The Fruits of the Spirit

Sunday, June 29, 2025
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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The apostle Paul, in a letter to the church in Galatia, is trying to impress upon its members that the world, with its skewed priorities, will only lead them astray. It is God’s Spirit whom they must listen to, in order to love their neighbors as they love themselves.

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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Fruits of the Spirit

Psalm 16; Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Union Presbyterian Church 

June 29, 2025 

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

Liturgist: Diane Sommerville Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube  

Welcome  

Announcements Diane Sommerville 

Prelude Robin Lostetter

“Jesus Loves Me,” Faye Lopez

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

* Call to Worship

The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy never cease;

they are fresh as the morning and sure as the sunrise.

Jesus left us a new commandment:

to love one another, as God as loved us.

O Lord, open our lips:

And our mouths shall proclaim your praise.

* Hymn # 13 W & R “Sing a New Song to the Lord”

Timothy Dudley-Smith, David G. Wilson

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Sing a new song to the Lord,
He to whom wonders belong;
Rejoice in his triumph and tell of his power,
O sing to the Lord a new song!

Now to the ends of the earth
See his salvation is shown;
And still he remembers his mercy and truth,
Unchanging in love to his own.

Sing a new song and rejoice,
Publish his praises abroad;
Let voices in chorus, with trumpet and horn,
Resound for the joy of the Lord!

Join with the hills and the sea
Thunders of praise to prolong;
In judgment and justice he comes to the earth,
O sing to the Lord a new song!

* Call to New Life   

The grace of God overflows for us, in the one who came in love, and for love. Let us approach God, who can hear the fullness of our hearts and make us new.

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace  

 Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess

our failure to be what you created us to be.

You alone know how often we have fallen short

in wandering from your ways,

in wasting your gifts,

in forgetting your love.

(Silence)

And we pray,

By your loving mercy,

help us to live in your light

and abide in your ways,

for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

* Assurance of God’s Love

The love and mercy of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

We trust in God’s steadfast love and rejoice in God’s goodness.

Steadfast love surrounds all who trust in God.

Thanks be to God!

* Sharing of the Peace 

Peace is flowing like a river, setting all the captives free.

May the peace of God be with you. 

And also with you. 

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace. 

Scripture Psalm 16 (NRSVUE)  (Responsive)

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”

As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble ones
    in whom is all my delight.

Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
    or take their names upon my lips.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the Lord, who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.

I keep the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
    my body also rests secure.

For you do not give me up to Sheol
    or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life.
    In your presence there is fullness of joy;
    in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube 

Music: “Jesus Loves Me” (Public Domain)

Anthem

“Who Is My Neighbor?” Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

Used with permission.

"Who is my neighbor?" A lawyer asked Jesus, to test him.

So Jesus told him a story to answer his question:

Lonely the way ...

Lonely the traveler one day.

Robbers attacked him and left him.

First down the road came a priest who just chose to ignore him.

Next came a Levite who wouldn't do anything for him.

Then one despised,

Hated in everyone's eyes,

Knelt down to heal and restore him.

Tending the wounds of the man, the Samaritan labored.

He was the one with compassion, the one in God's favor.

Not by a creed

But by responding to need,

He proved to be the good neighbor.

Scripture Galatians 5:1, 13-25 (NRSVUE) 

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become enslaved to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word: 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon ”The Fruits of the Spirit” Rev. Pat Raube  

*Affirmation of Faith From “A Brief Statement of Faith,” PCUSA

We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church. The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church. In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.

In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

* Hymn # 397 W & R “The Gift of Love,” Hal H. 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.

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  # 352 W & R (verse 2)  

“Spirit Song,” John Wimber 

O come and sing this song with gladness

as your hearts are filled with joy.

Lift your hands in sweet surrender to his name.

O give him all your tears and sadness;

give him all your years of pain,

and you’ll enter into life in Jesus’ name.

Call for Offering     

* Doxology # 145 W & R (verse 1)

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

Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847 

Glory Be to God, Creator,
Glory be to God the Son,
Glory be to God the Spirit,
Known as three, yet God the One.

* Dedication of Offering 

* Hymn  # 398 W & R “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”

(Public Domain)

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of thy love–
Leading onward, leading homeward,
To thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus–
Spread his praise from shore to shore!
How he loves us, ever loves us,
Changes never, nevermore!
How he watches o'er his loved ones,
Died to call them all his own;
How for them he's interceding,
Watching o'er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Love of every love the best!
'Tis an ocean vast of blessing,
'Tis a haven sweet of rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus–
'Tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory,
For it lifts me up to thee!

* Benediction 

Postlude Robin Lostetter

“O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee,” Brenda Dillon

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 Prayer for Wholeness and Peace is adapted from a prayer in the PCUSA Book of Common Worship, copyright John Knox Press, 2018.

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The Fruits of the Spirit