ORDER OF WORSHIP - SEPTEMBER 7th, 2025
- Union Church
- Sep 3, 2025
- 4 min read
ORDER OF WORSHIP
SEPTEMBER 7th, 2025 10:30 AM
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
COMMUNION SUNDAY
**Kindly stand if you are able
PRELUDE John Coates
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The earth shakes, the mountains quake -- tempting our hearts to fear.
People: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Leader: Rivers overflow their banks – too far away to quench the wildfires, yet we remember,
People: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Leader: When our children are away from home and out of our sight, we take comfort in
knowing.
People: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Leader: Whether we have reached the end of our days or the end of our diagnoses, we rest in
the truth that
People: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
All: God, you alone are our refuge; you alone are our strength. We look to you in these
troubling times.
INVOCATION
God of all Creation, who shapes the mountains and sets the course of streams, we are once
again in awe of your power and majesty, in our wonder of the world, the beauty of the season,
and the love and grace you show us every day, if we should only seek it out. Amen.
**OPENING HYMN “Come Thou Almighty King” Red #5
CALL TO CONFESSION
Gracious God, as through Jesus you cured the sick and raised the dead, instill in us a measure
of your divine compassion to treat human sufferings not just with a promise of future bliss, but
through faith, help to deliver health and life in the present. Let us pray together.
PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING
Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess our sinfulness, our shortcomings, and our offenses against you. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love. Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we are ashamed and sorry for all we have done to displease you. Forgive our sins, and help us to live in your light, and walk in your ways, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
(A moment for silent personal confession)
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Our Lord is both merciful and generous. Our Lord is eternally forgiving us. As we seek a greater
understanding, we are both blessed and forgiven.
**GLORIA PATRI Traditional Red #805
**HYMN OF PRAISE “There is a Balm in Gilead” Red #611
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Gracious God, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from your mouth.
Make us hungry for this heavenly food, that it may nourish us today in the ways of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Psalm 1 Theresa Contanche
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Ephesians 4:25-32
GOSPEL READING: Luke 14:25-33
SERMON MESSAGE “Wobbly Dedication” Rev. Peter Surgenor
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE CHURCH
And Lord we pray for those in our own hearts whose names you already know, for their own
healing and comfort, in your name and that of our redeemer Jesus Christ, who taught to pray,
saying:
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
HOLY COMMUNION
COMMUNION HYMN “For the Bread Which You Have Broken” Red #772
Invitation to the Table
Great Prayer of Thanks
Words of Institution
Prayer of Conclusion
**PASSING OF THE PEACE
**AFFIRMATION OF FAITH - (from the Heidelberg Catechism, 1562)
I believe that the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything within, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because he is almighty God; He desires to do this because he is a faithful Father. Amen.
OUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS:
The reconciliation of humankind through Jesus Christ makes it plain that enslaving poverty in a
world of abundance is an intolerable violation of God’s good creation. Because Jesus identified
with the needy and exploited, the cause of the world’s poor is the cause of his disciples. We are
called to use our abilities, our possessions, and the fruits of technology as gifts entrusted to us
for the maintenance of God’s family and the advancement of the common welfare.
OFFERTORY “Abide with Me, Fast Falls the Eventide” Red #365
**DOXOLOGY Traditional Red #808
** PRAYER OF THANKS
We thank you, our Lord for those gifts to us that we send to you for your work and ours in
congregation, community, and culture. Guide us in good use as we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen
HYMN OF PARTING “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” Red #317
RESPONSIVE BENEDICTION
Leader: God sends us into the world,
People: so we may see Jesus at work in all the desolate places.
Leader: As one with compassion, Jesus calls,
People: so we may follow him to those who live on the fringe of life.
Leader: The Spirit opens our ears and our hearts,
People: so we may hear the cries looking for hope.
ALL: AMEN!
POSTLUDE “O Worship the King” Red #29
John Coates, Piano
Blessings!
Peter Surgenor
Union Church
44 Balmville Rd, Newburgh NY 12550
(845) 562-0954
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