Worship Notes: May 2008 Archives

THE GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 7:21-29

THE EPISTLE LESSON Romans 1:16-17, 3:22-28

SERMON "Shame, Justification, and Grace"

Worship Notes

We now enter the season of Ordinary Time which is a season of the Christian liturgical calendar. The name corresponds to the Latin term Tempus per annum (literally "time through the year"). Ordinary Time comprises the two periods -- one following Epiphany, the other following Pentecost -- which do not fall under the "strong seasons" of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. The term Ordinary does not mean common or plain, but is derived from the term ordinal or "numbered." The weeks in ordinary time are numbered with today being the ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We begin our summer series on Paul's letter to the churches in Rome. Our central text is taken from the first and third chapters of this letter in which Paul speaks of the universal human experience of shame, justification, and grace. We open our worship with a portion of the Psalm for the day - Psalm 46. Following our announcements, we will be recognizing and celebrating members who are "retiring" from some of the work they have been doing in the church over many years. We also recognize a graduating senior.

We celebrate communion today and Westminster's practice is to have an open table welcoming all the children of God, not distinguishing between denominations or church affiliations. It is also our practice to hold the communion bread until we partake together symbolizing the communal nature of the Lord's Supper. The juice is taken individually highlighting the personal aspect of our relationship with God. We invite you all to share in this sacrament of God's grace.

THE FIRST LESSON 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

THE SECOND LESSON Matthew 6:24-34

SERMON "Hakuna Matata"

Worship Notes

We now enter the season of Ordinary Time which is a season of the Christian liturgical calendar. The name corresponds to the Latin term Tempus per annum (literally "time through the year"). Ordinary Time comprises the two periods -- one following Epiphany, the other following Pentecost -- which do not fall under the "strong seasons" of Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter. The term Ordinary does not mean common or plain, but is derived from the term ordinal or "numbered." The weeks in ordinary time are numbered with today being the eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The central text for this mornings worship is taken from the gospel of Matthew in which Jesus teaches his disciples not to be anxious about their lives. He points to different aspects of nature as illustrations for how we should view our lives. The Call to Worship is taken from the comforting words of Isaiah 40 and our Prayer of Confession addresses how we fail to live out the peace of Christ in our hearts and in the world. The Affirmation of Faith is taken from the Brief Statement of Faith in which we reaffirm our trust in God experienced in three ways while the hymn following echoes the words of Jesus to seek first the kingdom of God. We leave our sanctuary singing our song of hope in the world.

THE FIRST LESSON 1 Corinthians 12:4-13

THE SECOND LESSON Acts 2:1-13

SERMON "Mission Dei"

Worship Notes

Today we celebrate Pentecost marking the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early disciples forming them into a community called the church. Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to the Jewish festival of Shavout (the word Pentecost is derived from the Greek name for Shavout). One of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals required by the Law of Moses, this celebration marked the beginning of harvest activities in which the first fruits of the harvest were offered to God. For the Christian church, Pentecost has taken on more and more meaning and in many traditions is second only to Easter in significance. In Italy it was customary to scatter rose petals from the ceiling of the churches to recall the miracle of the fiery tongues, and in France it was the custom to blow horns during the service evoking the sound of the mighty wind accompanying the descent of the Spirit.

We begin our service with the words from the prophet Joel who envisioned the Spirit of God being poured out upon all flesh sons and daughters, young and old. For our Pentecost affirmation we read together the contemporary words of Anne Weems and her description of the church of Jesus Christ. The central text of our worship is the description of Pentecost in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The Affirmation of Faith is taken from the Holy Spirit section of the Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian Church USA. For those able to do so, we will recess out of the sanctuary on our final hymn singing "They'll Know We Are Christians by our Love." This act of departure serves as a symbol of the Spirit sending the church out into the world proclaiming the grace of God to a hurting world.