Central Reformed Church

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost July 19, 2020

REFLECTION

We have not yet learned the deep meaninglessness and despair that comes with the cross. We are now called back to the cross of Christ to ask again for its reason as we think about the church’s mission in the twenty-first century. Perhaps this time we will be struck by the true meaning of its futurelessness and hopelessness. Only then will we be able to understand the meaning of resurrection. At the height of hopelessness, an act of hope that comes not from us, that has not been developed through human rationality, that bears no relation to evolution and which has never been seen before, surprises hopeless people. As an act of God, coming from outside human beings, religious institutions, legal institutions, medical institutions or the governmental institutions. Here, in a graceless, hopeless and brutal world the light of grace breaks the darkness of hopelessness.

—H. Russel Botman, The End of Hope or New Horizon of Hope?

ORDER OF WORSHIP SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

JULY 19, 2020 9:30 am

(We invite you to quiet your homes as you prepare for worship.)

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GATHERING IN LOVE

Prelude “Prelude and Jig on ‘Morning Has Broken’” (John A. Behnke) “Improvisation on LAUDES DOMINI” (Raymond H. Haan) Welcome and Announcements Votum, Call to Worship

Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. People: Amen. Leader: Come to me, our Lord Jesus says, all you who are weary and burdened, and I

will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Come, friends, and let us worship our God.

Hymn “When Morning Gilds the Skies” (You are invited to sing.)

When morning gilds the skies, my heart awaking cries: May Jesus Christ be praised! Alike at work and prayer To Jesus I repair: May Jesus Christ be praised! Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find: May Jesus Christ be praised! Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this: May Jesus Christ be praised! Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine: May Jesus Christ be praised! Be this the eternal song Through all the ages long: May Jesus Christ be praised!

The Salutation

Leader: May grace, mercy, and God’s peace be ours, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

People: Amen.

Invitation to Confession

Prayer of Confession (unison)

God who sees all, the psalmist tells us that you know when we sit down and when we rise up. And yet we act sometimes as if you don't know what is in the thoughts of our hearts. You know when we are selfish. You know when we are bitter. You know when we are unrighteously angry. You know when we lie to ourselves and to one another. We confess our sins of action as well as our sins of inaction. We have failed to love you and our neighbors wholeheartedly, and we see the evidence of our destructive ways all around us. We ask your forgiveness. Grant us the creativi-ty and imagination of the Father, the patient love and the abundant grace of the Son, and the steadfast companionship of the Spirit as we recommit to the path of repentance and to the way everlasting. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon Peace

Leader: Hear this teaching of Christ: A new command I give you, that you love one an-other as I have loved you. The peace of Christ be with you all.

People: And also with you.

LISTENING IN EXPECTATION

First Lesson Psalm 139 (responsive)

Leader: O Lord, you have searched me and known me. People: You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my

thoughts from far away. Leader: You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my

ways. People: Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. Leader: You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. People: Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot

attain it. Leader: Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? People: If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you

are there. Leader: If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. People: If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me

become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Leader: For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my moth-er’s womb.

People: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Leader: Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. People: My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in

secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Leader: Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the

days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. People: How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum

of them! Leader: I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still

with you. People: O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty

would depart from me—those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil!

Leader: Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

People: I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Leader: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. People: See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way ever-

lasting. Leader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Musical Reflection “O Lord, My God, You Know All My Ways” (John Barnard)

O Lord, my God, you know all my ways, When I sleep and I rise, when I sit or stand; And before any word is upon my tongue You discern it as though I had spoken it. Where can I go to be far from you? In the deepest of caves, in the heights of heaven? If I rise up and fly on the wings of dawn, Still your right hand will guide me and hold me fast. O Lord, my God, you created me, In a wonderful way you have fashioned me. Test my spirit and see what is in my heart; Lead me on in the way to eternal life.

Children’s Moment Second Lesson Romans 8:12-25

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about

to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children

of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Leader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Sermon “Hope for What We Do Not See” Jeff Chu Prayer for a Blessing on the Word Hymn of Response “In Christ Alone” (verses 1 and 4; see end of order of worship for music) (You are invited to sing.)

