Gathering Music

“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” – Thomas O. Chisholm

1. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
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!

2. 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

3. 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

Call to Worship

(adapted from enfleshed)

Woo Lim Kwak

Leader: God is our strength and our salvation.
All: Of whom shall we be afraid?
Leader: Neither rulers nor authorities, powers or principalities can overcome those who trust in God.
All: Let all who long for Justice come together!
Leader: In the community of God, there are no hierarchies of dominance.
All: No one is left alone before their oppressor.
Leader: Love tends to every aching body.
All: All the temptations of evil are revealed as deceit.
Leader: Let the Spirit renew our courage that we might live by this Holy Wisdom.
All: Praise be to God who leads us in the ways of Love.

Opening Song

“They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love” – Peter Scholtes

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other, we will work side by side;
We will work with each other, we will work side by side;
And we’ll guard human dignity and save human pride.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

All praise to the Maker, from whom all things come;
And all praise to Christ Jesus, God’s only Son.
And all praise to the Spirit who makes us one.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Prayer of the Day

(adapted from enfleshed)

Melissa McHenry

Leader: Our Holy Companion, though we desire to be united in service to your love, we struggle. We find it difficult to leave our old ways behind. We revert to old patterns of dominance and turn, still, on the most vulnerable among us. You know our hearts, O God. Search within and free us from the barriers that prevent our becoming the community we desire. Through Christ, we pray.
All: Amen.

Scripture Reading – 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Prumeh Lee

3:1 And so, siblings, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9 For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Leader: The Word of God for the People of God.
All: Thanks be to God.

Sermon

“I Belong to Laurel Kearns”

Beth Quick

Musical Response

“When We Are Living” – anonymous/Roberto Escamilla

When we are living it is in Christ Jesus
And when we’re dying it is in the Lord
Both in our living and in our dying
We belong to God we belong to God

Through all our living we our fruits must give
Good works of service are for offering
When we are giving or when receiving
We belong to God we belong to God

‘Mid times of sorrow and in times of pain
When sensing beauty or in love’s embrace
Whether we suffer or sing rejoicing
We belong to God we belong to God

Across this wide word we shall always find
Those who are crying with no peace of mind
But when we help them or when we feed them
We belong to God we belong to God

We belong to God we belong to God

Blessing

Beth Quick

Sending Song

“Draw the Circle Wide”