Thursday April 23

Psalm 113

1

Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord;

praise the name of the Lord.

2

Blessed be the name of the Lord

from this time on and for evermore.

3

From the rising of the sun to its setting

the name of the Lord is to be praised.

4

The Lord is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens.

5

Who is like the Lord our God,

who is seated on high,

6

who looks far down

on the heavens and the earth?

7

He raises the poor from the dust,

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

8

to make them sit with princes,

with the princes of his people.

9

He gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

Prayer

Eternal God, we praise you for your mighty love given in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and the new life we have received by his resurrection.  Especially we thank you for

The presence of Christ in our weakness and suffering….

The ministry of Word and Sacrament…

All who work to help and heal…

Sacrifices made for our benefit…

Opportunities for our generous giving…

(Offer individual prayers of thanksgiving)

God of Grace, let our concern for others reflect Christ’s self-giving love, not only in our prayers, but also in our practice.  Especially we pray for

Those subjected to tyranny and oppression…

Wounded and injured people…

Those who face death…

Those who may be our enemies…

The churches in Latin America…

(Offer individual prayers of intercession.)

AMEN.

Genesis 1

1 In the beginning when God created[a] the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God[b] swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20 And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind[c] in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,[d] and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’

27

So God created humankind[e] in his image,

in the image of God he created them;[f]

male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ 29 God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.  As Presbyterians we echo God’s sentiments and believe creation is good.  We also read in Genesis humanity has a responsibility to take care of the earth and of what God has created.  Today we pause for a moment to consider the beauty of the earth, its complexity and fragility.  We pause to consider how God spoke us into being – all of us, the earth, the waters, the living creatures – plant and animals.  Consider how you honor your responsibility to God for caring for God’s earth and all that’s in it.  

Prayer:

Creator God, you spoke into being all that exists.  You have cared for us so we might know how to care for other creatures.  You ask us to be good stewards of all of our gifts: time, money, relationships, and the resources you give us.  You have made all kinds of beauty and enabled us to do the same.  Help us to honor your gifts so we might care for what you have made.  Help us to use our own creativity to make the world better for those who follow us.  Spur us on to heal the wounds of industry and pollution and greed.  Open our eyes to the better way of tending your creation.  In your son’s name we pray, Amen.

April 20, 2020

Dear Church Family and Friends:

It has been several weeks since we last met together in person.  In March, as we first initiated our Covid-19 related building closures, we were hoping to worship together by the first week of May.  As the world has turned, the elders met and decided we would try to worship together in our sanctuary on May 24, 2020 at 9:45 a.m.  In this unpredictable time, we realize this date is tentative and depends on the direction from our national, state, and local leaders.  If we need to re-evaluate the date we will, but until then, we will plan to meet on May 24.

Until we are able to meet in person, we will continue to post weekly sermons on this webpage.  You can contact our church office if you have any concerns or questions.  We hope you continue to engage with one another while practicing physical distancing.  We hope you continue to be the church, even as we are separated by distance.  Keep one another in your prayers, and know we will meet again.

Peace,

Pastor Lou Ellen

Frequently Asked Questions

• Sunday Worship Services are scheduled to resume on May 24,2020.
• Worship reflections will be available online through our website (rollapresby.org) or on our First Presbyterian Church Facebook page.
• The Building will continue to be closed until further notice, even after May 24, except for staff and trustees.
• All face to face meetings on church property are cancelled.
• Preschool will be upstairs in the education wing until the state advises otherwise.

April 21

Psalm 116

1

I love the Lord, because he has heard

my voice and my supplications.

2

Because he inclined his ear to me,

therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

3

The snares of death encompassed me;

the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

I suffered distress and anguish.

4

Then I called on the name of the Lord:

‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’

5

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

our God is merciful.

6

The Lord protects the simple;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

7

Return, O my soul, to your rest,

for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8

For you have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling.

9

I walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

10

I kept my faith, even when I said,

‘I am greatly afflicted’;

11

I said in my consternation,

‘Everyone is a liar.’

12

What shall I return to the Lord

for all his bounty to me?

13

I will lift up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the Lord,

14

I will pay my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people.

