Friday Church Worship Service – August 28, 2020

6:55 – 7:00 Opening music – There Is More Love Somewhere, Poverty Is Violence

7:00 Welcome to Friday Church

From Psalm 105 - The Message Go Down Moses Chorus Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land Tell old Pharaoh to let my people go. Verse1 Now when Israel was in Egypt land (Let my people go) Oppressed so hard they could not stand(Let my people go) So the Lord said: Chorus

Reader:And God sent a man on ahead to Egypt: Joseph, sold as a slave. They put cruel chains on his ankles, an iron collar around his neck, until God’s word came to the Pharaoh, and GOD confirmed his promise. God sent the king to release him. The Pharaoh set Joseph free. Then Israel entered Egypt, and soon their numbers alarmed their foes. The Egyptians turned against the people of Israel.

Verse 2 So Moses went to Egypt land (Let my people go) He made old Pharaoh understand (Let my people go) Yes the Lord said: Chorus

Reader: Then God sent his servants Moses an Aaron, who worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland.

Verse 3 Thus spoke the Lord, bold Moses said, (Let my people go) If not I'll smite your firstborn dead (Let my people go) 'Cause the Lord said: Chorus

Reader: And God brought down plagues upon Egypt. God even struck down every firstborn in the land, the first fruits of their virile powers. It was God who finally led Israel out, their arms filled with loot, and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled. Egypt was glad to have them go— they were scared to death of them! God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day and a fire to light their way through the night; They prayed and he filled them with the bread of heaven; opened the rock and water poured out; it flowed like a river through that desert— God kept the promise to Abraham. Remember this! God’s chosen people marched, singing their hearts out! Hallelujah!

Chorus

Exodus 3:1-6 - The Message Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of GOD appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up. Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?” GOD saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Yes? I’m right here!” God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

Holy Ground Verse 1 When I walked through the doors I felt the presence And I knew this was a place where love abounds For this is a temple the God of love abides here And we are standing in the presence on holy ground

(chorus) We are standing on holy ground And I know that there are angels all around Let us praise, praise God now For we are standing in the presence on holy ground

Prayer of Confession

When we stumble onto holy ground, we often find our hearts in our stomachs. A mix of curiosity and fear consume us, for You call us in while also suggesting that we let go. In those moments, fear threatens to freeze us in place or causes us to second guess our confidence in Your guidance. Forgive us when our trust waivers and our disbelief causes us to dismiss your voice so quickly. Whenever the Spirit gets our attention in surprising ways, remind us that the ground we stand on is infused with the sacred, nourishes learning and growth, nudges and calls us to act, and even brings a vision of hope for love and justice abundant. Amen.

A Time of Silence

Verse 2 In this presence I know there is joy beyond all measure At God’s feet sweet peace of mind can still be found For when we have a need God is still the answer Reach out and claim it for we are standing on holy ground (chorus)

Exodus 3:7-15 - The Message GOD said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. “The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.” Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” “I’ll be with you,” God said. “And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What do I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I-AM- WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’” God continued with Moses: “This is what you’re to say to the Israelites: ‘GOD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.

Sermon Mary Alice Birdwhistell Harbouring the Hope of Exodus:Meeting God in the Wasteland

Prayers of the People Mary Alice Birdwhistell

With You Always/ God Be With You