The Order of Worship – September 6th, 2026

This is the 249th Day of 2026.
There are 107 more days remaining in 2025.

Filled with the Holy Spirit,
we are a people of prayer
committed to love one another
and equipped to share Christ’s love throughout the world.

Prelude:

Welcome & Announcements:
This month’s mission focus is the Leland Food Pantry
Bible Study is all new at afaithtalk.com on Tuesday!
Call to Worship: The Gift of Love (G)

Responsive Reading: Psalm 148
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.

¹ Praise the LORD! 
Praise the LORD from the heavens; 
praise him in the heights!

² Praise him, all his angels; 
praise him, all his host!

³ Praise him, sun and moon; 
praise him, all you shining stars!

⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens, 
and you waters above the heavens!
⁵ Let them praise the name of the LORD, 
for he commanded and they were created.

⁶He established them forever and ever; 
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

⁷ Praise the LORD from the earth, 
you sea monsters and all deeps,
⁸ fire and hail, snow and frost, 
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰ Wild animals and all cattle, 
creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples, 
princes and all rulers of the earth!
¹² Young men and women alike, 
old and young together!

¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD, 
for his name alone is exalted; 
his glory is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for his people, 
praise for all his faithful, 
for the people of Israel who are close to him. 
Praise the LORD!

Opening Hymn: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee…#89 (G)
Verse 1

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day!

Verse 2

All thy works with joy surround thee,
earth and heaven reflect thy rays,
stars and angels sing around thee,
center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in thee.

Verse 3

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
well-spring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our brother,
all who live in love are thine; teach us how to love each other,
lift us to the joy divine.

Verse 4

Mortals join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began;
love divine is reigning o’er us, binding all within its span.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife;
joyful music leads us sunward, in the triumph song of life.

The Apostle’s Creed..No. 881

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…Page 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.

Praise Song: Gather Us In…TFWS…#2236 (D)
Verse 1

Here in this place new light is streaming
Now is the darkness vanished away
See in this space our fears and our dreamings
Brought here to you in the light of this day
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken
Gather us in, the blind and the lame
Call to us now and we shall awaken
We shall arise at the sound of our name 

Verse 2

We are the young, our lives are a mystery
We are the old who yearn for your face
We have been sung throughout all of history
Called to be light to the whole human race
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty
Gather us in, the proud and the strong
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly
Give us the courage to enter the song

Verse 3

Here we will take the wine and the water
Here we will take the bread of new birth
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters
Call us anew to be salt for the earth
Give us to drink the wine of compassion
Give us to eat the bread that is you
Nourish us well and teach us to fashion
Lives that are holy and hearts that are true

Verse 4

Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven light years away
But here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the kingdom, now is the day
Gather us in and hold us forever
Gather us in and make us your own
Gather us in, all peoples together
Fire of love in our flesh and our bones

Pastoral Prayer
Contact us here to add your concern to our prayer list.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Anthem: They’ll Know We Are Christians (Fm)

Offertory

Doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen

Children’s Moment
Children’s Song: Raise a Hallelujah

I raise a hallelujah
In the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah
Louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah
My weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah
Heaven comes to fight for me
I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive

I raise a hallelujah
With everything inside of me
I raise a hallelujah
I will watch the darkness flee
I raise a hallelujah
In the middle of the mystery
I raise a hallelujah
Fear, you lost your hold on me
I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah

Prayer for Illumination
Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 12:1-14
The passover

¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

² This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. ⁴ If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. ⁷ They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰ You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹ This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. ¹² For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. ¹³ The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ¹⁴ This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Leader: The Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God

New Testament: Romans 13:8-14
Live honorably as in the day

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. ¹¹ Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is already the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;

¹² the night is far gone; the day is near. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; ¹³ let us walk decently as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in illicit sex and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Leader: The Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God 

Sermon Text: Matthew 18:15-20
Reconciliation in the community of faith

¹⁵ “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. ¹⁶ But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

¹⁸ Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Leader: This is the Word of God for the people of God
All: Thanks be to God

Sermon Title:  “Heaven & Earth – Divine Initiative • Earthly Ministry” 

Closing Hymn: Blest Be the Tie that Binds…557 (F)
Verse 1

Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. 

Verse 4

When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.

Filled Up and Poured Out

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