Sunday February 16, 2025 - Bulletin
February 16, 2025
Sixth after the Epiphany
CHIMING THE HOUR
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRAYER OF APPROACH
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 1)
One: Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread,
All: but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.
One: They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
All: The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
One: Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
All: for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
*HYMN # 282 “If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee”
CALL TO CONFESSION
One: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In humility and faith let us confess our sin to God.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (UNISON)
Gracious God, we know that when we put our trust in mere mortals, we are like shrubs that dry up in the desert — Yet, when we put our trust in You, we are like trees planted by a stream of living water. Forgive us for clinging to the ways of mankind, rather than to Your ways. We celebrate the wealthy and pity the poor, forgetting the Kingdom belongs to the poor. We seek to be spoken well of, forgetting that false prophets also seek words of admiration. Remind us that those who proclaim that they are Christian, yet do not believe that Your Son rose from the dead for the purpose of our salvation, are like the shrubs that will dry up in the desert - for true living water comes to us by way of the resurrection of Your Son, our LORD and our Redeemer. Amen.
One: Now that we have confessed as a body, let us take the truths that have troubled our hearts to God silently. Let us not be worried about the awkwardness of silence, as we take some time to focus on speaking with our God.
SILENT REFLECTION
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
GLORIA PATRI # 579
PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: Since God has forgiven us in Christ,
let us forgive one another.
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
All: And also with you.
One: Let us share signs of peace with one another.
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Jeremiah 17:5-10
MUSICAL OFFERING
EPISTLE READING 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
GOSPEL LESSON Luke 6:17-26
SERMON “On the Plain with Jesus” Rev. Kirsty H. Dickson-Maret
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
*HYMN # 2155 “Blest Are They”
JOYS AND CONCERNS
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and THE LORD’S PRAYER
CALL FOR THE OFFERING
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it. Let us return to God the offerings of our life and the gifts of the earth. Let us offer them with joy in our hearts and a deep sense of gratitude.
OFFERTORY
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION (UNISON)
Heavenly Father, today we heard of blessings and woes and were reminded that the core of our faith rests on the resurrection or Your Son. Remind us also that we are but agents of Your work in the world. We ask that the Holy Spirit guide the use of these gifts offered today that they might be used to connect others to the living water the nourishes like no other - and offers comfort, strength and life everlasting. Amen.
*HYMN # 338 “Kum Ba Yah” (See Below)
CHARG
BENEDICTION
Hymn - Kum ba yah “Come by Here”
There has been great debate over the origins of this song. At least three distinct stories have come to varying stages of acceptance by the public. One story is that it originated in the southern coastal regions of the U.S., near South Carolina and northern Florida, where Gullah, an African-American dialect, is spoken.
Another story comes from the authorship claims of Marvin Frey. He claimed to have written the song at a Christian Crusade camp in 1936, at age seventeen, with the original first line “Come by here.” Another camper took the song home to his missionary parents, who in turn took it to Angola, where it was altered to “Kum ba yah,” and then brought back to the U.S. as an African song. Frey has claimed a copyright on the song.
The third and most likely story is that it is an African-American spiritual that originated at an unknown date in the American South. This is supported by the existence of a cylinder recording of the song in the American Folklife Center archives in the Library of Congress. The recording was collected in 1926 – ten years before Frey claimed to have written it – in Georgia by Robert Gordon and was sung by H. Wylie. A transcription of that recording bears a close resemblance to the song we know today in the structure of the tune and the form and wording of the lyrics.
This folksong has become popular all over the world. It was most popular from the 1950s to 1990s, but its use started declining in the 1980s. Today, outside of church, the name of the song has become idiomatic for naïve, superficial peace. It is often thought of as a children's song, but it can be sung by all of God's people as a request for His presence in times of trial.
There are many stanzas to this song. The first stanza is “Kum ba yah,” which is, of course, the title of the song. Most of the other stanzas are on a sad theme: “Someone's crying,” “Someone's hurting,” etc. A few are on a happier note: “Someone's singing,” “Let us praise the Lord,” etc. As with many folk songs, there is no single accepted version.
Tiffany Shomsky,
Hymnary.org