Good morning!
We're so glad you're joining us today,
whether you are sitting with us in person,
or reading the lesson from somewhere else.

We are meeting in person now! If you are not yet back in person, please feel free to leave any joys or concerns you would like to share as a comment to this post. We hope you'll decide to meet in person in the Sunday School room soon. When you are ready, you can use this prayer from Xavier University to get started.

God of silence and God of all sound,
help me to listen.
Help me to do the deep listening to the sounds of my soul,
waiting to hear your soft voice calling me deeper into you.
Give me attentive ears
that begin to separate the noise from the sounds that are you;
you who have been speaking to me
and through me my whole life,
for so long that you can seem like background noise.
Today help me hear you anew.
Amen.

This week's lesson is on Romans 10:5-17.

When we meet in person, we share joys and concerns from our past week. Take some time to consider whether you have anything you would like to share. You can do this by making a comment on this post. Then, we can all pray for your request. When you are ready, you can use the prayer below (source) to get started.

This week's lesson is on Romans 5:1-11.

When we meet in person, we share our joys and concerns together. If you are at home, take some time to think about your week, and the prayer requests you might have. You can share these in the comments as you feel comfortable. When you are ready, you can use the prayer below to get started (source).

When we meet together in person, we share our joys and concerns with each other before we focus on our Sunday school lesson. Think about your needs and concerns right now, and if you like, you can share them in the comments.

Today’s lesson is from the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Roman church. It is about Paul’s longing to see these Christians in person so they can encourage and strengthen each other. It is also about God’s power to save anyone who believes in Christ.

Our Sunday school and church is now open so that we can join to worship God, to learn about God’s word and to encourage each other in person. We are grateful to be back together, but we continue to pray for those who not yet able to. We are glad that those who cannot be with us physically are able to learn and worship with us online.

The following prayer serves as our opening prayer. It was written by Nathan Nettleton and posted on his website at laughingbird.net.

Today’s guest speaker is Rev. Dave Mason.
 
All of the information normally found in our bulletin is below the video. Simply click on "Read More" to load the rest of the bulletin. You can use this to follow the service, as well as to pray our unison prayers. All joys and concerns that we know, as well as our continuing prayer list is within the Joys and Concerns. Announcements can be found at the bottom of this service.

GATHERING AROUND THE WORD

Prelude:                     

ANNOUNCEMENTS
                                             
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Leader: To God be all glory, the One who visits us in three persons, the  
              Holy Trinity of hope and love.
People: For there is no place which is without you, O God, and no 
              time when you are not there.
Leader:  For you are the beginning and the end, the source of all that is 
              in the wonder of universal life.
People:  And yet, you take us by the hand and lead us, as the life of 
               Christ walks our human way and shows us that life is 
               stronger than death. As we honor our lost loved ones this 
               day, give us the courage to remember their sacrifice on
               our behalf. 
Leader: In the Holy Spirit, we are gifted, again and again, and are called 
             onward toward a future in which we are surrounded with love 
             and grace.
People: We praise and worship you, O God, for there is no other 
              God like you.

Before we begin, think about your answers to the following questions. What are the places in creation that call you to praise God? Is there one place in particular, over all others, you want to go?
 
When I thought about this question, I was reminded of Rev. Mason’s recent sermon on The Thin Place (which you can watch here). The big idea was that some places can make you feel closer to God. Those places are the thin places.

Good morning!
We're so happy you've joined us!
Today is the first Sunday in Lent.

When we meet together in person, we share our joys and concerns with each other before we focus on our Sunday school lesson. Think about your needs and concerns right now, and if you like, you can share them in the comments. This is a time when our church is beginning to think about searching for a new pastor. It is a challenging and exciting time, but as we pray about finding the right pastor for the future, we should remember that we are all coworkers with Christ and with each other in sharing the gospel right now. 
​
The prayer below may serve to guide us in our opening prayer. It is from the Vanderbilt University website.

All of the information normally found in our bulletin is below the video. Simply click on "Read More" to load the rest of the bulletin. You can use this to follow the service, as well as to pray our unison prayers. All joys and concerns that we know, as well as our continuing prayer list is within the Joys and Concerns. Announcements can be found at the bottom of this service.
​

Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
 
Call to Worship
​This morning we are on a path to our God. Winding through the ordinary, weaving through the busyness, overcoming roadblocks and detours. A way to go home, leaving the past in the past and moving from darkness to light. Advent is a path to our God that provides an opportunity to hear God's voice.

All of the information normally found in our bulletin is below the video. Simply click on "Read More" to load the rest of the bulletin. You can use this to follow the service, as well as to pray our unison prayers. All joys and concerns that we know, as well as our continuing prayer list is within the Joys and Concerns. Announcements can be found at the bottom of this service

Hymn: I Love Your Kingdom Lord
 
Call to Worship
​Jesus comes among us today to bless us. We bow in humble worship of our Savior. He comes to bless us all regardless of our social standing. We acknowledge that we are not always worthy of your great love. Lord, we know that we are all different and we honor each other as we offer our gifts and talents. On this summer morning, let us pour out the sweet smell of praise to our God. May we honestly examine our lives so that we can become all that God created us to be. 

All of the information normally found in our bulletin is below the video. Simply click on "Read More" to load the rest of the bulletin. You can use this to follow the service, as well as to pray our unison prayers. All joys and concerns that we know, as well as our continuing prayer list is within the Joys and Concerns. Announcements can be found at the bottom of this service

Hymn: Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult
 
Call to Worship
​When I think of God's presence in the world, I am grateful. Grateful for the presence of hope; grateful for the gift of life. And when I think of the presence of God in my life, I am humbled. Humbled by the gift of grace; humbled by the invitation to begin again each day. And when I think of God's presence in this community, I am glad. Glad to be surrounded by holy people that are worshipping out holy God. On this Sabbath morning in mid-August, we thank you Lord for your presence and your incredible grace that is a free gift to each of us. We ask all these things on this Sunday morning in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.