Pentecost/World Missions Day
VISUAL ARTS (PARAMENTS, GENERAL DECORATIONS, SPECIFIC DECORATIONS)
Brim: Creative Overflow in Worship Design
Banner Designs for the Church Year
Video of the Pentecost Reading in Different Languages (read by CPs around the world) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULu0X08nJpY
Visual Praying: Pray for our missionaries, a poster of who they are and where they serve can be found in the 2017 Summer edition of the Missionary Messenger magazine. Pray for the different countries where we have CP churches: Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong (and Macau), Japan, Laos, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, USA. As part of the prayer for mission, before praying place 14 Bibles on a table or the sanctuary alter to illustrate the witness of Christ by the CP Church in 14 different countries around the world.
—Lynn Thomas
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CALL TO WORSHIP
Come Holy Spirit.
Blow among us today as we worship you, the Creator and Sustainer.
Come Holy Spirit.
Fill us with new visions and new energies to go where you send us.
Come Holy Spirit.
Equip us to meet people right where we encounter them showing them the love and grace of Jesus Christ.
Come Holy Spirit.
Receive our worship and praise in this time and space, and in the days to come.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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—Acts 2:1-2, 32, 38-39
Change your life! Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven.
The winds of the Holy Spirit are blowing upon us. We are ready for God’s life-changing power.
Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit – God’s promise is for you, your children and to those who are far away.
Like the day at Pentecost, let the Holy Spirit spread through our worship today.
Be filled with awe! Be filled with joy for God has raised Jesus to life and we are all witnesses.
Come, Holy Spirit, come to this place of worship.
—MMT Staff
…
Through the scriptures, through the sacraments, through our worship,
The Spirit is working to help people know the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Among believers, in our words, in our actions and in ways beyond our understanding,
The Spirit is working to help people know the love of God in Jesus Christ.
In this place, in our homes, at our school and at our work,
The Spirit is working to help people know the love of God in Jesus Christ.
The Spirit is everywhere, preceding all desires, purpose and intention.
While possible for all to be saved with it, none can be saved without it.
Let us celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the world today.
Let us worship!
(inspired by the Catechism and Confession of Faith for Cumberland Presbyterians)
—TJ Malinoski
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May our singing and our praying be pleasing to God.
We are here to learn more about who God is, and who we are called to be in the world.
May our listening and our responding draw us closer to our Shepherd.
We are here to commit ourselves to God, and go where God sends us.
May our response to the Word compel us to go out into the world
to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ with everyone we meet.
Let us worship God with joy and thanksgiving!
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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By the Spirit, the church is gathered.
The church is gathered to plead, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come.”
By the Spirit, we are built up in comfort and teaching.
The Spirit reminds us of all that Jesus taught us.
By the Spirit, we are sent out.
We are sent out to every nation and every tribe.
We are sent out to proclaim that we are God’s people.
God walks with us, and we are God’s people.
—Lynn Thomas
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The Holy Spirit calls people from around the world together into one community—
People will come from east and west and north and south,
and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
The Spirit calls us together this day to worship the Triune God of love and grace.
We come from our homes, schools, jobs, and places of leisure
to worship in one voice.
Let us worship God who is present with us on this Pentecost Day!
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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INVOCATION
Come, Holy Spirit, and meet us right where we are this morning. In this time of worship, speak to us about your love for us. Then move us out into your world to speak and live that same love with all we meet. For it is in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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Most gracious God, we come to worship you today anticipating your presence to move and shape us in your image. As we celebrate this day of Pentecost we too want to be filled with your Holy Spirit declaring the power and work of God in our own language. May our songs glorify your name, may our voices testify to your presence and may our faith be contagious to the world in which we live. Amen.
—MMT Staff
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Spirit of the living God, may your outpouring fall upon us this day. May it melt us in a refinement that glorifies your name. May it mold us like clay into a new image; a new creation to benefit all humanity. May it fill us with grace, compassion and care. Use this worship to melt us, to mold us, to fill us so that we will proclaim the gospel in this new week. Amen.
—TJ Malinoski
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Come to us now, Holy Spirit, and fall afresh on us. Speak to us in the music, the Word, the silence, and the sermon. Fill us up with your love and passion. Move us out of our routines and ruts into your beautiful world so that we might fulfill our calling to be your faithful disciples. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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God our creator, earth has many languages, but your gospel proclaims your love to all nations in one heavenly tongue. Make us messengers of the good news that, through the power of your Spirit, all the world may be united in one song of praise; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
(Worship Resource reprinted by permission from Book of Common Worship, page 339, © 1993 Westminster/John Knox Press.)
