July 19, 2026
Prelude: Melodie
Sanders
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Ecclesiastes 3]
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
God has made everything suitable for its time.
We know that whatever God does endures forever.
Let us worship the LORD!
For the Beauty of the Earth (Hymn 473)
Pierpoint/Kocher
For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
For Thy church that evermore lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
Confession
God of invitations, in difficult and uncertain times, we are often more in touch with fear than joy. We worry and wish for a different path than the one before us. Forgive us when our trust in you is fragile. Forgive us when we would rather live in denial than accept a challenging reality. Help us stay with you and do what we can, even though we may feel small and powerless. Keep us seeking after that which is true and good, and remind us that you are our God, a tenacious and loving presence in every reality. Amen.
Silence
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Hymn 276)
Chisholm/Runyan
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!
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!
(Refrain)
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
God of Grace and God of Glory (Hymn 420)
Fosdick/Hughes
God of grace and God of glory, on Thy people pour Thy power;
Crown Thine ancient church’s story; bring its bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour,
For the facing of this hour.
Lo! The hosts of evil round us scorn Thy Christ, assail Thy ways!
From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days,
For the living of these days.
Set our feet on lofty places; gird our lives that they may be
Armored with all Christlike graces, pledged to set all captives free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, that we fail not them nor Thee,
That we fail not them nor Thee!
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Readings
Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22
New Testament: Philippians 4:8
Sermon: Faithful Resolve
Scott Starbuck
Focus: “I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Response: In Dreams
from The Fellowship of the Ring
Shore
Katriel Starbuck, violin
Pastoral Prayer & The Lord's Prayer
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, and deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Call to Stewardship
The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. -Ecclesiastes 5:10
Sending: Be Thou My Vision (Hymn 339)
Ancient Irish poem & ballad
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art.
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Charge & Benediction
Postlude: St. Anthony Chorale, from Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Brahms
This piece is the Alma Mater of Northwestern University, whose motto is Quaecumque sunt vera “Whatsoever things are true” from Philippians 4:8. I always think to play this piece when we read this scripture.
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