In Person Worship November 15, Cancelled

Due to a Covid 19 exposure in worship, we are cancelling our in person worship on November 15.  Please watch for a sermon to be posted on Sunday morning.  Take care and be well!

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Sermon Podcast – November 8, 2020 – People Get Ready and Stay Ready

Preached by Rev. Lou Ellen Hartley. Based on Psalm 70, Amos 5:18-24, and Matthew 25:1-13.

Psalm and Prayer of the Day November 5

Psalm 97

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
    let the many coastlands be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him,
    and consumes his adversaries on every side.
His lightnings light up the world;
    the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
    before the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
    and all the peoples behold his glory.
All worshipers of images are put to shame,
    those who make their boast in worthless idols;
    all gods bow down before him.
Zion hears and is glad,
    and the towns[a] of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O God.
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.

10 The Lord loves those who hate[b] evil;
    he guards the lives of his faithful;
    he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns[c] for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
    and give thanks to his holy name!

Prayer (from the Presbyterian Outlook)

We thank you for the freedom to vote our conscience, of which you alone are Lord. After this election, we are keenly aware that even if the political rhetoric fades the acrimony it highlighted will remain. Grant us the courage to step into the breaches and not shrink back into our enclaves of homogeneity. Send your Spirit to drive us to the places where you are already working to bring reconciliation. Remind us relentlessly that you are greater than every category we devise, more powerful than any estrangement we have created, eternal, ever present and always calling forth justice, peace and abundant life. Show us today and everyday how to live in the love of Jesus Christ, the perfect love that casts out fear. Amen.

 

 

 

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Psalm and Prayer of the Day November 4

Psalm 33

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
    Praise befits the upright.
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
    he put the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lordstands forever,
    the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees all humankind.
14 From where he sits enthroned he watches
    all the inhabitants of the earth—
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all,
    and observes all their deeds.
16 A king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
    and by its great might it cannot save.

18 Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 to deliver their soul from death,
    and to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
21 Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.

Prayer

Everlasting God, you have taught us

 to search for you with all our heart and

   to seek the welfare of the land where you have placed us.  

Send your Spirit upon those who lead,

 pour your wisdom on those who are elected,

   and restore by your mercy all who are not chosen.  

Through your same Spirit, visit your people

 in the struggles that no vote can resolve;

   show us where what you call from us is

     love and forgiveness and mercy;

       empower your church to overcome evil with good.

Since here we have no abiding city,

 give us a yearning for the city that is to come.

Hasten the day

 when all that would separate us from one another will fall away,

    when we rejoice to enter that dwelling place

       where you have chosen to be with us forever,

         where all is redeemed in the presence of the Son

            through the power of the Spirit, God most high  Amen.

Written by Sam Wells, Vicar at London’s St. Martin in the Fields andformer Dean of the Chapel at Duke; and Abby Kocher
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Sermon Podcast – November 1, 2020

Preached by Rev. Lou Ellen Hartley. Based on 1 John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12.

Sermon Podcast – October 25, 2020

Preached by Rev. Lou Ellen Hartley. Based on Deuteronomy 34:1-12, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, and Matthew 22:34-46.