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12th Sunday after Pentecost
08/16/2026 - 10:30 am
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CENTERING MUSIC
CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Come and worship, everyone on earth, everywhere the sun shines,
Many: let’s praise God together!
One: For listening when we call, answering our prayers, forgiving our mistakes, and providing what we need:
Many: let’s praise God together!
One: Come and worship, everyone on earth, everywhere the sun shines,
Many: let’s praise God together!
*HYMN #35, Praise Ye the Lord the Almighty, vv. 1-3
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near; join me in glad adoration!
Praise ye the Lord, who e’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Has thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been granted in what he ordaineth?
Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
Gladly for aye we adore him
PRAYER CONFESSING OUR NEED FOR GOD’S GRACE
Merciful God, we confess that we yearn for the seeds of your blessings to land in our soil, but often our hearts are too hard for them to take root. Forgive us for allowing our worries to choke out your word. Till the soil of our hearts and turn it into fertile ground, ready to receive your word and give it a rich place to grow and bear fruit that will bless others as well as ourselves. Amen.
MOMENT OF SILENT PRAYER
SONG OF RENEWAL 740 Lead me, Guide Me
Lead me, guide me, along the way, for if you lead me, I cannot stray.
Lord, let me walk each day with thee. Lead me, O Lord, lead me.
I am weak and I need your strength and power to help me Over my weakest hour.
Help me through the darkness your face to see. Lead me, O Lord, lead me.
CELEBRATION OF GOD’S GRACE
Friends, hear this good news from the book of Romans. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and of death. We have been given new life as God’s own children. So be at peace: our sins are forgiven! Thanks be to God!
*PASSING THE PEACE
Leader: The peace of Christ be with you.
People: And with you also.
Leader: Let us pass the peace of Christ.
People: The peace of Christ be with you. (To one another)
SPECIAL MUSIC “How Beautiful” Twila Paris, arr. Larson
Lyle Swallow & Mary Suite
BLESSING THE CHILDREN AND SINGING TO GODLY PLAY
This Little Light of Mine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Today’s Story “The Days of Creation”
Kathleen Krentz & Peter Cloven
Leader: And as we continue our worship…
Congregation: May God be with you there.
Children: May God be with you here.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Leader: God in your Grace,
People: Hear our prayer
PASTORAL PRAYER
THE LORD’S PRAYER
As we pray together the Lord's Prayer, you are invited to say this in whatever version is most comforting and meaningful to you. Here is one possible version (ecumenical version) that you can use:
Our Father, who is in heaven, holy be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Psalm 119:105-112
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
RESPONSE
Reader: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION, from Psalm 19 - responsively
Pastor: May the words of my mouth
People: And the meditations of our hearts
All: Be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
Our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
SERMON “In the Best of Soil and in the Worst of Soil” Lisa Justice
MOMENT FOR QUIET REFLECTION
*HYMN OF REFLECTION #458 T hy Word is a Lamp unto My Feet
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
When I feel afraid, and I think I’ve lost my way, still you’re there right beside me.
Nothing will I fear as long as you are near. Please be near me to the end.
OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS
OFFERTORY
*DOXOLOGY
Praise God whose breath fills all the earth
Whose love reveals our sacred worth
Whose Spirit forms one family
Whose grace brings peace and harmony. Amen.
*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
As we offer our gifts and lives in this moment, may we become imitators of you, Gracious God, who holds nothing back from us, but is generous and gracious with all that is yours. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
*CLOSING HYMN #39 Great is Thy Faithfulness, vv. 1-3
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not; thy compassions they fail not.
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow:
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
*Congregational Response: Go with God
Go with God, go with God.
As you leave this place, go with God.
God will direct your way, God will light every day.
As you leave this place, go with God.
*POSTLUDE “May the Lord Bless You and Keep You” S. Reinhardt, arr. S. Applegate