Priorities

Sunday, August 3, 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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Jesus is sharing more and more parables as he travels from town to town. Today he talks today about a man whose priorities turn out to be devastatingly skewed in the wrong direction… someone tradition calls a “rich fool.” This morning’s service includes the sacrament of Holy Communion: all are welcome!

You can join us for worship in our beautiful sanctuary or by livestream right here, every Sunday at 10:30 AM. You are always welcome!

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Priorities

Psalm 107:1-9; 43; Luke 12:13-21

Union Presbyterian Church  

August 3, 2025  

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

Liturgist: Doug Moore Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube   

Prayer Joys and Concerns Rev. Pat Raube  

Welcome   

Announcements Doug Moore  

Prelude Robin Lostetter 

“Let Us Break Bread Together,” Brenda Dillon

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

* Call to Worship

We meet in the name of God:

Creator of the universe, source of true humanity,

mother and father of all. Amen!

We meet in the name of Jesus:

Word made flesh, savior of fallen humanity,

lover of all. Amen!

We meet in the name of the Holy Spirit:

Lord and giver of life, midwife of all humanity,

inspirer of all. Amen!

* Hymn # 489 PH

“Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty”
(Public Domain)

Open now thy gates of beauty,
Zion, let me enter there,
Where my soul in joyful duty
Waits for God who answers prayer;
O how blessed is this place,
Filled with solace, light, and grace!

Gracious God, I come before Thee,
Come Thou also down to me;
Where we find Thee and adore Thee,
There a heaven on earth must be;
To my heart O enter Thou,
Let it be Thy temple now.

Speak, O Lord, and I will hear Thee,
Let Thy will be done indeed;
May I undisturbed draw near Thee,
While Thou dost Thy people feed.
Here of life the fountain flows,
Here is balm for all our woes.

* Call to New Life    

God made this world, and intended it to be a good place.

We know we can do better, and we can do our part to make that a reality.

Let us open ourselves, offer ourselves, to God for strength, healing, and inspiration.

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace   

O God, because you made the world,

and intended it to be a good place,

and called its people your children;

because, when things seemed to be at their worst,

you came in Christ to bring out the best in us,

so, gracious God, we gladly say:

Goodness is stronger than evil.

Love is stronger than hate.

Light is stronger than shadow.

Truth is stronger than lies.

Because confusion can reign inside us, despite our faith;

because anger, tension, bitterness, and envy distort our vision;

because our minds sometimes worry small things all out of proportion;

because we do not always get it right, Lord, we want to believe:

Goodness is stronger than evil.

Love is stronger than hate.

Light is stronger than shadow.

Truth is stronger than lies.

Because you have promised to hear us, and are able to change us,

and are willing to make our hearts your home,

we ask you to confront, forgive, and encourage us, as you know best.

Then, let us cherish in our hearts that which we proclaim with our lips:

Goodness is stronger than evil.

Love is stronger than hate.

Light is stronger than shadow.

Truth is stronger than lies.

Lord, hear our prayer, and change our lives

until we illustrate the grace of the God who makes all things new.

Amen.

* Assurance of God’s Love 1 John 4:7-9

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 

Thanks be to God! Amen.

* Sharing of the Peace  

Christ, who nourishes us, is our peace.

Strangers and friends, male and female, old and young,

He has broken down the barriers to bind us to him and to each other.

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

Let us share Christ’s peace.

Scripture Psalm 107:1-9, 43 (NRSVUE)  (Responsive) 

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
    until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
    and the hungry he fills with good things.

Let those who are wise pay attention to these things
    and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube  

Music: “Jesus Loves Me” (Public Domain)

Anthem

“Take My Life, That I May Be”

(Public Domain)

Take my life, that I may be
Consecrated, Lord, to thee;

Take my moments and my days;

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of thy love;

Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages for thee.

Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold;

Take my intellect, and use

Every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it thine;

It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is thine own;

It shall be thy royal throne.

Take my life; my Lord, I pour

At thy feet its treasure store;

Take myself, and I will be

Ever, only, all for thee.

Scripture Luke 12:13-21 (NRSVUE)  

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:  

Thanks be to God!  

Sermon ”Priorities” Rev. Pat Raube   

*Affirmation of Faith from the Iona Community, Scotland

We believe in God above us,

maker and sustainer of all life,

of sun and moon, of water and earth, of all God’s children.

We believe in God beside us,

Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh,

born of a woman’s womb, servant of the poor.

He was tortured and nailed to a tree.

