Jesus is having a familiar conversation with his disciples today. What does it mean to lead? What does it mean to serve? UPC welcomes a dear friend to our pulpit, the Rev. Bob Heinle, who will lead us in this conversation.

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!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Union Presbyterian Church

October 17, 2021

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

Liturgist: Laura Keibel Preacher: Rev. Bob Heinle

Prelude “Living Hope,” Dan Musselman Colin DeLap, piano

Prelude Colin DeLap, piano

“Way Maker,” Dan Musselman

Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

Welcome Rev. Bob Heinle

Call to Worship Laura Keibel

We gather to worship God,

who stretched the heavens like a tent

and set the earth on its foundations.

We gather to worship God,

who rides the winds like a chariot

and wears light as a garment.

We gather to worship God,

who suffered for the sake of our lives

and offers us life abundant.

Hymn # 24 W & R “God, You Spin the Whirling Planets,” Jane Parker Huber

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

God, you spin the whirling planets,

Fill the seas and spread the plain,

Mold the mountains, fashion blossoms,

Call forth sunshine, wind, and rain.

We, created in your image,

Would a true reflection be

Of your justice, grace, and mercy,

And the truth that makes us free.

You have called us to be faithful

In our life and ministry.

We respond in grateful worship,

Joined in one community.

When we blur your gracious image,

Focus us and make us whole,

Healed and strengthened as your people,

We move onward toward your goal.

God, your will is still creating,

Calling us to life made new,

Now reveal to us fresh vistas

Where there’s work to dare and do.

Keep us clear of all distortion,

Fashion us with loving care,

Thus, new creatures in your image,

We’ll proclaim Christ everywhere.

Call to New Life Laura Keibel

It is only by the power of God

that we are able to stand against evil.

Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sin.

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace Laura Keibel

O Lord, you have taught us

that whoever wishes to become great must be a servant,

and whoever seeks to be first must be last and servant of all.

Still, O Lord, we are like James and John, seeking seats of glory.

We organize our lives around ladders to climb,

not realizing that we are stepping on people whom you love.

Forgive us, O Christ, and teach us to follow in your way,

for the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Assurance of God’s Grace Laura Keibel

If anyone is in Christ, he or she becomes a new person altogether!

The past is finished and gone; everything has become fresh and new.

Friends, believe the Good News of the Gospel!

In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Sharing of the Peace Laura Keibel

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

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

Scripture Isaiah 53:4-12

Surely he has borne our infirmities
    and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
    struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
    crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
    and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

By a perversion of justice he was taken away.

Who could have imagined his future?

For he was cut off from the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people.

They made his grave with the wicked

and his tomb with the rich,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.

When you make his life an offering for sin,

he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;

through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.

Out of his anguish he shall see light;

he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.

The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he poured out himself to death,

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Children’s Message Rev. Bob Heinle

Music: “I Love You, Lord” (Public Domain)

Scripture Mark 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:

Thanks be to God!

Meditation “To Serve” Rev. Bob Heinle

Anthem

“Jesus, Be With Us,” David Gambrell

The author/composer and arranger/performer grant permission for use of the hymn and recording in worship, online or otherwise. (https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/keep-singing-the-matthew-25-vision/)

Refrain:

Jesus, be with us. Help us each day

To follow the gospel and live as we pray.

Send us your Spirit and show us your way.

Jesus, be with us today.

Where there is hunger and thirst in the land,

Scatter the systems of greed.

Jesus, be with us; make use of our hands.

Lift up your people in need.

(Refrain)

Where there is hatred because of our skin,

Break down the walls of our fear.

Jesus, be with us to save us from sin.

In your great love, draw us near.

(Refrain)

Where there are valleys of bones, dry as dust,

Build up the body of Christ.

Jesus, be with us, and help us to trust.

Teach us a new way of life.

(Refrain)

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.   

Congregation

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    Rev. Bob Heinle

Doxology    “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” Tune: Public Domain

Text: Brian Wren 

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Congregation

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    Rev. Bob Heinle

Hymn  #84 W & R "O God, Our Help In Ages Past” (Public Domain)

Congregation

O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of your throne

Your saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is your arm alone,

And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood

Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting you are God,

To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in your sight

Are like an evening gone,

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,

Bears all of us away;

We fly, forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.

O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Be now our guide while life shall last,

And our eternal home.

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  “How Majestic is Your Name,” Glenda Austin Colin DeLap, piano

Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

Worship With Us

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Guest Preacher the Rev. Bob Heinle