Today Jesus speaks of the complications of social mores and niceties. There is this dinner party… When it is a good idea to put yourself forward, to try to make yourself known? And when is it best to be the guy at the back? Bonus: We are having a dinner party as well, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. 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!
22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
The Guy at the Back
Psalm 81:1, 10-16; Luke 14:1; 7-14
Union Presbyterian Church
August 31, 2025
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Barbara Ann Dailey Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Welcome
Announcements Barbara Ann Dailey
Prelude Chris Bartlette
“Come, Christians, Join to Sing,” Robert D. Vandall
©2010, Alfred Music Publishing, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
* Call to Worship
Come, let us gather in the awareness of God’s love.
God’s love has brought us to this place;
God has made us into a community of faith.
We can live with confidence and hope,
in the assurance that we are held close by a power greater than ourselves.
Let us praise this God of endless grace,
and offer our hearts’ true worship.
* Hymn # 487 PH
“When Morning Gilds the Skies”
(Public Domain)
When morning gilds the skies,
My heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer
To Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Does sadness fill my mind?
A solace here I find:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Or fades my earthly bliss?
My comfort still is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let earth's wide circle round
In joyful notes resound:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let air and sea and sky
From depth to height reply:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this, while life is mine,
My canticle divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this the eternal song
Through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
* Call to New Life
By virtue of our baptism, we are disciples of Christ, called into his ministry, his messengers in this world. Let us search ourselves with honesty and humility, and allow God to give us the healing and strength we need to do God’s work.
* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace
O Christ, if we carry the name Christian, we are signs of your presence. Yet we confess that we sometimes hurt people through our pride, rather than showing the way to the healing waters of your Spirit. When we are discouraged, we are unable to be signs of joy or hope or good news.
~ Silent Prayer~
Forgive us, Loving God, and give us the grace to be earthly reminders of your love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
* Assurance of God’s Love
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Can anything separate us from the love of God?
Can trouble, pain, or persecution?
I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither messenger of heaven nor ruler on earth,
neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow,
neither power from on high nor power from below;
We are convinced that nothing in God’s whole world
has any power to separate us from the love of God! Alleluia! Amen.
* Sharing of the Peace
We are convinced that God is love,
and that conviction brings a great sense of 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 Psalm 81:1, 10-16
A responsive reading from Psalm 81, selected verses.
Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
“I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
Then I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
and their doom would last forever.
I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Time for Young Disciples
Music: “God of Many Names,” William P. Rowen
©1986, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Anthem
“Boundless Love,” Hans Peterson
©2001, Dakota Road Music, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
Oh Spirit of Jesus you sit at our table
And call us to a radical meal
Of boundless love that climbs over barriers
So nothing can keep us apart.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
We structure injustice that keeps some from eating,
You prepare us for a different feast
Of boundless love that climbs over barriers
So nothing can keep us apart.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
Oh Spirit of life come and move through the people,
Confronting the powers of death
‘Cause boundless love climbs over barriers
So nothing can keep us apart.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
Boundless love
Touches and changes the heart of us.
Scripture Luke 14:1, 7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host, and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Sermon “The Guy at the Back”
* Affirmation of Faith from the Progressive Christian Alliance
We believe in God, whose love is the source of all life and the desire of our lives; whose love was given a human face in Jesus of Nazareth; whose love was crucified by the evil that waits to enslave us all; and, whose love, defeating even death, is our glorious promise of freedom.
Therefore, though we are sometimes fearful and full of doubt, we trust that love. And in the name of Jesus Christ, we commit ourselves in the service of others: to seek justice and to live in peace; to care for the earth and to share the commonwealth of God’s goodness; to live in the freedom of forgiveness and in the power of the Spirit of Love; and in the company of all the faithful – past, present, and yet to come – so to be the Church, for the glory of God. Amen.
* Hymn # 510 PH
“Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts”
(Public Domain)
Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts,
Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of all,
From the best bliss that earth imparts
We turn, unfilled, to heed Thy call.
Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood;
Thou savest those that on Thee call;
To them that seek Thee Thou art good,
To them that find Thee, all in all.
We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead,
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.
Our restless spirits yearn for Thee,
Where'er our changeful lot is cast,
Glad when Thy gracious smile we see,
Blest when our faith can hold Thee fast.
O Jesus, ever with us stay,
Make all our moments calm and bright;
O chase the night of sin away,
Shed o'er the world Thy holy light.
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 # 350 PH
“Fill My Cup,” Isaiah Jones, Jr.
©1986, Davike Music Company
Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Let it overflow with love.
Lord, let me be Your instrument,
Spreading sunshine in the land;
Let people see Your works in me;
Help me live the best I can.
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Let it overflow with love.
It’s my desire to live for You
And to always walk upright;
Give me the strength to face each day;
Stay with me through each dark night.
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Fill my cup, let it overflow;
Let it overflow with love.
* Benediction
Postlude Chris Bartlette
“All Creatures of Our God and King,” Mark Hayes
©2010, 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
Call to Worship, Prayer for Wholeness and Peace, and Assurance of God’s Love taken and/ or adapted from Ruth C. Duck, Bread for the Journey: Resources for Worship (Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press, 1981).