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October 31

CCLI license #1913561

Lakeview Presbyterian Church
Service of the Word for October 31, 2021
Reformation Sunday/All Saints
Lamentations

Welcome
Questions for Reflection: The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “to everything there is a season…" Have you ever had a season of lament? Have you ever written to God to pour out your laments?

Prelude:  “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” AAHH#539 sung by Keisha Prime

Call to Worship

There are many who have walked the path toward God before us, showing us the way with their lives.
   We come to give thanks for them.
As they were called, so are we called to live as Jesus did, answering the call  of God, saying, “Here I am! Send me.”
   We come to ask for guidance and courage.
We are, each of us like those who have gone before us, a strange mixture of saint and sinner.  God accepts us that way and fills us with the Spirit, who empowers us to act.
   We come to worship the Holy God

Opening Hymn  “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”      TPH #260

Call to Confession (Pastor/People)

We are inspired by the saints who have gone before us and who live among us.
   We confess we do not easily see ourselves in their company.
We would rather hide from your call to be the best that we can be.
   We hang on to our worries, and possessions, and old habits.
We confess our need to break free of these things to serve you with heart, soul, strength, and mind.
   We are truly sorry and ask your forgiveness,
in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Assurance of Pardon

By the grace of God, you are forgiven.  In that promise is the power to love your neighbors and yourselves as the beloved of God who created all that exists.  
                    Thanks be to God.

Prayer for Illumination
Come, Holy Spirit, as the Word is proclaimed.  Breathe the Spirit of life, into your people gathered here.  Stir us to know the vision and dream the dream. Amen.

Scripture Reading           Psalm 139:1-12 NRS
O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Hymn (please remain seated) “God of Our Life”                     TPH #275

Scripture Reading           Romans 8:26-39 NRS
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sermon:   A Song of Lament”             Rev. Russell Lehman

Sermon by The Rev. Russell Lehman

Sharing of Joys and Concerns and offering our Laments

Litany of Lamentations

O Lord, you have searched me and known me; you know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thought from afar.  Ps 139:1

We offer our laments to you, O God.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call.  Ps 102:1-2

We grieve over the loss of loved ones: parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, extended family members, and others who have had an impact on our lives. We name them now in silence….

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.  Ps 139:11-12

We lament the loss of life as we have known it—that which we thought of as ‘normal:’ gatherings with family and friends, fellowship meals together, casual ‘get-togethers.’

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.  Ps 57:1b

We grieve the loss of mobility and abilities which we once enjoyed.

You have seen, O LORD; do not be silent! O Lord, do not be far from me!Ps 25:22

We lament the loss of church members and the ‘way it used to be,’ and we recognize our reluctance to ‘be reformed and always reforming.’

May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!  Ps.29:11

We grieve over the damage done to the earth: the pollution of lands, waters and skies; the depletion of natural resources because of greed; the despoilment of the beauty of nature.

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Ps 61:1-2a

We lament the incivility in our society: the mistreatment and oppression of groups of people, the hostility expressed over those who are different, the lack of compassion for others, the breach of trust in relationships.

The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.  O save your people, O Lord, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever. Ps 28:8-9

Pastoral Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer ( This is the Ecumenical Version; feel free to use the version of your choice )
  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
  your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is 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 
Friends, trusting in God’s providence, we share not only the gospel of Christ but our lives as well. Whatever is happening in our lives, and the world around us,  let us remember that we are still the church, Christ’s body at work in the world.

      Donations can be mailed to Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 1310 22 nd Av S,  St Petersburg, FL, 33705 or given online through our website  lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org

Music “You are Holy/Prince of Peace”   Michael W. Smith

Prayer of Dedication
We pray, Lord God, that you will multiply the gifts we offer as we pour out your love and grace on those who long to hear your word to them, to see your power at work within them, and to feel your comfort beside the, through the generous gifts of your Spirit. Amen.

Charge 
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . and your neighbor as yourself.

Blessing
Blessed are you, O sisters and brothers, for you are God chosen, inheritors of the dream, and heirs of the kingdom.  Amen.

Postlude          “On Eagle’s Wings”                              Michael Joncas