CCLI license #1913561
Welcome: Grace and Peace to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Questions for Reflection: How do you know what is right and wrong? Do you need a law or rule to tell you?
Prelude “Sweet Hour of Prayer” AAHH 442
Gathering
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
God gives us hope, vision, and courage. We praise the God of creation and salvation!
Sisters and brothers, let us worship God.
Opening Prayer
The God of grace and patience, in amazing and persistent grace, has kept covenant with us.
We thank you for loving us even when we have strayed from you and not loved ourselves or one another. We long to behold the day of your justice on earth as in heaven. Write you law upon our hearts that we may faithfully and joyously do your will. Amen.
*Hymn “Be Thou My Vision” GTG #450
Call to Confession
The new covenant God has made with Israel, and with us, begins in forgiveness. Though we continually break covenant with God, and withhold forgiveness from one another, God remains faithful. Let us confess our sins to God, trusting that God will change our hearts, forgive us, and remember our sins no more.
Prayer of Confession
God of grace,
For our failure to love others as you have loved us, forgive us.
For wasting your gifts and hoarding our goods, forgive us.
For losing heart and abandoning hope, forgive us.
For all the ways we turn from you, forgive us . . . .
[silent prayer]
We offer our prayers in the name of the One who shows us the way to reconciliation, offers us the gift of redemption, and saves us from despair, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Grace flows like a river; mercy like a never-ending stream. Believe the good news: in Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you
Turn to those near to you—or across the room—and smile, nod your
head, indicating that your share these blessings with one another
Prayer for Understanding
Lord, speak to us; by the power of your Holy Spirit open our minds and change our hearts. Fill us with your life-altering, world-changing, blessing-filled Word. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures: Jeremiah 31: 31—34 p. 691
Reading from the Gospel of Luke 18: 1—8 p. 76
Hymn “Change My Heart , O God” GTG #695
Sermon “Changing from the Inside” The Rev. Russell Lehman
*Affirmation of Faith from “A Brief Statement of Faith” pcusa
In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth. Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel from the house of bondage. Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant. Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still.
Sharing of Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
(This is the Ecumenical Version; feel free to use the words of your choice)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen
Statement about Offering our Gifts
Our God, who provides for our every need, invites us to give of ourselves as part of God’s life-altering, world-changing, blessing-filled work in our world. Trusting in the Spirit to sustain us in all things, let us give generously to this work.
Donations can be placed in the offering plate near the baptismal font in the center of the sanctuary.
Or mailed to:
Lakeview Presbyterian Church, 1310 22nd Av S, St Petersburg, FL, 33705
lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org
Special Music “Give Me Faith” Elevation Worship
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Eternal God, may these gifts be signs of your grace, and may our lives show forth the coming of your kingdom. Amen.
*Hymn “Since Jesus Came into My Heart” AAHH # 499
Announcements
Charge and Benediction
May the love of God dwell in your heart;
may the grace of Christ keep you in faith;
may the Holy Spirit equip you to live as part of God’s kingdom on earth.
Postlude “You Are My King (Amazing Love)” Brown