RESPONDING IN FAITH Affirmation of Faith (unison; adapted from the Belgic Confession, Article I)

We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God—eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty; completely wise, just, and good, and the over-flowing source of all good. Amen.

Prayers of the People During the prayers each week, we remember our neighboring faith communities and their leaders. Today we are praying for the staff and congregation of Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Leader: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you.

During the prayer: Leader: Lord, in your mercy, People: Hear our prayer. The 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 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.

DEPARTING IN JOY Hymn “Be Thou My Vision” (verses 1 and 4; see end of order of worship for music) (You are invited to sing.)

Benediction and Blessing

Leader: Whoever you are, wherever you go in God’s wide world, Whatever happens to you of good or ill, always remember that . . . People: Jesus is Lord! Leader: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of

the Holy Spirit be with you always. People: Amen.

Postlude “Fanfare” (Alfred V. Fedak)

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WORSHIP LEADERS Preacher: Jeff Chu

Liturgist: Vivian TerMaat Principal Organist: Norma de Waal Malefyt

Vocalist: Sofia Vazquez Maccio Video Tech: Alex Grigoriev Sound Tech: Nick Loubert

“In Christ Alone” (verses 1 and 4)

“Be Thou My Vision” (verses 1 and 4)

WORSHIP NOTES New to Central? Thank you for joining us online today. Central Reformed Church is located on the corner of College and Fulton in the Heritage Hill neighborhood of downtown Grand Rapids. Our mis-sion is to connect all people to God and to one another through scripture, sacrament, song, and service. We have been in ministry for almost 180 years and are a part of the Reformed Church in America, a Christian denomination that began in New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1628. We look forward to being able to worship with you in person once the COVID-19 crisis is over. Until then, please stay safe. Music Note: This morning’s postlude is from a collection of pieces commissioned in 2013 by the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists in honor of Dr. Marilyn Mason, longtime organ pro-fessor at the University of Michigan. Second Hour: This morning for second hour we are joined by Calvin University professor of English Debra Rienstra, who hosted a podcast series on “refugia” this past spring. She describes refugia as “little pockets of safety . . . secret shelters out of which new life emerges.” Amid this season of uncertainty and pandemic, social turmoil and potential transformation, we need refugia. She'll talk with us about the concept in the context of our faith and where we might look for our own refugia. Join us at 11:00 am (or earlier, if you'd like to participate in the virtual coffee hour) by clicking on this link—https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87396021982?pwd=TklvVFlBTGxrUjU1SEpVbDRneEtLQT09—or by going to www.zoom.us/join and entering the meeting ID (873 9602 1982) and password (050841). In Our Prayers: our visitors (we thank God for you!); all those battling cancer; all those ministering to and caring for the sick and grieving; all who are unemployed; all those discouraged and anxious. Next Sunday, July 26: Join us for our live stream worship service at 9:30 am. Pre-service music will begin at 9:20 am. We continue our summer sermon series on the Book of Romans. Pastor Steve will be preaching with a sermon titled “For Those Who Suffer,” based on Romans 8:26-39. Please invite others to join you online. Media Connections: Today’s service is available via live stream through our website at centralre-formedchurch.org. Audio of past sermons is also available. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram: @centralreformed. Giving: Thank you for your continued financial generosity to Central. As always, you are welcome to mail your gifts to the church office. (Staff check the mailbox a couple of times a week.) Online donations are also gratefully received. To make a one-time or recurring gift either via credit card or via your bank account, please visit www.centralreformedchurch.org/give and click on the purple “Give Now” button, which will take you to Tithely, Central's online giving platform.

Cover Art: Psalm 85 © John August Swanson | Eyekons “In Christ Alone” and “Be Thou My Vision” reprinted with permission (CCLI license #2931504)

Central Reformed Church

10 College Avenue NE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503

616.456.1773 centralreformedchurch.org

Connecting all people to God and to one another through scripture, sacrament, song, and service.