Below is the order of worship for Sunday, July 25, 2021. Please follow along in person or live on Facebook and use this to participate in prayers, and prepare for reading scripture and listening to the sermon.
Welcome & Announcements
Prelude (The light of Christ enters the world)
Call to Worship – Psalm 119:104
In Unison:
Your word is a lamp to our feet,
our guide through the dark,
the wisdom and truth
that we follow each day.
Your word is sweeter than honey,
yet sharper than swords,
is healing and justice
and ours to obey.
Your word is our understanding
of grace, peace and love,
the reason we gather
to worship today!
God is Good All the Time
Congregational Greeting Time “Wave to your neighbor.”
Children’s Moment
Wonderful Words of Life
Prayer & Offering
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 Trespasses,
As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us,
And Lead Us Not Into Temptation,
But Deliver Us From Evil.
For Thine Is The Kingdom,
And The Power, And The Glory,
For Ever And Ever
Amen
Ministry Moment
Doug Stumbaugh – Monthly Financial Update
Enough
Scripture: Nehemiah 8 (selected passages) New Living Translation
In October, when all the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.
So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.
Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
The Levites then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.
The next day, the family leaders of all the people, together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the Law in greater detail. As they studied the Law, they discovered that the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month. So the people went out and cut branches and used them to build shelters on the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of God’s Temple, or in the squares just inside the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate.
So everyone who had returned from captivity lived in these shelters during the festival, and they were all filled with great joy! The Israelites had not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua son of Nun.
Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God on each of the seven days of the festival. Then on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, as was required by law.
Sermon: Return to the Word – A series on Nehemiah
For an interactive sermon note page, click this link: https://sermons.church/notes?church=pgmethodist