Deuteronomy

February 16, 2014 – Sixth Sunday after Ephiphany

PRELUDE:

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Johann Sebastian Bach
Amazing Grace, arr. Gilbert M. Martin

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)             

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION - from Psalm 115    Glenda Alamilla

Leader:  Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
People:  For the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
Leader:  Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
People:  Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.
Leader:  The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
People:  He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great.
Leader:  Grace and peace to you from God our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  
ALL:  Amen.      

* HYMN No. 3:  Holy God, We Praise Your Name

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison)

Steadfast God, you reach out to us in mercy even when we rebel against your holy call and prefer to walk in disobedience rather than in the way of your divine truth. Soften our hearts with the warmth of your love, that we may know your Son alive within us. Redeem and raise us up into your eternal presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

JUNIOR SERMON                   

ANTHEM:  Soon and Very Soon, Andrae Crouch

Soon and very soon we are going to see the King; Hallelujah!  We're going to see the King.

No more dying there, we are going to see the King;  Hallelujah! We're going to see the King.

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
    Prayer Response, Samuel Sebastian Wesley

Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.

* HYMN No. 451:  Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, Pew Bible, page 163

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

1 Corinthians 3: 1-9, Pew Bible, page 927

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON:  God Gives the Growth, Rev. Douglas Estella

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
   Offertory:  I Shall Not Be Moved, arr. Alice Parker

Glory Hallelujah, I shall not be moved, Anchored in Jehovah I shall not be moved, just like a tree that's planted by the waters, I shall not be moved.

In His love abiding, I shall not be moved, and in Him confiding, I shall not be moved, just like a tree that's planted by the waters, I shall not be moved.

Though all Hell assail me, I shall not be moved.  Jesus will not fail me, I shall not be moved, just like a tree that's planted by the waters, I shall not be moved.

Though the tempest rages, I shall not be moved, On the Rock of Ages, I shall not be moved, just like a tree that's planted by the waters, I shall not be moved.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)      
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH 
    * Apostles’ Creed (pew card)        

* HYMN No. 502:  Amazing Grace!  How Sweet the Sound

* BENEDICTION 
    Response:  Sevenfold Amen, Peter C. Lutkin

POSTLUDE:  Work for the Night is Coming, arr. H. Alexander Matthews

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WE WELCOME back the Rev. Douglas Estella to the pulpit.  Rev. Estella served as pastor of the Sunnyside Reformed Church from 2000 to 2006. Currently he is a teacher at the Academy of Urban Planning in Brooklyn. Doug and his wife, Janet, live in Sunnyside with their daughter, Renee.

VALENTINE’S MISSION TRIP FUNDRAISER BAKE SALE: The Youth Group is having a Valentine’s Day bake sale in Gessner Hall to support their 2014 mission trips.  It’s never too late to celebrate Valentine’s Day! Thank you so much for all of your generous support of our youth.

OUR APPRECIATION FOR TODAY’S VOLUNTEERS:

Van Drivers: Debra Rossi (AM), Bill Proschel (PM)
Coffee Hour Host: Yoon Ryo
Greeters: Nina and Bill Proschel, Dorothea Zelnick
Ushers: Virginia Andrews, Irma Karle, Irma Schubert, Dorothea Zelnick, and Jerry Good
Children and Worship: Kathy Bracken and Michael Iovale

VAN SERVICE: If you need a ride to church on Sunday, speak with Gerry Mendler at (917) 362-6284 (day) or (718) 464-3464 (evening).  

2014 OFFERING ENVELOPES are at the entrance of the church.  If you don’t see your envelopes and would like a box, please sign the list and a set will be available for you next Sunday. 

COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – To host a coffee hour after church, speak with Rhoda Jabbour.

YEAR-ROUND COLLECTIONS – 

Donations for the Food for Kids Ministry should be brought to the Church office.  This food will be given to families in need in Jamaica, New York. 

Donations for pets brought to the church office will be given to Worthy Pause to be distributed to local animal shelters.   

Christmas cards (with Forever Stamps on the envelopes) are collected in a basket at the back of the sanctuary.  These cards will enable inmates at the Nassau County Correction Center to correspond with their loved ones.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgardo, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Jenny Hampton, Robert Keller, Hope Kingman, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, Irma Matzke, John Molino, Josephine Rivera, Janice Serra and the Kales and Kellaway families.

November 27, 2013 - Thanksgiving Eve Service

PRELUDE:

Now Thank We All Our God, J. S. Bach 
Now Thank We All Our God, G. F. Kaufmann 

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)

* CALL TO WORSHIP AND SALUTATION, Bruce Hoffacker

Leader:  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
People:  Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
Leader:  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
People:  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Leader:  Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

--Philippians 4: 4-7

* HYMN No. 376: We Gather Together

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION  (unison)     

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.

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
    * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

ANTHEM:  The Gift to Be Simple, arr. Bob Chilcott

The Chamber Choir

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'tis the gift to come down where you ought-a be, and when we find ourselves in a place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight.  When true simplicity is gained, to bend we shan't be ashamed, to turn will be our delight till by turning we come round right.

EVENING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
    Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
    Prayer response, Orlando Gibbons

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth Thy right hand to help and defend us, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

* HYMN No. 381:  Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Deuteronomy 26: 1-11, Pew Bible, page 158

When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lordyour God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to theLord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

John 6: 25-35, Pew Bible, page 867 

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

The Word of God for the people of God. Let the people of God say - AMEN!

THE SERMON:  Our Daily Bread, Rev. Douglas Estella

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
    Offering
    Offertory:  Amazing Grace, arr. Jackson Berkey

Amazing grace!  How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. 

