In a well-known passage Jesus is asked whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Jesus’ response gives us an opportunity to delve into the thorny philosophical question: Whose money is it, anyway?
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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Stewardship 3: Whose Money Is It?
Psalm 99; Matthew 22:15-22
Union Presbyterian Church
October 22, 2023
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Laura Keibel Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Prelude Colin DeLap
“Give Me Jesus,” Mark Hayes
Prayer Concerns Rev. Pat Raube
Welcome
Announcements Laura Keibel
Prelude Colin DeLap
“More Precious Than Silver,” Mark Hayes.
©1982 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music.
Used by permission, CCLI License #CSPL068847
Call to Worship (responsive) adapted from Psalm 63 Laura Keibel
O God, you are our God:
Eagerly we seek you!
Our souls thirst for you, our flesh faints for you
As in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Therefore we come to gaze upon you in your holy place,
That we might behold your power and your glory.
Hymn #545 W & R
“How Lovely, Lord, How Lovely,” Arlo Duba, Hal Hopson
©1986, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
How lovely, Lord, how lovely
Is your abiding place;
My soul is longing, fainting,
To feast upon your grace.
The sparrow finds a shelter,
A place to build her nest;
And so your temple calls us
Within its walls to rest.
In your blest courts to worship,
O God, a single day
Is better than a thousand
If I from you should stray.
I'd rather keep the entrance
And claim you as my Lord
Than revel in the riches
The ways of sin afford.
A sun and shield forever
Are you, O Lord Most High;
You shower us with blessings;
No good will you deny.
The saints, your grace receiving,
From strength to strength shall go,
And from their life shall rivers
Of blessing overflow.
Call to New Life
Prayer for Wholeness and Peace (responsive)
Because you made the world, and intended it to be a good place, and
called its people your children;
because, when things seemed at their worst,
you came in Christ to bring out the best in us;
so, gracious God, we gladly say:
Goodness is stronger than evil.
Love is stronger than hate.
Light is stronger than shadows.
Truth is stronger than lies.
Because confusion can reign inside us,
despite our faith;
because anger, tension, bitterness, and envy
distort our vision;
because our minds sometimes worry small things
out of all proportion;
because we do not always get it right, we want to believe:
Goodness is stronger than evil.
Love is stronger than hate.
Light is stronger than shadows.
Truth is stronger than lies.
Because you have promised to hear us,
and are able to change us,
and are willing to make our hearts your home,
we ask you to confront, control, forgive, and encourage us,
as you know best.
~Silent Prayer~
Then let us cherish in our hearts
that which we proclaim with our lips:
Goodness is stronger than evil.
Love is stronger than hate.
Light is stronger than shadows.
Truth is stronger than lies.
Words of Assurance
The Lord is kind and merciful;
Slow to anger and filled with steadfast love.
In the name of our brother, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are forgiven. We are free. Alleluia! Amen.
Sharing of the Peace
May the peace of God be with you.
And also with you.
Let us share a sign of God’s peace with one another.
Scripture Psalm 99
The Lord is king; let the people tremble!
The Lord is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake!
The Lord, great in Zion, is high above all peoples.
Let them confess God’s name, which is great and awesome; God is the holy one!
O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity;
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Proclaim the greatness of the Lord, and fall down before God’s footstool.
God is the holy One.
Moses and Aaron among your priests, and Samuel among those
who call upon your name, O Lord;
they called upon you, and you answered them.
You spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; they kept your testimonies,
and the decree that you gave them.
O Lord our God, you answered them indeed;
you were a God who forgave them,
yet punished them for their evil deeds.
Proclaim the greatness of the Lord, and worship at God’s holy hill,
for the Lord our God is the holy One.
Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube
Music: “Take Time to Be Holy”
Scripture Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Sermon “Whose Money Is It?”
Affirmation of Faith From the Confession of 1967 [Ryan: #5 A-2]
God has created the world of space and time to be the sphere of God’s
dealings with humanity. In its beauty and vastness, sublimity and awfulness, order and disorder, the world reflects to the eye of faith the majesty and mystery of its Creator.
Anthem
“The Image of God,” Craig Courtney Choir; Becky Merges, oboe
©2015, Beckenhorst Press, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
In the beginning God shaped and formed you.
You are skillfully and wonderfully made.
You are the image of your Creator.
In every part of you His likeness is displayed.
Life flows from life and love from loving;
Gifts of the Father by nature and by grace.
A heart made glad, a soul unshaken;
Unbounded joy, in every breath a song of praise,
Unbounded joy, in every breath a song of praise.
For His own purpose, God shaped and formed you.
You are His; You have a place within His plan.
You are the image of your Creator.
Your past and future are secure within His hand.
Life flows from life and love from loving;
Gifts of the Father by nature and by grace.
A heart made glad, a soul unshaken;
Unbounded joy, in every breath a song of praise,
Unbounded joy, in every breath a song of praise.
Life flows from life and love from loving;
Gifts of the Father by nature and by grace.
A heart made glad, a soul unshaken;
Unbounded joy, in every breath a song of praise.
A song of praise.
Greetings from the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery Leader Rev. Dr. Greg Garis
Minute for Mission: Stewardship 3 Pat Sullivan
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 #475 W & R
“Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ,” Frank von Christierson
©1974, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Come with the vision and the strength I need
To serve my God, and all humanity;
Fulfillment of my life in love outpoured—
My life in you, O Christ, your love in me.
Call for Offering
Doxology
“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” Brian Wren
©1989, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
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 #687 W & R
“All Things Are Yours,” Bryan Jeffery Leech
©1989, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
All things are yours! We make that true
When we return our gifts to you.
And so we give, and so we share,
In Christ's strong name expressing care.
"Give out of love," your Word commands.
We are your head, your heart, your hands.
Your Word you underscore with deeds
By using us to answer needs.
O what a joy to give and then,
Out of compassion, give again.
You have no needs. Though that be true,
The gifts we share are given to you.
All things are yours! We make that true
When we return our gifts to you.
And so we give, and so we share,
In Christ's strong name expressing care.
Benediction
Go out into the world in peace.
Have courage.
Hold onto what is good.
Return no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted.
Support the weak.
Help the suffering.
Honor all persons.
Honor all creation.
Love and serve the Lord,
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Postlude Colin DeLap “Majesty,” Jack Hayford.
©1981, New Spring.
Used by permission, CCLI License #CSPL068847
Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.
“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal.
“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal
The Prayer for Wholeness and Peace is taken from the A Wee Worship Book, c) 1999 by Wild Goose Worship Group.