Sunday Worship

Prelude

 

Greetings

 

Open Scripture

Genesis 12:1-9

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.   

 

Call to Worship

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous!

Praise is fitting for the upright.

The Lord's word is true; all God's work is done in faithfulness.

God's steadfast love fills the earth.

God sees all who dwell on the earth

And comes to meet us where we are.

Today we gather not because we have it all together,

But because Jesus said, "Follow me."

Let us worship the God who calls us by name.

 

Hymn of Welcome #482

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty 

 

Psalm 33:1-12

 

Opening Prayer (unison)

God of steadfast love, you come to us where we are - not where we think we should be. You call us by name, you invite us to your table, and you heal us even as we reach for you in secret. Open our hearts to receive your mercy today, that we might be formed into people who carry it to others. In the name of Jesus, who eats with sinners and raises the dead. Amen.

 

Call to Confession    

 

Prayer of Confession (unison)                                                 

Merciful God, we confess that we have sometimes practiced religion as a way of staying put rather than going out. We have used our traditions as walls instead of doors. We have noticed the need around us and called it someone else's problem. We have stood outside the table where you were already sitting, questioning your company. Forgive us. Teach us to desire what you desire: mercy that moves, love that costs something, faith that follows even when we cannot see where we are going. Amen.

 

Assurance of Pardon                       

 

Gloria Patri #579

Glory Be to the Father

 

Call for the Offering   

 

Doxology #815

Doxology

 

Prayer of Dedication (unison)

Lord, take what we bring and use it for the work of mercy. May these gifts reach those who are bleeding and forgotten, sit with those whom others avoid, and call by name those who feel invisible. May our giving be an act of following you. Amen.

 

Passing of the Peace of Christ

 

Prayer for Illumination 

 

Second Reading                    

Romans 4:13-25

 

Gospel Reading                    

Matthew 9:9-13,18-26 

 

Scripture Response              

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.   

 

Sermon              

Mercy, Not Sacrifice                           

Rev. Tony DeLucia

 

Hymn of Response #339                                                        

Be Thou My Vision

 

Affirmation of Faith (unison)                                                  

Apostle's’  Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

COMMUNION LITANY                                                                                 

The Lord's Supper

Invitation to the Table

After Jesus called Matthew away from his tax booth, the next thing that happened was a dinner. Matthew threw open his house, and in walked everyone the respectable world had written off - and Jesus was right there at the table with them. When the religious leaders questioned it, Jesus said: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

This table is set in that same spirit.

This is not a table for people who have it together. It is not a reward for the righteous or a prize for the faithful. It is a table set by a physician for people who are sick - and every one of us qualifies. So come. Come if you are weary. Come if you have been bleeding for twelve years and just managed to reach the hem of his garment. Come if you got up from your booth today not knowing where you were going. Come if someone else is carrying you here.

All are welcome at this table. This is the Lord's table, and his invitation stands.

 

The Great Thanksgiving (responsive)

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

It is right and good that we give you thanks, O God, for you have never stopped coming to meet us. You called Abram out of everything familiar and into an unknown land, promising to make of him something he could not yet see. You remained faithful to that promise across generations, against all odds, even when hope seemed impossible.

Your steadfast love endures forever.

When we strayed far from you, you sent your prophets to call us back - not to more elaborate rituals, but to mercy. Not to greater sacrifice, but to the knowledge of your heart. And when the time was right, you sent your Son - not to the synagogue steps, but to the tax booth. Not to the banquet of the righteous, but to dinner with sinners. Not to the healthy, but to the hemorrhaging, the dying, the dead.

Your steadfast love endures forever.

And so with grateful hearts we join the song of all creation, all your saints, and all the angels, crying out together:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, God of Grace, and blessed is Jesus Christ, Desirer of mercy. He walked among us, calling us to follow that we might know the way to your heart. Sitting with the outsiders, he fed them with that love which welcomed and embraced them as siblings from different parents. Following your hopes, he went into the grave where death was waiting, so he might take us by the hand and lead us into life forever with you.

