PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 21st Sunday after Pentecost October
17, 2021
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 simultaneously with live worship.
e)
Live
worship with masks and social distancing has plenty of room for additional
worshipers.
-
W&M
following worship
-
Prayer
Shawl Ministry @ 1:00
-
Spirituality
Tuesday 10:30 using book Good Goats
-
Deacons
next Sunday following worship
-
It’s
time to sign up for making cookies and pies for the Harvest Bazaar. There will
not be a Harvest Festival Dinner this year.
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
Why have we gathered on this holy day?
What has drawn us to this time and place?
We
have been drawn to a flame burning here.
We
sense the glory of God in this place.
God calls us to this time of worship.
The place where we are standing is holy
ground.
Give
thanks to God; sing praises.
Give
attention to the voice of God.
Out of a burning bush, God spoke to Moses.
In the rhythms of worship, God speaks to
us.
We
will listen for God’s message to us.
Surely
God’s strength will supply our needs.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
We tremble to think that the source of all
life, the Creator of all worlds, is in this place, observing our worship,
knowing our innermost secrets, calling us by name. O God, we dare to call on
you, to bow before you, to welcome your Word. We tremble to think what you
might expect of us. Yet, we dare to worship you, O God, knowing that you expect
much of us. Amen.
OPENING
HYMN: “Great Is the Lord” LU#30
CALL TO CONFESSION
Come, beloved children of God, in the name
of one who embodied humanity according to God’s purposes. Come to confess your
sin, to acknowledge all that separates you from the Creator of Life. May our
words and the quiet longing of our hearts open our lives to welcome active
encounter with the God who loves us.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Creator
of all Worlds, we confess to sporadic beliefs and inconsistent faithfulness.
Before the mystery of the universe our minds cannot grasp a God who embraces
infinity. In the face of natural disasters and cruel inhumanity we doubt that
Love reigns. Between our own actions and the best we know we see a wide gap
that we cannot bridge. O God, reclaim us, and help us to reclaim our baptism;
we need your healing, forgiving, transforming Spirit. (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: 2: Romans 12:9-21
Let love be genuine;
hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual
affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in
spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in
prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those
who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not
be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you
are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in
the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live
peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the
wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says
the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are
thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning
coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.
SCRIPTURE 2: Matthew 6:5-21
"And whenever
you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly
I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into
your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you. "When you are praying, do not
heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be
heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows
what you need before you ask him. "Pray then in this way: Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. "And whenever you fast,
do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to
show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their
reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that
your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves
break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
SERMON “Is Your Heart in It?” Rev.
Jean Hurst
Let us pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Yes?
Don’t interrupt me. I’m praying.
But – YOU called me!
Called you? No, I didn’t call you. I’m praying.
Our Father who art in heaven,
There – you did it again!
Did what?
CALLED me. You said, “Our Father who art in heaven.”
Well, here I am. What’s on your mind?
But I didn’t mean
anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always
say the Lord’s Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like fulfilling a duty.
Well,
all right. Go on.
Okay, hallowed be thy name ..
Hold
it right there. What do you mean by that?
By what?
By
“Hallowed be thy name.”?
It means, it means … good grief, I don’t know what it means. How in the world
should I know? It’s just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?
It
means honored, holy, wonderful.
Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what ‘hallowed’
meant before. Thanks.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is
in heaven.
Do
you really mean that?
Sure, why not?
What
are you doing about it?
Doing? Why, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be
kind of neat if you got control, of everything down here like you have up
there. We’re kinda in a mess down here you know.
Yes,
I know; but, have I got control of you?
Well, I go to church.
That isn’t what I asked you. What about your bad
temper? You’ve really got a problem there, you know. And then there’s the way
you spend your money—all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you
read?
Now hold on just a minute! Stop picking on me! I’m just as good as some of the rest of those people
at church!
Excuse ME. I thought you were praying for my will to
be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are
praying for it. Like you – for example.
Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it. I could probably
name some others.
So
could I.
I haven’t thought about it very much until now, but I
really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know,
be really free.
Good. Now we’re getting somewhere. We’ll work
together—you and ME. I’m proud of you.
Look, Lord, if you don’t mind, I need to finish up
here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
You need to cut out the bread. You’re overweight as it
is.
Hey, wait a minute! What is this? Here I was doing my
religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my
hang-ups.
Praying is a dangerous thing. You just might get what
you ask for. Remember, you called ME – and here I am. It’s too late to stop
now.
