July 21 – Wherever you are

Welcome to Ivy Chapel United Church of Christ. Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey; you are welcome here. Always. This belief is at the very heart of the UCC, and of everything we do here at Ivy Chapel. (Featured Image by freepik)

WELCOME

PRELUDE — The Master Has Come — (Ash Grove)

*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Let us call on God.
All: God is near to all who call.
One: Come into the presence of God and be nourished.
All: We are here to renew our covenant with God! Let every heart rejoice!

*HYMN — All Things Bright and Beautiful — #65

Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flow’r that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings. [Refrain]

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset, and the morning
That brightens up the sky; [Refrain]

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them, ev’ry one. [Refrain]

He gave us eyes to them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well. [Refrain]

*PRAYER OF INVOCATION
God, you are a Magnificent God! You are eternal; and you are our “contemporary”. We gather to worship you with thanksgiving for all that you have done, for all that you are doing, and for all that you promise to do in the world. We are amazed and overjoyed that you so thoroughly love the whole world. We cannot earn your love. It’s a pure gift! What we can do is receive and treasure and share it. Astonishing God, you revealed your love for all people when you came to earth in person as Jesus Christ.
God, fill us with your love. We pray that this worship will lead us to grow in your image. Throughout our lives, may we discover more fully who you are and who you would like us to become. May our faith in you and our devotion to you always continue growing. Amen.

*RESPONSE — I Will Sing of the Mercies — worship booklet, p. 56

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
I will sing I will sing
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord

With my mouth will I make known
Your faithfulness Your faithfulness
With my mouth will I make known
Your faithfulness to all generations

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord

All the hosts of the angels sing God’s praises
Forever for the things He has done.
All the hosts of the angels sing God’s praises, forever
All the hosts of the angels sing God’s praise.

Who can be compared to God in faithfulness, in faithfulness?
Who can be compared to God in faithfulness to all generations?

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord

GOD’S WORD — Psalm 89:1-4, 20-29

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

*HYMN — Pass It On — #503

It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.
That’s how it is with God’s love once you’ve experienced it;
You spread His love to everyone; You want to pass it on.

What a wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding,
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming.
That’s how it is with God’s love once you’ve experienced it;
You want to sing, it’s fresh like spring, You want to pass it on.

I wish for you, my friend, this happiness that I’ve found,
You can depend on Him, it matters not where you’re bound.
I’ll shout it from the mountain top – I want my world to know;
The Lord of love has come to me, I want to pass it on.

GOD’S WORD — 2 Samuel 7:1-13

SPECIAL MUSIC — Make Me a Blessing

GOD’S WORD — Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

SERMON — Pastor Dan

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER — Pastor Dan

*HYMN — Great Is Thy Faithfulness — #17

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

*BENEDICTION — Pastor Dan

*POSTLUDE — Three Pieces for the Flutes

July 18 Livestream – Wherever You Are

Do not be afraid! Wherever you are, no matter how stormy the seas, God is with you.

You are welcome to join us in person at 10 a.m., or during our virtual worship beginning around 10 a.m. on Sunday.

You can watch this week’s worship or previous week’s services on our YouTube channel. A link to this week’s livestream will be added once worship begins.

PRELUDE – Anna DiVesta

*CALL TO WORSHIP – Pastor Dan
One: Where do you belong? Think about a place where you belong.
All: Love is patient. Love is kind.
One: What do you love about that place?
All: Love is not envious, or boastful, or arrogant, or rude.
One: How do you feel when you go there and you are welcomed?
All: Love is not irritable. Love does not seek its own advantage.
One: Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
All: We are each a part of God’s creation.
One: All people are treasured parts of God’s creation.
All: With God, all belong and all are welcomed as we are!

HYMN – Here I Am to Worship – worship booklet, pp. 48-49

Light of the World, You stepped down in-to dark-ness
O-pened my eyes, let me see.
Beau-ty that made this heart a-dore You,
Hope of a life spent with You.

