CALL TO WORSHIP - Based on Psalm 107
God of new beginnings: we come to thank you for all your blessings.
Your presence has turned the deserts of our living into pools of water.
God of second chances: we come to praise you for offering us hope.
Your presence has turned our barren wastelands into fertile pastures.
God of unending mercy and grace:
we come to worship you because you turn our lives around
with your enduring, faithful love and presence.
Your presence has unlocked the future -
for you are always good and trustworthy. Let us sing hallelujah!
Adapted from ‘The Timeless Psalms’ © 2017 Joan Stott – Used with permission.
GATHERING SONG “God, Whose Almighty Word” #673
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God,
the creator of wind and rain, field and ocean,
the bread of life coming down from above,
the power at work within us and this world.
Amen.
Before God and in the company of our sisters and brothers, let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
God and Father of all,
we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed.
We have thought better of ourselves than others.
We have told lies, said hurtful things,
acted in ways we wish we could take back,
and looked the other way when action was needed.
In your mercy, O God, forgive us, cleanse us, and heal us,
for the sake of Jesus, our Savior.
Amen.
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; everything has become new! In Christ, + you are a new creation: your sins are taken away and you are made new. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. O God of creation, eternal majesty, you preside over land and sea, sunshine and storm. By your strength pilot us, by your power preserve us, by your wisdom instruct us, and by your hand protect us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
THE FIRST LESSON: Job 38:1–11
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding Who determined its measurements — surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb? — when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped'?
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
THE SECOND LESSON: 2 Corinthians 6:1–13
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, "At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see — we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return — I speak as to children — open wide your hearts also. Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL SONG “We Praise You, O God” #870
THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: Mark 4:35–41
The holy gospel according to Saint Mark. Glory to you, O Lord.
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON “Questions, Questions” Pastor Phil Wold
HYMN OF THE DAY “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” #756
THE APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
THE SIGN OF PEACE IS SHARED
The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.
THE OFFERING AND OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray. God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you, and you open your hand in blessing. Fill us with good things, that we may come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord. Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Lord, remember us in your kingdom, and teach us to pray:
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 and ever. AMEN
BLESSING
SENDING SONG “O Jesus, I Have Promised” # 810
SENDING
Go in peace. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.
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New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.