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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MUSIC (HYMNS, SONGS, ANTHEMS)
Whosoever Will
Come All Christians, Be Committed
Christ for the World! We Sing
Here I Am, Lord
I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go
I Love to Tell the Story
People Need the Lord
Each One Reach One
Make Me a Servant
Pass It On
Come, Now Is the Time to Worship
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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Spirit of the Living God
(This song can be sung in a Taize style, which simply means that you sing the first verse of this simple song 3 or 4 times as a way to open the service. The intent is to be contemplative and to set the space for God’s Spirit to be move.)
—Lynn Thomas
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CALL TO CONFESSION
We, like Paul, don’t do what we want or know is right, but instead will do the very thing we hate. All is not lost, because we have a loving, forgiving God who is more ready to forgive our sins than we are to confess them. Let us set the record straight, as we offer our confessions to God.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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We have good intentions. We intend to get involved in ministries here at the church. We intend to reach out to a neighbor who is struggling with life circumstances. We intend to give money to various outreach projects. We intend to mend fences and broken relationships. We intend to do a lot of good things. But many times, our good intentions go unmet. Surely, we have some things to confess as we seek to live faith-filled lives.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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God gives us tongues and languages to speak the good news to all people, yet we remain silent. Our Creator breathed into us the breath of life and commanded us to care for one another with love and compassion, yet we remain insulated and protected in our own little world. We have much to confess.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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PRAYER OF CONFESSION
We are a very judgmental people, O God, even though we know you are the true Judge of us all. Forgive us the times when we fail to reach out to someone with the love of Jesus because of their skin color, their history, their gender, their social status, the clothes they wear or where they live. Forgive us for not being willing to meet your people where they are with the Good News story of your love. Send your Spirit to blow away our judgmental attitudes, our fears and reluctance, and to do what we know you want us to do. Come Holy Spirit and make us clean. [Silence is kept]
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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Merciful God, we admit to you that we limit the power of your presence in our lives. We believe in what we can see over what we cannot see. We believe that if missionaries are sent to share the gospel then we are free from that responsibility. We repent only when we have been caught. We reserve our opinion on you but openly share our opinion on politics, sports and even our neighbors. When we talk of the spirit we confess we think of things other than your Holy Spirit. When in trouble we turn to our family, our friends, our doctors before we turn to you. Loving God, change our living so that we believe in what we cannot always see, stand and support the efforts in the mission fields, speak openly about you, think more of you and rely more on you. Amen.
—MMT Staff
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God of life and mercy, our past and present is dirty with selfish motives and stifling distractions. We confess that we say that we will do better, try harder, and be more committed but we do not follow through. We confess our attraction with instant gratification, the pursuit of possessing leverage and the desire for unearned privilege. We fail to recognize the outpouring of your Holy Spirit upon our lives, ignoring the forgiveness and freedom offered and instead embracing heartache and trouble as a predicament of life. Help us to listen to your calming words of compassion for we are very hard of hearing. Forgive us of our sin and fill our lives with grace and reconciling love. Amen.
—TJ Malinoski
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We confess our good intentions, O Lord. Help us to be more than just good intentions. We confess that we let distractions keep us from stepping up, and stepping out into your world to share the good news of Jesus. We confess that we let fear prevent us from going where you call us to go – into the lives of hurting people, into communities that are dangerous and unfamiliar, into countries where people are different from us. Send your Holy Spirit into our lives to blow away our fears and hesitations. Renew a right spirit within us as your faithful disciples. In the name of Jesus, our savior, we pray. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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Lord, we confess that we are scared of the Holy Spirit. We are scared of the ways you will disrupt our lives and call us to do something new. We confess that when your Spirit speaks, we turn deaf ears. When your Spirit touches our lips, we close our mouths, embarrassed to speak your word. Give us courage, and forgive us, Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
—Lynn Thomas
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Almighty God, you poured your Spirit upon gathered disciples creating bold tongues, open ears, and a new community of faith. We confess that we hold back the force of your Spirit among us. We do not listen for your word of grace, speak the good news of your love, or live as a people made one in Christ. Have mercy on us, O God. Transform our timid lives by the power of your Spirit, and fill us with a flaming desire to be your faithful people, doing your will for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Worship Resource reprinted by permission from Book of Common Worship, page 343, © 1993 Westminster/John Knox Press.)
