Organ Prelude

Cantilène from Symphonie No. 3

Louis LeVierne, 1911

Call to Worship

Leader: Friends in Christ, let us gather in the shelter of God’s presence.

Circle: Let us bless the Lord, for God has wondrously shown us steadfast love.

Leader: God is indeed our rock and our refuge.

Circle: God guides us and leads us.

Leader: Into God’s hands we commit our spirits, for God has redeemed us.

Circle: Abundant is the goodness that the Lord has stored up for those who gather to worship him.

Leader: Together, let us worship God!

Gathering Hymn

Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God Almighty! 

tune: Nicaea
(James Bacchus Dykes 1861)

Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,

God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy!  All the saints adore thee,

casting down their golden crowns

around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,

who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name
in earth and sky and sea.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,

God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!  Amen!

  Reginald Heber, c. 1820, altered

Call to Confession

Leader: Let us turn to the one who brings light into darkness, confessing to God and one another the truth about our lives.

Prayer of Confession

All: Compassionate God,

you know the purposes of our hearts

and the will of all creation.

Hear with mercy our confession

that we have not cared for the Earth and all creatures as you meant for us to do;

we have not cared for one another as you have commanded;

we have not loved ourselves with the regard that honors wholeness and peace of mind.

All: 

Be our guide, our judge, our joy.

Show us the way of your life abundant, and turn us always to that path

so that we may live and move in renewed commitment to what is just and good.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Declaration of Forgiveness

Leader:

People of God, servants of Christ,

enlightened by the Holy Spirit,

you are clothed, fed, and sheltered by the Holy One

who knows your every fiber.

Be assured of God’s desire that your prayers for mercy

are heard and have been answered.

In the name of the Holy Trinity and in the wisdom of God,

your sins are forgiven.

Anthem

The Call of Wisdom  

Will Todd, 2012

Lord of wisdom, Lord of truth,
Lord of justice, Lord of mercy,
walk beside us down the years
till we see you in your glory.

Striving to attain the heights,
turning in a new direction,
entering a lonely place,
welcoming a friend or stranger.

I am here, I am with you.
I have called: do you hear me?
I am here, I am here,
I am with you.

Silver is of passing worth,
gold is not of constant value,
jewels sparkle for a while;
what you long for is not lasting.

I am here, I am with you.
I have called: do you hear me?
I am here, I am here,
I am with you.

Rulers govern under me
with my insight and my wisdom.
Those who know me know my love;
those who seek me find their answer.

I am here, I am with you.
I have called: do you hear me?
I am here, I am here,
I am with you.

God the Father and the Son,
Holy Spirit coeternal.
Glory be ascribed to you,
now and to the end of ages.

I am here, I am with you.
I have called: do you hear me?
I am here, I am here,
I am with you.

-Michael Hampel, based on Proverbs 8

Pastoral Prayer and Intercessions

Good and gracious God…

O God, on this day we offer special intercessions for…

The Prayer Jesus taught

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  

trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us;  

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hymn

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise                       

St. Denio
Welsh Folk Melody

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might:
thy justice, like mountains high soaring above;
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life thou givest, to both great and small.
In all life thou livest, the true life of all.
We blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree,
then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

Thou reignest in glory, thou dwellest in light.
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight.
All praise we would render; O help us to see
‘tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!

-Walter Chalmers Smith, 1867

Invitation to the Offertory

Great and merciful God, who knows the sparrow and lily by name, tell us today the story of your knowledge of us.

Assure us that the hours we spend in this world

are lived in your sight and in your care, to free us from anxiety and striving and to rest in your benevolence.

Giving thanks, we open our hearts and share our possessions for your work in the world. 

Let us pray:

Prayer of Thanksgiving

For all that you have given us, we thank you, Gracious God.

For day and night, evening and morning, for land and sea, fish and birds, plants and animals, for humankind, and for your Son, who came among us with the gift of life abundant.

Let your Holy Spirit abide in our midst and work through our gifts, that all people may have joy and peace, in Jesus’ name. 

Amen.

Anthem

Too Splendid for Speech But Ripe for a Song 

Frederick Swan, 2000
Commissioned by the Chautauqua Choirs
               in Honor of Jared Jacobsen

Too splendid for speech, but ripe for a song:
the wonders of God to whom we belong!
What tune can we sing? What rich chords can we play
to honor the potter who made us from clay?

We’ll catch the soft sounds that sift from the breeze.
We’ll hum with the whales that hum in the seas.
The waters that tickle the earth into spring
will teach us the lilting new life we would sing.

The earth is God’s flute, God’s cello and chime.
The wind draws the notes. The seasons keep time.
At dusk and at night, from the sunrise past noon,
God’s playing and singing a ravishing tune.

The swell of earth’s praise shall build to a blast
of trumpets and drums when God comes at last
to hear if our lives, like the heavens above,
are filled with the music of justice and love.

The Congregation stands and joins in singing:

Alert to your notes that dance in the heart
we promise, O God, that we’ll do our part
and pray that the song which your song shall inspire
will lead every nation to join in your choir.

-Thomas H. Troeger, 1994

Doxology

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.

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 2: 10-12, 3: 3-14

Reader: Stephine Hunt

Today's Sermon

“The Gift of Wisdom”

1 Kings 2: 10-12, 3: 3-14

Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper, Preacher

Closing Hymn

Lauda anima
John Goss, 1869

Praise, my soul, the God of heaven;
glad of heart your carols raise;
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who, like me, should sing God’s praise?
Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise the Maker all your days!

Praise God for the grace and favor
shown our forbears in distress;
God is still the same forever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Sing our Maker’s faithfulness!

Like a loving parent caring,
God knows well our feeble frame,
gladly all our burdens bearing,
still to countless years the same.
Alleluia! Alleluia! All within me, praise God’s name!

Angels, teach us adoration;
you behold God face to face,
Sun and moon and all creation,
dwellers all in time and space;
Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace!

-Henry Francis Lyte, 1834
adapted by the Ecumenical Women’s Center, 1974

Benediction/Blessing

May God our Creator bless you so that you can be a blessing to others.

May Christ bless you so that you can be healers of a world that is hurting.

May the Holy Spirit bless you so that you can spread hope wherever you go.

Benediction Response 

Postlude

Final from Symphonie No. 3     

-Louis Vierne, 1911

The flowers on the stage are given …

 … in loving memory of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Charles Heinz, Peggy Heinz Reynolds, Sally Heinz and her husband, Robert N. Waddell, Jr., Frederick Charles Heinz, Jr., Barbara Hancock and her husband, Pryor Hancock, and Ginger Heinz Leslie, by their children and families.

…in loving memory of Harp and Patty, Dick and Susie, and Shorty and Julie Follansbee by their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Support for this week’s Worship Services is provided by The Edmond E. Robb-Walter C. Shaw Fund and the Randell-Hall Memorial Chaplaincy.

A Service of Blessing and Healing is held daily (weekdays) at 10 a.m. in Randell Chapel (just off Odland Plaza, between the Amp and Hultquist) after morning worship.