Crandall United Methodist Church

Worship Guide

August 4, 2024

Eleventh 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:

Are you spiritually well-fed? Eat well of the bread of life. Drink your fill of the living water, and share this feast with every hungry guest.

*Call to Worship:

Leader:    We do not live by bread alone, but by the life-giving word of God’s love.

People:   God, give us the bread of life, today and always.

Leader:    Too long have we lived with hunger, seeking to fill our appetites with food that leaves us wanting.

People:   Too long we have starved ourselves of spiritual food that truly satisfies.

Leader:    “I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus tells us. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”

People:   “Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Leader:    Come, Holy Spirit. Feed us with your grace and love.

People:   May we love our neighbors, ourselves, and you, so that we may never be hungry again.

Leader:    Let us pray.

ALL: Spirit of God, dwell among us and revive us. You know the deep hungers that motivate us, and the attempts we make to satisfy these hungers. You alone know the grace and peace that can nourish us to full strength, in body and soul. Feed us, Bread of Life, with food that lasts. Give enough to share with others who also hunger, even if they know not what they hunger for. We rejoice in your bread, for it truly satisfies. Give us the wisdom to receive it, that we may taste and see your goodness, O Lord. Amen.

Hymn: “The Lily of the Valley”

I have found a friend in Jesus, he's everything to me,

he's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;

the Lily of the Valley, in him alone I see

all I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.

In sorrow he's my comfort, in trouble he's my stay,

he tells me every care on him to roll.

He's the Lily of the Valley, the bright and Morning Star,

he's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;

in temptation he's my strong and mighty tower;

I have all for him forsaken, and all my idols torn

from my heart, and now he keeps me by his power.

Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempts me sore,

through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal

He's the Lily of the Valley, the bright and Morning Star,

he's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,

while I live by faith and do his blessed will;

a wall of fire about me, I've nothing now to fear,

with his manna he my hungry soul shall fill

then sweeping up to glory, to see his blessed face,

where rivers of delight shall ever roll.

He's the Lily of the Valley, the bright and Morning Star,

he's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD

Words of Assurance

Christ’s table is open to all who will join the feast. Come, eat; be loved and   forgiven.

Then share this good food with all who hunger.

Glory be to God. Amen.

*New Testament Reading: John 6:24-35

²³ Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” ²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” ³² Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Leader:    This is the Word of God for the people of God

People:   Thanks be to God.

WORD AND RESPONSE

Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me”

Children’s Message: “Show Respect”

Hymn: “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High”

Lord, I lift your name on high;

Lord, I love to sing your praises.

I'm so glad you're in my life;

I'm so glad you came to save us.

You came from heaven to earth to show the way,

from the earth to the cross my debt to pay;

from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Lord, I lift your name on high;

Lord, I love to sing your praises.

I'm so glad you're in my life;

I'm so glad you came to save us.

You came from heaven to earth to show the way,

from the earth to the cross my debt to pay;

from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Sermon: “The Weight of the Word” 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

²⁶ When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. ²⁷ When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, ^12:1 and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had very many flocks and herds; ³ but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” ⁵ Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; ⁶ he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

⁷ Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; ⁸ I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. ⁹ Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. ¹¹ Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. ¹² For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” ¹³ David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” 

RESPONSE TO THE WORD

Prayers of the People: Joys and concerns

Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer     

THE SACRAMENTS OF HOLY COMMUNION

Invitation, Prayer of Confession and Pardon:

Christ our Lord invites to his table

       all who love him,

who earnestly repent of their sin

and seek to live in peace with one another.

Therefore, let us confess our sin before God

and one another.

Merciful God,

we confess that we have not loved you

with our whole hearts.

We have failed to be an obedient church.

We have not done your will,

we have broken your law,

we have rebelled against your love,

we have not loved our neighbors,

and we have not heard the

cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray.

Free us for joyful obedience,

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

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

The Great Thanksgiving

    The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing,

always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of

heaven and earth.

You formed us in your image and

breathed into us the breath of life.

When we turned away, and our love failed,

your love remained steadfast.

You delivered us from captivity,

made covenant to be our sovereign God,

and spoke to us through your prophets.

And so, with your people on earth

and all the company of heaven

we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,

God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.

Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people.

He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners.

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.

When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always, in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Take, eat; this my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

When the supper was over, he took the cup,

gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Drink from this all of you;

this is my blood of the new covenant,

poured out for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me."

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith

Christ has died;

Christ is risen;

Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father, now and forever.   Amen

And now with the confidence of children of God, let us pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

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

Sharing of the Cup and Loaf

Moment of Prayer and Meditation

Prayer of Thanks

Eternal God, we give you thanks

for this holy mystery

in which you have given yourself to us. 

Grant that we may go into the world

in the strength of your Spirit,

to give ourselves to others,

in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen

SENDING FORTH

Hymn: “They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love”

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,

we are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,

and we pray that all unity may one day be restored:

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;

yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,

we will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,

and together we'll spread the news that God is in our land:

and they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;

yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,

we will work with each other, we will work side by side,

and we'll guard human dignity and save human pride;

and they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;

yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come,

and all praise to Christ Jesus, God's only Son,

and all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one:

and they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;

yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love

Benediction

Hymn: “God Be with You till We Meet Again” 

God be with you till we meet again;

by his counsels guide, uphold you,

with his sheep securely fold you;

God be with you till we meet again.