Keep praying. (…pause…) Well, go on.
I’m scared to.
Scared?
Of what?
I know what you’ll say.
Try
me.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin
against us.
What
about Terry?
See! I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why,
Lord, she’s told lies about me, spread stories. She never paid back the money
she owes me. I’ve sworn to get even with her!
But …
your prayer. What about your prayer?
I didn’t … mean it.
Well, at least you’re honest. But it’s quite a load
carrying around all that bitterness and resentment, isn’t it?
Yes, but I’ll feel better as soon as I get even with
her. Boy, have I got some plans for her. She’ll wish she had never been born.
No, you won’t feel any better. You’ll feel worse.
Revenge isn’t sweet. You know how unhappy you are. Well, I can change that.
You can? How?
Forgive Terry. Then, I’ll forgive you; and the hate
and the sin will be Terry’s problem … not yours. You will have settled the
problem as far as you are concerned.
Oh, you know you’re right. You always are. And more
than I want revenge, I want to be right with you … sigh.
All right, all right. I forgive her.
There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?
Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all! In fact, I feel
pretty great! You know, I don’t think I’ll go to bed uptight tonight. I haven’t
been getting much rest, you know.
Yeah,
I know.
But, you’re not through with your prayer are you? Go
on.
Oh, all right.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil.
Good! Good! I’ll do that. Just don’t put yourself in a
place where you can be tempted.
What do you mean by that?
You KNOW
what I mean.
Yeah. I know. Okay.
Go
ahead. Finish your prayer.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
forever. Amen.
Do you know what would bring me glory—what would
really make me happy?
No, but I’d like to know. I want to please you now.
I’ve really made a mess of things. I want to truly follow you. I can see now
how great that would be. So, tell me … how do
I make you happy?
You
just did.1
1http://www.raesmith.com/the_lords_prayer_conversation_with_god.htm
The
Lord’s Prayer. We pray it together every Sunday. It’s the way Jesus taught his
disciples to pray. Does it mean anything to you? Or does it just become words
that we say by rote each Sunday as we end Prayers of the People? This little
dialogue illustrates the fact that God is listening. What would God have to say
to each of us about how we pray each segment of this prayer and whether we
really mean it and are trying to live it?
It
starts out “Our Father who art in heaven”.
Our. All of us. All the world. No one of us, no group of us has an exclusive
claim on God. Father. That’s relationship and an intimate one at that. God is
one we look to for authority, with respect, for protection and guidance. God
being Father makes each of us a child of God, part of the family, and brothers
and sisters to each other.
Hallowed be thy name—holy be your name,
sacred be your name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We say it. We pray it. But do
we really want it? Do we want God’s kingdom here on earth or do we want to just
anticipate a future heavenly kingdom of which we are sure we’ll be a part? Are
we praying carelessly, just uttering words or do we really want God’s reign
here on earth for all people. If we do, what are we doing about it? What are we
doing to make it happen? How are we living our part of it?
Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Easy words to say. Harder words to mean. We want God’s will as long
as it matches our own will. Because, if we’re honest, we’d have to admit that
we mostly want our own will. We want what we want. And we’d sure like to have
God help us get it. How would it change us if we truly sought God’s will and
then we tried to do our part in seeing it through? What would our lives look
like if we lived out what we already know God’s will to be based on the Bible
and the teachings of Jesus? Are we willing to unleash the power of the Holy
Spirit in our lives in order to mean and live ‘thy will be done’?
Give us this day our daily bread. Yes,
most of us are consuming far beyond our portion of daily bread and our bodies
reflect that. It’s part of the greed and gluttony of the world in which we hold
our share of guilt. This request of God holds more, though. It says ‘give us
this day’. It’s not asking for promise of tomorrow’s bread or rent money or
gas, or next month’s or next year’s. It says get us through today, help us meet
today’s needs, just one day at a
time. Jesus said don’t worry about tomorrow. Today has enough worries of its
own. And it’s about what we need, not what we want.
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors. Whether debts, trespasses or sins, the dramatized dialogue spoke
well to this one. How can we ask for God’s forgiveness and expect it to be
freely given when we are unwilling to extend that grace to someone else? We say
the words because they’re part of the prayer, but do we mean them? Are we
really asking for God’s forgiveness for our own failings and do we really want
to forgive someone we think has wronged us? Or do we feel our failings aren’t
so bad and can be readily forgiven but someone else’s failings are so monstrous
that they are unforgivable? Are we better than the other person?
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us
from evil. In a recent Zoom Synod meeting, Moderator Randy Marshal gave an
adapted version of the Lord’s Prayer in which he said, “Lead us not into
temptation. We already know the way, too well.” Last Sunday I emphasized that
God does not tempt us. The pope agrees. In June of 2019 he approved a change to
the Lord’s Prayer, or for them the Our Father, to say, “Do not let us fall into
temptation and deliver us from evil.” As the dialogue stated, we need to also
take responsibility for staying away from those places and things that might
tempt us. Sitting down in front of a chocolate cake slathered with thick
frosting and asking God to keep us from eating it is hardly a fair request, is
it?
For thine is the kingdom and the power and
the glory forever. Amen. God’s kingdom. God’s power. God’s glory. Now and
always. Amen. Closing a prayer with amen is saying, so be it or let it be so.
The Lord’s Prayer. When we pray it, can we mean it and live it? Does our ‘amen’
support that? Let it be so.
HYMN: “Great
Is Thy Faithfulness?” Glory
#39
PRAYERS OF THE
PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
O Great Resurrection God, this is the day
you have made and we rejoice in it! For you have provided, in your carefully
crafted plan, a path to life eternal, a way to endless love, a means of
renewing forgiveness. O God of passion, your sorrow is deeper than ours; it
seeps between our sadness and sickness, beneath our grief and despair, and
lifts us up. Your love is greater than ours; it follows us into death, falls
with us through nothingness, and catches us in outstretched hands. How
unrelenting is your forgiveness; how boundless is your grace. We are in awe of
your love.
Help us, in turn, to extend that love
and grace to our families and our friends, but especially to those we struggle
to love. Help us to see your image within each person we encounter and to
recognize them as brother or sister.
We
pray for your comforting presence and healing touch for those who are close to
us, for MaryJo and Gene's granddaughter Myla recovering from a collapsed lung ... RaeJean Newman … Julia Milleson … Dave Clark … Tina Bossuot … Verna’s
sister and family … Mary and Ray Swarthout … Sandy Cargill … Elaine LaChapelle
… Larry Koskela … Linda and Bill Kaesemeyer … Somer Bauer … Tasha Sizemore …
Beverly Patterson … Margaret Dunbar …Virginia … Darlene … Trisha … Jacob … George and Joyce
… Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney … Ethel … and Pastor Jean. (Additional prayers
…………)
We pray for your children here and
around the globe, those who are lost and wandering, those who are scared and
despair, those bound by chains of addiction or violence, those who hunger for
hope as well as for the next meal. Bless them, we pray.
We ask 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
Abundance and wealth have come to us, that
we might experience the privilege of sharing. As we share what we have
received, our lives are opened to appreciate and enjoy more of God’s blessings.
Let us bring our offerings to God.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
O God, from whom comes all the good things we enjoy,
we offer our gifts to be used in your kingdom work. May we be co-workers with
Christ that all might know the joy of salvation. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “O For
a Thousand Tongues to Sing” Glory
#610
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
The bedrock of our faith is believing
in a God who loved us so much God came in the person of Jesus to heal and save
us. As you go through your week, consider what that means to you personally.
As you do know that 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
-
October
17 following worship Worship & Music
-
October
17 1:00 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry
-
October
19 10:30 a.m. Women’s Spirituality
-
October
20 5:30 p.m. Choir practice
-
October
24 following worship Deacons
-
October
26 noon PPW lunch meeting
-
October
27 5:30 p.m. Choir practice
-
October
28 8:30 a.m. Men’s Prayer Group
PRAYER CARE:
MaryJo and Gene's granddaughter Myla (collapsed lung), Rae Jean Newman
(Covid recovery), Julia Milleson (cancer), Tina Bossuot (Alzheimer’s), Verna’s
sister and family (Covid), Mary and Ray Swarthout, Sandy Cargill (breast
cancer), Larry Koskela (stomach and joint issues), Linda and Bill Kaesemeyer
(Bill’s heart/breathing issues), 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 99!), Margaret
Dunbar (Ashley Manor), George and Joyce Sahlberg (health issues), Jennifer
Schirm (Parkinson’s), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), Darlene Wingfield (pulmonary
fibrosis, breast cancer), Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s), and Pastor Jean
Hurst (kidney cancer).
LECTIONARY
FOR 10/24/21
Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark
10:46-52
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