"Jacob: Part One"

WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HOMEWOOD MISSION STATEMENT
Through the grace of God, faith in Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we prayerfully seek to discern God’s will for this congregation and to reach beyond ourselves to feed the hungry,
body and soul. Adopted by Session 7/31/17

PRAYER FOR PEACE ||| Peace Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

PRELUDE
*CALL TO CONTINUING WORSHIP
Let us offer our praise to God,
for we come to learn God’s ways:
O God, your word is a lamp to our feet,
a light to our path;
we lift our hearts to you
as we seek to worship, adore, and follow you.

*HYMN 41 ||| O Worship The King, ||| All Glorious Above

CALL TO CONFESSION
As much as we try not to stray: we do.
As much as we try to follow God’s word: we don’t.
As we continue on this journey,
let us seek God’s forgiveness.

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O God, we are quick to say,
“We didn’t know.”
“We didn’t mean to.”
“We didn’t expect that to happen.”
But we have not tended the soil of our lives.
We let it stay shallow and rocky
by not learning from the experience of others.
We let it be riddled with thorns
by succumbing to our own prejudices.
Life-giving God,
Help us to tend our soil.
Open us to being challenged,
enable us to learn,
so that your word will take root
and bear good fruit in our lives.
(silent prayer)
Amen.

*DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
There is no condemnation for us:
God has forgiven us
that we might live according to the Spirit.
The Spirit of God dwells within us.
Thanks be to God!

*THE GLORIA 581

MOMENT WITH OUR CHILDREN ||| Rev. Matt Lang

WELCOME AND CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS

WE HEAR GOD’S WORD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

FIRST SCRIPTURE READING ||| Genesis 25:19-34
These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.” When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

SPECIAL MUSIC

SECOND SCRIPTURE READING ||| Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!”
“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God!

SERMON ||| "Jacob: Part One" ||| Rev. Matt Lang

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

*HYMN 171 ||| A Sower Came From Ancient Hills

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH ||| The Brief Statement of Faith 1983
In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God,
the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE 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.

OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS

OFFERTORY
*DOXOLOGY 606 Old Hundredth
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.
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
For the blessings of this and all our days, we thank you, gracious God. Accept, we pray, not just this money but also our lives freely offered in gratitude for all you have done for us. Use them both, in this place and wherever you might take us. Amen.

WE GO IN GOD’S NAME

*HYMN 340 ||| This is My song
BLESSING & CHARGE
May the blessing of the Trinity—holy, holy, holy Lord—be with you now and always.
Alleluia!
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am; send me!”
Amen.

POSTLUDE
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Thanks be to God!

Rev. Matt Lang, Pastor
Mrs. Mary Ann Wenzelman, Interim Organist/Pianist
Worship Liturgist: Rod Dunlap
Usher: Phil Dillman
Web Techs: Shirley Armistead, Nancy Beaudoin, Phil Dillman, Kathie Hazlett, Scott Senffner

SCRIPTURES IN WORSHIP – Next Sunday we will be reading Scriptures GENESIS 28:10-19A AND MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-43

PRAYER CHAIN – If you want prayer requests included on the prayer chain, contact Shirley Armistead at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..