22nd Ordinary: Genuine Love

Sunday, September 3, 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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About three-quarters of the way through his long and rich letter from Corinth to the well-established Christian community in Rome, Paul gets down to the nitty gritty. How do we live faithfully? Warning: some of the words in this passage will be strangely familiar.

Join us for worship in our beautiful (air conditioned!) sanctuary, or right here online. Worship videos are available here or on Youtube following the service. You are invited!

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Genuine Love

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; Romans 12:9-21 

Union Presbyterian Church

September 3, 2023

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

Liturgist: Sue Troy Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube

Announcements Sue Troy

Prelude Colin DeLap

 “You Are My All In All,” Phillip Keveren.

Used by permission, CCLI license #CSPL068847

Call to Worship (responsive) Sue Troy

The world belongs to God:

the earth and all its people.

How good it is, how wonderful,

to live together in unity!

Love and faith come together;

justice and peace join hands.

Open our lips, O God,

and our mouths shall declare your praise!

Hymn # 176 PH “The Earth and All That Dwell Therein”

(Public Domain)

The earth, and all that dwell therein,
With all its wealth untold,
Belongs to God, who founded it
Upon the seas of old.

O who shall stand before the Lord
On Zion’s holy hill?
The clean of hand, the pure of heart,
The just who do God's will.

O everlasting doors, give way,
Lift up your heads, O gates!
For now, behold, to enter in
The King of Glory waits.

Who is this glorious King that comes
To sit upon the throne?
The Lord of Hosts, that one is King
Of glory, God alone.

Call to New Life

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace

Before God, with the people of God, I confess to my brokenness:

to the ways I wound my life, the lives of others, and the life of the world.

May God forgive you, Christ renew you,

and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.

Amen.

Before God, with the people of God, we confess to our brokenness:

to the ways we wound our lives, the lives of others, and the life of the world.

May God forgive you, Christ renew you,

and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.

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 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c 

Give thanks to the Lord and call upon God’s name;
    make known the deeds of the Lord among the peoples.

Sing to the Lord, sing praises;
    and speak of all God’s wonderful works.

Glory in God’s holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Search for the strength of the Lord;
    continually seek God’s face.

Remember the marvels God has done,
    the wonders and the judgments of God’s mouth,

O offspring of Abraham, God’s servant,
    O children of Jacob, God’s chosen ones.

Israel came into Egypt,
    and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.

The Lord made the people of Israel very fruitful,
    more numerous than their enemies,

whose hearts God turned, so that they hated God’s people,
    and dealt unjustly with the servants of God.

O Lord, you sent Moses your servant,
    and Aaron, your chosen one. Praise the Lord!

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube

Music: “O Worship the King,” Charity Book Putnam.

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Scripture Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Response  Holy Wisdom, Holy Word: 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon “Genuine Love”

Statement of Faith From a Brief Statement of Faith, PC(USA)

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve. 

We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children; healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted; eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. 

With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Anthem "All Are Welcome,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Let us build a house where love can dwell

And all can safely live.

A place where saints and children tell

How hearts learn to forgive.

Built of hopes and dreams and visions,

Rock of faith and vault of grace.

Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:

All are welcome, all are welcome,

All are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where prophets speak,

And words are strong and true.

Where all God’s children dare to seek

To dream God’s reign anew.

Here the cross shall stand as witness

And as symbol of God’s grace.

Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:

All are welcome, all are welcome,

All are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where love is found,

In water, wine and wheat.

A banquet hall on holy ground,

Where peace and justice meet.

Here the love of God, through Jesus,

Is revealed in time and space,

As we share in Christ the feast that frees us;

All are welcome, all are welcome,

All are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where hands will reach

Beyond the wood and stone.

To heal and strengthen, serve and teach,

And live the Word they’ve known.

Here the outcast and the stranger

Bear the image of God’s face.

Let us bring an end to fear and danger;

All are welcome, all are welcome,

All are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where all are named,

Their songs and visions heard.

And loved and treasured, taught and claimed

As words within the Word.

Built of tears and cries and laughter,

Prayers of faith and songs of grace.

Let this house proclaim from floor to rafter;

All are welcome, all are welcome,

All are welcome in this place.

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

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  # 335 PH “Though I May Speak,” Hal Hopson

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Though I may speak with bravest fire,
And have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain;
As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control,
Our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed;
By this we worship and are freed.

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  Colin DeLap

“Love Has Come,” Matt Maher.

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 are taken from the Iona Abbey Worship Book, c) 2003 by Wild Goose Communications.