So many people approach Jesus for healing, for wisdom, for hope, and most go away rejoicing. But occasionally someone turns away. Why?

Join us this Sunday morning! We worship together at 10:30 AM in our sanctuary, live-streaming the service for those at home (or on the road) right here. You are invited!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Union Presbyterian Church

October 10, 2021

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Liturgist: Karl Wokan Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Prelude “Pass It On,” Kurt Kaiser, Mark Hayes Chris Bartlette

Used by permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube

Call to Worship Karl Wokan

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Even before the mountains were brought forth…

Even before you had formed the earth and the world…

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Lord, you are our dwelling place in all generations.

Lord, you are our God. We give you praise.

Hymn #117 W & R “There Is a Redeemer,” Melody Green

Used by permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

There is a Redeemer—Jesus, God’s own Son;

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One.

Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your Son,

And leaving your Spirit till the work on earth is done.

Jesus, my Redeemer, name above all names;

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Hope for sinners slain.

Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your Son,

And leaving your Spirit till the work on earth is done.

When I stand in Glory, I will see his face;

There I’ll serve my King forever in that holy place.

Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your Son,

And leaving your Spirit till the work on earth is done.

Call to New Life**

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace**

O God of life, grant us forgiveness for our careless thoughts, for our thoughtless deeds, for our empty speech, and the words with which we’ve wounded one another. O God of life, grant us forgiveness for our false desires, for our hateful actions, for our wastefulness and for all we have left untended.

~ Silent Prayer ~

And we pray,

O loving Christ, hanged on a tree yet risen in the morning, scatter the sin from our souls as the mist from the hills; begin what we do; inform what we say; redeem who we are. In your holy name we pray. Amen.

Assurance of God’s Grace

In you we place our hope: our great hope, our living hope.

This day and forevermore.

We rejoice in this hope:

You have called us beloved, and we are yours.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God. Amen!

Sharing of the Peace

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.

Scripture Amos 5:8-15

The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
    and turns deep darkness into the morning,
    and darkens the day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea,
    and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
the Lord is his name,

who makes destruction flash out against the strong,
    so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

Therefore because you trample on the poor
    and take from them levies of grain,
you have built houses of hewn stone,
    but you shall not live in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
    but you shall not drink their wine.

For I know how many are your transgressions,
    and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
    and push aside the needy in the gate.
Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time;
    for it is an evil time.

Seek good and not evil,
    that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
    just as you have said.
Hate evil and love good,
    and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
    will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Children’s Message Rev. Pat Raube

Scripture Mark 10:17-27

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth [who trust in riches] to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another [to him], “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:

Thanks be to God!

Meditation “Going Away Sorry” Rev. Pat Raube

Anthem “Walk In the Reign,” Rory Cooney

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Close as tomorrow the sun shall appear.

Freedom is coming and healing is near.

And I shall be with you in laughter and pain

To stand in the wind and walk in the reign,

To walk in the reign.

In days to come the desert shall bloom.

Rivers will run there, soon, very soon.

So what shall we fear, though death do its worst?

The word of our God is the last shall be first,

The last shall be first.

Close as tomorrow the sun shall appear.

Freedom is coming and healing is near.

And I shall be with you in laughter and pain

To stand in the wind and walk in the reign,

To walk in the reign.

Comfort each other, for pain soon must end.

A day comes when lion and lamb shall be friends.

The sightless shall see then, the speechless sing songs.

The name of our God is the righter of wrongs,

The righter of wrongs.

Close as tomorrow the sun shall appear.

Freedom is coming and healing is near.

And I shall be with you in laughter and pain

To stand in the wind and walk in the reign,

To walk in the reign.

A curtain of fear is being torn down.

Prisons are opened; the lost have been found.

So go tell the seeker what we’ve seen and heard:

The name of our God is the keeper of the word,

The keeper of the word.

Close as tomorrow the sun shall appear.

Freedom is coming and healing is near.

And I shall be with you in laughter and pain

To stand in the wind and walk in the reign,

To walk in the reign.

The streets of Soweto, the docks at Gdansk,

Tienanmen Square, the slums of the Bronx,

When we stand together to stand against hell,

The name of this people is “Emmanuel,”

Is “Emmanuel.”

Close as tomorrow the sun shall appear.

Freedom is coming and healing is near.

And I shall be with you in laughter and pain

To stand in the wind and walk in the reign,

To walk in the reign.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

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.

Prayer Response  “Spirit of the Living God,” Daniel Iverson 

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me;

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Call for Offering   

Doxology    “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Tune: Public Domain

Text: Brian Wren 

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures high and low.

Praise God, in Jesus fully known:

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.

Prayer of Dedication   

Hymn  “Lord, What Must I Do?”

Tune: Lyons (#2 W & R, Public Domain)

Used with the permission of the composer.

"Lord, what must I do?" A man asked one day.
The kingdom of God still seemed far away.
Christ spoke with compassion, "Just do one thing more;
Sell all your possessions, and give to the poor ... "

The man was upset and started to grieve;
Did he even hear what he would receive?
For Jesus continued, " ... Then come, follow me,
And you will have treasure in heaven! You'll see!"

O Lord, we have much and so we confess
Wealth gets in the way; possessions possess!
Our money distorts how we hear your good news;
It changes our vision, obscuring our views.

O Lord, may we have the courage today
To get rid of all that gets in your way;
And may the impossible now be found true:
By grace, we are blest and find treasure in you.

Benediction   From Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals,

by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro

May the peace of Christ go with you: wherever he will send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.

Postlude 

** The Call to New Life and the Prayer for Wholeness and Peace are adapted from prayers in A Wee Worship Book, by the Wild Good Worship Group, GIA Publications, 1999.

Worship With Us

Stewardship 2: Going Away Sorry