GATHERING TO PRAISE GOD Sunday, October 3, 2021

Prelude

Praise Song

Welcome

The People Gather
L: Today, on World Communion Sunday, we remember that we are one. Today, we celebrate the Spirit of God that moves throughout God’s people across all of creation.
All: We are one in Christ.**
L: Today we remember our responsibility to bear with one another in love, to maintain unity by the bond of peace and to be the body of Christ in the world.
All: We are one body.**
L: Today we recall that, as members of one body, we can make a difference in a world of people in need of the hope of the love of Christ. Today, we recognize this hope that unites us and sustains us.
All: We are people of one hope.
L: Today we celebrate our unity. We set aside the small things that can divide us and remember that, with God, we can overcome all things. Today we are reminded that only with gentleness and humility can we clearly see God’s plan for us.
All: We are people of one Lord.
L: Today, on World Communion Sunday, we acknowledge that we belong to God and to each other. We share the bread and the cup of Holy Communion. And through our gifts on this special Sunday, we provide scholarships and other opportunities so that people around the world can serve Jesus Christ.
*All: We are people of one God who is above all and through all. *

Hymn

The People Pray
**God of all creation, Bread of heaven, you have made us a little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honor. You have called us to be your witnesses, to proclaim the good news in good times and in bad. Sanctify us and help us see ourselves in you, the living body of the risen Christ, broken and poured out to feed a hungry world. Amen.

Special Music

The People Confess Their Sin
God of mercy, we confess that we have not loved you with all our being.
We have done things which we ought not to have done, and we have left undone things which we ought to have done.**
We have built walls between neighbors and between countries, between races and genders, and we have ignored the cries of those in need.
Forgive us and set us free, that we may live into the hope of your calling, that your reign may come on earth as it is in heaven. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
L: Thanks be to God: Jesus died for our sins. We are forgiven!
All: We are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

The Word of God for the People of God
**Scripture
Acts 1:21-26, 2:14-15, 22-24, 29-33
21 “Therefore, we must select one of those who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus lived among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when Jesus was taken from us. This person must become along with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 So they nominated two: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
24 They prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s deepest thoughts and desires. Show us clearly which one you have chosen from among these two 25 to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” 26 When they cast lots, the lot fell on Matthias. He was added to the eleven apostles.
14 Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! 15 These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning!
29 “Brothers and sisters, I can speak confidently about the patriarch David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this very day. 30 Because he was a prophet, he knew that God promised him with a solemn pledge to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Having seen this beforehand, David spoke about the resurrection of Christ, that he wasn’t abandoned to the grave, nor did his body experience decay.[a] 32 This Jesus God raised up. We are all witnesses to that fact. 33 He was exalted to God’s right side and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit. He poured out this Spirit, and you are seeing and hearing the results of his having done so.

Psalm 16:8-9
I always put the Lord in front of me;
I will not stumble because he is on my right side.
9 That’s why my heart celebrates and my mood is joyous;
yes, my whole body will rest in safety

Hymn

Message Stand Alone

Pastoral Prayer

The People Bring Their Gifts
There are baskets in the back or use your online app

The People Come to the Table
Blessing of the Sacraments
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
God of all nations, you created every person in your image and called us by your Holy Spirit to become one in Christ Jesus, through Baptism and through faith.
In Jesus Christ, you showed us the way to live with unique gifts, yet in harmony with you and with each other.
You, O God, are indeed above all and through all and in all.
So, today we join with voices throughout the earth and in heaven, saying:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.Heaven and earth are full of your glory.Hosanna in the highest!Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!
Holy are you and blessed is your child, Jesus Christ.
Jesus lived among us to show us your love: caring enough to feed hungry persons, stopping to touch persons in need of healing, reaching out to those not like himself:
a Samaritan woman at a well,
lepers from another country,
those tortured by demons,
a Roman father pleading for his daughter,
a woman from Syro-Phoenicia,
Zacchaeus, a tax collector,
a rich young ruler, and humble fishermen.
When people gathered to hear his teachings, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them to eat, so that they might be fed.

When Jesus ate with his disciples for his final meal on earth, they remembered his blessing on the multitude, and listened as he told them:
“Take, eat, this is my body given for you.”

They watched as Jesus took the cup, blessed it and said,
“Take, drink, this is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for the whole world for the forgiveness of sins.”

After his death and resurrection, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples told others through this meal, that Jesus was the Messiah, sent by God, for all humankind.
Remembering now, we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free.
*You are the Savior of the world.*

Pour out your Holy Spirit on the table
spread this day around this globe, and on all your people.
May all who partake, wherever they live,
know the reconciling love of Jesus Christ.
May your church go forth from Communion with you
to be one in Christ and one in witness to the world.
In your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
Almighty and merciful God,
we thank you for your presence in our midst
as we gather in praise and thanksgiving to you.
Creator God, you made humankind in your image,
with varied hues of skin, hair, and eyes,
of varied heights and widths,
with differing talents and gifts.
Yet all of us are beautiful in your sight.
We give you thanks for calling us to be your children.
We thank you for sending Jesus Christ to live among us.
In his time on earth, Jesus reached out to all persons,
poor and rich, children, women and men, sick and marginalized.
He taught us to do the same.
And he gave us this meal to remember him:
taking a loaf of bread, giving thanks, he broke it and said,
“This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, he took the cup after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

We give you thanks for Jesus Christ and for this meal.
We ask your Holy Spirit to come to the table
spread around the world today: make it be for all the body of Christ.
Bless each person and bless our partaking that we may grow into your body,
united in your love, to bring your reconciling peace to the whole world.
For these hopes and for all your promises given and kept,
we give you thanks, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Sharing the meal

The People Go into The World

Praise Song

Benediction

Organ Postlude