CCLI Number: 2880734
July 28, 2024
Words of Welcome Rev. John Hill
Centering Music
Call to Worship Tandy Taylor
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Opening Hymn Opening Medley (first verses only):
“I Stand Amazed in the Presence” UMH #371
I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful
is my Savior’s love for me!
“There’s Within My Heart a Melody” UMH #380
There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low:
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
in all of life’s ebb and flow.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing,
keeps me singing as I go.
“I Am Thine, O Lord” UMH #419
I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,
and it told thy love to me;
but I long to rise in the arms of faith
and be closer drawn to thee.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side.
“Jesus Is All the World to Me” UMH #469
Jesus is all the world to me,
my life, my joy, my all;
he is my strength from day to day,
without him I would fall.
When I am sad, to him I go,
no other one can cheer me so;
when I am sad, he makes me glad;
he’s my friend.
“Are Ye Able?” UMH #530
“Are ye able,” said the Master,
“to be crucified with me?”
“Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered,
“to the death we follow thee.”
Lord, we are able. Our spirits are thine.
Remold them, make us, like thee, divine.
Thy guiding radiance above us shall be
a beacon to God, to love, and loyalty.
Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed (UMH #881) Tandy Taylor
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 Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at 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 Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Gloria Patri (UMH #70)
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.
Children’s Moment Rev. John Hill
Prayer of Confession Tandy Taylor
God of all nations, we praise you that in Christ
the barriers that have separated humanity are torn down.
Yet we confess our slowness to open our hearts and minds
to those of other lands, tongues, and races.
Deliver us from the sins and fear of prejudice,
that we may move toward the day
when all are truly one in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Silent Confession
Words of Assurance Rev. John Hill
Hear the Good News: Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. That proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Glory to God. Amen.
Passing the Peace
Hymn “Be Thou My Vision” UMH #451
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Great God of heaven, my victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Prayer for Illumination Tandy Taylor
Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.
Scripture Reading Hebrews 12:1-13
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.
In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children— “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.” Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Response to the Scripture Reading Tandy Taylor
For the Word of God we hear in scripture,
for the Word of God we encounter among us,
and for the Word of God at work within us,
Thanks be to God.
Sermon “Skill and Spirit: Run with Perseverance” Rev. John Hill
Musical Reflection
Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
Invitation to Offer Tithes and Gifts
https://onrealm.org/CrievewoodUMC/Give
Offertory
Doxology (UMH #95)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God, above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Invitation to Discipleship
Closing Hymn: “When We All Get to Heaven” (UMH #701)
Sing the wondrous love of Jesus;
sing his mercy and his grace.
In the mansions bright and blessed
he’ll prepare for us a place.
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we’ll sing and shout the victory!
While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
clouds will overspread the sky;
but when traveling days are over,
not a shadow, not a sigh.
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we’ll sing and shout the victory!
Let us then be true and faithful,
trusting, serving every day;
just one glimpse of him in glory
will the toils of life repay.
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we’ll sing and shout the victory!
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon his beauty we’ll behold;
soon the pearly gates will open;
we shall tread the streets of gold.
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we’ll sing and shout the victory!
Benediction
Benediction Song “Victory in Jesus” (chorus, UMH #370)
O victory in Jesus, my savior forever!
He sought me and bought me
with his redeeming blood;
he loved me ere I knew him,
and all my love is due him;
he plunged me to victory
beneath the cleansing flood.