Second City Church February 14, 2021 Worship Guide The God Who Is Able
LITURGY OF PREPARATION
Words of Welcome
Call to Worship
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised! - Psalm 113:1-3
Gathering Hymn - O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
Confession Hymn - Kyrie Eleison
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Kyrie Eleison, Lord Jesus Christ Kyrie Eleison, have mercy on me a sinner Haver mercy on me a sinner.
Confession of Sin
God of grace and truth, in Jesus Christ you came among us as light shining in darkness. We confess that we have not welcomed the light, or trusted good news to be good. We have closed our eyes to glory in our midst, expecting little, and hoping for less. Forgive our doubt and renew our hope, so that we may receive the fullness of your grace and live in light of Christ our Lord. Amen
Words of Forgiveness & Peace
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. - Psalm 130:3-4 In Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven! Thanks be to God!
Passing of the Peace [Invitation for congregation to share a sign of peace with one another]
Hymns of Praise and Adoration
Glory Be to God
Glory be to God Father, Son and Holy Spirit Forevermore
Shine on Us
Lord, let Your light, light of Your face Shine on us Lord, let Your light, light of Your face Shine on us
That we may be saved That we may have life To shine our way in the darkest night Let your light shine on us
Lord, let your grace, grace from your hand, Fall on us Lord, let your grace, grace from your hand, Fall on us
That we may be saved That we may have life To shine our way in the darkest night Let Your grace come over us
Lord, let Your love, love with no end Come over us Lord, let Your love, love with no end Come over us
That we may be saved, That we may have life To shine our way in the darkest night Let Your love come over us Let Your light shine on us
Our Song in the Night
In the darkness, can you hear us? When the night comes, are we alone? Have you forgotten all of your children? When we remember you how we groan But our hearts cannot be silent
O God, be our song in the night When the light is gone Be our sheltering place Our song in the night
We are broken are we forsaken? Has your love gone down with the sun? And your mercy through all history, Is it abandoned and undone? Oh our hearts cannot be silent
O God, be our song in the night When the light is gone Be our sheltering place Our song in the night
Our song in the night Our song in the night Our song in the night Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia
Your road, it led me down to the Red Sea The waters trembled, and you made a way You raised Your arm and led them to dry land Lord, will You hear us when we say That our hearts cannot be silent
O God, be our song in the night When the light is gone Be our sheltering place Our song in the night
Our song in the night Our song in the night Our song in the night
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Living Our Faith
Psalm Reading
Psalm 113
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! 5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, 6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
Gloria Patri
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.
Old Testament Reading
Isaiah 40:27-31
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God. New Testament Reading
Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke: Glory to you, O Lord!
Luke 7:1-10
After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ!
Sermon
Pastor Richard Smith (RUF International, Penn State) - The God Who is Able
Creed
Let us affirm the faith of the Church:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe 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, died, and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living 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 life everlasting. Amen. - The Apostles’s Creed
Offering of Prayers of the People
Where ignorance, self-love, and insensitivity have fractured life in community, give us your light, O God of love. Where injustice and oppression have broken the spirit of peoples, give us your light, O God of freedom. Where hunger and poverty, illness and death have made life an unbearable burden, give us your light, O God of grace.
Where suspicion and hatred, conflict and war have challenged your goodness, give us your light, O God of peace.
Eternal God, remove the blindness of the nations and peoples so that they may walk in the light of love; remove the ignorance and stubbornness of nations and peoples so that they may drink from the fountains of your goodness; remove the fear in our hearts, that we might proclaim the beauty of your gospel of light. Hear us now, O Lord, as we bring before you our petitions…
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Offering of Gifts Friends and members of Second City Church support the extension of God’s Kingdom with gifts of bread, wine, talents and resources. Guests are not expected to contribute. Tithes and offerings may be placed in the offering plates, boxes on the wall as you leave, or can be made electronically. Instructions for setting up online giving are available at the donation boxes.
Doxology 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
LITURGY OF THE TABLE
The Prayer of Great Thanksgiving Invitation
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 for us to give thanks and praise.
Praise God for His Mighty Acts
Ever-living God, we have known and we have heard that you are the creator of the ends of the earth and your understanding is unsearchable. You give power to the faint and strength to the powerless; when your people grew weary you lifted them up in Christ with wings like eagles, and when your church falls exhausted you send your Holy Spirit so that we may walk and run in your strength and not our own. By the depth of your mercy, you turned the agony of your Son’s cross into the grace of his resurrection. And so we gladly thank you, with saints and angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, singing the hymn of your unending praise.
Sanctus - Holy God of Power and Might
Praise for Christ’s Sacrifice
Therefore we proclaim our faith as signed and sealed in this sacrament. Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.
Calling on the Holy Spirit and Lord’s Prayer
Gracious Father, pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. As we take them in faith, make they be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. We pray in the name of Jesus, who taught us:
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, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Invitation to the Table
The gifts of God for the people of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him by faith, with thanksgiving.
Sharing Holy Communion Second City Church welcomes all baptized Christians who have made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ in a Christian church to join us in this sacrament. Non-communicants can come forward and ask for a blessing. If you need to receive communion in your seat, ask a fellow worshiper to let the communion servers know. If you are unable to receive wine, you will find a chalice containing non-alcoholic grape juice at the station the pastor is serving. The communion bread is gluten-free.
Benediction
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Closing Hymn - This Little Light of Mine
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
All around the neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine All around the neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine All around the neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Don’t let Satan [blow] it out! I’m going to let it shine Don’t let Satan [blow] it out! I’m going to let it shine Don’t let Satan [blow] it out! I’m going to let it shine Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen.