ORDER of WORSHIP
August 30, 2020
Shift Plus Celebration Sunday
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor.”
Psalm 29:2
Ringing of the Bell in the Bell Tower
Greeting and Welcome
Prelude
Words of Grace
Opening Prayer
A Litany and Candle Lighting Celebrating the Great Things God is Doing Among Us
Voice One: We light a candle of praise for the ministry and mission of Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church and our commitment to be a community of deeply committed Christians. We believe that the path to reaching others with the good news of Christ and growing this community of faith is through living out our faith every day. Through the activity of the Holy Spirit, each one of us is called to share the good news of the gospel so that others may come to know and experience God’s grace and love through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Great are the things our God is doing among us!
People: Thanks be to God!
Voice Two: We light a second candle of praise for each personal story of how Andrew Chapel’s ministry helped individuals to grow in their faith, knowledge, and love of Jesus Christ through the witness of the people of Andrew Chapel and in the small group ministries of Andrew Chapel. We give thanks for the opportunities for Christian spiritual growth, fellowship, work, study, prayer, and worship provided to us. Great are the things our God is doing among us!
People: Thanks be to God!
Voice Three: We light a third of candle of praise for the service and mission opportunities Andrew Chapel provides locally, nationally, and globally. We thank God for those who give of their time and talents to meet the many needs in our community and throughout the world. Great are the things our God is doing among us!
People: Thanks be to God!
Voice Four: We light a fourth candle of praise in thanksgiving for the people of Andrew Chapel who, moved by the Spirit of God, support Andrew Chapel with their time, talents, gifts, service and witness. Their efforts make possible the existence of our community of faith and its many mission, service and outreach projects by which we express our Christian compassion. Great are the things our God is doing among us!
People: Thanks be to God!
Voice Five: We light a fifth candle of praise for the founding members of Andrew Chapel, its clergy and members both past and present. We pray for our leadership and we pray for pastor Matt, and his spiritual guidance and leadership that will lead our congregation into a future filled with hope and promise. Great are the things our God is doing among us!
People: Thanks be to God!
Voice Six: We light a sixth candle remembering those of our Andrew Chapel community who have gone on before us and are now part of that great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. With all the saints they now in glory shine. Let their faith and witness give us courage for all that is to come. Great are the things our God is doing among us!
People: Thanks be to God!
Pastor: People of Andrew Chapel: Our future is full of hope! Let us look forward to all that is to come with the assurance of what God has done among us and in the confidence that God who has helped us in the past will guide and sustain us in all our tomorrows. Let us remember who we are. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people. He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Amen.
Hymn of Praise “Great the Things Our God is Doing” Words: Rev. Dr. Joe D. Sergent, 2002. Music: Sung to the tune of “Austria” 87.878D.
Music with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733303. All rights reserved.
- Great the things our God is doing,
in this time and in this place.
God has given us the vision,
to respond and build on faith.
Built on faith, now stands before us,
dreams fulfilled and hope sustained.
Come, you faithful, sing God’s praises;
See what faith in God attains! - Let this place resound with praises,
to our God who leads us on.
Celebrate how God has led us,
all throughout the ages long.
To this place God called the faithful,
and inspired what now we see.
Still, God leads us ever onward,
to create that yet to be. - Glories past, we dare not rest on,
lest we fail our Lord today.
Now’s our time and now our challenge;
To fulfill God’s call each day.
Former glories now are over;
This, our time and destiny.
Wake! Tomorrow’s world is coming!
Save us, Lord, from apathy. - God, our strength and our salvation
consecrate your church today.
Fill us with your radiant splendor;
love and peace and joy display.
On the rock of Christ, our Savior,
build our church for this new day.
May the church that follows after,
build on faith we live today.
Children’s Moment
Gospel Lesson Luke 14:1, 7-14 (NRSV)
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Word of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon “Let’s Change Lives Together…Including Yours” Rev. Matthew Sergent
Hymn Response to Sermon “People Need the Lord” TFWS #2244 Words and Music: Greg Nelson and Phil McHugh, 1963.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733303. All rights reserved
- People need the Lord,
people need the Lord;
at the end of broken dreams,
he’s the open door. - People need the Lord,
people need the Lord;
when will we realize
people need the Lord.
Prayers of the People / Lord’s Prayer
Hymn “We Are the Church” UMH #558 Words and Music: Richard K. Avery and Donald S. Marsh, 1972.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733303. All rights reserved
Refrain: I am the church!
You are the Church!
We are the Church together!
All who follow Jesus,
all around the world!
Yes, we’re the church together!
- The church is not a building,
the church is not a steeple,
the church is not a resting place,
the church is the people.
Refrain: - We’re many kinds of people,
with many kinds of faces,
all colors and all ages, too,
from all times and places.
Refrain: - Sometimes the church is marching,
sometimes it’s bravely burning,
sometimes it’s riding, sometimes hiding,
always it’s learning.
Refrain: - And when the people gather,
there’s singing and there’s praying,
there’s laughing and there’s crying sometimes,
all of it saying:
Refrain: - At Pentecost some people
received the Holy Spirit
and told the Good News through the world
to all who would hear it.
Refrain:
Benediction
Postlude
