07 Sep Worship Bulletin: 9/10/23
Welcome to Worship at the McPherson Church of the Brethren
We invite your active participation in the life of this congregation, as together we continue to grow in grace and seek justice for God’s creation.
Sunday, September 10, 2023 @ 10:15 a.m.
Gathering Music
Video Welcome
Sharing Time: Joys & Concerns | Dan Lichty
Centering Music | “My Heart Ever Faithful” | JS Bach
Ellen Gilbert, organ
Unison Opening Prayer of Supplication | Psalm 119:33-40
Teach me, God, the way of your decrees, that I may follow them to the end.
Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.
Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.
How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life.
Unison Opening Prayer of Confession & Commitment (based on Psalm 119:33-40)
God, we long to follow You,
to walk in the way that You have shown us;
to know Your commandments, and to practice them whole-heartedly
But we confess that we are easily distracted,
lured away by our own interests and desires,
enticed by the attitudes and practices of the world around us.
Forgive us.
Turn our eyes away from the things that distract us from Your way – from the attitudes and behaviors
that sidetrack us from our desire to know You better and follow You more closely.
Give us a hunger for Your Word and Your ways.
Show us where true life and happiness are found – in knowing and doing Your will. AMEN
Opening Song | “Teach me Thy Truth”
1 Teach me thy truth, O mighty One, from sin, O set me free.
Prepare my life to fill its place in service, God, for thee.
2 Accept my talents, great or small, choose thou the path for me,
where I shall labor joyously in service, God, for thee.
3 Help me to show thy glorious way that leads in hope to thee,
till other souls their joy shall find in service, God, for thee.
4 Grant me thy grace for ev’ry task until thy face I see,
then ever new shall be that joy in service, God, for thee.
Story for the Children | Barbara Wagoner
Video Invitation to Give
Give online or send a check made payable to “McPherson Church of the Brethren,” 200 N. Carrie, McPherson, KS 67460
Musical Offering | “Lord, Be Glorified” | Bob Kilpatrick
Ellen Gilbert, piano
Scripture Focus | Micah 6: 1-8 | God’s Case Against Israel
1 Listen to what God says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “Hear, you mountains, God’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For God has a case against the people; God is lodging a charge against Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
5. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of God.”
6 With what shall I come before God and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before God with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will God be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Scripture Song | “What Does the Lord Require” | #409
Message | “At Its Core” | Jerry Bowen
Sending Song | “Guide My Feet” | #546
Sending Words
Sending Music | “I Will Call Upon the Lord” | arr. John Wilson
Tom Hurst, piano
Videography and Editing: Eric Goering
Music Coordinator: Ellen Gilbert
Choir Director: Becky Snell
Technical Crew: Eric Goering, Ryan Goering, Shane Kirchner, Steve Lolling & Chris Whitacre
Chancel Decoration Team: Jill Brax, Colleen Gustafson, Michele Johnson, Shane Kirchner & Lara Schoming