Grace Presbyterian Church
Meeting in the Chapel at Union Congregational Church
Serving people, through Christ, to meet the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of the community and the world around us.
Welcome
Prelude “Consolation Op. 30, No. 3” Felix Mendelssohn
Call to Worship
One: Christ calls each of us to live our lives in the knowledge that this is God’s world, and we are to serve as he has served us, take up our crosses, risk the consequences of faithful discipleship, walk by faith, not by sight, to hope for what we have not seen.
All: We come, seeking to be equipped for the journey.
One: Jesus promises to equip us, to walk with us, to be present in Spirit, to never leave nor forsake us. His Spirit is with us now.
All: We come to worship in thanksgiving for the calling and the equipping, for the love and the forgiveness, for the relationship we have with God because of Jesus, our Savior.
One: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us as we worship.
All: Amen.
Hymn * “Changed” Aaron Niequist
Verse 1
In Jesus’ Name I’ve been changed, I’ve been filled,
I’ve been found, I’ve been freed, I’ve been saved!
In Jesus’ blood I’ve been loved, I’ve been cleansed,
And redeemed, and released, rearranged
But how can I show You that I’m grateful?
You’ve been so generous to me.
How can I worship more than sing-ing?
Living Redemption’s melody.
Chorus 1
I have been blessed—now I want to be a blessing
I have been loved—now I want to bring love
I’ve been invited—I want to share the invitation
I have been changed to bring change,
To bring change
Verse 2
In Jesus’ name we are changed, we are called,
We are chosen, adopted, and named!
In Jesus’ blood we are loved, we are healed,
We’re forgiven and free of our shame!
We want to show You that we’re thankful
Flooding Your world with hope and peace
Help us to worship more than singing
Giving Redemption hands and feet
Chorus 2
We have been blessed
now we’re going to be a blessing
We have been loved
now we’re going to bring love
We’ve been invited—we’re going to share the invitation
We have been changed—to bring change,
To bring change
Bridge
Thank You for this new life,
Thank You for the invitation!
God, we want to live it
Loud enough to shake the nations
In Your name!
Final Chorus
We have been saved
Gonna to shout about the Savior
We have been found,
Gonna turn over every stone
We’ve been empowered
To love the world to Heaven
We have been changed—to bring change,
To bring change
We have been changed—to bring change,
To bring change
We have been changed—to bring change,
To bring change
Opening Prayer
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Lesson (Unison) Exodus 3:1-12
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’
Time with Children
Call to Confession
Unison Confession of Faith
Sovereign God, remind us of our interdependence with all of creation–the natural world and all of humanity. Help us to live in mutuality with one another and in shared recognition of our dependence on you, our Creator. Set our hearts and minds on your will. In Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Responsive Assurance of Forgiveness (based on 1 Timothy 1:15)
One: The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance,
All: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
One: Children of God, hear and believe the good news:
All In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Praise be to God in Song “Gloria Patri”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
Passing of the Peace
Scripture Reading Numbers 13:1-2, 25-33
Message Good Fear: Inner Peace The Rev. Robin Miller Currás
Affirmation of Faith (in unison) Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Hymn 405 * “What Does the Lord Require?”
Affirmation of Faith Part 2
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Offertory “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” John Rutter
Doxology Lasst Uns Erfreuen
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below;
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Praise him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Pastoral Prayers concluding with 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 339 * “Be Thou My Vision”
Announcements
Benediction
This morning’s liturgy was written by Pastor Robin and © Presbyterian Outlook, 2024 Liturgy written by Rev. Philip K. Gladden and provided for free distribution. The pastoral prayer has been shaped in conversation with World In Prayer, a ministry of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, in Lodi, CA, USA, whose mission is to assist Christians to pray with current events in mind.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mark your calendars:
Friends of Grace Community Dinner is today Oct 13, 5pm-6:30 at St John’s Episcopal, 55 Montclair Ave
Wednesday, Oct 16, Robin’s Women’s Bible Study, 2:30 pm, at the Manse
Wednesday, Oct 16, Session Meeting on Zoom 7:30 pm
Choir Rehearsal, every Thursday at 7:30 pm in the Chapel
Daily Devotionals online Monday-Friday 9:00 AM. Check out www.gracemontclair.org for more information.
