Sunday Service Order
Light a Candle
Open the Word
Greetings and Check-In
Take a Deep Breath
Invocation
A Prayer of Gratitude
As we gather to worship you today Lord, we remember the words of the Psalmist.
Psalm 71
I will always hope
and will praise You more and more.
15My mouth will declare Your righteousness
and Your salvation all day long,
though I cannot know their full measure.
16I will enter in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will proclaim Your righteousness—Yours alone.
Amen
Confession
O Holy One, we have strayed from Your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. Holy One, have mercy upon us and forgive our sins. Amen
Scripture Readings
Psalm 91
2
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Sarah Turns against Hagar
Genesis
14Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept.
17Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies. 18Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Swedenborg Insights:
AC 2694.
"Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the child where he is."
That this signifies the hope of help is evident from the signification of “fear not” as being not to despair; for when fear is taken away, hope is present.
In the verses which precede, the state of desolation in which those are who are being reformed and are becoming spiritual, is treated of; now the subject is their being restored, and here their comfort and hope of help.
SERMON
Offering
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Community Prayer with Lord's Prayer
(congregation responds, "Lord hear our prayer.")
Benediction
Now may the peace that passes all understanding be with you all this day and forevermore.
AMEN
Discussion with Q&A
