8 September 2022 – Chapel – Drew Theo Chapel

GATHERING MUSIC

“Great Are You, Lord” – Michael W. Smith & Deborah D Smith

Great are you, Lord
You are holy and just
By your power we trust
In your love

Great are you, Lord
You are faithful and true
By your mercy you prove
You are love

Great is the Lord
And worthy of glory!
Great is the Lord
And worthy of praise!

Great is the Lord
I lift up my voice
I lift up my voice
Great is the Lord!

OPENING LITANY

(adapted from Psalm 139)

Adrian Mendoza

One: O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
ALL: You lay out my path before me,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before I speak,
You know what I will say…
One: Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I fly to the stars, you are there;
if I lie down in the depths, you are there.
ALL: If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there you find me and hold me tight.
One: It was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together inside my mother’s womb when I was being made in secret.
ALL: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are all your works; that I know very well.
One: In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them existed yet.
ALL: We praise you, O God, and our thanks and honor, powerful Creator of us all, each one fearfully and wonderfully made.

HYMN OF PRAISE

“Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield;
be thou still my strength and shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death and hell’s destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee;
I will ever give to thee.

SCRIPTURE READING – Jeremiah 18:1-11

Thurselle Chisolm-Williams

18The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ 3So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

Leader: The word of God for the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God.

CHOIR

“The Potter’s House” – Tramaine Hawkins

Seminary Choir with soloist, James Rufflin

SERMON

“In the Making”

Dean Tanya Linn Bennett

MUSICAL RESPONSE

“Spirit of the Living God” – Daniel Iverson

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

Dean Tanya Linn Bennett

Invitation to the Table:
Jesus invited his friends long ago to join him at the table for a meal. Jesus calls us now
to gather around and share in this feast. As we prepare to eat this holy supper, let us
join together in confessing our frailties before God and each other.

Prayer of Confession:
Loving God, you formed us out of dirt and breathed into us the spirit that makes
us dance, that makes us sing, that makes us love. Gracious God, we confess that
we don’t always breathe out your love; we wonder if we have enough, if we are worthy to share it, if those we meet are worthy to receive it. Compassionate God, let us know that we are
enough, we have enough, and that we are called to love all that you call beloved
with joy and without question. Amen.

Words of Assurance:
With God’s grace that is beyond all understanding, we can be sure that we are forgiven.
Let us rejoice and be glad.

Passing the Peace

Holy Communion
In the beginning, when all was chaos, when water and earth had yet to take shape,
God the sculptor, God the painter, God the creator, touched the swirling mass. And
God’s hand separated the earth from water, and the water from the sky. God touched
the earth and plants turned green and fruit grew ripe. To celebrate, God threw holy
fireworks into the sky, placing the stars in the heavens. God touched the oceans and
rivers and ponds, and all kinds of swimming beings made waves in the water. God
reached to the sky, and all kinds of things with wings took flight. And God said, this is
good!
When everything else was done, God took clay and formed an image of God’s own self,
and breathed into it God’s own breath, and said, “You are the one I’ve been imagining.
You, and everything you see around you, is my beloved creation. And all of it is good!”
But, it wasn’t good for long, because God’s people could not be faithful despite God’s
generosity and goodness. So God reached inside God’s own being, and pulled out
truth and compassion and justice and put them inside a form the people would recognize, a holy human being named Jesus. And God set Jesus on the earth to
remind us of all that God had made us to be, and all that we could be if we would
believe in God and in ourselves.

Sanctus (singing)

Jesus did all that he could to tell us how much God loves us and to show us how to love each other. But, we couldn’t accept that, we couldn’t agree about it, and we were afraid. So Jesus was given away by the very people who thought they loved him best
because the challenge was too much. But, before he was taken, Jesus gathered his
friends around a table and promised them, promised us, that he would never leave us
alone, but would come back and take us home with him.
Like those long ago friends, we don’t always understand the message Jesus brings to
us, or what his coming, going and coming again means to us. We can only be grateful
and call out this mystery of faith.
Memorial Acclamation (singing)

On that night when Jesus gathered his friends together, he took the simple food that
was their Passover dinner, bread and wine, and he blessed it and gave thanks to God
and said, “I am sharing this meal with you now so that you can share it together,
whenever you gather to remember me.”

Amen (singing)

Holy Spirit, pour into this cup and bread, and on us gathered here. Let us know that,
when we share this cup, we share in the forgiveness and love of Christ. And when we
eat this bread, we share in the body of Christ, the bread of life. Because there is one
bread, we who are many are one in the body, for we all share in this one loaf.

Lord’s Prayer (each in our own language)

Blessing of Bread and Cup

Taking of Bread and Cup