From Book of Common Order: Church of Scotland, St.

Andrew’s Press
© 1994 Panel on Worship, John L. Bell, Convenor.
For Week of Sunday July 19, 2020 (Proper 16A)

God is the King of moon and sun; God is the King of stars beloved.
He knows our every need; He is the kindly God of life.
Let us worship God.
“I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” Voices United # 644
I was there to hear your borning cry
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
To see your Life unfold.
I was there when you were but a child,
With a faith to suit you well.
In a blaze of light you wandered off
to find where demons dwell.
When you heard the wonder of the Word,
I was there to cheer you on.
You were raised to praise the Living God
To whom you now belong.
If you find someone to share your time,
And you join your hearts as one,
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme,
From dusk till rising sun.
In the middle ages of your life,
Not too old, no longer young,
I'll be there to guide you through the night,
Complete what I've begun.
When the evening gently closes in,
And you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been,
With just one more surprise.
I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
To see your Life unfold.
John Ylvisaker © 1985
Used with permission CCLI # 3117248
 (2)

God of love,
Light a flame of love in our hearts to You,
All: a flame of love to our families and friends,
a flame of love to our neighbours,
a flame of love to our enemies.
Son of the loveliest Mary,
Light a flame of love in our hearts to all,
All: from the lowliest thing that lives,
to the Name that is highest of all.
God of life, grant us Your forgiveness.
All: We have been heedless in our thoughts,
cruel in our words,
shameful in our actions.
We are indifferent to a world made sad
by want and wastefulness;
we pass by on the other side
when we see a neighbour in need;
we wander from the way that leads to peace,
following the paths of our own pleasing.
God of life, grant us Your forgiveness.
(Silent personal confession…)
God of the new day and God of love,
You created us and You have redeemed us.
As You scatter the mist from the hills,
Banish the deeds of darkness
From the sons and daughters of Your light.
Help us to know and to believe
That, as the children of Your love,
We are free to begin again;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
God and Jesus and Spirit of wholeness
as Three and as One
shield us and save us;
possess us and aid us;
clear our path; go before our souls
each step of the stormy world.
All: Amen.
 (3)

"Be Still, For The Presence of the Lord" Mission Praise # 50

Be still, for the presence of the Lord,

The Holy One is here,
Come bow before Him now,
With reverence and fear!
In Him no sin is found--
We stand on holy ground;
Be still, for the presence of the Lord,
The Holy One is here.
Be still, for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around;
He burns with holy fire,
With splendour He is crowned!
How awesome is the sight--
Our radiant King of Light,
Be still, for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around.
Be still, for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place:
He comes to cleanse and heal,
To minister His grace--
No work too hard for Him,
In faith receive from Him,
Be still, for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place!
David J. Evans © 1986 Kingsway's Thankyou Music
Used with permission, CCLI # 3117248

Almighty God,
Your Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence.
Give us pure hearts and constant wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and forever.
All: Amen.
 (4)

Genesis 28: 10-22 “Jacob’s Ladder”

Psalm 139: 1-12,23-24 The Message
1-6
GOD, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful —
I can’t take it all in!
7-12
Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
23-24
Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Romans 8:12-28“Present Conflict and Future Glory”

“Touch the Earth Lightly” Voices United # 307

Touch the earth lightly,

use the earth gently,
nourish the life of the world in our care:
gift of great wonder,
ours to surrender,
trust for the children tomorrow will bear.
 (5)

We who endanger,
who create hunger,
agents of death for all creatures that live,
we who would foster
clouds of disaster--
God of our planet, forestall and forgive!
Let there be greening,
birth from the burning,
water that blesses and air that is sweet,
health in God's garden,
hope in God's children,
regeneration that peace will complete.
God of all living,
God of all loving,
God of the seedling, the snow and the sun,
teach us, deflect us,
Christ reconnect us,
using us gently, and making us one.
Shirley Erena Murray © 1992 Hope Publishing Co.
Used with permission CCLI #3117248

Our God is the God of all humans,

the God of heaven and earth,
the God of sea and rivers,
the God of sun and moon,
the God of all the heavenly bodies,
the God of the lofty mountains,
the God of the lowly valleys.
God inspires all things,
gives life to all things,
stands above all things,
and stands beneath all things.
God has a Son who is co-eternal with himself;
and similar in all respects to himself;
and neither is the Son younger than the Father,
nor is the Father older than the Son;
 (6)

and the Holy Spirit breathes in them.

