THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME
“Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ”
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“I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122, vs 1
Prelude Music
Sonata in A major
G.P. Telemann
Largo – Allegro – Sarabande - Allegro
Micah Gangwer, violinist
Processional Hymn
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
GATHERING AROUND THE WORD
Call to Worship
Leader: Come, let us celebrate the wondrous gifts that God has given us.
People: Throughout all our lives, God has blessed us with love and hope.
Leader: Praise be to God who provides for us.
People: May our hearts be truly grateful, and may we show our gratitude by the ways in which we live and care for others.
Leader: Hallelujah!
People: Amen.
–posted on Ministry Matters
Hymn
Now Thank We All Our God
Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done, in whom this world rejoices;
who, from our mothers' arms, hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
and keep us in God's grace, and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills in this world and the next. (cont.)
All praise and thanks to God, who reigns in highest heaven,
to Father and to Son and Spirit now be given:
the one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore,
the God who was, and is, and shall be evermore.
Invocation and Lord's Prayer (Unison)
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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Call to Confession (Unison)
Gracious Creator, you have given us so much, but too often we take those gifts for granted, or as something to which we are entitled. You call us to live in caring community, but too often we place our wants and needs first, with those of others a distant second. You call us to share Your gifts with the world around us, but we are worried that there may not be enough, and our worrying gets in the way of our sharing. For all the times when we mistreat and misuse Your gifts, for all the times we assume that we get what we have by ourselves, forgive us and lead us back to the path of wisdom.
— written by Rev Gord, posted on Worship Offerings
Silent Confession and Assurance of Pardon
Response: Thanks be to God!
Gloria Patri
Affirmation of Faith, Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell*; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic** Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
* ”hell” refers to the Hebrew word “Sheol,” a place of the dead, rather than the Hell of the final judgment.
** “catholic” is Latin for “universal,” implying the Christian unity that exists beyond all denominations.
Anthem
“For the Fruit of All Creation”
For the fruit of all creation, thanks be to God. For the gifts to every nation, thanks be to God.
For the plowing, sowing, reaping, silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safekeeping, thanks be to God.
In the just reward of labor, God’s will be done. In the help we give our neighbor,
God’s will be done. In our worldwide task of caring for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing, God’s will be done.
For the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God. For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.
music: Welsh melody
text: Fred Pratt Green, 1970, alt.
Pastoral Prayer of the People
Scripture Reading
Matthew 25:31-46
Sermon
“To Love Is To Live”
Rev. Cress Darwin
Closing Hymn
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne;
hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King through all eternity. (cont.)
Crown him the Lord of love; behold his hands and side,
rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified:
no angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of years, the potentate of time;
creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For thou hast died for me;
thy praise shall never, never fail throughout eternity.
Diademata
Benediction and Choral Response
Amen
Dresden
Postlude
“Sleepers, Wake”
J.S. Bach
2nd Presbyterian CCLI Lic. #2046860
INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Second Presbyterian is a church community where you will be known and nurtured. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here. Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here.
And get connected! Join a small group here. While we may be practicing social distancing these days, there are still ways to be involved and to offer your time, talents, and resources in service to others. Please reach out to our Director of Community and Communications Jordyn Pritchard to get connected.
Our guest musician today, Micah Gangwer, is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Charleston Symphony and Concertmaster of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. He attended Miami University for his undergraduate, and the University of Oklahoma and University of South Carolina for graduate school. Micah lives in West Ashley with his wife Rachel, who is the librarian for and plays viola with the Charleston Symphony.