Worship Archive: September 14, 2014

 Creation  2A

 September 14, 2014

10 am Holy Communion Service

Grace Evangelical Lutheran

Today’s Worship Participants: 

Pastor: Rev. Megan Rohrer

Music Director: Dorothy Clazie

Assisting Minister: Earl 

Reader:  Laurel

Welcome to worship at Grace!

Welcome to long-time Lutherans, Christians from every tradition, and people new to faith. Welcome to all who have no church home, want to follow Christ, have doubts, or do not believe. Welcome to new visitors and old friends. Welcome to people of every age and size, color and culture, every sexual orientation and gender identity, socio-economic status, marital status, ability and challenge. Welcome to believers and questioners, and to questioning believers. This is a place where you are welcome to celebrate and sorrow, rejoice and recover.  This is a place where lives are made new.

Special Welcome to Newcomers

Welcome to our small community of faith.  While we are small in numbers, we have big hearts and a desire to grow.  In order to help you follow along, we have included all the materials you need for worship in this bulletin.

Please join us for worship any Sunday at 10am that you are able.  If you cannot join us in person, you can also join us online via live stream or by watching the archives of our worship and Bible Study that Doesn’t Suck anytime during the week at our website (www.gracesf.com), or on our mobile phone app, Bible Study that Doesn’t Suck, is available on Google Play and ITunes. 

If you have any questions about the service or about Grace, you can fill out the form in pew to let our pastor know you’d like to chat.  Or you can contact Pastor Megan Rohrer at pastor@gracesf.com.

Prelude: "Like the Murmur of the Dove's Song"                Peter Cutts                  arr. John Carter

Greeting:  

In the name of the Creator, the fountain of life, in the name of Christ, the pulse of life,

and in the name of the Spirit, the breath of life. Amen.

Holy! Holy! Holy!

Earth is filled with God’s presence.

Christ, we come into your presence to worship in this sanctuary called Earth,

 a planet pulsating with your presence,

a presence quivering in the forests,

a presence vibrating in the land,

a presence pulsating in the wilderness,

a presence shimmering in the rivers.

God, reveal yourself to us in this place, and show us your face in all creation. 

Opening Hymn:

Welcome  

Prayer of the Day:

Creator God, thank you for all the beauty of the Earth.  Protect land, fields, gardens and the farmers and gardeners who care for them.  Amen.

First Reading: Genesis 3:14-19; 4:8-16

¹⁴The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

¹⁷And to the man he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

…

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.

⁹Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! ¹¹And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹²When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

¹³Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! ¹⁴Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” ¹⁵Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.

¹⁶Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ¹⁷Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch. ¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methushael, and Methushael the father of Lamech.

L   Word of hope, word of life.                        Thanks be to God

Psalm  139:7-12 (read responsively)

⁷Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

⁹If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.

¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”

¹²even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-17

¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— ¹³sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. ¹⁴Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. ¹⁵But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. ¹⁶And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. ¹⁷If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

L   Word of hope, word of life.                        Thanks be to God

Special Music:   "O Sing This Anthem, Song of Praise"         Jay Althouse       Grace Choir

                

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 2:23-28

23 One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ ²⁵And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? ²⁶He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ ²⁷Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; ²⁸so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’

The gospel of the Lord.                                Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon: Silence for reflection follows the sermon.  The assembly stands to proclaim the word of God in song.

Scripture in this service is adapted from The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation, by Priests for Equality.  2009, Sheed & Ward. Kindle Edition. The traditional Lutheran liturgy is from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2014 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #28429. Hymns used with permission for worship and podcast under OneLicense.net  #A-723548.

Hymn of the Day:

Prayers of Intercession

A    During this season of Creation, we pray that God will draw near and remind us that we were fearfully and wonderfully made.  May our uniqueness inspire the church to be ever looking to see what God will reveal next.  Let us lift our hearts and expand our community by praying for the world and all people in their need.  A brief silence.

Creating God, help us repair broken relationships, to clean up our messes and debts and to ask for help when we need it. Help us to be good stewards of our planet and its resources.  God in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Parent God, bless all who are parents, the family and staff of the Grace Infant Care Center and all who have created families.  Help us to become better at loving and receiving love from others.  God in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God, guide our civic leaders and enable them to be good stewards of our natural resources and to help protect the air and water that is vital to our survival.  Be with our bishops Elizabeth and Mark, our pastor Megan and all the staff and leaders of our congregation.  God in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We give thanks for all who work in healing and caring professions.  Support doctors, nurses, partners, parents and friends who love and support others.  Provide healing and hope for those whose minds, bodies or spirits are in need of care.  Help us to live as fully as we can as we await the day all pain and suffering will end.   God in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For whom and what else do the people of Grace pray?

(Please offer - silently or aloud- petitions to God.  End spoken petitions with “God in your mercy.”)