So, here I am to wor-ship, here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You’re my God.
And You’re al-to-geth-er love-ly, al-to-geth-er wor-thy,
Al-to-geth-er won-der-ful to me.

King of all days, oh so high-ly ex-al-ted,
Glo-rious in heav-en a-bove.
Hum-bly You came to the Earth You cre-a-ted,
All for love’s sake be-came poor.

So, here I am to wor-ship, here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You’re my God.
And You’re al-to-geth-er love-ly, al-to-geth-er wor-thy,
Al-to-geth-er won-der-ful to me.

And I’ll nev-er know how much it cost
To see my sin up-on that cross
And I’ll nev-er know how much it cost
To see my sin up-on that cross.

So here I am to wor-ship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You’re my God.
And You’re al-to-geth-er love-ly, al-to-geth-er wor-thy,
Al-to-geth-er wonderful to me.

*PRAYER OF INVOCATION – Pastor Dan
Living God, we come to you now. We are here to worship you. We need your grace and guidance. There are times when we stray from you. Too often, we fail to embrace the rhythms of life which you provide, God. We allow ourselves to be thrown off stride from the pace that you would have us walk, and we race on ahead at full speed. Being in a hurry has led us and others to become lost on paths that do not follow your way.
God of steadfast love, may we use all of our senses to learn from you. Help us take the risks that go along with letting you lead, Eternal God. Guide us to live in rhythm with you, Christ Jesus; so that we may love extravagantly and give joyfully as you do. Amen.

*PRAISE RESPONSE – God Will Make A Way – worship booklet, p.44
God will make a way where there seems to be no way,
He works in ways we can not see, He will make a way for me
He will be my guide, hold me close-ly to His side,
With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way
He will make a way

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE – Anna DiVesta

*HYMN – I Sing the Almighty Power of God – #6

I sing th’al-might-y pow’r of God That made the mountains rise,
That spread the flow-ing seas a-broad And built the loft-y skies
I sing the wis-dom that or-dained The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His com-mand And all the stars o-bey.

I sing the good-ness of the Lord That filled the earth with food;
He formed the crea-tures with His word And then pro-nounced them good.
Lord, how Thy won-ders are dis-played Where-e’er I turn my eye,
If I sur-vey the ground I tread Or gaze up-on the sky!

There’s not a plant or flow’r be-low But makes Thy glo-ries known;
And clouds a-rise and tem-pests blow By or-der from Thy throne;
While all that bor-rows life from Thee Is ev-er in Thy care,
And ev-ery-where that man can be, Thou, God, art pres-ent there.

GOD’S WORD – 2 Samuel 7:1-13, 16-17 & Psalm 89:1-2, 19-29 – Pastor Dan

SPECIAL MUSIC – Forever – Anna DiVesta

GOD’S WORD – Mark 6:45, 53-56 Pastor Dan

SERMON – Pastor Dan

PRAYERS – Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer (debts… debtors) – Pastor Dan

*HYMN – Hymn of Promise – #277
In the bulb there is a flow-er; In the seed, an ap-ple tree;
In co-coons, a hid-den prom-ise; But-ter-flies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of win-ter There’s a spring that waits to be,
Un-re-vealed un-til its sea-son, Some-thing God a-lone can see

There’s a song in ev-ery si-lence, Seek-ing word and mel-o-dy;
There’s a dawn in ev-ery dark-ness, Bring-ing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the fu-ture; What it holds, a mys-ter-y.
Un-re-vealed un-til its sea-son, Some-thing God a-lone can see.

In our end is our be-gin-ning; In our time, in-fin-i-ty.
In our doubt there is be-liev-ing; In our life, e-ter-ni-ty.
In our death a res-ur-rec-tion; At the last, a vic-to-ry.
Un-re-vealed un-til its sea-son, Some-thing God a-lone can see.

*BENEDICTION – Pastor Dan

*POSTLUDE – Anna DiVesta

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