JULY 12, 2020 | FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

WE GATHER TO PRAISE GOD

PRELUDE “Christians, We Have Met to Worship” Mark Hayes/Douglas Wagner ANNOUNCEMENTS Ed Black CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 117)

Praise the Lord, all you nations! Worship him, all you peoples! Because God’s faithful love toward us is strong, The Lord’s faithfulness lasts forever! Praise the Lord!

HYMN NO. 664 “Morning Has Broken” verses 1& 3

Morning has broken like the first morning; blackbird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word! Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning, born of the one light Eden saw play! Praise with elation; praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Season of Ordinary Time; the color of green reminds us of the life – of the Church, the life of the world and our lives as active disciples.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Hear and believe the good news; God, whose love for us is endless, reaches out to us again and again. The apostle Paul reminds us that there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love; not distance or depth, not any power in heaven or any earthly ruler. There is nothing in all creation powerful enough to separate us from God’s love.

Let us be glad in this great love and know that we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

HYMN NO. 606 DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

TO HEAR GOD’S WORD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION READING OF THE WORD Epistle Reading: Romans 8:1-11 (CEB version)

So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness. God condemned sin in the body by sending his own Son to deal with sin in the same body as humans, who are controlled by sin. He did this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. People whose lives are based on selfishness think about selfish things, but people whose lives are based on the Spirit think about things that are related to the Spirit. The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. People who are self-centered aren’t able to please God. But you aren’t self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong in him. If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

SERMON “Christian Anthropology” Dr. Ellen Fowler Skidmore

TO RESPOND IN FAITH

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Ed Black AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

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.

An assurance of pardon is one way of claiming God’s promised forgiveness and grace. We believe that when we repent of our sin and ask God to forgive us that God does in fact forgive us. We don’t need a preacher or priest to ask on our behalf. God deals with us directly as believers who seek to love and to follow

The roots of the Lord’s Prayer are found in Scripture. In Luke 11:1-4, Jesus teaches the disciples a shorter version of this prayer in response to their request that he “teach them to pray.” Matthew 6:9-13 is more like the version we use and is also Jesus’ instruction in prayer. The early church added the final doxology to Jesus’ basic teaching.

OFFERING OF OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS

OFFERTORY “My Tribute” Andraé Crouch Deborah Joyce, soprano

We invite you to take a moment to reflect on what you can offer to God this week

as a way to extend your praise and worship. If you are visiting with us but regularly worship at another church, we encourage you to remember to give

prayerfully to your “home” church.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH The Apostles’ Creed

HYMN NO. 300 “We Are One in the Spirit” verses 1, 3, & 4

We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord; we are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord, and we pray that all unity may one day be restored; And

they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love; yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other; we will work side by side; we will work with

each other; we will work side by side, and we’ll guard human dignity and save human pride: And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;

yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come, and all praise to Christ Jesus, God’s only Son, and all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one: And

they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love; yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE “Chaconne”

Andre Campra/Richard Peek

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #A-717386 and CCLI License #2552701

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.

The Apostles’ Creed is the most widely used confessional statement in the Western Christian Church, and next to The Nicene Creed is the most universally accepted doctrinal statement in Christendom. It has its roots in the questions asked of candidates for the Sacrament of Baptism. A new believer would be asked, “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?” and the new Christian would respond, “I believe.” (from Presbyterian Creeds by Jack Rogers)

A parish priest at St. Brendan’s on the South Side of Chicago in the 1960s was very involved in the local Civil Rights movement and needed something for his youth choir to sing at ecumenical, interracial events. Finding nothing, he wrote this song in a single day.

6500 N. Trenholm Road . Columbia, SC 29206

Telephone: 803-787-5672 . www.flpc.org

Dr. Ellen Fowler Skidmore, Senior Pastor

Dr. J. Eric Skidmore, Parish Associate for Stewardship

Ed Black, Ministry Associate for Pastoral Care

Dr. Elizabeth M. Mears, Director of Music

Sylvia Trimmier, Organist

Andrea Paschal, Director of Faith Formation

Jodi Beckham, Dir of Mission and Community Engagement

Bill Wannamaker, Youth Director