Finding God in the Flames 1: The Burning Bush

Sunday, July 2, 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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In what may be a familiar story, Moses is out shepherding a flock when he comes upon a miraculous sight: a bush that is on fire, but not burning up. Soon, God reveals God’s name: I AM. This passage suggests that God is not a concept to be explored with logic: God is a mystery to be experienced, a source of life, hope, and wonder.

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Ordinary Time: Finding God in the Flames 1

The Burning Bush 

Matthew 10:40-42; Exodus 3:1-15

Union Presbyterian Church  

July 2, 2023  

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

Liturgist: Jane Park Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube   

Announcements Jane Park   

Prelude Chris Bartlette  

"First Touch of Dawn,” Edward Broughton

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube  

Call to Worship (responsive) Jane Park  

We come to worship the great I AM
who burns but doesn’t destroy
who is our mystery and our answer 
who is three and who is one
who is beyond us and within us. 
I AM, we worship you!  

Hymn #654 W & R

“Holy Ground,” Geron Davis

Used by permission, CCLI License #CSPL068847

(Sing two times:)

We are standing on holy ground,

And I know that there are angels all around.

Let us praise Jesus now;

We are standing in his presence on holy ground.

Call to New Life Jane Park  

God appeared to Moses as a fire in the wilderness. How can we find God in the flames that burned, but never destroyed? Let us open our hearts to the warmth of God’s healing love.

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace   

Blazing God, we confess it is hard to keep up with you. 
You barrel ahead while we hold back.
You pour out your power while we store it up.
You are reckless while we count costs.
You burn bright while we hide our light. 
Forgive our domestication, Lord,
and teach us to look for you 
in unexpected places. 
Give to us a sense of wonder, 
curiosity, and awe. 
In your holy name, we pray. 
Amen. 

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  

God saw Moses, and beckoned him to draw near.

Draw near to God now, and let the warmth of God’s peace fill your hearts.

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 Matthew 10:40-42

A reading from the Gospel According to Matthew, beginning at chapter 10, verse 40.

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous, and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

Time for Young Disciples   Rev. Pat Raube 

Music: “Canticle of the Sun,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

Scripture Exodus 3:1-15  

A reading from the Book of Exodus, beginning at chapter 3, verse 1. 

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. Now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word  

Thanks be to God!  

Sermon “The Burning Bush”  

Affirmation of Faith From the Iona Community, Scotland

We believe in God above us,

maker and sustainer of all life,

of sun and moon, of water and earth, of all God’s children.

We believe in God beside us,

Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh,

born of a woman’s womb, servant of the poor.

He was tortured and nailed to a tree.

A man of sorrows, he died forsaken.

He descended into the earth to the place of death.

On the third day he rose from the tomb.

He ascended into heaven to be everywhere present,

and his kingdom will come on earth.

We believe in God within us,

the Holy Spirit of Pentecostal fire,

life-giving breath of the church,

Spirit of healing and forgiveness,

source of resurrection and of life everlasting.

Amen. 

Anthem

“Hallelujah, We’re Not Alone,” Hans Peterson

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

Hallelujah, we’re not alone.

Your love will lead us home

And open hearts which changes everything.

Come all you thirsty, desert-worn;

Water’s here for you.

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been

Or what you’ve been through.

God’s grace is moving everywhere

And rolls without end.

It’s an overflowing well of love,

You’ll never thirst again.

Hallelujah, we’re not alone.

Your love will lead us home

And open hearts which changes everything.

Take off your shoes, we’re standing on

Fertile, holy ground.

Our God is calling for a world

Where justice abounds.

The great “I AM” is stirring in

The midst of the flame.

Moses felt the fire of freedom burn.

Does your heart feel the same?

Hallelujah, we’re not alone.

Your love will lead us home

And open hearts which changes everything.

In this wide world of differences

Gender, creed and race,

Will we move down Emmaus road

And miss Jesus’ face?

Now hope is walking by our side—

Raised from the dead.

In community Christ is alive

When we are breaking bread.

Hallelujah, we’re not alone.

Your love will lead us home

And open hearts which changes everything.

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   

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.       

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 Rev. Pat Raube  

Every generous act of giving, is, itself, a gift from God above. Let us do good, and share what we have, our gratitude itself, a gift from God.

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    

 Gracious God, we thank you for every blessing: for calling us to be in your presence, on holy ground. We ask your blessings upon the gifts we have shared this day, in whatever form they have taken. We ask that you might send us out into your world to love and serve one another, and so, to love and serve you. WE pray in your holy name. Amen.

Hymn   #129 W & R

“Be Still, For the Spirit of the Lord,” David Evans

Used by permission, CCLI License #CSPL068847

Be still, for the Spirit of the Lord,

The Holy One, is here.

Come, bow before him now,

With reverence and with fear.

In him no sin is found,

We stand on holy ground.

Be still, for the Spirit of the Lord,

The Holy One, is here.

Be still, for the glory of the Lord

Is shining all around;

He burns with holy fire,

With splendor he is crowned.

How awesome is the sight,

Our radiant King of light!

Be still, for the glory of the Lord

Is shining all around.

Be still, for the power of the Lord

Is moving in this place,

He comes to cleanse and heal,

To minister his grace.

No work too hard for him,

In faith receive from him.

Be still, for the power of the Lord

Is moving in this place.

Benediction   

Postlude    Chris Bartlette 

"Toccata For a Festival,” Gerald Peterson

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  

The Call to Worship and the Prayer for Wholeness and Peace were adapted from the resource “Finding God in the Flames” by the Rev. Carol H. Prickett. The Affirmation of Faith was taken from The Iona Community Worship Book, Wild Goose Publications.