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Sing as a prayer response the chorus – Spirit of the Living God.
Friends hear the good news – In Christ we are made new, the old life is gone, and the new life has come. Let us rejoice and be glad in this good news! Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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Peter tells his listeners in Acts 2 that God can change your life and when we turn to God and seek forgiveness our sins. Let us live as God’s forgiven people on this day. Amen.
—MMT Staff
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—based on Titus 3
The encouraging letter to Titus says that our kind and loving God steps in to give us new life. Through the baptismal waters and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit we have life and have it abundantly. And there is more life to come―an eternity of life! Let us live as a people who have been forgiven and made free. Thanks be to God!
—TJ Malinoski
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Here is the good news – in Christ Jesus, we have new life. When we acknowledge our human frailties and failings, we are in a position to be raised up into a new life, full of hope and great potential. Rejoice in the fresh start that you have and make all your good intentions a reality today. Thanks be to God!
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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God promises to walk among us. God promises to be our God. If God is with us, who can be against us? Take heart and take courage: in the name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven. Take heart and take courage for God promises to walk among us. Amen.
—Lynn Thomas
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With the coming of the Holy Spirit, God breathed new life into each one of us. Today we are given the opportunity to begin again and again and again. Each new day is a chance to speak and live as the disciples that God envisioned when forming us in the womb. Let us be glad and rejoice in this good news. Amen!
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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CHILDREN’S SERMON
Missionaries: Here, There, and Everywhere!
Missionaries are pretty interesting people. A missionary is someone who answers God’s call to go to another country, or another culture to tell people about Jesus. There are lots of Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries serving God around the world.
There was a missionary in the Bible and his name was Paul. He and his coworker made plans to go to a particular country to tell people about Jesus. But God had other plans. Much to Paul’s surprise, one night he dreamt about a man from a place called Antioch begging him to come to his town to teach them about Jesus. God used a dream to send the missionary Paul to where God wanted him to go. Even though that wasn’t where Paul really wanted to go, he had a wonderful time while there.
And that is how it is with most missionaries. Buddy and Beverly Stott were missionaries for a lot of years. It took them a long time to decide to become missionaries. When they finally said “yes” to God about being missionaries they thought they wanted to go to Colombia, South America. Yep―Colombia would be a great place for them to go. But God had other plans for them. God sent missionaries Boyce and Beth Wallace to Colombia, and Buddy and Beverly to Japan. Surprise! The Stotts served God faithfully in Japan for 25 years and did a good job in helping to build God’s kingdom in that place.
This is how it is with Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries. This is how it might be with you. We have our plans or ideas, and sometimes God has other plans. If we are open to listening to God, then we can have some pretty amazing adventures! And probably lots of wonderful surprises!
During the Pentecost season, we give special attention to the work of missionaries. On Pentecost Sunday we receive and celebrate a special offering to support the missionary work of the CP Church. The offering is called the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering―in honor of two long-time missionaries couples: Boyce and Beth Wallace in Colombia, and Buddy and Beverly Stott in Japan. When we give to the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering Fund, we are giving to the work of all Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries wherever they may be around the world―Here, There, and Everywhere!
To close, I want to give you a Missionary Prayer Card. Put this card in a place where you will see it every day, and remember to pray for the missionary on your card. Some of them have children your age. Some of them are serving far away from their home, with no family. Some of them are serving in pretty dangerous places―countries where the people in charge don’t like Christians and would hurt them if they knew they were Christians. Be sure to pray daily for our missionaries, to listen for God in their lives, and to be bold in telling people about Jesus.
Dear God, thank you for the missionaries all over the world who are telling people all about your love and grace. Keep them safe. Give them courage when it is dangerous; strength when it is difficult; and peace every day. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Open our eyes to hear and feel your Holy Word in a new way today. Speak to us clearly, O God, so that we may be equipped and challenged to live out your Holy Word in a world in need of good news. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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May the great love of God keep us, the teachings of Jesus fill us and the deep wisdom of the Holy Spirit surround us, one God, one endless love. Amen.
—TJ Malinoski
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Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us.
Melt us, mold us, fill us, use us.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us. Amen.
—Lynn Thomas
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Open not only our eyes, Spirit of Love, but open our hearts as well to receive your holy word. May your word dwell within us in such a way as to transform us into more faithful disciples who are ready to speak of your great love to all we meet whether they are a friend or stranger. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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SCRIPTURE TEXTS/SERMON IDEAS
- 1 Corinthians 9:22b-23 (NLT)—Meeting People Where They Are—sharing the good news of Jesus with anyone and everyone, using whatever means/gifts we possess.
