and kingdom. Matthew, with a focus
on righteousness and judgement, presents Jesus to a Jewish audience as
fulfillment of God’s will from Old Testament prophecy. Luke, a gentile writer, carries the good news
to other gentiles--the message of their inclusion in God’s kingdom.
Though
some of the parables and events are the same, John assumes a totally different
style from the other three. John uses
symbolism and metaphor, creating rich imagery.
It is in John’s writings that we hear the “I am” statements of
Jesus. “I am the bread of life, the
living waters, the good shepherd, the gate, the way, the truth, the life, the
light of the world, the door, the vine.
All are common, ordinary things that his listeners could connect to
their own lives. But perhaps more
important is that John brings us the Messiah in terms of relationship. We come to know the person of Jesus more
intimately while at the same time maintaining the mystery of the Divine.
It
is in the Gospel of John that Jesus repeatedly refers to God as Father, as the
One who sent him, and speaks of being one with God. It is a very intimate relationship. And that intimate God is revealed to us
through the person of Jesus. In the
flesh, God becomes approachable rather than being the distant, condemning God
we read so much about in the Old Testament, the God that requires retribution,
exacts vengeance, demands sacrifices.
Certainly a just God, faithful and forgiving, yet still a God one does
not get close to.
Here,
in these few verses, we experience God in a new way. God is here with us in the flesh. God is given a face. Jesus shares his family with us. We meet the
God of grace. The law, the rules came
through Moses. But God’s truth, God’s
love, God’s grace came through Jesus.
And as these scriptures tell us, it is God the only Son, who is close to
the Father’s heart, who has made him known to us.
It
is in that knowing the Father through the One who is close to the Father’s
heart that we can find particular hope in new beginnings. Here we are at yet another new year and we’re
coming up with the same list. We keep
coming back to it. We keep believing it
is possible.
Isn’t
that what keeps us coming back here--to the sanctuary of God’s house; to the
safety of our Lord’s table? Isn’t it the
knowing that however much we have failed, we don’t have to give up. We don’t have to forfeit God’s promise. We haven’t used up God’s grace. We haven’t depleted God’s love.
Grace
upon grace, the evangelist proclaims.
Grace upon grace. Each of us has
discovered that grace in one form or another.
We come here and we encounter God.
Our spirits are renewed. We feel
the sacred in a new way. Our hearts are
filled with God’s love and that love overflows to those around us. We leave here with a tenderness in our
hearts; a fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Then we go back home, back to school, back to work--and life gets in the
way.
Sometimes
we make really big mistakes. More often,
it’s the small things that add up. We make an unkind remark about a co-worker,
share a juicy bit of gossip, deliberately avoid a neighbor we know needs help,
snap at our spouse, complain about our parents, we have evil thoughts about
someone who has hurt our feelings. The list goes on.
There
are hundreds of ways we mess up. It’s
not that we set out to hurt anyone.
Time and patience get short, stress mounts, demands on our time and
energy exceed our ability to give, our ego outweighs our heart, we choose
what’s easy instead of what is right.
Bit by bit it chips away at our resolve to live our lives differently,
to live in the image of Christ.
I
think the Apostle Paul said it for all of us in Romans 7:15, “I do not
understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but do the very thing I
hate.” We want to do God’s will, and
like Paul, we often do just the opposite.
The temptation may come, as it does with a broken diet or exercise
program, to just give up, to believe that we simply do not have it in us to
live into the image of God.
We
must never give up. The promise is right
here. Grace upon grace. God’s redeeming love. The God we experience through Jesus Christ is
never going to give up on us. Jesus, who
is close to God’s heart holds us there also.
That
same Jesus, the God who became flesh and came to live with us to show us what
God is really like, the Jesus who said, “I am the light of the world,” “I am
the bread of life”--that Jesus meets us here at the table. He calls us to new life, to new beginnings.
He gives us a clean slate, a fresh start.
No matter how many times and how many ways we have messed up, his love
offers us grace upon grace.
Today is proof of
that as we welcome new members into our fellowship, as we install new officers
into our leadership, as we celebrate the 100th birthday of one who
has served long and faithfully in the work and ministry of this church. It is a
living out of the grace that God has offered us. Thanks be to God.
INSTALLATION OF
NEW ELDERS AND DEACONS
RECEIVING OF NEW MEMBERS
Bret and Lydia Bossuot
and Colleen Anderson
HYMN: “Come,
Live in the Light” Glory #749
PRAYERS OF THE
PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
Tender and loving God, truly there is
no God like you, no God but you. It
is hard for us to fathom such love. You have provided for us in so many ways and
often we don’t see that until later. Hear our prayers of thanksgiving for your
loving care…………
Teach us, Holy God, to listen for the
voice of your Spirit and to shut out the other voices that call for our
attention, that try to get us to follow into wrong paths and wrong purposes.
You lead us in the way we should go. Sometimes we resist. So often we are just
confused and don’t know which way to turn. Many of us are struggling with
decisions right now. According to your Word, Lord, you even go before us and
prepare the way. Often the way is not one we would have even considered. Hear
our prayers, tender God, for guidance on the right paths…………………
Our lives, our world, are full of
turmoil. We live with anxiety, fearing for those we love, for fragile
relationships, for unstable economics. We don’t know what the future will hold.
