Grace Presbyterian Church
Seeking to equip people to live as Christian disciples wherever God has placed them.
Welcome And Opening Prayer
Prelude Voluntary on Deo gracias Stephen Gabrielsen
Responsive Call to Worship
One: “Listen to him!” Our God cries from the mountaintop.
All: It is good for us to be here. We bow before our God in worship.
One: May God’s Word sink into our ears.
All: May our hearts be transfigured, our minds filled with understanding.
Hymn Red 72* “To God be the Glory”
To God be the glory,
great things he hath done,
so loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory,
great things he hath done.
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God;
the vilest offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Great things he hath taught us,
great things he hath done,
and great our rejoicing
through Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher and greater will be
our wonder, our transport,
when Jesus we see.
Call to Confession
Confession of Sin
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. Time for silent prayer and reflection.
Assurance of Pardon
Gloria Patri
Passing of the Peace
Prayer for Illumination in Unison
Lord, help us not only to hear your Word read and proclaimed today but listen to it that we may understand. May your Word challenge and change us on this Transfiguration Sunday. Amen.
First Scripture Reading (In Unison) Exodus 34:29-35
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Second Scripture Reading Luke 9:28-36
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
Sermon Looking into the Son Rev. Robin Miller Currás
Hymn Red 180* “Christ Upon the Mountain Peak”
Christ upon the mountain peak
stands alone in glory blazing;
let us, if we dare to speak,
with the saints and angels praise him:
Alleluia!
Trembling at his feet we saw
Moses and Elijah speaking;
all the prophets and the law
shout through them their joyful greeting:
Alleluia!
Swift the cloud of glory came,
God proclaiming in the thunder
Jesus as his Son by name;
nations cry aloud in wonder!
Alleluia!
This is God’s beloved Son:
law and prophets before him;
First and Last and only One,
let creation now adore him!
Alleluia!
Affirmation of Faith from 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:2
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
Offertory Promised Land Mark Albrecht
Liz Mouthrop, violin
Doxology
Prayer after the Offering
Pastoral Prayer/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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Hymn Red 62* “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious,
the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious,
thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains
of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish
as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish–
but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render; O help us to see
’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.
Benediction
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