PRELUDE:
Prelude and Fugue in d, Johann Sebastian Bach
God's Time is the Best, Johann Sebastian Bach
SALUTATION AND WELCOME, Dorien Day
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)
* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: By wisdom, the LORD founded the earth and established the heavens.
People: In Christ are hidden all knowledge and wisdom; in Christ, we live and move and have our being.
Leader: Wisdom cries out in the street and raises her voice in the square.
People: Make your ear attentive to wisdom; incline your heart to understanding.
Leader: Jesus calls out in the village and summons on the hillside:
People: Let anyone with ears to hear, listen to what I am saying.
Leader: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
People: The grace of our LORD is the beginning of faith.
Leader: Come, let us worship God together.
* HYMN No. 41: Stand Up and Bless the Lord
* PRAYER OF CONFESSION(unison)
Forgive us our sins, O Lord. Forgive us the sins of our youth and the sins of our age, the sins of our soul and the sins of our body, our secret and our whispering sins, our presumptuous and our careless sins, the sins we have done to please ourselves, andthe sins we have done to please others. Forgive us the sins that we know, and the sins that we know not; forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all because of your great goodness. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
* Gloria Patri(pew card)
ACT OF PRAISE: God is My Shepherd, Antonín Dvořák
Sora Choi, alto
MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
Prayer Response
* HYMN No. 498: I Love to Tell the Story
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Proverbs 10:22-32, Pew Bible, page 517
The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.
Doing wrong is like sport to a fool,
but wise conduct is pleasure to a person of understanding.
What the wicked dread will come upon them,
but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more,
but the righteous are established forever.
Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes,
so are the lazy to their employers.
The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.
The hope of the righteous ends in gladness,
but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.
The way of the Lord is a stronghold for the upright,
but destruction for evildoers.
The righteous will never be removed,
but the wicked will not remain in the land.
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.
James 3:1-12, Pew Bible, page 981
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
THE SERMON: The Power of Words, Maudelin Willock
WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Offering
Offertory: O Rest in the Lord, Felix Mendelssohn
* The Doxology(pew card)
* Prayer of Dedication
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
* The Apostles’ Creed (pew card)
* HYMN No. 702: I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
* BENEDICTION
Response
POSTLUDE: Jesu, Priceless Treasure, Johann Sebastian Bach
TODAY WE WELCOME BACK Maudelin Willock to our pulpit. Maudelin is a recent graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She is a member of Grace Reformed Church of Flatbush (Brooklyn), where she leads the Mission and Outreach Ministry. Maudelin and Pastor Blaine are working together on the Commission for Women in the RCA.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
APPRECIATIONS: We thank Sora Choi for sharing her musical talents to enhance our worship service.
OUR WORSHIP HOURS will continue at the 10:00 AM hour through next week, Labor Day Sunday, September 6.
TO ALL WOMEN: WCC is hosting an ecumenical outreach and brunch, Sept. 19, 10 AM – 1 PM, encompassing all women from North Queens and Long Island churches. Rev. Liz Testa, who was the liturgist at Pastor Blaine’s installation is the guest speaker. RSVP to Judie Kellaway (718) 343-4688 before Sept. 5.
Women’s Homeless Shelter
Our church provides shelter every Friday night, year round, for up to 10 grateful women. This ministry needs your assistance to provide dinner, stay for a few hours or sleepover. The work is easy and fulfilling. Seasonal professional clothes, socks and underwear donations are appreciated as well. Please contact Maureen Saepia-Chen at 917-797-3031 or email.
Donations for the Food for Kids Ministry should be brought to the Church office. During the school year, this food will be given to families in need in Jamaica, New York.
PRAYER REQUESTS: Jorel Andaluz, Grace Attanasio, Donald Calfa, Allegra DeMelo, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Lucy Leung-Eng, Rob Gessner, Jenny Hampton, Richard Holm, Robert Keller, Karen Krieg, Fritz Kunisch, Ann McCaffrey-Amalfitano, Rev. John H. Meyer, John Molino, Michael Patras, Keith Pearson, Dorothy Rama, Dorothy Reid, Josephine Rivera, Matthew Schulman, Peter Schumacher, Janice Serra, Carmela Stocchia, Emily Testut