Am I (are we) a 501.c.3?

Welcome, Announcements & Passing of the Peace

ORGAN PRELUDE              Kathryn Ammel Parker

*CALL TO WORSHIP       adapted from Psalm 19

The heavens tell the glory of God; and the cosmos God’s handiwork.
Day and night proclaim of wonders and knowledge; not in words or speech
– yet their voice is heard across the earth, even to the end of the world.

The law of the Lord is perfect, sure, and right.
It revives the soul, makes the simple wise,
and causes the heart to rejoice.

Finer than gold, sweeter than fresh honey from the comb;
God’s law is eternal and pure.
It enlightens all who hold the Lord in awe and respect.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
you are my rock and my redeemer.

*HYMN OF PRAISE   No. 77, UMH
How Great Thou Art

MORNING PRAYER (unison)
You are indeed a God of wonders, O Lord,
and we gather to begin our week with thanks and praise!
We seek your Spirit’s anointing today that we might
understand our place in the vastness of your creation
and also claim the unique and marvelous calling
you have for each of our lives.
May we each hear your words in the depths of our being,
so we might follow faithfully as a family
the path of life you have laid before us in Jesus our Savior.
It is in his name we pray, Amen.

YOUNG DISCIPLE’S TIME
All the children are invited to come to the Chancel for a time of discipling!

SONG OF RESPONSE  Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
Tell me the stories of Jesus, I long to hear;
things I would ask him to tell me if he were here:
scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea, stories of Jesus, tell them to me.

The Sharing of God’s Holy Word

FIRST READING   Mark 8:27-33
²⁷Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi;
and on the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
²⁸And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah;
and still others, one of the prophets.”
²⁹He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”
³⁰And Jesus sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man
must undergo great suffering, and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed,
and after three days rise again.
³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside
and began to rebuke him.
³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said,
“Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind
not on divine things but on human things.”This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to Christ!

SECOND READING   Mark 8:34-38

³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them,
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me.
³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake,
and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world
and forfeit their life?
³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man
will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory
of his Father with the holy angels.”

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to Christ!

SERMON
the Rev. Dr. Joel Daniel Hubbard, III
Am I (are we) a 501.c.3?Responding With Faith

*HYMN OF RESPONSE AND INVITATION No. 185, UMH
When Morning Gilds the Skies

PRAYERS FOR GOD’S CHILDREN AND THE WORLD
THE DISCIPLE’S PRAYER

SUNG RESPONSE   #2193, TFWS
Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying
(played before & sung together after the prayer)
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Lord, send your Spirit in this place;
Lord, listen to your children praying,
send us love, send us power, send us grace.

THE GIVING OF GOD’S TITHE AND OUR OFFERINGS

The Church Goes Out in Mission

*BLESSING

*SUNG BENEDICTION   O How I Love Jesus
O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus, because he first loved me!

ORGAN POSTLUDE