A man of sorrows, he died forsaken.

He descended into the earth to the place of death.

On the third day he rose from the tomb.

He ascended into heaven to be everywhere present,

and his kingdom will come on earth.

We believe in God within us,

the Holy Spirit of Pentecostal fire,

life-giving breath of the church,

Spirit of healing and forgiveness,

source of resurrection and of life everlasting.

Amen.

* Hymn (to the tune of # 439 W & R, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul”)

“Bigger Barns” by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

Used with permission.

"Bigger barns are what I need!" So a rich man said one day.
"From my worries I'll be free when my wealth is stored away."
"Fool!" God said, "Today you'll die! Will your wealth mean anything?
All life's blessings really lie in my life that wealth can't bring."

"Bigger barns are what we need for our money, gadgets, more!"
Lord, we're tempted to believe having wealth, we'll be secure!
Somewhere children cry for food or to have a doctor's care.
Can our bigger barns be good when poor neighbors know despair?

God of love, we long to know what will make us truly blest.
Jesus taught us long ago wealth won't give us peace or rest.
You are our security! Safe in you, we serve, O Lord.
May we find we're rich indeed when we're sharing with the poor.

Prayers of the People  

Wee Worship Book pp. 22-23

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   

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 

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  

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

The Invitation

This is the table, not of the church, but of the Lord.

It has been made ready for those who love him and who want to love him more.

So come,

you who have much faith and you who have little,

you who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time,

you who have tried to follow and you who feel you have failed.

Come, not because it is I who invite you: it is our Lord.

It is his will that those who want him should meet him here.

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise

The Great Thanksgiving

Gratitude, praise, hearts lifted high,

voices full and joyful—these you deserve.

For when we were nothing, you made us something.

When we had no name and no faith and no future,

you called us your children.

When we lost our way or turned away, you did not abandon us.

When we came back to you, your arms opened wide in welcome.

And look—you prepare a table for us,

offering, not just bread, not just fruit of the vine,

but your very self, so that we may be filled, forgiven,

healed, blessed, and made new again.

You are worth all our pain and all our praise.

So now, in gratitude, we join our voices

to those of the Church on earth and in heaven.

Sanctus

“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Holy, holy, holy Lord, 

God of power, God of might, 

Heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest. 

Blessed is He who comes  

In the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest, 

Hosanna in the highest. 

The Words of Institution

Among friends, gathered around a table,

Jesus took bread, broke it and said,

“This is my body, broken for you.”

And later he took the cup of the fruit of the vine and said,

“This is the new relationships with God, made possible because of my death.

Take this—all of you—to remember me.”

And so, we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

When we eat this bread and drink this cup,

we proclaim your life, death, and resurrection, O Lord,

until you come again

For us you were born,

for us you healed, preached, taught,

and showed the way to heaven;

for us you were crucified,

and for us, after death, you rose again.

Lord Jesus Christ, present with us now,

for all that you have done and all that you have promised,

what have we to offer?

Our hands are empty,

our hearts are sometimes full of the wrong things.

But with you is mercy and the power to change us.

So, as we do in this place what you did in an upstairs room,

send down your Holy Spirit on us

and on these gifts of bread and the fruit of the vine,

that they may become for us your body,

healing, forgiving and making us whole;

and that we may become for you, your body,

loving and caring in the world

until your kingdom comes.

For it is through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, that all glory and honor is yours, mighty God,

now and forever. Amen.

Communion of the People 

You are invited to come forward to receive communion.

Each plate of bread has gluten free wafers in the center.

Look, here is your Lord coming to you in bread and the fruit of the vine.

These are the gifts of God for the people of God.

Prayer of Thanksgiving After Communion

Lord Jesus Christ, you have put your life into our hands; now we put our lives into yours. Take us, renew and remake us. What we have been is past; what we will be, through you, still awaits us. Lead us on. Take us with you. In your holy name we pray. Amen.

* Hymn  # 504 PH

“Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether,” Harold Friedell 

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Draw us in the Spirit’s tether,

For when humbly in Your name

Two or three are met together,

You are in the midst of them;

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Touch we now Your garment’s hem.

As disciples used to gather

In the name of Christ to sup,

Then with thanks to God the Father

Break the bread and bless the cup,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

So now bind our friendship up.

All our meals and all our living

Make as sacraments of You,

That by caring, helping, giving,

We may be disciples true.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

We will serve with faith anew.

Benediction  

Postlude Robin Lostetter 

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” Bernadine Johnson

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  

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Priorities