In an unsettling teaching, Jesus speaks of the division he foresees between those who embrace God’s kingdom and those who reject it. As with so many of his teaching, it brings us right to the present day, rife with division. Where do we go from here?
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20th Sunday of Ordinary Time
The Present Time
Psalm 80:1-2; 8-19; Luke 12:49-56
Union Presbyterian Church
August 17, 2025
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Peg Corwin Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Welcome
Announcements Peg Corwin
Prelude Chris Bartlette
“Amazing Grace,” Joel Raney
©1998, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
* Call to Worship
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving,
singing joyful songs of praise.
O come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before God, who made us.
The Lord is our God, and we are the people of God’s pasture.
Today, let us listen for God’s voice!
* Hymn # 267 PH
“All Things Bright and Beautiful,” John Ribble
©1983, Westminster Press.
Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings:
God made their glowing colors,
God made their tiny wings.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset, and the morning
That brightens up the sky.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
God made them every one.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
God gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
* Call to New Life
O God, light of the hearts that know you, life of the souls that love you, strength of the thoughts that seek you; to turn from you is to fall; to turn to you is to rise; and to abide with you is to stand fast forever. Hear our prayers as we open our hearts for your healing and wholeness.
* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace
Merciful God, in your presence we confess our sin and the sin of this world. Although Christ is among us as our peace, we are a people divided against ourselves as we cling to the values of a broken world. The profit and pleasures we pursue lay waste the land and pollute the seas. The fears and jealousies that we harbor set neighbor against neighbor and nation and against nation. We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom, of intellect and reason, and have turned them into bonds of oppression.
~ Silent Prayer~
Lord, have mercy upon us; heal and forgive us. Set us free to serve you in the world as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus Christ. Amen.
* Assurance of God’s Love
Do not fear, says the Lord, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
God is doing a new thing: now it springs forth!
By the grace of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and made free!
Thanks be to God.
* Sharing of the Peace
Paul writes to the church at Ephesus,
Be kind to one another, and tenderhearted,
forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven you.
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 80:1-2; 8-19
Psalm 80 is a prayer for Israel’s restoration, Israel being the name of God’s covenant people in the Old Testament as well as the name of the modern state. It’s important not to conflate these two. Like many psalms of supplication, this one begins with reminders of God’s loving deeds in the past.
A responsive reading from Psalm 80, selected verses.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!
You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
it sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock that your right hand planted.
It has been burned with fire; it has been cut down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube
Music: “O God, in a Mysterious Way” (Public Domain)
Anthem
“God Has Chosen Me,” Bernadette Farrell
©1990, OCP, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
God has chosen me, God has chosen me
To bring good news to the poor.
God has chosen me, God has chosen me
To bring new sight to those searching for light:
God has chosen me, chosen me:
And to tell the world that God’s kingdom is near,
To remove oppression and break down fear,
Yes, God’s time is near, God’s time is near,
God’s time is near, God’s time is near.
God has chosen me, God has chosen me
To set alight a new fire.
God has chosen me, God has chosen me
To bring to birth a new kingdom on earth:
God has chosen me, chosen me:
And to tell the world that God’s kingdom is near,
To remove oppression and break down fear,
Yes, God’s time is near, God’s time is near,
God’s time is near, God’s time is near.
God is calling me, God is calling me
In all whose cry is unheard.
God is calling me, God is calling me
To raise up the voice with no power or choice:
God is calling me, calling me:
And to tell the world that God’s kingdom is near,
To remove oppression and break down fear,
Yes, God’s time is near, God’s time is near,
God’s time is near, God’s time is near.
Scripture Luke 12:49-56
This is a difficult passage, filled with difficult truths. Jesus is telling us unpleasant things, the kinds of things we might not think about. He ends with a plea to us to be able to read the present age for what it is.
A reading from the Gospel According to Luke, beginning at chapter 12, verse 49.
“I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Sermon “The Present Time”
* Affirmation of Faith
* Hymn # 206 PH
“O Hear Our Cry, O Lord,” Fred R. Anderson, Richard Wayne Dirksen
©1986, Fred R. Anderson; ©1974, Harold Flammer, Inc., All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
O hear our cry, O Lord;
Now hear us as we pray.
You guide us as a shepherd leads,
So keep us in Your way.
O come, Lord, come,
Restore and save us now.
Enthroned above all worlds,
You shine with holy light.
Lord, pour Your power upon us all
And save us with Your might.
O come, Lord, come,
Restore and save us now.
O Lord, the God of Hosts,
Turn not Your face away.
Our tears have been both food and drink,
Foes mock us night and day.
O come, Lord, come,
Restore and save us now.
O Lord, our God, return;
Bring peace into each home.
So let Your face shine on us all,
Restore us as Your own.
O come, Lord, come,
Restore and save us now.
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
©1979 Mercy/ Vineyard Publishing
Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
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
©1996, Hark! Productions
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 # 343 PH
“Called as Partners in Christ’s Service,” Jane Parker Huber
©1981, Westminster John Knox Press, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Called as partners in Christ’s service,
Called to ministries of grace,
We respond with deep commitment
Fresh new lines of faith to trace.
May we learn the art of sharing,
Side by side and friend with friend,
Equal partners in our caring
To fulfill God’s chosen end.
Christ’s example, Christ’s inspiring,
Christ’s clear call to work and worth,
Let us follow, never faltering,
Reconciling folk on earth.
Men and women, richer, poorer,
All God’s people, young and old,
Blending human skills together
Gracious gifts from God unfold.
Thus new patterns for Christ’s mission,
In a small or global sense,
Help us bear each other’s burdens,
Breaking down each wall or fence.
Words of comfort, words of vision,
Words of challenge, said with care,
Bring new power and strength for action,
Make us colleagues, free and fair.
So God grant us for tomorrow
Ways to order human life
That surround each person’s sorrow
With a calm that conquers strife.
Make us partners in our living,
Our compassion to increase,
Messengers of faith, thus giving
Hope and confidence and peace.
* Benediction
Postlude Chris Bartlette
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” Lloyd Larson
©2018, Lorenz Publishing Company, 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
Prayers taken and/ or adapted from prayed in the “Book of Common Worship” of the PCUSA, Westminster/ John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 2018.