Worship in Celebration of our Pilgrim/Puritan Heritage
Christ the King Sunday, November 23, 2008
MORNING WORSHIP 10:00 A.M.
The 28th Sunday after Pentecost

(Please pass the red pew pads now.
If you are a guest this Sunday, we would love to greet you following the service
or at coffee fellowship in the Friendship Lounge and the Atrium.)

From Church Worship Book (1931) by Congregational Minister Charles Wolcott Merriam.

[When an asterisk (*) appears, the People will stand. Follow the service without announcement.]

ORGAN PRELUDE Two meditations on Contemplative Hymns Wood
Maryton - Toplady

[A time of quiet devotion.]

*HYMN OF PRAISE 298 God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand

[If a processional, the People seated and silent during the first stanza.]

[The People Seated.]

CALL TO WORSHIP and INVOCATION (by Minister and Choir)

Sentences of Praise Rev. Samuel Schaal
Minister: O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us what work you did in their days, in the days of old.
People: For not by their own sword did they win this land, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, because you had pleasure in them.
Minister: Let us call to remembrance the great and good, through whom the Lord has wrought great glory. All these were honored in their generation, and were the glory of their times. Their bodies were buried in peace, but their name lives forever.
People: There are some who have left a name behind them, whose remembrance is sweet as honey in all mouths; and there are some who have no memorial, who are perished as though they had never been; but their righteousness has not been forgotten and the glory of their works cannot be blotted out.
Minister: The righteous live forevermore; their reward is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the Most High. Therefore, shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a crown of beauty from the Lord's hand.
People: Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, Amen. Praise the Lord!

Prayer of Thanksgiving (all uniting)
God of our Fathers, we give thanks to you for those brave souls who dared danger and hardship, persecution and death, that they might win for themselves and for the world, liberty of conscience and freedom to worship God. You guided them through stormy seas to their home in the wilderness. You helped them to plant upon these shores the seeds of civil and religious liberty, whose harvest is our great republic. May their heroic spirit, their devotion to truth, their loyalty to you, and their love of liberty abide in us. Amen.

Children's Sermon Rev. Robert J. Brink
[The Children are invited to Sunday School.]

ANTHEM Sing To The Lord A New Song Lau

Call to Confession Rev. Steven A. Peay, Ph.D.
Thus says the high and lofty One, that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to receive the heart of the contrite. Let us pray:

Prayer of Humility (all uniting)
O Lord, make us more worthy of the heritage of that Pilgrim band, self-exiled from a land of beauty and security, to go out and find a better country, they knew not where they would end up, where their souls might feel at home. We have entered into the fruits of their labors. You have given to us, through them, broader horizons, greater power and knowledge, and kindlier creeds. But, good Lord, preserve us from deserting the rock of faith upon which they built with devotion to duty, and exaltation of the sovereignty of God, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. Forgive us for surrendering to the temporal things which were so secondary to them. Help us to follow the gleam, to launch our Mayflower, that we may win triumphs for you and help open new worlds for power and freedom for all of humanity. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING Matthew 25:31-46 Bible, page 904 Children’s Bible, page 1413

The Mayflower Compact (read by the Minister)
In the name of God. Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord King James, by the grace of God of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c.

Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith, and honour of our King and Countrey, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves into a civil body politike, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equall Lawes, Ordinances, acts, constitutions, offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the generall good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names, Cape Cod, 11 of November, in the yeare of the raigne of our soveraigne Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland 18, and of Scotland 54. Anno Domini 1620.

An Historical Appreciation (all uniting)
We gratefully believe in the heroic trust and patriotism of these Pilgrims and Puritans who laid the foundations for the free school, the free state, and the free church. We believe in their optimism and pioneer spirit, in their refusal to be bound by precedent, and their firm determination to improve their own lives and better the institutions under which humans live. We believe in their hunger for education, foreseeing that a republic must have the basis of an educated citizenship. We believe in their confidence in the commonality of all human kind, in their opening the doors of privilege and power to every child, in their rejection of artificial and hereditary standards, and in their welcoming the lowliest to the seats of the mighty on the basis of proven fitness to rule. We believe in their emphasis upon religion, in their obedience to the authority of the Almighty, in their use of prayer as the gateway to power, and the Bible as the guidebook to truth and faith.

*HYMN 300 O God, beneath Thy Guiding Hand

PASTORAL PRAYER followed by 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.

CHORAL REPONSE

PRAYER OF DEDICATION FOR OFFERING

ANTHEM Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation Wood

*DOXOLOGY (Hymn 563)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

*Sentences of Dedication for the People
Minister: In those days came John the Baptist, saying, Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
People: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.
Minister: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
People: Bring forth therefore fruits appropriate for repentance.

*Prayer of Dedication for the People (all uniting)
O Lord, help us like the herald of the Master's coming, to prepare the way of the Lord, and add to the power of your kingdom. May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts, and the influence of our lives tell the story of the risen Lord; with whom is happiness and salvation. Help us not to put reliance upon the external qualities of birth or possessions, but upon faith and kindly deeds. Amen.

*GLORIA PATRI (Hymn 558)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.

Sermon “Love Quantified?” Dr. Peay

*HYMN 251 More Light Shall Break From Out Thy Word

SILENT PRAYER and BENEDICTION

*ORGAN POSTLUDE Nettleton Martin

The Thanksgiving decorations are provided by the Board of Deacons.

CARE FOR CHILDREN

A nursery for infants and toddlers is available during the 10:00 a.m. service.
Sunday School for children 4 years through entering 8th grade.

Worship Preview

Thanksgiving Service, Thursday, November 27, 9 a.m.
Dr. Peay’s sermon is entitled “Counting Our Blessings.”

First Sunday in Advent, November 30, 10:00 A.M.
Rev. Samuel Schaal will offer the sermon.
Thomas Gregory is the organist.
Lee Jacobi directs the Choir of First Church.