Crandall United Methodist Church

Worship Guide

July 23, 2023

Eight Sunday After Pentecost

Creating Disciples of Jesus who Transform the World

ENTRANCE WITH PRAISE

Greetings:

Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

People: And also with you!

Special Music: Stefanie

Centering Words:

In this house of God, angels traverse ladders of holy love. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

*Call to Worship:

Leader:    This is none other than the house of God. This is nothing less than the gate of heaven.

People:   Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

Leader:    God hems us in, behind and before, and lays hands of blessing upon us.

People:   Such knowledge is too wonderful for us. It is so high we cannot attain it.

Leader:    Rest in the majesty of our God. Give thanks and sing of God’s glory.

People:   Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

Leader:    Let us pray.

ALL: Caretaker of our souls, you search us and know us; you are acquainted with all of our ways. Your Spirit hems us in, behind and before. You discern our thoughts from afar. If we take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead us, and your might shall hold us fast. How can we bear such wonder? How can we fathom such awe and splendor? Breathe your Spirit upon us, and claim us as children of light, that we might be found worthy of your love and care. Amen.

Hymn: “Gather Us In”

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

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

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

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

PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD

Words of Assurance

The one who hems us in, behind and before, loves us with a fierce tenderness.

The one who pursues us to the farthest limits of the sea, fills us with peace and grace beyond measure.

Praise the Lord. Amen

*Old Testament Reading: Genesis 28:10-19

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. ¹² And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; ¹⁴ and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. ¹⁵ Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” ¹⁷ And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

WORD AND RESPONSE

Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me”

Children’s Message: “Surprises”

Hymn: “Spirit of the Living God

Spirit of the living God,

fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the living God,

fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mold me,

fill me, use me.

Spirit of the living God,

fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the living God,

fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the living God,

fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mold me,

fill me, use me.

Spirit of the living God,

fall afresh on me.

Sermon: “Shine Like the Sun” Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

²⁴ He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷ And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸ the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴² and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

RESPONSE TO THE WORD

Hymn: “There’s a Spirit of Love in this Place”

There's a spirit of love in this place,

there's a spirit of love in this place.

You can't see it, but it's there

just as precious as the air.

There's a spirit of love in this place.

O alleluia, sing alleluia!

We bless your holy name.

O alleluia, sing alleluia!

There's a spirit of love in this place.

There's the presence of peace in this room,

there's the presence of peace in this room.

In God's tenderness is found

peace that passes human bounds.

there's the presence of peace in this room.

O alleluia, sing alleluia!

We bless your holy name.

O alleluia, sing alleluia!

There's a spirit of love in this place.

Psalter: Psalm 139:1-12,23-24

¹    O Lord, you have searched me and know me!

²    You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

³    You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

⁴    Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it altogether.

⁵    You pursue me behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

⁶    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷    Whither shall I go from your spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from your presence?

⁸    If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

⁹    If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

¹⁰   even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

¹¹   If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,"

¹²   even the darkness is not dark to you, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with you.

²³   Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts;

²⁴   and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

praise him, all creatures here below;

praise him above, ye heavenly host;

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen

Prayers of the People: Joys and concerns

    Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer

SENDING FORTH

Hymn: “In Christ Alone”

  In Christ alone my hope is found,

he is my light, my strength, my song.

This Cornerstone, this solid ground,

firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my all in all,

here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, who took on flesh,

fullness of God in helpless babe.

This gift of love and righteousness,

scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

the wrath of God was satisfied;

for every sin on Him was laid.

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain.

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

sin's curse has lost its grip on me.

For I am His and He is mine,

bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

this is the power of Christ in me.

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme or plan

can ever pluck me from His hand.

'Till He returns or calls me home

here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Benediction