Summer Worship July 19, 2020

10:30 a.m. EST

We gather for worship. Liturgical texts are within this order of worship; hymns are included at the bottom and online.

Sit with a Bible, candle, or hymnal, or in a special space, and call to mind all how, in Christ, we grow together in life and in worship. We gather before God.

CALL TO WORSHIP: Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree text: anonymous 18th cent. USA music: Elizabeth Poston The tree of life my soul hath seen, laden with fruit and always green. The trees of nature fruitless be compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel; by faith I know, but ne’er can tell the glory which I now can see in Jesus Christ, the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought, and pleasure dearly I have bought; I missed of all, but now I see ‘tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I’m weary with my former toil; here I will sit and rest awhile. Under the shadow I will be of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive; it keeps my dying faith alive which makes my soul in haste to be with Jesus Christ the apple tree. We confess and hear God’s forgiveness. We sing our prayer: Glory to God 226 There in God’s garden stands the Tree of Wisdom, whose leaves hold forth the healing of the nations: tree of all knowledge, tree of all compassion, tree of all beauty.

Its name is Jesus, name that says, “Our Savior!” There on its branches see the scars of suffering; see there the tendrils of our human selfhood feed on its lifeblood.

Thorns not its own are tangled in its foliage; our greed has starved it; our despite has choked it. Yet, look! it lives! its grief has not destroyed it nor fire consumed it.

… See how its branches reach to us in welcome; hear what the Voice says, “Come to me, ye weary! Give me your sickness; give me all your sorrow; I will give blessing.”

This is my ending; this, my resurrection; into your hands, Lord, I commit my spirit. This have I searched for; now I can possess it. This ground is holy.

All heaven is singing, “Thanks to Christ whose passion offers in mercy healing, strength, and pardon. Peoples and nations, take it; take it freely!” Amen! My Master! We sing in gratitude.

HYMN: Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty Glory to God 35

We welcome the Word read and proclaimed.

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 139

SONG: Listen to the Word that God Has Spoken Glory to God 455

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

SERMON: “Improperly Vetted” The Reverend Dr. Chris Currie

We pray for God’s whole creation.

We offer our gift, our faith, and ourselves.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH music by Robert Bucklee Farley based on “There in God’s Garden” by K. Lee Scott

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

We leave with God’s blessing.

HYMN: For the Fruit of All Creation Glory to God 36

BENEDICTION and CHARGE

VOLUNTARY: Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty composed by Johann Walther

Portions of this morning’s liturgy adapted from the Book of Common Worship, 2018.

Our preacher today is The Reverend Dr. Chris Currie, the Pastor/Head of Staff at First Presbyterian Church Shreveport, Louisiana, where he has served since 2013. He is married to Stephanie who is an instructor at LSU Health Sciences Center, School of Allied Health. Chris and Stephanie have three children, Thomas (14), Harrison (12), and Corinne (10). Chris is a graduate of Davidson College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Edinburgh, School of Divinity, where he completed his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology in 2013. Chris served the Calypso Presbyterian Church, Calypso, North Carolina, in his first call to ministry from 2004-2010, and he and Stephanie and family always enjoy getting to spend some time in the North Carolina mountains. The son, grandson, and great-grandson of Presbyterian ministers, Chris is grateful for the ties that bind, glad to be able to join family and friends here this weekend, and honored to be asked to preach in the 2020 Montreat Summer Worship Series. Assisting in Worship Richard DuBose, President, Montreat Conference Center John Daniel Debevoise, Ministry Team; Brett Eisenhauer, Ministry Team Johanna Garrity, Liturgical Artist, Montreat Conference Center Rev. Dr. Ann Laird Jones, Director of Art Ministry, Liturgist, Montreat Conference Center Heather Scott, Director of Technology, Montreat Conference Center Rev. Carol Steele, vice president for programs, Montreat Conference Center Kim Thomas, Mary Blick Wall, Bob Garrity, musicians Eric Wall, Conference Center Musician, Montreat Conference Center Artist’s Statement This week in Montreat, the raspberries are ripening alongside and the sweet peas are blooming. This beauty along the edges is finding the sunlight among the weeds. Poison ivy, represented here, can be found wherever the raspberries are. Both love the space between the light and the shadow. We wanted to represent this pairing this week as a metaphor to parallel the text. In our conversations around this text, we observed that perhaps each of us has tried to be the angels sometimes, thinking that we have the authority to weed each other. How freeing is it to know that God is calling us this week to grow together? What a gift is it to know that God will take care of the weeding on her own time. Hymns and Songs for Worship Hymns come from Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal. Hymns 226 and 36 are reproduced for one-time singing/speaking on July 5, 2020, by permission of OneLicense #716865. Composers, authors, and publishers are at the bottom of each hymn. The introit, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, is published by Banks Publications and is streamed with their permission.