- Matthew 28:16-20—Go into All the World—we are commissioned/sent out to the whole world and to all people to tell the good news story of Jesus.
- Acts 2:1-4—Can you Hear Me Now? Are we speaking and acting in such a way that others can hear and see Jesus in us? How do we need to speak and act so that others can hear us clearly?
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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- Acts 2:1-21
- Numbers 11: 24-30
- John 20: 19-23
—Lynn Thomas
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- Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
- Ezekiel 37:1-14
- John 14:8-17,25-27
- John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
- John 20:19-23
- Acts 2:1-21
- Romans 8:22-27
- Romans 8:14-17
- 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS (VIDEOS, TAPED SONGS)
At some point in the service introduce the inspirational 10 minute mission video with these comments:
The CP Church currently has the largest number of missionaries deployed on the mission field than any other time in our history. We have missionaries serving in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines. All of these missionaries are planting CP Churches. In addition to our missionaries we are opening new mission fields and planting CP Churches in countries like Australia, Haiti, and Spain. Some our strongest and fastest growing presbyteries are in countries like Hong Kong, Colombia and Japan. This video you are about to see explains an important reason the CP Church is expanding so quickly around the world, we have a strong group of dedicated men and women serving on the mission field. These missionaries, both past and present, are the reason the CP church is a global international church in 14 countries around the world.
Play the Stott-Wallace Video, To Walk Among Them during Sunday morning worship.
—Lynn Thomas
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PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Invite prayers of praise and thanksgiving—Our praise is like a sweet fragrance to God, better than any perfume or body spray we put on this morning. (Give time for folks to voice their praise and thanksgiving.)
Invite prayers of petition—Don’t worry about speaking over someone. God can multi-hear—hear all things at once. Speak just a word, we don’t need the details—God knows the details. (Give time for folks to voice their petitions.)
God, Creator of all things, we do give you our praise and thanksgiving this morning. Praise for your creativity, your joy and your laughter, your love and acceptance of all your children throughout the world. We thank you for opportunities to learn and grow in our faith: for the times of spiritual renewal and refreshment. We thank you, O God, that you meet us every morning where we are and that you stay with us throughout the day.
Even in our praise and thanksgiving, though, our hearts and minds are burdened with concerns for your children who are hurting, who are lonely, who are in distress. And so—we come asking you to meet THEM where they are in their life situations.
We remember this morning those who want to be here, but cannot because of illness, or difficulties of some kind. We remember those who are facing end of life issues, who are going through difficult and trying transitions—those in hospice care and the loved ones who are waiting there with them; those who have received doctor’s report and the news was not good; those who are in the middle of treatments, facing surgery or recovering from it; those who are even now holding the hands of a loved one who is slipping away from their grasp on life and falling into your loving arms. Meet them O Lord, right where they are with your love and hope.
We remember in prayer this morning the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America. Guide us to be more faithful in our calling to love and serve you. Bind us together as true sisters and brothers who have one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Meet us, O Lord, right where we are right now as two denominations, and by your amazing grace bring us together as one.
We lift the concerns of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the actions of the upcoming General Assembly. Continue to guide us in our work for you. Give our leaders wisdom and grace, give us all tender hearts toward one another so that whatever you call us to do in the world in your name we might do with enthusiasm and joy. Meet us, O God, where we are and move us as a denomination closer to you and your work in the world.
We pray for those who at this very moment are trapped in the bondage of slavery— those who labor in the agriculture fields, those who are domestic slaves, those who make our clothes in sweatshops around the world, those who pick the coffee beans and cocoa beans that we enjoy. Open our eyes to their plight. Then open our hearts and our minds to go out and make a difference for them, so that all your hurting children will know the joy of true freedom. Meet them, Loving God, right where they are this morning, helping them to know that someone cares and that someone is doing something to help them.
O God give all who are gathered here this morning hearts burdened for your children, wherever they are, whatever they are doing, whoever they may be. Give us all boldness to step out of our routines, our traditions, and comfort zones, to share your great and wonderful news with all that we meet in the days and weeks and years to come.
We pray all this in the name of Jesus, who taught us how to pray saying:
Our Father, who art in heaven….
—Pam Phillips-Burk
LITANY
—Acts 2:1-39
Most gracious God, today we celebrate the outpouring of your Holy Spirit on all people. Like wildfire, your Spirit moves with us, among us and through us. Like those gathered for the Feast of Pentecost, we are amazed at your work, your wisdom, and your power.