Our hearts are heavy over all the conflicts throughout the world. We wonder if
there will ever be an end to the violence. Hear our prayers for the future ……………
Our souls grow weary at times. You
renew us and give us fresh vision and purpose. Thank you. Thank you God, that
even as you lead us, your mercy and grace pursue us wherever we go. Thank you
that you don’t give up on us, that you are always with us no matter what. Thank
you for your comfort and peace. We ask for that same comfort and peace for
those around us, for the loved ones we carry in our hearts, for those who
suffer and struggle, for the lonely and the needy.
We lift up to you those of our community
and our families who
need your healing touch and loving presence. We pray for Linda Kaesemeyer …
.Dave Clark … Tina Bossuot … Verna’s sisters … Mary and Ray Swarthout … Sandy
Cargill … Elaine LaChapelle … Somer Bauer … Tasha Sizemore … Beverly Patterson …
Margaret Dunbar … Virginia … Darlene …
Trisha … Jacob … George and Joyce … Chuck … Courtney … Ethel … and Pastor Jean.
(Additional prayers …………)
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 debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
CALL TO OFFERING
God’s gift in Jesus Christ: who can
understand it? God’s love for us: who can comprehend? Perhaps, if we empty
ourselves of the fears and pretensions that mark our lives, we can fully
receive God’s gifts. Then we will be free to share these blessings joyfully.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER
OF DEDICATION
For
all we have inherited from your hand, for making us in your own image, for the
gift of new life in Jesus Christ, we give you thanks, glorious God. Nothing we
do can repay you. No service we render, no obligations we fulfill can discharge
our debt to you. We can only pour out our gratitude and give our best, that
this world may become a place where your reign is realized. Amen.
THE LORD’S SUPPER
Song of
Preparation: “I
Come with Joy” Glory #515
Invitation to the Table
The
Lord’s table is not a piece of wood with clay dishes, but a place in our hearts
that connects us to our Lord Jesus. It is a place to which we come as we
remember his sacrifice, as we seek to experience his presence, as we are
nourished to continue his work, as we recognize our community in him despite
whatever distance or disease or obstacle that might separate us. It is the
place we come to renew our commitment to continue his ministry and mission. Our
Lord invites us to the table without condition, simply because we are loved.
Come with grateful hearts. Come with joyful hearts.
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, O Holy God, to
give thanks for your amazing grace, to praise you for who you are, for who you
created us to be. We marvel at the truth that you are with us wherever we may
be. Though we worship from home, separated and for some, isolated, it is still
in you that we find life and purpose. We are children of grace and nothing can
separate us from your love.
You have given us the gift of your
Holy Spirit who unites us, binding us together as one body across the miles. By
your Spirit of grace transform our social isolation and distance into a holy
community, connecting us to each other by your sacred presence.
Bless the elements we each have
gathered, elements common to our ordinary lives. Let them represent for us the
body and blood of our Savior who gave himself for us. Amen.
Words of Institution
As we share these symbols of bread and
cup across the distance, we remember the story of Jesus with the disciples that
last night before he was arrested. He took the bread and blessed it and broke
it and gave it to them saying “Take, eat, this is my body, given for you.” And
with the cup he said, “This cup is the new covenant, my blood poured out for
you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink of it, remember me.”
And so we do. As we lift up many
pieces in scattered places rather than sharing the same loaf and as we drink
from separate cups instead of one, we do so remembering that throughout history
God’s people have often been scattered and in exile. Through the power and
mystery of the Holy Spirit, we are made one in Christ Jesus. These are the
gifts of God for us the children of God.*
The Bread of Life……………..
The Cup of Salvation …………….
*portions of
prayer adapted from prayer by Rev. Steve Kliewer, Interim General Presbyter,
EOP
Unison Prayer of Thanks
Gracious God, you have made us one with all
your people in heaven and on earth. You have fed us with the bread of life, and
renewed us for your service. Help us who have shared Christ’s body and received
his cup, to be his faithful disciples so that our daily living may be part of
the life of your kingdom, and our love be your love reaching out into the life
of the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “Arise,
Your Light Is Come!” Glory #744
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Jesus came as the light of the world.
We don’t have to be the light. We just have to walk in the light and reflect
that light to a dark world. Your challenge for the week.
As you do the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is with you now
and always. Amen.
CHORAL RESPONSE
May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
Grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor. Lift up your eyes
and see his face and his grace forever. May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and
keep you forever.
~~~~~~~~~~
LOOKING
AHEAD
-
Virginia
Desilets’ 100 birthday potluck celebration downstairs following worship.
-
Tuesday,
January 4, 10:30, Women’s Spirituality
-
Tuesday,
January 11th, 6:00 p.m. Session
-
Thursday, January 13, 8:30 a.m. Men’s
Bible Study
PRAYER
CARE:
Linda Kaesemeyer
(multiple health issues), Tina Bossuot (Alzheimer’s), Verna’s sisters (Covid
recovery), Mary and Ray Swarthout, Sandy Cargill (breast cancer), Somer Bauer
(breast cancer), Tasha Sizemore (Krohn’s?), Jacob Cunningham, Trisha Cagley
(health problems), Dave Clark (recovery from brain surgery, kidney cancer),
Virginia DesIlets (age 100!), Margaret Dunbar (Ashley Manor), George and Joyce
Sahlberg (health issues), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), Darlene Wingfield
(pulmonary fibrosis, breast cancer), Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s), and
Pastor Jean Hurst (kidney cancer).
LECTIONARY
FOR 1/9/22
Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17,
21-22
