The Mountaintop

Sunday, February 19, 2023
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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Jesus takes three trusted friends up a mountain, and they encounter something awe-inspiring; terrifying; uncanny. Is that Moses? Is that Elijah? What is the meaning of all this?

Join us for worship this morning in our beautiful sanctuary or here, online, if you are at home or on the road. You are invited! We will listen and watch as Jesus and his friends have an unforgettable experience of God’s powerful presence.

The Mountaintop

Psalm 99; Matthew 17:1-9

Transfiguration Sunday

February 19, 2023  

Union Presbyterian Church  

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

Liturgist: Becky Conklin Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube   

Prelude Chris Bartlette  

“Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor,” Lyndell Leatherman

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube

Call to Worship    Becky Conklin

O Lord, you are a lover of justice.

Almighty God, you have shown us what is good.

We praise you for your great and awesome deeds:

You were a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.

We praise you, all loving, all giving:

You have called us to meet you on the mountaintop: we give you praise.

* Hymn #449 PH “My Lord! What a Morning,” Melva W. Costen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

My Lord! what a morning,
My Lord! what a morning!
Oh, my Lord, what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall.

You will hear the trumpet sound
To wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God’s right hand
When the stars begin to fall.

My Lord! what a morning,
My Lord! what a morning!
Oh, my Lord, what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall.

You will hear the sinner cry
To wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God’s right hand
When the stars begin to fall.

My Lord! what a morning,
My Lord! what a morning!
Oh, my Lord, what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall.

You will hear the Christian shout
To wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God’s right hand
When the stars begin to fall.

My Lord! what a morning,
My Lord! what a morning!
Oh, my Lord, what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall.

* Call to New Life  

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace (unison)  

Merciful God, even when we see your justice transfigured before us, we cower in fear of following your way in our world. We wonder what it might cost us to walk in the way of Jesus. Help us to listen to your words of love. Help us to follow your Word made flesh. Empower us to be formed by the life of Jesus Christ. Restore in us the confidence to be disciples of Christ. Amen.

* Words of Assurance  

Let our spirits be content, 

Let our mouths praise God with joyful lips: 

For the love of God is from everlasting to everlasting. 

The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger,  

and abounding in steadfast love. 

We will bless the Lord as long as we live. 

We will rest in the knowledge that God loves us,  

claims us, and never leaves us. 

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 peace. 

Scripture Reading 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: “Jesus on the Mountain Peak,” Brian Wren

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

Scripture Reading Matthew 17:1-9 

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon The Mountaintop Rev. Pat Raube  

Affirmation of Faith from the Belhar Confession, South Africa

We believe in one holy, universal Christian church, the communion of saints called from the entire human family. We believe that Christ’s work of reconciliation is made manifest in the church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another; that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God’s Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain; that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted; that this unity of the people of God must be manifested and be active in a variety of ways; in that we love one another; that we experience, practice and pursue community with one another; that we are obligated to give ourselves willingly and joyfully to be of benefit and blessing to one another; that we share one faith, have one calling, are of one soul and one mind. Amen.

Anthem “Open My Eyes, Spirit Divine,” James Koerts

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

Open my eyes, that I may see

Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free:

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready, my God, Thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine.

Open my ears, that I may hear

Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;

And while the scriptures fall on my ear,

Everything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready, my God, Thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Open my mouth, and let me bear

Gladly the warm truth everywhere;

Open my heart, and let me prepare

Love with Thy children thus to share.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready, my God, Thy will to see,

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine.

Silently I wait for Thee,

Spirit divine. 

Prayers of the People 

The Lord’s Prayer (Traditional Version) 

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”

By Frank von Christierson   

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

Eternal Spirit of the living Christ,   
We know not how to ask or what to say;   
We only know our need, as deep as life,   
And only you can teach us how to pray.   

Call for Offering 

Doxology      “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” 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 #315 PH “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” Melva W. Costen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.
Yes, every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.

Upon the mountain, when my Lord spoke,
Out of God's mouth came fire and smoke.
Looked all around me, it looked so fine,
Till I asked my Lord if all was mine.

Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.
Yes, every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.

Jordan river, chilly and cold,
It chills the body but not the soul.
There is but one train upon this track;
It runs to heaven and then right back.

Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.
Yes, every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.

* Benediction

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 Chris Bartlette   

“A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing,” Lyndell Leatherman

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

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  

Portions of today’s liturgy were adapted from the Presbyterian Outlook’s weekly resource, Order of Worship, February 19, 2023. 

Benediction from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals,  by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro 