The Tower Weekly

The Weekly Bulletin of Lovely Lane

Sunday, July 25, 2010
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Worship at 10 o’Clock

 

The Church Gathers

Organ Prelude: "Hier Matin"       Miracles de Notre-Dame, 1235

Words of Welcome and Announcements (by the minister)

Congregational Introit: No. 405, "Seek Ye First"                    Seek Ye
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Allelu, alleluia.
Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek and ye shall find;
knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
Allelu, alleluia.

Call to Worship
What right have we to invoke God’s name
on what we say and do here together?
In Christ we have been called to be God’s people,
and given God’s Spirit and Word.
Have we the courage to worship in spirit and in truth,
knowing that it may change us?  
We come to seek, to find, and to be found,
with confidence not in ourselves but in God.

Hymn: No. 674, "See the Morning Sun"            Unser Herrscher
See the morning sun ascending,
radiant in the eastern sky;
hear the angel voices blending
in their praise to God on high!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to God on high!

So may we, in lowly station,
join the choristers above;
singing with the whole creation,
prarising thee for thy great love.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to God on high!

For thy lovingkindness ever
shed upon our earthly way;
for thy mercy, ceasing never,
for they blessing day by day:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to God on high!

“Wisdom, honor, power, and blessing!”
with the angelic host we cry:
round thy throne, thy name confessing,
Lord, we would to thee draw nigh.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to God on high!

Morning Prayer
God of life, who bears changes within our souls
like the flowing of the tides,
we ask your great and gracious presence with us.
We your children call upon you and ask that you hear us.
We, who have known hurt and healing, the agony of loss and the sheer pleasure of reunion and celebration,
ask you to celebrate with us now.
Help us to feel the steady rhythm
of your presence from deep within us.
Help us sense the gathering of your body all around us.
Share your life with us, for we need you,
and we know how different life can be
when your spirit fills us with your powerful love.  Amen.

To Hear The Word

A Reading from the Hebrew Scripture: Hosea 1:2-10
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord. So he went and took Gomer, daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the Living God.”
                                   
                       Michael Rouse is the reader.

An Act of Praise: p. 806, Psalm 85 (with sung response)
           Response:  The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
                               and all flesh shall see it together.

Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
Will you e angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.             Response:

Let me hear what God will speak,
for the Lord will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to the Lord in their hearts.
Surely salvation is at hand for those who fear the Lord,
that glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before the Lord,
and make God’s footsteps a way.          Response:

Lee Enos is the acolyte and reader.

Musical Selection: "My Prayer Rises to Heaven"             Dao Kim
                         Lauren MacDonald, Soprano
My prayer rises to heaven, to the mystery of God’s power,
as the smoke ascends when the precious incense burns.
Have mercy on us, Lord, and grant us your grace.
My voice glorifies the Lord God of majesty,
as the night bird sings at the dawning of the day.
This is my offering to God, the Lord of all.
O Lord God, You are love and justice and truth;
all Your judgments are just.
O Lord God, You are truth beyond compare.
Lord, in You do I trust.

A Reading from the Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if you child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Sermon: "Real Change"                Rev. Nancy Nedwell, preaching

To Respond in Faith

Hymn: No. 492, "Prayer ...Soul’s Sincere Desire" Amazing Grace
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
unuttered or expressed,
the motion of a hidden fire
that trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
the falling of a tear,
the upward glancing of an eye,
when none but God is near.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
that infant lips can try;
prayer the sublimest strains that reach
the Majesty on high.

Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice,
returning from their way,
while angels in their songs rejoice and cry,
“Behold, they pray!”

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
the Christian’s native air;
their watchword at the gates of death;
they enter heaven with prayer.

O Thou, by whom we come to God,
the Life, the Truth, the Way:
the path of prayer thyself hast trod;
Lord, teach us how to pray!

Litany
We come together in partnership and mission,
knowing that we are called to be the church:
to celebrate God’s presence, to serve others,
to seek justice, to offer the hope of the resurrected Christ.
We are called to be the body of Christ -
a community of believers, a household of faith,
a communion of saints, the people of the covenant.
We are called to the one hope of our high calling -
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.
As members of the body of Christ,
we covenant together to seek the vision
of Christ’s hope for the world.  

Prayers of the Congregation with The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And 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, forever. Amen

Offertory

Presentation of  Tithes and Offerings with Doxology: No. 95
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

And Scatters to Be the Church in the World

Hymn: No. 557, "Blest Be the Tie"              Dennis
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.

We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear; and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart,
and hope to meet again.

Dismissal with Blessing

Congregational Response                                                           Azmon
The love of God with peace and joy,
will each of us attend,
and guide our ways through coming days,
until we meet again.

Ringing of the Bicentennial Bell

Organ Postlude: "Allegro Giocoso"                                   Parnell

 

 

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