Gathering Music
“I Am Here In the Heart of God”
Erin McGaughan arr. Chandra Rule
I am here in the heart of God,
God is here in the heart of me.
Like the wave in the water and the water in the wave,
I am here in the heart of God.
I am here in the breath of God,
God is here in the breath of me.
Like the wind in the springtime and the springtime in the wind,
I am here in the breath of God.
I am here in the soul of God,
God is here in the soul of me.
Like the flame in the fire and the fire in the flame.
I am here in the soul of God.
I am here in the mind of God,
God is here in the mind of me.
Like the earth in my body and my body in the earth,
I am here in the mind of God.”
Call to Worship
Brigid Dwyer
Adapted from Rev. Molly Bolton, enfleshed
Leader: Come, let us ground ourselves in the sacred wonder of this ordinary day,
Come, all you embodied beings,
you creatures inherently worthy of tender care!
What you hold – your sorrow, stories, disappointments, and dreams:
People: All of it belongs in the care of the Beloved.
Leader: What lives in your body, what is beyond words – what aches, longs, and dances:
People: All of it belongs in the loving embrace of the Holy.
Leader: Let us worship God who witnesses our complexity and loves us unwaveringly.
Opening Song
“How Firm a Foundation” UMH 529
“K” in Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, 1787
- How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? - “Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. - “When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. - “When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
my grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine. - “The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”
Scripture Reading – Psalm 146
Ji Hae Lee
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
God sets the prisoners free;
8 God opens the eyes of the blind.
God lifts up those who are bowed down;
God loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers;
God upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked God brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Leader: The Word of God for the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God.
A Psalm 146 Sonnet
Josh Phillips
From James Laurence, My Pastoral Ponderings
Governments and rulers cannot save us,
So why do we keep on hoping they will?
Time turns their plans and promises to rust –
Their engines of progress all become still.
No earthly leader will last forever,
And their promised castles, all made of sand,
Are subject to whims of tide and weather –
They offer nothing on which hope can stand.
Blessed, instead, those whose hope is in God.
From every nation, all generations,
They travel the road all pilgrims have trod –
The safe narrow way to our salvation.
Let us trust God, who keeps faith forever,
Whose care for us is beyond all measure.
Anthem
“I Choose Love”
Words: Lindy Thompson, Music: Mark Miller
Seminary Choir
Sermon
Rev. Dr. Gary Simpson
Musical Response
Communion
Rev. Dr. Gary Simpson
Servers: Michael Benyah, Juan Martínez Benavides
Communion Songs
“Sing Alleluia to the Lord”
Sing Alleluia to the Lord… [we sing this verse 3 or4 times]
Lift Up your hearts unto the Lord… [sung 2x]
Go Into all the world with love… [sung 1x}
“Holy Is the Refugee”
Words: Hannah C. Brown, Music: Mark A. Miller
Blessing
Rev. Dr. Gary Simpson
Sending Song
“Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand”
Words: Jennie Wilson, Music: F. L. Eiland
- Time is filled with swift transition, naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal, hold to God’s unchanging hand!
Hold to God’s hand, to God’s unchanging hand!
Hold to God’s hand, to God’s unchanging hand!
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand!
- When your journey is completed, if to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory, your enraptured soul will view!
Hold to God’s hand, to God’s unchanging hand!
Hold to God’s hand, to God’s unchanging hand!
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand!
Drew Theo Chapel 