FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Serving Christ and Neighbor in the Heart of Winchester & Beyond
Cover: Sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos
E IGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST July 26, 2020
WORSHIP ONLINE & AT HOME
f p c w i n c . o r g / s u m m e r
You are invited from your home to participate in the elements of worship preceded in BOLD.
GATHERING The Holy Spirit calls us together as people of God.
WELCOME
PRELUDE “On Eagle’s Wings” Amy Bowman, piano John Carter
CALL TO WORSHIP | Psalm 105 from The Message Leader: Thank God! Pray to God by name! Tell everyone you meet what God has done! All: Sing God songs, belt out hymns, translate God’s wonders into music! Leader: Honor God’s holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! All: Keep your eyes open for God, watch for God’s works; be alert for signs of his presence. Leader: Remember the world of wonders God has made, God’s miracles, and the verdicts God has rendered—
O seed of Abraham, God’s servant, O child of Jacob, God’s chosen.
SONG “1,000 Tongues (Awake My Soul)” Matt Maher, Jonas Myrin, Laura Story, Matt Redman Morgan Myers, vocals | Amy Bowman, piano
Verse 1 Oh for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise The glories of my God and King
The triumphs of His grace
Verse 2 A thousand songs are not enough
To say how great You are The glories of Your majesty The triumphs of Your love
Chorus
Awake my soul to sing The glories of my God and King
Arise and praise the One Worthy of the songs of a thousand tongues
Verse 3 You break the power of all our sin
You set the captive free You make the broken heart rejoice
New life the dead receive
Bridge Ending Forever You are | Forever You are worthy You are worthy of the songs of a thousand tongues Forever You are | Forever You are worthy FPC’s CCLI Annual License, Size C with Premium SongSelect. #3086733 Forever You are | Forever You are worthy Forever You are
CALL TO CONFESSION Leader: Sisters and brothers, God never forgets God’s promises; God’s covenant endures in each new generation.
We are free to speak the truth about our lives because God’s faithfulness embraces us as we examine our hearts.
CONFESSION God of mystery, God of life, we imagine that we are capable judges of power and wisdom and goodness.
We trust our own standards; we separate and categorize; we mark the performance of others. We fail to trust your power, hidden in all things. We fail to watch for you, working out your purposes.
Gracious God, hidden and manifest, transformed our withered imaginations until we yield the judgments, we trust to a love we cannot control. Amen.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Sisters and brothers,
nothing we have done, nothing we will ever do, is enough to separate us from the love of God made known in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.
WORD God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching, and song.
CHILDREN’S MOMENT Todd Bowman
SONG “People Need the Lord” Greg Nelson and Phill McHugh Morgan Myers, soprano | Amy Bowman, piano
SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 read by Emmanuel and Joycelyn Afriyie
Ministry of Reconciliation We know that if the tent that we live in on earth is torn down, we have a building from God. It’s a house that isn’t handmade, which is eternal and located in heaven. We groan while we live in this residence. We really want to dress ourselves with our building from heaven— since we assume that when we take off this tent, we won’t find out that we are naked. Yes, while we are in this tent we groan, because we are weighed down. We want to be dressed not undressed, so that what is dying can be swallowed up by life. Now the one who prepared us for this very thing is God, and God gave us the Spirit as a down payment for our home.
So we are always confident, because we know that while we are living in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord. We live by faith and not by sight. We are confident, and we would prefer to leave the body and to be at home with the Lord. So our goal is to be acceptable to him, whether we are at home or away from home.
We all must appear before Christ in court so that each person can be paid back for the things that were done while in the body, whether they were good or bad.
So we try to persuade people, since we know what it means to fear the Lord. We are well known by God, and I hope that in your heart we are well known by you as well. We aren’t trying to commend ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us so that you could answer those who take pride in superficial appearance, and not in what is in the heart. If we are crazy, it’s for God’s sake. If we are rational, it’s for your sake. The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: one died for the sake of all; therefore, all died. He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised.
So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!
All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.
SERMON “Walk by Faith, Not by Sight” The Rev. Dr. Dan McCoig Jr.
THANKS The people of God respond to God’s word
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER Annie Pompelia
[…the petitions conclude…] Leader: And now as Christ taught us, we are bold to pray… All: 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.
