GATHERING MUSIC

CALL TO WORSHIP

Led by Adrian Mendoza

God of all the earth, Creator of the universe, Holy Triune God,

From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

Your law brings life, God, and we meditate on it day and night;

Happy are we when we walk in your ways, O God.

You are a rich stream of living waters, and we would immerse ourselves in you;

Happy are we when we walk in your ways, O God.

You bring forth fruit in due season and establish the work of our hands;

Happy are we when we walk in your ways, O God.

Who is like our God, the One whose ways are full of life?

Happy are we when we walk in your ways, O God.

This is our God, the Holy One. Let us come before God with thanksgiving, offering the sacrifice of praise.

OPENING SONG

“And Are We Yet Alive?!”

SCRIPTURE READING – PSALM 1

Read by Brigid Dwyer

The Two Ways

Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

REFLECTION

Beth Quick

MUSICAL RESPONSE

“We Resist”

RESPONSE

Written by Kirsten E. M. Trambley, with references from Wicked The Musical. Read by Antonio Blake

Does good conquer evil? Does truth outlive a lie?

It’s easy to call out the wicked. They are lonely, they cry alone, they die alone, they reap what they sow. 

It’s easy to point out that there is loathing between good and wicked. 

It’s easy to determine that wickedness must be punished, evil should be effectively eliminated. 

But who decides when something is bad? 

Are the good just seeking attention? 

Do the wicked have this thrust upon them? 

Maybe it’s not so limited. 

A person could be seen as a traitor or liberator, thief or philanthropist, crusader or invader. It’s all in which label is able to persist. 

Is there really such a divide between good and wicked?

BLESSING

May God protect you through your time of trial.
May the love of Christ, seen in what he did, and heard in what he said, fill you with joy and hope.
May the Holy Spirit advocate for you, leading into all truth, lighting the way of faith, and strengthening you to follow Jesus, so that you will become like a strong, young tree, growing deep and bearing much fruit. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

***

Worship Notes:
Response: Written by Kirsten Trambley, with references to Wicked the Musical: “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “What is This Feeling?,” “March of the Witch Hunters,” “Something Bad,” “No Good Deed,” “The Wizard and I,” “Wonderful”
Call to worship adapted from Oratio Contemplativa, http://oratiocontemplativa.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/prayers-for-proper-18-year-c-rcl-closest-to-september-7/
Blessings adapted from Peter L. Haynes, and posted on the Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren website. http://rockhay.tripod.com/