Guest Preacher: The Rev. Rachel Helgeson

Sunday, August 25, 2024
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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UPC is grateful to welcome the Rev. Rachel Helgeson back to our pulpit! Rev. Helgeson is the Broome County Council for Churches Chaplain at UHS hospitals, and has previously graced our sanctuary before with her lively and thought-provoking preaching as well as her exquisite gift of song.

You can join us for worship in our beautiful sanctuary, or right here online. Worship is live-streamed; videos are available here or on Youtube following the service. You are invited! You are always welcome.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ephesians 6:10-20; Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18

Union Presbyterian Church

August 25, 2024

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

Liturgist: Doug Moore Preacher: Rev. Rachel Helgeson

Welcome

Announcements Doug Moore

Prelude Chris Bartlette

“O Savior Sweet, O Savior Kind,” George Blake

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

* Call to Worship Doug Moore

One: We come into worship finding ourselves at home.

All: As for me and my house we will serve the Holy One!

One: We come into worship longing for respite from the world.

All: As for me and my house we will serve the Holy One!

One: We come into worship seeking God’s face in the work of the people: through scripture, liturgy, music, prayer, and the word proclaimed.

All: As for me and my house we will serve the Holy One!

* Hymn  #655 W & R

“Come Away from Rush and Hurry,” Marva J. Dawn, Jack Schrader

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Come away from rush and hurry

To the stillness of God’s peace;

From our vain ambition’s worry,

Come to Christ to find release.

Come away from noise and clamor,

Life’s demands and frenzied pace;

Come to join the people gathered

Here to seek and find God’s face.

In the pastures of God’s goodness

We lie down to rest our soul.

From the waters of God’s mercy

We drink deeply, are made whole.

At the table of God’s presence

All the saints are richly fed.

With the oil of God’s anointing

Into service we are led.

Come, then, children, with your burdens—

Life’s confusions, fears and pain.

Leave them at the cross of Jesus;

Take instead his kingdom’s reign.

Bring your thirsts, for he will quench them—

He alone will satisfy.

All our longing find attainment

When to self we gladly die.

* Call to New Life

The Holy One calls us into New Life. Reminding us that God is here in all that we are and all that we are about. God’s love is forever. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace

Holy One as the world tugs at us. We find ourselves being pulled away from you, doubting you, and wondering. We struggle because the world feels broken. People who need love are shamed. People who need companionship are isolated. People who seek you are sometimes turned away. We pray to love all people in companionship, in companionship, and welcoming all to your table. Forgive us when we forget to do this and remind us of your grace and mercy and love to try again.

* Words of Assurance

One: Here the Good news in Jesus Christ we are forgiven of what we have done and what we have left undone for God’s grace abounds. 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 God’s peace.

Scripture Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Time for Young Disciples “How Old Are You?” Rev. Rachel Helgeson

Music: “God of Grace and God of Glory”

(Public Domain)

Anthem Barb Fuller

“Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying,” Mark Hayes

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Send us love, send us power, send us grace.

Something’s gonna happen

Like the world has never known

When the people of the Lord get down to pray.

A door’s gonna swing open

And the walls come a-tumbling down

When the people of the Lord get down to pray.

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Send us love, send us power, send us grace.

He’s gonna take over.

He’s gonna take control

When the people of the Lord get down to pray.

He’s gonna move the mountain.

He’s gonna make the waters roll

When the people of the Lord get down to pray.

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Send us love, send us power, send us grace.

You’re gonna know it

When the Lord stretches out His hand

And the people of the Lord get down to pray.

There’s gonna be a brand new song

Of victory in this land

When the people of the Lord get down to pray.

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Send us love, send us power, send us grace.

Scripture Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18 Rev. Rachel Helgeson

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.

“Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

Response  Holy Wisdom, Holy Word: 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon “As for Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord” Rev. Rachel Helgeson

* Statement of Faith (unison) from the Belhar Confession

We Believe that God has entrusted the church with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ; that the church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells. That God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit has conquered the powers of sin and death, and therefore also of irreconciliation and hatred, bitterness and enmity, that God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world.

* Hymn #680 W & R

“I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry,” John Ylvisaker

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

I was there to hear your borning cry,

I’ll be there when you are old.

I rejoiced the day you were baptized

To see your life unfold.

I was there when you were but a child

With a faith to suit you well;

In a blaze of light you wandered off

To find where demons dwell.

When you heard the wonder of the Word

I was there to cheer you on.

You were raised to praise the living Lord

To whom you now belong.

If you find someone to share your time,

And you join your hearts as one,

I’ll be there to make your verses rhyme

From dusk till rising sun.

In the middle ages of your life,

Not too old, no longer young,

I’ll be there to guide you through the night,

Complete what I’ve begun.

When the evening gently closes in

And you shut your weary eyes,

I’ll be there as I have always been

With just one more surprise.

I was there to hear your borning cry,

I’ll be there when you are old.

I rejoiced the day you were baptized

To see your life unfold.

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 

“Glory Be to God, Creator,” Richard K. Carlson  

Glory be to God, Creator,  

Glory be to God the Son,  

Glory be to God the Spirit,  

Known as Three, yet God the One. 

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 #617 W & R

“A Place at the Table,” Shirley Elena Murray, Jane Marshall

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

For everyone born, a place at the table,
For everyone born, clean water and bread,
A shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
For everyone born, a star overhead,
And God will delight when we are creators
Of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
Yes, God will delight when we are creators
Of justice, justice and joy!

For woman and man, a place at the table,
Revising the roles, deciding the share,
With wisdom and grace, dividing the power,
For woman and man, a system that's fair,

And God will delight when we are creators
Of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
Yes, God will delight when we are creators
Of justice, justice and joy!

For young and for old, a place at the table,
A voice to be heard, a part in the song,
The hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled,
For young and for old, the right to belong,

And God will delight when we are creators
Of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
Yes, God will delight when we are creators
Of justice, justice and joy!

For just and unjust, a place at the table,
Abuser, abused, with need to forgive,
In anger, in hurt, a mind-set of mercy,
For just and unjust, a new way to live,

And God will delight when we are creators
Of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
Yes, God will delight when we are creators
Of justice, justice and joy!

For everyone born, a place at the table,
To live without fear, and simply to be,
To work, to speak out, to witness and worship,
For everyone born, the right to be free,

And God will delight when we are creators
Of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
Yes, God will delight when we are creators
Of justice, justice and joy!

* Benediction

Postlude Chris Bartlette

“Lift High the Lord, Our Banner / Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus,” Mark Hayes

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