OFFERTORY “By Faith” Morgan Myers, soprano | Amy Bowman, piano Keith & Kristyn Getty
You can send your offering via USPS [116 S. Loudoun St., Winchester, VA 22601] or you can give electronically using the “Donate” button on our website. Thank you. [https://fpcwinc.org/stewardship/donate]
SENDING God blesses us and sends us to live as God’s people in the world
BENEDICTION May God, who searches the heart Jesus, whose love overcomes all division, and the Spirit, which helps us in our weakness, continue to lead you into life that you may serve with abandon and joy. Amen.
POSTLUDE “Romanze" Amy Bowman, piano Haydn
Scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible, retrieved from"BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages.” www.biblegateway.com. The liturgy is reprinted from Book of Common Worship, copyright © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. Reprinted by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 John Knox Press. All Rights reserved. Hymns are reprinted by permission of CCLI under license #3086733. CCLI Annual License, Size C with Premium SongSelect. #3086733, expires March 31, 2021. CCLI Streaming License #CSPL099591, expires February 28, 2021.
NOTE: Pastor Amanda will be on vacation through Saturday, August 1.
While we are unable to meet together in-person and in our interior worship spaces, the church has been deployed, and we are so glad you have found us online.
If you are NEW to FPC of Winchester, Virginia, we invite you to find out more about us and our ministry on our website: http://www.fpcwinc.org
And whether you are a current member, a friend, or a new visitor, please take a moment to go to fpcwinc.org/attendance to let us know that you joined us for online worship. If you would like to reach out to a pastor, send an e-mail to Pastor Dan or Pastor Amanda: [email protected] and [email protected]
We look forward to seeing and meeting all in-person in the future [sign-up for our weekly eNotice or check back fpcwinc.org/coronavirus for critical church updates]. Please continue to join us for Sunday worship at 11 AM and we invite you to ZOOM with us after worship services at NOON [weekly ZOOM information can be found on our Facebook page and on our virtual church webpage – fpcwinc.org/virtual]
CONNECT ANYTIME AND WORSHIP [LIVE SUNDAYS AT 11 AM] WITH US ONLINE
.com/firstpresbyterianchurchwinchester
.com/firstpreswinc
fpcwinc.org/virtual
THIS SUNDAY FAITH STUDY WITH PASTOR DAN at 9:30 AM “CHRISTIANS FACING RACISM” ZOOM LINK listed in our recent edition of the eNotice, in our “Events” tab on our Facebook Page, and at fpcwinc.org/virtual
CONNECTING WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS at 12:00 PM ZOOM LINK listed in our recent edition of the eNotice, in our “Events” tab on our Facebook Page, and at fpcwinc.org/virtual
WEDNESDAY WOMEN FAITH STUDY at 9:30 AM ZOOM LINK listed in our recent edition of the eNotice, in our “Events” tab on our Facebook Page, and at fpcwinc.org/virtual
MONDAYS-FRIDAYS/SATURDAYS PASTOR DEVOTIONS Streamed on our Facebook Page, and uploaded later at fpcwinc.org/virtual
NEXT SUNDAY FAITH STUDY WITH PASTOR DAN at 9:30 AM “CHRISTIANS FACING RACISM” ZOOM LINK listed in our recent edition of the eNotice, in our “Events” tab on our Facebook Page, and at fpcwinc.org/virtual
CONNECTING WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS at 12:00 PM ZOOM LINK listed in our recent edition of the eNotice, in our “Events” tab on our Facebook Page, and at fpcwinc.org/virtual
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 @ 8:30 PM “JUST MERCY” OUTDOOR MOVIE VIEWING Come join us for an outdoor showing of the recently released movie, Just Mercy right in the courtyard between 12 E Cork and Fellowship Hall on Wednesday, July 29th at 8:30pm. Just Mercy tells the true story of Walter McMillian, who, with the help of young civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson, appeals his murder conviction. It is a "powerful and thought-provoking true story of a battle for justice in the civil rights era. The rain date will be the following day, Thursday, July 30th (Runtime 136 minutes). Contact [email protected] if interested in attending. A gathering at the Snows' will be an optional follow-up to the movie for a time of discussion- date and time TBD. Interested persons can also stream the movie at home or read the book if interested in discussing with others. View the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVQbeG5yW78
SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 @ 9:00 AM EXPLORING WATER – A GOD-GIVEN ANCHOR OF LIFE at COOL SPRING Our activities open at 9:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. Arrive any time before 10:15. Enjoy the outdoors and explore some of the ways in which we and all of creation depend on God’s gift of water. We’re providing a Pond Station and Cool Spring trail map for your visit. PDF of the Cool Spring program is available at fpcwinc.org/summer and driving directions.
NON-VIRTUAL, OUTDOORS, GET
TOGETHERS!