Fill us with your Spirit, O God.
A glimpse of the wonders of heaven is being revealed and signs on this earth shown. Everyone who calls for help in your name will be saved. Therefore our hearts are filled with gladness, our voices with joy, even our bodies live in hope.
We will witness to your wonderful works, O God.
Awaken within us, Holy Spirit, an unquenchable hunger and stir within us an advocating awareness for missions to provide faithful support to our missionaries and their families.
Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.
We pray that our missionaries will serve with energy, commitment and imagination to minister to the grieving, the hungry, the sick, the poor, and the oppressed.
We will stand with them and support their efforts, O God.
We pray that our missionaries will teach those who already know you and reach out to those who do not, so that all people will be renewed and experience new life in your name.
We will stand with them and support their efforts, O God.
Let their hard work and sacrifice be an example to us. Miles from home, laborious hours and different cultures may separate them from what is easy and familiar but you spoke to your servants and they listened.
Jesus said, “I will be with you always; day after day after day.”
Use our resources and use our offerings to strengthen and expand your mission in the rural areas and in the inner cities in this country and around the world.
We give of our resources and our offerings to strengthen and expand your mission in the world.
May we join with our missionaries and their families around the world in following the teachings of Jesus, sharing in a common meal and uniting with one another through prayer.
Embracing God, we pray that all may come to know you and enjoy your blessings. Amen.
—TJ Malinoski
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AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess to the glory of God: Jesus Christ is Lord! Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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All who are united to Christ by faith are also united to one another in love. (5.10)
In this community of faith, we are commissioned to share the grace of Christ with one another, to bear one another’s burdens, and to reach out to all people. (5.10)
This community of faith has a special meaning for we belong to a particular community that is one, holy, universal and apostolic; the Church. (5.01, 5.11)
We, the Church, are nurtured and sustained by worship, by the proclamation and study of the word, and by the celebration of the sacraments. (5.28)
The Church includes all people of all ages, past, present and future who respond in faith to God’s covenant of grace. (5.06)
We are commissioned to witness to all persons who have not received Christ as Lord and Savior. (5.28)
God’s mighty act of reconciling love, the covenant of grace, was accomplished in Jesus Christ, the divine Son who became flesh to be the means by which the sins of the world are
forgiven. (3.07)
We are called into being and exist to reach out to those who have not experienced God’s grace in Christ. (5.29)
God acts redemptively in Jesus Christ because of the sins of the world and continues with the same intent in the Holy Spirit. (4.01)
We are responsible to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. (5.30)
The Holy Spirit works through the scriptures, the sacraments, our worship, our witness, both word and deed, and in ways beyond our understanding. (4.02)
We are responsible to give witness to the mighty acts of God in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (5.31)
The call and work of the Spirit is solely of God’s grace. The Spirit’s call precedes our desires, purpose and intention to come to Christ. (4.03)
Whosoever will, therefore, may be saved but not without the illuminating influence of the Holy Spirit. (4.03)
For all who respond with repentance and trustful acceptance of God’s love in Christ, salvation and life is here! (4.04)
For all who respond with repentance and trustful acceptance of God’s love in Christ, salvation and life is here! (4.04)
(based on the Confession of Faith for Cumberland Presbyterians)
—TJ Malinoski
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We believe that you have called people serve you, O God, throughout all generations
You called Isaiah to speak your words,
You called Ruth to speak up for your people,
You called Moses to lead your people out of slavery,
You called Mary to bear your own son,
You called the disciples to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ,
You called Dorcas to do good works and help the poor.
We believe that you have called Cumberland Presbyterians to share your love and grace throughout the world,
doing good and helping the poor.
You called the early founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to go in a new
direction and a new denomination was born,
You called early missionaries to leave their homes and go to a new country to spread
the gospel story.
You called Buddy and Beverly Stott to go to Japan to serve you and the Japanese
people, a work that was started 138 years ago.
You called Beth and Boyce Wallace to go to Colombia to serve you and the Colombian
people, a work that was started 90 years ago.
We believe that through the movement of your Holy Spirit, you continue to call your disciples to go into the world,
doing good and helping the poor.
You call us to Guatemala, and Brazil, and Japan, and Cambodia, and the Philippines,
You call us to South Korea, and Mexico, and places yet unnamed.
You call us to schools, and community centers, back alleys, and hospitals.
You call us to places we cannot yet imagine.