P Our prayers rise like incense and are held by a loving God who yearns for us to be our best.  May we sleep well, worry less, and live convinced that God is on our side.    Amen.

Peace

The presiding minister and the assembly greet each other in the peace of the risen Christ.

P   The peace of Christ be with you always.                C   And also with you.

The people may greet one another with the sign of Christ’s peace, and may say, “Peace be with you” or similar words.    Then, the assembly is seated.

Offering

An offering is gathered for the mission of the church, including the care of those in need. 

Offertory: "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow"             Hymntune: Old 100th

                                                                                                             Johann Christoph Bach  (1642-1703)

Offering Prayer:

After the offering is gathered, the assembly stands.

A    Let us pray.   God, bless all that we have to offer.  May our financial support match the generosity of our lives.  Help us to be good stewards of our financial and emotional investments.  Amen.

Communion:

P  It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise . . . we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

P   On the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.

The pastor invites the Holy Spirit to be in the meal and with the people present.

The pastor takes the bread.

You are blessed indeed, God of all creation.  Through your goodness we have this bread which the Earth has given and which we have received from the silent soil.  Bathed in morning light, this beautiful planet rests in the galaxies of space, faithful and surprising, bringing forth life in all its forms.   Blessed be God forever.

The pastor takes the wine.

 You are blessed too, Loving God, in the wine we have, fruit of the vine and work of human hands.  In our Earth of many blessings the vine was planted, its roots reaching down to that richness from which nourishment, strength and health are drawn.  Blessed be God forever.

The Creation Creed:  
We believe that God creates all things,

renews all things, and celebrates all things.

We believe Earth is a sanctuary,

a sacred planet filled with God’s presence,

a home for us to share with all creatures.

We believe every creature joins us in praising God.

We see many suffer with Earth

because of human crimes against creation.

We believe that God became incarnate

as a part of Earth, Jesus Christ,

that he lived and breathed and spoke among us,

suffered and died on a cross,

for all human beings and for all creation.

We believe that the risen Jesus Christ

fills the whole creation,

reconciling all things to God,

renewing all things.

We believe the Spirit renews life in creation,

groans in empathy with every suffering creature,

and waits with us for the rebirth of the whole creation.

We believe that with Christ we will rise

and with Christ we will

celebrate a new creation,

reconciled, restored, and renewed.

The bread is broken.

Creator God, meet us in this bread and wine, and be with us on the journey which is the future, that we and all creation may make anew the story of Life. People of God, draw near in faith and travel far in Grace.  Come, to be renewed by the Spirit who makes all things new.

Blessing

Announcements

Closing Hymn (see the next page)

Dismissal

A:  Go in peace and serve our God.

C: Thanks be to God.

Postlude "Across the Lands"                     Keith Getty

Across the lands

You're the Author of creation,

You're the Lord of every man,

And your cry of love rings out across the land.

Please join us for coffee and refreshments downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.

To get to the Fellowship Hall, exit to the right of the communion railing at the front of the church.

Sending Hymn: Verses 1-3

Announcements:

You can find more information and find archived sermons and worship live streams at our website: www.gracesf.com  or on our blog: www.sfgrace.blogspot.com

Remember: Choir rehearsal is scheduled for 09/16/14 at 7:00 p.m

Upcoming Events and Dates: 

·        September 20 – Neighborhood Block Party: Our street closure permit is submitted and awaiting approval.

·        September 27 – Open House and Pastor Megan and Laurel’s, 4-7pm, You are invited to join us for a gathering.  Please note that there is a staircase with about 12 stairs at the entrance to the house and that we have cats.  For information about the location email Pastor Megan (pastor@gracesf.com)

·        October 9 – Night Ministry Fundraiser: We will invite singing groups to come to grace to help us raise money for the Night Ministry.

·        November 8 – Welcome Fundraiser: We will have a Musical Event featuring the movie RENT.

·        November 27 – Thanksgiving:  A meal served for 300 individuals (mostly homeless or seniors) by Welcome at St. Francis Lutheran Church (152 Church St).

·        December 4 – 18  - Holden Evening Prayer, 6:30pm: Each Thursday night in Advent.

·        December 6 - Beatles Mass, 7pm Eucharist

·        December 11-13 – West Coast LGBTQ Conference for Christian College Students

·        December 24 – Christmas Eve Service of Carols, 9:30pm

·        January 29-31 – Grace Film Festival, Grace will be hosting a film festival (January 29th theme: Faith; January 30th theme: Hope; January 31st theme: Love).  All films will be screened in our sanctuary and will feature films that reflect our progressive Lutheran faith. Cost: $5 each of the 5 time slots or $20 for the entire festival for advance tickets.  Volunteers and members of Grace get in free.  Sliding scale at the door for anyone who would like.  (@3201 Ulloa St)