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun.

    * The Doxology  (pew card)      
    * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH 
    * Apostles’ Creed (pew card)        

* HYMN No. 374:  Now Thank We All Our God

* BENEDICTION 
    Response, Susan LaBarr

And for this shelter and this light, accept, O Lord, our thanks tonight, and for this shelter and light, accept, O Lord, our thanks tonight.

POSTLUDE:  Now Thank We All Our God, Sigfrid Karg-Elert

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OUR CHANCEL - We express our gratitude to Connie Thorsen and Anne Avalos for decorating our chancel for Thanksgiving.

OUR USHERS this evening are Michael and Hong Chan

WE WELCOME back the Rev. Douglas Estella to the pulpit.  Rev. Estella served as pastor of the Sunnyside Reformed Church from 2000 to 2006. Currently he is a teacher at the Academy of Urban Planning in Brooklyn. Doug and his wife, Janet, live in Sunnyside with their daughter, Renee.

CHRISTMAS WREATHS – Thank you for supporting the YPF fund raiser.  Please pick up your wreaths after the service on Sunday, December 8 in Gessner Hall.

DEVOTIONAL BOOKLETS – Our Daily Bread devotional booklets can be found on a table at the back of the sanctuary.  You are invited to take a copy for use in your personal meditations.

AUCTION 2014 is scheduled for Saturday, January 11, 2014 in Gessner Hall.  If you have small, easily transportable items to donate, WE WILL PICK UP YOUR DONATIONS.  We do not take very heavy items or large furniture.  Call the Church Office or Ray Durney (718) 461-1947.   

LARGE PRINT BULLETINS are available.  Ask an usher if you need one.

VAN SERVICE is available for Sunday worship and grocery shopping every other Monday.  If you need a ride to church on Sunday or would like to join them for grocery shopping, speak with Gina Lombardo at (917) 767-2923. 

PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Fritz Kunisch, Ann Martin, John Molino, Ed Moores, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright.

August 25, 2013

The Church on the Hill at Worship

August 25, 2013 10:00 A.M.

* All who are able, please stand.

Please turn off your cell phones. Thank you.

PRELUDE:   Largo Francesco Veracini

WELCOME
* CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP
* SANCTUS (pew card)  

* CALL TO WORSHIP Emerson Chen

Leader: The prophets of old spoke of God’s justice, even when it was unwelcome.  Who will hear their message?
People: We will listen and we will hear!
Leader: Responding to God’s call, Jesus traveled, preaching and teaching to all who would listen.  Who will hear his message?
People: We will listen and we will hear!
Leader:  Christ sent out disciples two by two, to spread the good news in any place that would welcome them.  Who will hear their message?
People: We will listen and we will hear!
Leader: God’s prophets are among us still, around the world and in these pews.  Who will hear their message?
People: We will listen and we will hear!

* HYMN No. 99 When Morning Gilds the Skies

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION

* KYRIE (pew card)
* ASSURANCE OF PARDON
* SALUTATION
* SUMMARY OF THE LAW
     * Gloria Patri  (pew card)

ACT OF PRAISE: The Prayer                            

-- Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster      

Maureen Saepia-Chen, soprano
Emerson Chen, baritone

MORNING PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
     Lord’s Prayer (pew card)
     Response         

* HYMN No. 384       This is My Father's World

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Psalm 18: 1-6, 46-50 Pew Bible, pg. 431

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of perdition assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me; who delivered me from my enemies; indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries; you delivered me from the violent.
For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.
Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

Deuteronomy 6: 2-6 Page 143

so that you and your children and your children’s children, may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.

Mark 12: 28-34 Page 825

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

THE SERMON To Hear and Be Heard

WORSHIP OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
     Offering
     Offertory: Oh, Promise Me Reginald De Koven
     * The Doxology  (pew card)  
     * Prayer of Dedication

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
     * Apostles’ Creed (pew card)    

* HYMN No. 651   O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee

* BENEDICTION
     Response          

POSTLUDE: Rigaudon Andre Campra

TODAY WE WELCOME Rev. Dorothy Grant to the pulpit.  Rev. Grant currently works as a Chaplain at St. John’s Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens. She previously served as a Presbyterian Minister in the NYC and Tri-State area. She migrated from Jamaica West Indies where she holds membership in the United Church of Jamaica and Cayman Islands.

OUR ROSES: 

The left vase is given in loving memory of Matthew Good by his parents. The right vase is given by Janice Zito in loving memory of Pasquale.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

APPRECIATIONS: Today we thank Emerson and Maureen Chen for sharing their musical talents to enhance our worship service.

WORSHIP HOUR will continue at 10:00 AM next Sunday, September 1st. 

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

If you have not given a special offering for your assessment ($93 per member), please help us by making the payment. The Synodical and Classical Assessment is the amount we owe Reformed Church in America for your membership.  

    LARGE PRINT BULLETINS are available.  Please ask an usher if you want one.

    VAN SERVICE for Sunday worship will resume, Sunday, September 8. If you need a ride, call Gina Lombardo at (917) 767-2923.

    COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Please pick a date on the Sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in Gessner Hall or see Rhoda Jabbour.

    PRAYER REQUESTS:  Ruth Bailey, Letty Delgado, Ed Diercks, Dombrowski Family, Edythe Durney, Alfred Gessner, Lisa Gessner, Robert Keller, Ann Martin, John Molino, Josephine Rivera, Gloria Scrivano, Janice Serra, Mary Wainwright.