You call and we go.
We believe that when you call us to go, you will go with us, Faithful God. This we believe and upon this assurance we go. Amen
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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Holy Spirit, Creator, in the beginning you moved over the waters. From your breath all creation drew life. Without you, life turns to dust.
Renew us, Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit, Counselor, by your inspiration, the prophets spoke and acted in faith. You clothed them in power to be bearers of your word.
Refresh us, Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit, Power, you came as fire to Jesus’ disciples; you gave them voice before the rulers of the world.
Ignite us, Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit, Sanctifier, you created us children of God; you make us the living temple of your presence; you intercede within us with sighs too deep for words.
Speak to us, Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit, Giver of life, you guide and make holy the church you create; you give gifts¾the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of the Lord¾that the whole creation may become what you want it to be.
Renew us, Holy Spirit!
True and only Light, from whom comes every good gift: move within us and among us Holy Spirit with the power of a mighty wind. Open the horizons of our minds by the flame of your wisdom. Loosen our tongues to show your praise, for only in your Spirit can we voice your words of peace and acclaim Jesus as Lord. Amen.
(Worship Resource reprinted by permission from Book of Common Worship, page 342, © 1993 Westminster/John Knox Press.)
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
God’s Spirit is at work within our community of faith, and throughout the world. Today we get to be part of this exciting, challenging work by the giving of our tithes and offerings. Let us give with joy and commitment to the work of the Holy Spirit.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, being led by God’s Holy Spirit, is proclaiming the good news story of Jesus Christ in many languages around the world. We do this through the ministry and leadership of missionaries. Today, we have the opportunity to join them in this ministry by contributing to the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering. This offering does more than just pay the salary and benefits for our missionaries. It fulfills our call as followers of Jesus to “go and make disciples of all nations.”
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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OFFERTORY PRAYER
Bless, O God, the work of our hands and hearts. We dedicate this offering to the work you are doing in our midst and around the world. Send your Holy Spirit to go before these gifts to bring hope and renewal, the hungry fed, the lost found, and the hopeless given hope. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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We have much for which to be thankful, Loving God. We bring before you today our tithes and offerings, as well as our very lives. Use these gifts for your work both in this church and around the world. We especially ask you to bless the Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries that will be receiving the benefits of the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering. May they be encouraged by this act of support and love; may lives be transformed through their ministries is far-flung places; may your kingdom grow and blossom through the work of your Holy Spirit and these gifts. Thank you for the faithful work of missionaries both now and in the past. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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Holy Spirit, we offer our gifts to reach beyond our small worlds.
We offer our gifts and remember all of the amazing work
you are doing in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
We are one family, united in you.
We speak different languages and celebrate different holidays.
We eat different foods and have different traditions.
But, in your church, we are one.
Multiple the gifts we give
that all your children might be blessed through the work of our hands.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.
—Lynn Thomas
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We give you thanks and praise Holy One, for blessing our lives with abundance and for calling us to respond to needs near and far. We offer this gift of money and our lives to your service in the world. May this offering be used to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ love and grace and to bring hope and peace in hurting places. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Go in the power of the Holy Spirit to meet people right where they are—neighbors, coworkers, and friends.
Go in the power of the Holy Spirit to love people right where they are—
the homeless person, the drug addict, and the prostitute on the street corner.
Go in the power of the Holy Spirit to live out the good news of the gospel.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen.
—Pam Phillips-Burk
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God has poured out the Holy Spirit upon this place today.
We are filled with awe and amazement at God’s work, wisdom and power.
What will you do with this awe and amazement?
We leave this place filled with energy, commitment and imagination to so that we will minister to the grieving, the hungry, the sick, the poor and the oppressed. Amen.
—MMT Staff
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May the great love of God keep us, the teachings of Jesus fill us and the deep wisdom of the Holy Spirit surround us, one God, one endless love. Amen.
—TJ Malinoski
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May the God who breathed life into creation be your delight.
May Christ Jesus give hope to your dreaming.
May the Holy Spirit walk among you and set your hearts ablaze with passion.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
—Lynn Thomas
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The Holy Spirit has come into our lives and now we must GO!
We go from this place renewed and refreshed
by the life-giving presence of God’s Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has come into our lives and now we must GO!
We go from this place equipped to proclaim the good news story of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit has come into our lives and now we must GO!
We go from this place ready to live lives of faithful discipleship.
The Holy Spirit has come into our lives and now we must GO!
GO in peace to love and serve the Lord.
—Pam Phillips-Burk