Gathering Music

Guide My Feet

Guide my feet while I run this race
Guide my feet while I run this race,
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain.

Hold my hand while I run this race,
Hold my hand while I run this race,
Hold my hand while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain

Stand by me while I run this race,
Stand by me while I run this race,
Stand by me while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain.

I’m your child while I run this race,
I’m your child while I run this race,
I’m your child while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain.

Hymn of Welcome

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is thy faithfulness, O God of Heaven;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Refrain: Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed thy hand hath provided–
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Refrain: Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed thy hand hath provided–
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain: Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed thy hand hath provided–
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Call to Worship

One: Almighty God, you create, redeem, and sustain us, every moment of our lives.
Many: In you we place our trust.
One: When we face illness, conflict, and fear,
Many: You are our steadfast protector.
One: When we suffer setback and loss,
Many: You restore us through your love.
One: When our lives prosper and we are comfortable,
Many: You move us to share our blessings with others.
One: In times of hardship and plenty,
Many: You alone are the source of the life that really is life.
One: Holy God, in love and trust,
Many: We live in the power of your resurrection, through Christ and the power of your Spirit. Amen.

Psalter

Psalm 119:33-48 (The Message)
Sung Refrain: “Show Us How to Love”

Refrain: Show us how to love,
Show us how to love;
Show us how, show us how
To love.

God, teach me lessons for living
so I can stay the course.
Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—
my whole life one long, obedient response.
Guide me down the road of your commandments;
I love traveling this freeway!
Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,
and not for piling up loot.

Refrain: Show us how to love,
Show us how to love;
Show us how, show us how
To love.

Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
Affirm your promises to me—
promises made to all who fear you.
Deflect the harsh words of my critics—
but what you say is always so good.
See how hungry I am for your counsel;
preserve my life through your righteous ways!

Refrain: Show us how to love,
Show us how to love;
Show us how, show us how
To love.

Let your love, God, shape my life
with salvation, exactly as you promised;
Then I’ll be able to stand up to mockery
because I trusted your Word.
Don’t ever deprive me of truth, not ever—
your commandments are what I depend on.

Refrain: Show us how to love,
Show us how to love;
Show us how, show us how
To love.

Oh, I’ll guard with my life what you’ve revealed to me,
guard it now, guard it ever;
And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces
as I look for your truth and your wisdom;
Then I’ll tell the world what I find,
speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed.
I cherish your commandments—oh, how I love them!—
relishing every fragment of your counsel.

Refrain: Show us how to love,
Show us how to love;
Show us how, show us how
To love.

Scripture

1 Timothy 6:9-10

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

One: The Word of God for the people of God.
Many: Thanks be to God.

Homily

“Celebrity Politics and Social Justice”

Rev. Sidney Williams

Sung Response

Show Us How to Love

Show us how to love,
Show us how to love;
Show us how, show us how
To love.

Table Liturgy

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.

It is right, and good, and joyful to give thanks to you–our Creator–in every time, place, and season. You formed the foundations of the earth, the expanse of the skies, and crafted us in your divine image, breathing into us the breath of life. Yet, we rejected your love; we abused the earth you had given us; we polluted the air and the breath you gifted us; we did not acknowledge your presence in every living being and treated one another as less than human; we failed you. But you never failed us. Your love always remained, and so you delivered us from the forces that held us captive, vowed to be our all encompassing God, and spoke to us through ordinary people that you made prophets.

And so, with your people on earth and the holy multitude in heaven, we praise your name and join their endless hymn of praise:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Holy are you, and blessed is Jesus Christ, whom you sent to transform the world.
Through your Spirit, he offered abundant life to the poor,
He proclaimed freedom for the enslaved,
He restored sight to the blind,
He demanded justice for the oppressed,
And he proclaimed the vision of your peaceable kingdom, giving us hope that the time had come when you would save your people.
He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and shared a table with the outcast.
Through his suffering, death, and resurrection, your Church was born,
You broke the chains of sin and death, and made a new covenant with us by water and the Spirit. And when Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread and he blessed it. Then he offered it to his disciples saying, “Take. Eat. This is my body which is given freely for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

When the supper was over, Jesus took the cup and he blessed it. Then he offered it to his disciples saying, “Drink from this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for all people. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.”

And so, as we remember your mighty acts made manifest in the life of Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, as Christ so offered himself for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts of bread and cup. Make them be the body and blood of Christ for us so that we will embody Christ for others in the world. As the many grapes and grains were brought from far and near to create this one cup and one loaf, by your Spirit make us one with each other so that we might be one in ministry to all people, until our hope is realized in Christ’s victorious presence and we feast together at the heavenly banquet. Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in your people–your church–all honor and glory is yours, Divine Maker.

Amen.

And now with the courage and confidence of children of God, let us pray the prayer Christ taught us:

Our God in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.

Music During Communion

Through It All

Blessing

Rev. Sidney Williams

Sending Forth

Through It All (Reprise)