 

As we remember your ancient promises fulfilled in the One who will never die, we would sing of that mystery of faith which is ours:

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

 

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, O God, and upon these gifts of bread and cup. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we who receive them might be formed into his body in the world - people of mercy rather than sacrifice, who go to where the need is, who notice the reach of faith in the crowd, who call the forgotten by name.

 

Prayers of Intercession

Let us pray for the world God so loves, and for all who need the mercy of Christ.

For the Church - that we would be a people who go where Jesus goes: to the margins, to the table, to the ones the world has written off. Lord, form us into a community where every person who reaches out finds that they have touched something holy.

Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

For the sick and the suffering - for those who have spent everything they had looking for healing and found none; for those living with chronic pain, with illness that has gone on so long they can barely remember what it felt like to be well. May they know that Jesus stops, turns, and sees them.

Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

For those who are grieving - for families sitting in the house of death today, surrounded by the noise of mourning. May the one who took a little girl by the hand take them by the hand as well, and may his grip not let go.

Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

For the outcast and the overlooked - for those whom respectable society has labeled and dismissed; for people living with addiction, incarceration, poverty, or shame. May the table where Jesus sat with sinners be wide enough for them, and may we be willing to pull up a chair. 

Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

For our community here in Chester - for our neighbors on Carolina Avenue and beyond; for those struggling to make ends meet, for children without enough this summer, for families under pressure. Use this congregation as an instrument of your mercy in this valley.

Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

For those who lead - in our nation, our state, our local government, and in the places where decisions are made that affect the most vulnerable. Give them wisdom, give them courage, and where they lack either, raise up those who will speak.

Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

For those we carry in our hearts today - people we love who are hurting, relationships that are strained, situations that feel too far gone. We name them now before you, in silence or aloud...

(A time of silence)

Receive these prayers, O God. You know what we need before we ask, and you know the names of those we cannot find words for. As we come to this table, may the bread and cup remind us that mercy always makes room - and that you have made room for us.

We pray all of this together, in the words Jesus taught us:

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours, almighty God, now and forever.

 Amen.

 

Words of Institution

 

Prayer after Communion (unison)

God of mercy, you have fed us at your table. You have called us by name, healed us by your grace, and welcomed us who had no claim to welcome. Send us now into the week ahead as people who know what it is to be found - so that we might go and find others. In the name of Jesus, who said "follow me" and meant it for all of us. Amen.

 

Hymn of Sending #467                                                        

How Great Thou Art                                                                                                     

 

Charge and Benediction                                                                  

 

Response to the Benediction #358                         

Because He Lives, refrain         

 

Postlude     

 

June Birthdays /Anniversaries

Let us know when we can celebrate your Birthday/Anniversary with you!!

 

Upcoming Events:

Communion - June 7, 2026

Bible Study - June 10, 2026, Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Session Meeting - June 24, 2026, Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Bible Study - June 24, 2026, Wednesday at 7:30 pm

Newell Community Dinner - June 27, 2026, Saturday from 3p to 5pm at the American Legion in Newell with: Hamburger and Hot Dog, Macaroni Salad, Watermelon, and a Dessert

 

Prayer Requests of the Congregation

• Christina Todd - prayers for strength 

• Dave Lyons for healing and strength

• Dave Miller and family at this difficult time

• Fred - going through treatment

• Jeanie - healing and strength

• Jimmy - Peggy’s son-in-law, continuing prays

• Johnny - diagnosed with terminal illness

• Marge and family -  guidance and strength

• Matt Camlin - fighting MS

• Rob - prayers for positive medical results

• Sam Monte and family

• Vicky - prayers for positive medical diagnosis

• Webber family

• Zach - prayers that he continues to do well with cancer Tx

• Those Graduating Schools - High School or College

• All affected by the storms of nature and of life, especially by the paths of floods and other natural disasters.

• Prayers for the people of Iran, Israel, and US Servicemen and Women being sent into the latest conflict.