November 9, 2025
Prelude
John Bodinger
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 12]
Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly; the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “...our lips are our own–who is our master?”
“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,” says the LORD; “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure. You, O LORD, will protect and guard us.
Let us worship the LORD!
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.
Cure Thy children’s warring madness; bend our pride to Thy control;
Shame our wanton, selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.
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!
Confession
God of justice and compassion, you call us to learn your ways and share your message of love and grace with the world. Rather than demanding blind obedience to your law, you invite us into dialogue as we seek to apply your teaching to our time and place. Forgive us when we confuse your mission with our own desires or worldly pursuits. Forgive us when we do not recognize the petitions of others as something you welcome. Lead us into prayer and thanksgiving, that we may know you more deeply, discern your mission more clearly, and speak your word more graciously. Amen.
Silence
Here I Am, Lord (Hymn 525)
Schutte
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Doxology (Hymn 592)
Ken/Genevan Psalter
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Readings
Jay Stafstrom
Old Testament: Numbers 27:1-7
New Testament: Colossians 4:2-6
Ave Verum Corpus
Mozart
Lisa Phillips
Sermon: Dialogue as Discipleship
Scott Starbuck
Focus: God is a missionary God; God’s mission has a church. Focusing primarily on the church’s mission without a larger discernment of the church’s identity with respect to God’s mission will get us nowhere. Instead, we need to place God’s mission as lived out with respect to a holistic gospel into dialogue with the realities of contemporary culture. –Craig Van Gelder, Craig and Dwight Zscheile
Response: Help Us Accept Each Other (Hymn 358)
Kaan/Potter
Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us;
Teach us as sister, brother, each person to embrace.
Be present, Lord, among us and bring us to believe
We are ourselves accepted and meant to love and live.
Teach us, O Lord, Your lessons, as in our daily life
We struggle to be human and search for hope and faith.
Teach us to care for people, for all, not just for some,
To love them as we find them or as they may become.
Let Your acceptance change us, so that we may be moved
In living situations to do the truth in love;
To practice Your acceptance until we know by heart
The table of forgiveness and laughter’s healing art.
Lord, for today’s encounters with all who are in need,
Who hunger for acceptance, for righteousness and bread,
We need new eyes for seeing, new hands for holding on:
Renew us with Your Spirit; Lord, free us, make us one!
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
Zak Cannard
Sending: Called as Partners in Christ’s Service (Hymn 343)
Huber/Zundel
Called as partners in Christ’s service, called to ministries of grace,
We respond with deep commitment, fresh new lines of faith to trace.
May we learn the art of sharing, side by side and friend with friend,
Equal partners in our caring to fulfill God’s chosen end.
Christ’s example, Christ’s inspiring, Christ’s clear call to work and worth,
Let us follow, never faltering, reconciling folk on earth.
Men and women, richer, poorer, all God’s people, young and old,
Blending human skills together, gracious gifts from God unfold.
Thus new patterns for Christ’s mission, in a small or global sense
Help us bear each other’s burdens, breaking down each wall or fence.
Words of comfort, words of vision, words of challenge, said with care,
Bring new power and strength for action, make us colleagues, free and fair.
So God grant us for tomorrow ways to order human life
That surround each person’s sorrow with a calm that conquers strife.
Make us partners in our living, our compassion to increase,
Messengers of faith, thus giving hope and confidence and peace.
Charge & Benediction
Postlude
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