And the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit are inseparable.
Amen.
--Bishop Tirechan, c. 670 AD, attributed to St. Patrick.
Book of Armagh, Ireland, Ninth Century

“Nearer My God, to Thee” Common Praise # 538

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.
Refrain: Nearer, my God, to Thee; Nearer to Thee!
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone.
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God to Thee.
There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee.
Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.
Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I’ll fly,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.
Sarah F. Adams, 1841 (Public Realm)

Let us pray for the Church, the world, and one another.
For the Church we pray, the bright lamp of faith,
her ministers and people, and this parish.
All: May the King of angels protect her,
keep her, and save her.
For the world we pray, the creation of God,
its land and sea, its peace and prosperity.
All: May the Son of Mary move through all the earth,
blessing it.
For those who are ill we pray, and for those who suffer.
All: May the Good Shepherd, Who knows His sheep,
Make them whole and well, active and content.
 (7)

For those who work we pray, and for all who weave
the patterns of this world’s life.
All: May the King of grace give to their labour
Growth and kindly substance,
Until the day of gladness come
For those we love,
and for ourselves we pray.
All: May the guarding of God be theirs and ours,
Until together we come
To the High King’s house in heaven,
In the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit Holy.
Amen.

God of surprises, in every age You have called men and women
From security to danger, from comfort to hardship,
From silence to speaking out:
We honour You, and we hour them.
We remember with gratitude and wonder
The impetuous fisherman, the despised tax-collector,
The zealous persecutor,
And all the other friends and witnesses of Christ,
Who lived out what they heard and saw
And wrote for us the story of His life.
We remember with gratitude and wonder
Those courageous souls
Who first brought the Gospel to our shores,
And braved the northern seas,
Defied rocks and skeries,
Crossed moorland and mountain
To offer Christ to our ancient peoples.
We remember with gratitude and wonder
Holy men and women of later days,
Who made Christ’s presence bright
In word, and water, wine and bread;
And lit a flame of glory to His Name
In places which became,
Through praise and prayer,
Beacons of hope and sanctuaries of His grace.
We remember with gratitude and affection
 (8)

Those who first led us to You,

Parents, teachers, ministers,
Men and women who worshipped with us;
And those we once loved here on earth.
All: We celebrate their faith-filled lives,
And we pray that they may be
Bright flames before us, guiding stars above us,
Smooth paths below us,
A sure defense behind us,
Until we reach our home,
The court of Christ, the peace of heaven.

Let us pray.
Father, Son, and Spirit Holy,
We give our thanks and praise
And dedicate to You
Our thoughts, our words, our gifts, our deeds,
The working of our hands, The thinking of our minds,
The loving of our hearts.
All: Shield us this day
For the sake of Christ of the wounds.
Keep us from offence
And compass us with Your love
For ever and for evermore. Amen.

Our Father who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name!
Thy kingdom, come, thy will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive our sins
As we forgive each one of those
Who sins against us.
And lead us not to the time of trial
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom,
The power and the glory.
 (9)

…Let every heart's desire be joined

To see the kingdom come.
…Let all the world sing with one voice;
Let the people say Amen!
Paul Field and David Deal © 1998 Meadowgreen Music Ltd.
Used with permission, CCLI # 3117248

“You Whose Breathing Fills our Bodies”

Celtic Hymn Book # 219
You Whose Breathing Fills our Bodies
You, whose pulse the worlds obey,
Tune our minds to heed your rhythm,
Known along the starry way.
Swing the nations to your measure,
Turn our hatreds into song;
Thrill us with your healing music,
ending discord, righting wrong.
You, whose order rules the atom,
You whose law propels the sea,
Bring the nations drowned in discord
Closer to your harmony.
God of beauty, heal our sickness,
God of love, our fractures mend;
Foster unity that binds us,
Rich to poor and foe to friend.
You, who light with heaven’s glory,
leaf and lake and cloud and star,
Light the hearts of all to justice,
Bring to faith those now afar.
Pour your tender love upon us,
You who fill both souls and space;
Turn us into sons and daughters,
Lifting up the human race.
Ray Simpson ©2005
Used permission CCL # 3117248

The guarding of the God of life be on you,

The guarding of the loving Christ be on you
The guarding of the Holy Spirit be on you, Every day and night,
To aid you and enfold you, Each day, each night.
All: Amen.