*CALL TO WORSHIP: (Lectern Resource, August 24, 2008)
Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made;
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Leader: Welcome, God’s people, to this house of prayer.
People: This is our sanctuary. This is our house of refuge.
Leader: What brings you here? Why have you come to worship?
People: Jesus invited us. He said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying
heavy burdens and I will give you rest.”
Leader: The world assaults us. It is not easy to follow Jesus. We are in need of comfort, and often
we seek answers to life’s questions. But today we will hear Jesus ask a question of us.
People: He said his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
Leader: Jesus wants us to trust in God. Jesus calls us to be his followers. And he challenges us by
asking the big question of faith, the question he asked his original disciples: “Who do you
say that I am?”
People: May God help us to be able to confess with the same response given by Simon
Peter, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
*HYMN “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” #464
CALL TO CONFESSION: (Book of Common Worship, p. 52) 1 John 1:8, 9
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
In humility and faith let us confess our sin to God.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION: (Lectern Resource, August 24, 2008)
Forgive us, gracious God, for being conformed to this world. Forgive us for being preoccupied with the lives of the rich and the famous and for neglecting the needs of our own souls. Forgive us for our love of wealth, success, and the trappings of pleasure and our neglect of the needs of the poor. Forgive us for our pursuit of easy answers to the questions of faith and our unwillingness to struggle with Jesus’ questions of us. Forgive us for using our faith in you to separate us from others and for claiming superiority over others. Gracious God, hear our prayer of confession. We seek your power to transform our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Silent Prayers of confession
WORDS OF ASSURANCE: (Lectern Resource, August 24, 2008)
We hear the Bible’s words, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” God’s transforming power is known when we can make confession. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Receive God’s forgiveness and trust that God’s transforming power is at work in your lives.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
*GLORIA PATRI “Glory Be to the Father” #579
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.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Lord of light who shines into our lives with your holy word. Open our minds and our hearts that your Word may speak to us and your Holy Spirit may inspire us to be your people, today and forevermore. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
*HYMN “The Church’s One Foundation” #442
GOSPEL READING: Matthew 15: 21-28
SERMON: “What’s Your Answer?” Rev. David McDonald
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his
only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the
third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right
hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the
dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic* Church; the communion of saints; the
forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
*”catholic” (little c) is translated as “universal” and is not a reference to the Roman Catholic Church.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
*HYMN “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord” #441
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Philem. 25
Announcements
Sunday, August 23 – Session Meeting in fellowship hall at 4:00 p.m.
Let us continue to remember those on our Prayer List:
Marguerite Hufham, Sarah Melvin, Louise Quick, Ronnie Rush, Juanita McGraw, Betty Johnson, Jane Minard, Bill Jackson, Darrel Melvin, Happy Lashlee, Gerry Carey, Becky Regan, Mary Ward, Tim Tart, Lucille Hood, Amy Johnson, Johnny Gooden, Carlos Smith, Bill Marsh, Esther Collier Madeline NcNeill Long, Shannon Wilcox, Kathy Lashley, Ted Johnson, Clara Wooten Hunsucker
Ernest Ray Long, Jo Campbell, Linda Smith, Susan and David Butler, Doug Bergeron, Margaret Ingram, Bill Greene, Jamie Clark, Judy Elkins, Allison Ward, Richard Bridgers, Tim Crowder, Jimmy Hickman, Holly Eppley, Betty Faircloth, Joan McKeithan, Susan Deans, Carey King, Ray Davis, Sammy Hatcher, Pat Grainger, Ronnel and Ann Burney, Kim Worley Sellers, Larry Thompson, Carmen McQueen, Randy West, Mark Miller and family.