15

Precious in the sight of the Lord

is the death of his faithful ones.

16

O Lord, I am your servant;

I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.

You have loosed my bonds.

17

I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice

and call on the name of the Lord.

18

I will pay my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people,

19

in the courts of the house of the Lord,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

Prayer:

Eternal God, we thank you for being with us today, and for every sign of your truth and love in Jesus Christ.  Especially we thank you for

The gift of peace in Christ…

Reconciliation in our relationships…

Each new insight into your love…

Energy and courage to share your love…

The ministries of the church…

(Offer individual prayers of thanksgiving)

Gracious God, we remember in our own hearts the needs of others, that we may reach up to claim your love for them, and reach out to give your love in the name of Christ.  Especially we pray for

Racial harmony and justice…

Those who are imprisoned…

Strangers we have met today…

Friends who are bereaved…

(Offer individual prayers of intercession)

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.

Psalm 115

1
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
2
Why should the nations say,
‘Where is their God?’
3
Our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he pleases.
4
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
they make no sound in their throats.
8
Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.
9
O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
10
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
11
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
12
The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both small and great.
14
May the Lord give you increase,
both you and your children.
15
May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
16
The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to human beings.
17
The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any that go down into silence.
18
But we will bless the Lord
from this time on and for evermore.
Praise the Lord!

Prayer:  Great God, you are one god, and you bring together what is scattered and mend what is broken. Unite us with the scattered peoples of the earth that we may be one family of your children. Bind up all our wounds, and heal us in spirit, that we may be renewed as disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master and Savior. Amen.

April 16
Psalm 68
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.
1 Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
3 But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.

5 Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.

7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11 The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of those who bore the tidings:
12 ‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil,
13 though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.

15 O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the Lord will reside for ever?

17 With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
18 You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

21 But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
‘I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.’

24 Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them girls playing tambourines:
26 ‘Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in a body,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your might, O God;
show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
33 O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!

Prayer
To you, O God, we give up the burdens of this day, trusting your love and mercy. To you, O God, we surrender ourselves, trusting our risen Lord to lead us always in the way of peace, today, tomorrow and forever. Amen.

April 15, 2020 Psalm 9

To the leader: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
¹ I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

³ When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before you.
⁴ For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement.

⁵ You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
⁶ The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities you have rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,
he has established his throne for judgement.
⁸ He judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with equity.

⁹ The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
¹² For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

¹³ Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷ The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish for ever.

¹⁹ Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are only human.
Selah

Prayer

God our shepherd, you have brought us through this day to a time of reflection and rest. Calm our souls, and refresh us with your peace. Keep us close to Christ and draw us closer to one another in the bonds of his wondrous love. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Psalm 116
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord protects the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9 I walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I kept my faith, even when I said,
‘I am greatly afflicted’;
11 I said in my consternation,
‘Everyone is a liar.’

12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Prayer:
Eternal God, we thank you for being with us today, and for every sign of your truth and love in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for the gift of peace in Christ…
reconciliation in our relationships…
each new insight into your love…
energy and courage to share your love…
the ministries of the church…
(Individual prayers of thanksgiving may be offered.)
Gracious God, we remember in our own hearts the needs of others, that we may reach up to claim your love for them, and reach out to give your love in the name of Christ.
Especially we pray for racial harmony and justice….
Those who are imprisoned…
Strangers we have met today…
Friends who are bereaved….
Orthodox and Coptic churches…
(Individual prayers of intercession may be offered)
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 glory forever, Amen.

Psalm 13

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

Prayer of the Day

On this first Monday of the Easter season we offer thanks for the promise of new life and renewed life.  We know today is all we have been given, not to live on our own, but to live in the center of your being.  We pray, knowing you love your children and work for the salvation of this world.  So we pray for those who are suffering broken minds, bodies, and spirits….

We pray for hope for ourselves and our communities, not a false hope based on worldly promises, but a hope which rests in your providential care….

We pray for the church as it ministers during this difficult and disjointed time…

We pray for healing of the nations so that all people will thrive and have abundant life in you.

Help us to love others as you love us.  Help us to forgive as you forgive us.  Help us to follow as you lead us.  In Christ’s precious name, Amen.