FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTERTIDE SPRING PARTIAL TRUTH SERIES

THE CHURCH AT WORSHIP SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021 10:00 AM

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

JOYS AND CONCERNS OF THE CONGREGATION

PRELUDE Christ Is Risen J S Bach BWV 627

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.”– Charles de Gaulle “No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” – Abraham Lincoln “I have decided to stick to love; hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

WE GATHER IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

CALL TO WORSHIP ~ Psalm 33:12 and Psalm 62:8 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

Let us worship God!

HYMN O Lord, Our God, How Excellent (# 25) Winchester Old This hymn is a setting of Psalm 8. Stanzas 1, 3, & 5

PRAYER OF THE DAY Mighty God: the earth is yours and nations are your people. Take away our pride and bring to mind your goodness, so that, living together in this land, we may enjoy your gifts and be thankful. For clouded mountains, fields and woodland; for shoreline and running streams; for all that makes our nation good and lovely. We thank you God. For farms and villages where food is gathered to feed our people; We thank you God. For cities where people talk and work together in shops, factories, or schools to shape those things we need for living. We thank you God. For explorers, planners, statesmen; for prophets who speak out, and for silent faithful people; for all who love our land and guard our freedom. Especially today do we remember those who gave a full measure of their devotion in service to others, here and far away. We thank you God. 2 For vision to see your purpose hidden in our nation’s history, and courage to seek it in Christ-like love exchanged. For memories of your faithful people and especially for those memories that resurface in a room like this one where we have been in worship together and gather once again in our hearts and on-line to commune with you. Receive, O Lord, our praise for your call. O Lord, our God, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Amen.

Call to Confession

Prayer of Confession (unison) Eternal God, strong to save, you led people to this land, and out of conflict, created in us a love of peace and liberty. We have failed you by neglecting rights and restricting freedoms. Forgive pride that overlooks national wrong or justifies injustice. Forgive divisions caused by prejudice or greed. Have mercy, God, on the hidden places of our heart, where we have stored memories we would prefer that you forget. Make us compassionate, fair, and helpful to each other. Raise up in us the best of our memories where the approach, attitude, and affirmation of Jesus our Lord has taught us how to love. Forgive us, please, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Let us pause briefly to confess our personal sins.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE The Christ who bore in his own body the sin of the world does not offer us judgement, but mercy. The Christ does not offer us disdain, but grace. In the name of Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

THE PEACE Pastor: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Pastor: Let us greet one another with signs of forgiveness and peace.

(You are invited to share words and signs of God’s peace, welcome, and forgiveness.)

Doxology Glory Be to the Father (#581) Gloria Patri

WE LISTEN FOR THE WORD OF GOD

PSALTER READING ~ Psalm 8

A MESSAGE FOR CHILDREN

HYMN Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (# 366) Hyfrydol Stanzas 1 & 2 EPISTLE READING ~ Romans 5:1-11

COLLECT (responsive) O God, in your love, you have made us unique: In gifts and traditions, in service we seek, In race and in culture and family design Diverse are the branches in Jesus the Vine. Lord Jesus, you came to bring God's love on earth; You welcomed the outcasts and showed us our worth. You reached out to people whom others despised You said all are precious in God's loving eyes. 3 GOSPEL READING ~ John 15:9-17

RESPONSIVE READING O Christ, with your welcome your church feels unease: We stand at closed doors tightly holding the keys. Yet this is your body, the church that you love O Lord, do you weep for your church from above? So may your church welcome in loving accord All people who want to serve Jesus our Lord. O Spirit, unite us in Jesus the Son In mission and ministry, God, make us one.

ANTHEM How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord C. Hubert H. Perry

How clear is our vocation, Lord, when once we heed your call to live according to your word and daily learn, refreshed, restored, that you are Lord of all and will not let us fall. But if, forgetful, we should find your yoke is hard to bear; if worldly pressures fray the mind and love itself cannot unwind its tangled skein of care: our inward life repair. In what you give us, Lord, to do, together or alone, in old routines or ventures new, may we not cease to look to you: the cross you hung upon, all you endeavored, done.

SERMON Partial Truth 3 A Short Memory is the Result of a Clear Conscience

WE RESPOND TO THE WORD OF GOD

INTIMATIONS

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND 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 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.

WE GO FORTH TO SERVE GOD

HYMN When Memory Fades (# 808) Finlandia Stanzas 1&3 After seeing the Australian movie, “Never Too Late,” about Vietnam veterans who are confined to a nursing home, Bruce and Martha encountered this hymn and it spoke to them about memories, the process of making them, and the challenge of having them fade. The tune for this hymn is “Finlandia,” composed by Jean Sibelius. The Finnish National anthem is “Maamme” (meaning, “Our Land”), but many Finns perceive the tune Finlandia to be the national tune. These words, written by Mary Louise Bringle, remind us many people are living longer than in earlier eras, yet many abilities do not endure through these added years. This text affirms that although our human memories fade and our human arms weaken, the memory and arms of God uphold us everlastingly. 4 CHARGE AND BENEDICTION I Corinthians 16:33; II Timothy 2:1, Ephesians 6:10; I Thessalonians 5:13-22; I Peter 2:17 Go out into the world in peace; have courage; hold on to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint hearted; support the weak, and help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

POSTLUDE Jesus Shall Reign arr. Bill Ingram Central's Carillon Choir

Silent Prayer: As the postlude is played, you are invited silently to reflect on God’s word to you and to pray using the music you hear or perhaps using the words of this prayer: In the light of your new day, Lord Jesus, I see you there − always on the path in front of me. Let me follow with integrity where you will lead. Give me the wisdom to know the difference between what is false and what is true, between what is your way for me and what is the detour I selfishly want for myself. Teach me to love those I happen to encounter, just as individually as you have loved me. Amen.

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WORSHIP LEADERSHIP Pastor Rev. Bruce G. Boak Director of Music A. David Hurd Vocalist Abigail Dove Ushers TBD

The flowers in the sanctuary are given to the glory of God and with thankfulness for family and friends and the promise of Spring and new beginnings by Cathy Gardner.

CONTACTING THE CHURCH AND THE PASTOR

Central Presbyterian Church 31 Center Street Geneseo, NY 14454 Church telephone: 585-243-0669 Emergency pastoral care: 585-383-8928 Mobile: 585-330-5378 Church office email: [email protected] Pastor’s email: [email protected] Church website: www.cpcgeneseo.org

Worshiping with thanks + + + Serving with love

O Lord, Our God, How Excellent (#25) Stanzas 1, 3, & 5

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Glory Be to the Father (#581)

7 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (# 366) Stanzas 1 & 2

8 When Memory Fades (# 808) Stanzas 1&3