Jesus is talking with his disciples about life in faith community, when the issue of forgiveness comes up. He offers a parable: “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves….”
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24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
77 Times… or is it 490?
Psalm 103:1-13; Matthew 18:21-35
Union Presbyterian Church
September 17, 2023
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Doug Moore Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Welcome Rev. Pat Raube
Announcements Doug Moore
Prelude Chris Bartlette
“To Be at Peace,” Franklin Ritter
©2010, Lorenz Publishing Co., All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Call to Worship (responsive) Doug Moore
When he met with his friends,
the risen Jesus breathed on them and said,
Peace be with you!
He continued, As the Father has sent me,
so I send you.
God sends us out, breathing peace.
Then, he breathed on them again,
a quiet Pentecost, saying,
Receive the Holy Spirit!
Then he told them: forgiveness.
Their mission was forgiveness.
God sends us out, and our mission is forgiveness.
Let us worship God!
Hymn #68 W & R “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (Public Domain)
Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise his name–I'm fixed upon it–
Name of God's redeeming love.
Here I raise to thee an altar,
Hither by thy help I've come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with his precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee;
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O, take and seal it;
Seal it for thy courts above.
Call to New Life
Prayer for Wholeness and Peace
Gracious God, our regrets are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Set us free, we pray, from a past we cannot change. Open to us a future where we can be changed. Grant us grace to grow more and more in your blessed likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. 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
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 103:1-13, 22
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all God’s benefits—
who forgives all your sins,
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the grave,
and crowns you with steadfast love and mercy;
who satisfies your desires with good things;
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
O Lord, you provide vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
You made known your ways to Moses,
and your works to the children of Israel.
Lord, you are full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
You will not always accuse us,
nor will you keep your anger forever.
You have not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is your steadfast love toward those who fear you.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far have you removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so you have compassion for those who fear you, O Lord.
Bless the Lord, all you works of God,
in all places where God rules.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube
Music: “With Welcome Heart We Greet You, Lord,” John Weaver
©1999, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Scripture Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven (or seventy times seven) times.
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, and, as he could not pay, the lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Sermon “77 Times… or is it 490?”
Affirmation of Faith From the Confession of 1967
God the Holy Spirit fulfills the work of reconciliation in humanity. The Holy Spirit creates and renews the church as the community in which human beings are reconciled to God and to one another. The Spirit enables them to receive forgiveness as they forgive one another and to enjoy the peace of God as they make peace among themselves. In spite of their sin, the Spirit gives them power to become representatives of Jesus Christ and his gospel of reconciliation to all humanity.
Anthem “My God, Accept My Heart This Day,” Howard Helvey
©2018, Beckenhorst Press, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
My God, accept my heart this day,
And make it always Thine,
That I from thee no more may stray,
No more from Thee decline;
No more from Thee decline.
Before the cross of Him who died,
Behold, I prostrate fall;
Let every sin be crucified,
And Christ be all in all.
Anoint me with Thy heavenly grace,
And seal me for thine own;
That I may see Thy glorious face,
And worship near Thy throne;
And worship near Thy throne.
Let every thought and work and word
To Thee be ever given:
Then life shall be Thy service, Lord,
And death the gate of heaven.
All glory to the Father be,
All glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
While endless ages run;
While endless ages run.
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 #355 W & R “This is a Day of New Beginnings,” Brian Wren, Carlton R. Young
©1987, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
This is a day of new beginnings,
Time to remember and move on,
Time to believe what love is bringing,
Laying to rest the pain that's gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus,
Love's mighty Spirit, now as then,
Can make for us a world of difference,
As faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit's daring,
Step from the past and leave behind
Our disappointment, guilt, and grieving,
Seeking new paths, and sure to find.
Christ is alive, and goes before us
To show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings;
Our God is making all things new.
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.
And may grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit
be with us, this day, and every day. Amen.
Postlude Chris Bartlette
“Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above,” Lloyd Larson
©2007, Lorenz Publishing Co., All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
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
Prayer for Wholeness and Peace adapted from a prayer in the Book of Common Worship, copyright 2018, Westminster John Knox Press.