April 25, 2021 Worship

PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Worship via Blog                  PPW Sunday                         April 25, 2021   

 

 

WELCOME

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.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

-         Deacons meet following worship

-         PPW lunch meeting Tuesday at noon

 

Now allow yourself a brief time of silence as you open your hearts and feel God’s presence with you, right where you are.

 

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BAPTISM:         Friends, remember your baptism … and be thankful.

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

Guide our hearts that we may celebrate and acknowledge gracious deeds and works from the called-upon women of God.

God has paved the way for us today,

tomorrow, and forever.

Just as we remember the women in the Bible, today we celebrate women; their service and the beautiful things they do that keep the church full of God’s love.

Let us be truly grateful, opening our hearts to express our love by being of service.

With thanks we offer to God the warmth of our hearts and the joy of our spirits.

We love others because God first loved us. As God’s servants may we commit ourselves to proclaiming his love.

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Merciful and compassionate God, we give you thanks for the women of faith who desire to follow Christ’s call, for their open-hearted generosity, love and devotion. Please grow such faith within us that we may open our hearts to hear your voice and feel your presence and guidance with hope everlasting. Amen.

 

OPENING HYMN:   “Gentle Shepherd, Come and Lead Us”    LU#102

                     

                      

CALL TO CONFESSION

We seek forgiveness knowing we have set our minds on human things and not on things divine. Let us confess our sins to God.

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Great God our Creator, you have gifted us in so many ways. Yet we fail to use these gifts as you have intended. Too often we neglect to express our gratitude. Forgive us, O God. Help us to turn to you not only in times of need and forgiveness but in thanks for our blessings. Grant us the grace to open our hearts to others by using these gifts and skills to serve you. (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

 

PRESENTATION OF PPW’S HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP

 

SCRIPTURE 1:           John 4:7-15

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

 

SCRIPTURE 2:            Mark 14:3-9

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. But there were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment thus wasted? For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor." And they reproached her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burying. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."

 

SERMON:          “Celebrate Women of Faith”                       Carol Sawyer

          We gather here today to celebrate God’s call to women. As Presbyterian Women we are a community where all persons are treated with respect and all gifts are valued. We are called to act in several ways, through mission, advocacy and evangelism. Presbyterian Women’s Purpose is:

 

Forgiven and freed by God in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to nurture our faith through prayer and Bible study, to support the mission of the church worldwide, to work for justice and peace, and to build an inclusive, caring community of women that strengthens the Presbyterian Church (USA)  and witnesses to the promise of God’s kingdom.

 

Women in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible were very much like women of today. They raised families, survived hard times, celebrated victories, shared hopes and dreams with other women in their faith and tried to obey God’s call.

          When we read stories of women in the Bible we have to look hard to see and hear what they said; because the Bible in large part is attributed to the writers who were men.

Women, while active in these stories, often had no speeches or quotations attributed to them. Those of us who have read the Bible since childhood may never have thought about this. The Bible is filled with stories about women, but if you examine it closely, you’ll notice they seldom ever spoke for themselves.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, for instance. Very few of her spoken words are quoted in scripture and no words are in the Gospels that describe her. But I think you will all agree that no woman in all generations since has had such a following of devoted admirers.

In the Book of Esther we note that she must risk her life to address the king in the face of genocide against the Jews. She faced a threatening political structure, but her persistence paid off—the Jews were saved.

We remember Ruth and Naomi, Martha and Mary Magdalene who served and followed Jesus—the first to proclaim the resurrection. There are many other women of the Bible and we give thanks for the countless women who have shown Christian hospitality to others and were bearers of truth wherever they went. And, of course, there are the women of our own experiences.

Do you think it’s possible that Jesus considered some women as much his disciples as he did his twelve chosen men? Could it be that Mary Magdalene walked beside him on the dusty trails and engaged in conversation with him?

There are those women who taught us, sustained us and worshiped with us; those in this sanctuary today—the women who are part of this spiritual heritage to be the leaders in God’s future, the many leaders who came before us, those among us now and those who will serve in the years to come.

I feel the presence of love in this congregation, in all their giving: the women who serve as Elders and Deacons, Sunday School teachers, the ladies who prepare the dinners and those who share their talents in music and other ways. We are all different, but God has given each of us at least one gift to use for the good of the Church. We need one another. For in Christ’s body there aren’t any “nobodies.”

We recognize all those women who go about performing many functional tasks supporting the Church’s mandate to spread the gospel.

Without these many women volunteers no church could do its ministry effectively. Even if you feel that no one shows appreciation for your services, you can be sure that one day the Lord will reward you. In God’s service there are no high and low people, nor high and low tasks. We all depend on one another.

         

PRAYER: And now we pray Lord that we are thankful for all women in the faith, those whom we read about in scripture and those who serve our church. We pray for those who will lead in the future just as we recognize those here today who inspire us all. Loving God, be present among us as we serve and lift up your daughters who, with your help, will build beloved communities, and this church that reflects your love and grace. Amen.

 

HYMN:     “I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”               Glory #700

 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

Lord we come before you now as a community of believers, trusting your compassion and guidance. We thank you and praise you for such tender care, knowing that you hear and are present with us.

There are many people who have touched our lives, who have helped to form our faith, who have guided us, prayed for us, shown us your love; helped us believe in ourselves and made a difference for us. Some have left this life and joined you. All of them are still remembered.

We pray for peace for all people, those who lead and those who follow. We pray for those who suffer and we thank you for the joy of healing.

We especially ask that your love and comfort and healing power be with Larry Koskela (stomach/joint issues) ... Lari Higgins … Somer Bauer … Linda and Bill Kaesemeyer … Tasha Sizemore … Beverly Patterson … Jacob Cunningham … Lois White …  John Matthews … Judy … Virginia … Cherry … Margaret … Darlene … Trisha … Dave … George and Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney … Ethel. (Additional prayers …………)

We pray in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray: 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

Let us bring before God the gifts of our hearts and labors.

 

DOXOLOGY

 

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Thank you God. We bring to you our gifts to do your work in the world. May we use them wisely, sharing our resources by reaching out to those in need. Amen.

 

CLOSING HYMN: “Called As Partners In Christ’s Service” Glory 761

 

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

Faithful and loving God, we thank you for using your Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of Presbyterian Women as servants in your service. Surround them and encourage them, supporting their leadership as they serve you and your people in faithfulness. Amen.

          Your charge this week is to be the “hands and feet of God.” Show compassion, share God’s love, welcome one another, and be a reflection of God’s grace.

As you do, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be 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.

 

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LOOKING AHEAD

April 25              following worship       Deacons

April 27              12:00 noon                   PPW

May 4                  10:30 a.m.                   Women’s Spirituality

May 9                  following worship       M&M

May 11                6:00 p.m.                     Session

May 13                8:30 a.m.                     Men’s Prayer Group

May 16                following worship      Worship & Music

May 16                1:00 p.m.                     Prayer Shawl Ministry

May 18                10:30 a.m.                   Women’s Spirituality

May 23                following worship       Deacons

May 25                noon                             PPW

May 27                8:30 a.m.                      Men’s Prayer Group

 

PRAYER CARE:

Lari Higgins (breast cancer), Somer Bauer (breast cancer), Tasha Sizemore (Crohn’s?), Lois White (lymphoma), John Matthews (cancer), Linda and Bill Kaesemeyer (Bill’s heart and lung condition), Jacob Cunningham, Judy Hook (medical procedure), Trisha Cagley (health problems), Dave Clark (kidney cancer), Virginia DesIlets (age 99!), Margaret Dunbar (aging issues), George Sahlberg (infection in knee), Joyce Sahlberg (health issues), Jennifer Schirm (Parkinson’s), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), Darlene Wingfield (heart valve, pulmonary fibrosis, breast cancer), and Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s).

 

LECTIONARY FOR 5/2/21

Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:25-31; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-18