First Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church

16 East Fifth Street

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina

Church Office: (252) 537-4018 firstpresbyterianchurchrr@gmail.com Rev. Sandoval: (252) 676-9857 fpcrrminister@gmail.com

[To text Rev. Sandoval use (336) 420-0388]

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Service of the Lord

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s Day

October 4, 2020

Eleven O

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clock

Twenty

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Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gathering Around The Word

ORGAN PRELUDE

(Please use the prelude as a time to quietly prepare for worship) CHIMING OF THE LORD’S DAY WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

A WITNESS TO STEWARDSHIP Jim Allen CALL TO WORSHIP

One: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

One: The heavens are telling the glory of God;

All: the skies proclaim the Creator’s handiwork.

One: They have no speech, they use no words,

All: yet their witness goes out through all the earth.

One: Let us join the chorus of creation; let us raise our voices in resounding praise.

All: May the words of our mouths and the songs of our hearts be

pleasing to the Lord!

OPENING PRAYER

One: Holy God, you love justice and hate oppression; you call us to righteousness and not to exploitation. Give us generous and loving hears, and eyes to see the splendor of your reign, that we may live in truth and honor, and praise you for the transformation of our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

HYMN 331 God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand page 9 CALL TO CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of the Covenant, long ago you gave us the law to guide us in the ways of righteousness. When we wandered, you called prophets to beckon us toward faithfulness. In the fullness of time, you sent your Son to heal our brokenness and draw us close to you. But, time and again, we reject your gift of grace. We bow before the false gods of our world and forget your command to serve the least of these. We fill our days with self-serving agendas or trivial tasks and neglect to nurture our relationship with you. Forgive us, Lord. Come to us again, we pray, and set us on right paths. Root out habits that separate us from you and sow within us seeds of mercy and love so that we might produce the fruits of your kingdom.

TIME FOR SILENCE

(We ask for forgiveness for our individual faults) ASSURANCE OF PARDON

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.

Proclaiming The Word

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE READING Philippians 3:4b-14 If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

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Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

One: The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

THE WORD IN MUSIC Bread of the World Dennis Eliot

SERMON

Responding To The Word

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the

prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE GREAT THANKSGIVING

One: The Lord be with you.

One: Lift up your hearts.

All: We lift them to the Lord.

One: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

One: It is truly right and our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise, O Lord our God, creator and ruler of the universe…. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with choirs of angels, with prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and with all the faithful of every time and place, who forever sing to the glory of your name:

All: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and

earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the

highest.

One: You are holy, O God of majesty, and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord….With thanksgiving, we offer our very selves to you to be a living and holy sacrifice, dedicated to your service. Praise to you, Lord Jesus:

All: Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.

One: Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these your gifts of bread and wine, that the bread we break and the cup we bless may be the communion of the body and blood of

Christ….Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father,

now and forever.

All: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

BREAKING OF THE BREAD

COMMUNION OF THE PEOPLE One: The body of Christ broken for us:

All: Thanks be to God. (The bread is eaten.) One: The blood of Christ shed for us:

All: Amen. (The cup is drank.) PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Bearing And Following The Word

Into The World

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CHARGE BLESSING

One: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All: Alleluia! Amen.

CHIMING OF THE TRINITY POSTLUDE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

There will be a congregational meeting following the online worship service today for the purpose of hearing the report of the Nominating

Committee and electing elders for the class of 2023. Below is the information on how to join the scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5225561600 Meeting ID: 522 556 1600

One tap mobile

+13126266799,,5225561600# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,5225561600# US (New York)

Dial by your location

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 522 556 1600

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We will celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper during our online streamed worship service. Please have your elements ready

when you join us for worship. Any form of bread and drink is

acceptable, as long as it doesn’t take attention away from communion.

We will also receive the Peace and Global Witness Offering today. You should have received an email about this offering. Please make your checks payable to the church with “peace offering” on the memo line.

In its September 20th meeting the session of First Presbyterian Church decided to continue worship via livestream over Facebook and Youtube and not have in-person worship services until further notice. The session will continue to assess the safety of worshiping in

person at its monthly meetings. The Worship Committee is looking

forward to a time when in-person worship can be done safely and will meet soon to establish precautions when that occurs. In the

meantime you can worship via livestream using one of two methods: Facebook at the "fpc Roanoke Rapids" Facebook page or

YouTube using “First Presbyterian Church - Roanoke Rapids, NC

Worship Service” in the YouTube search bar.

A recorded version can also be found later on the church website—

www.fpc-rr.org.

All activities at the church have been canceled until further notice.

Offerings can be made by mailing your checks to the church at 16 East 5th Street, RR, NC 27870 or placing them in the letter slot in the Administration Building. Although the church is not open physi-cally, the work of the church continues, so please remember your

of-ferings.

Finance and Personnel Committee will meet via Zoom on Thursday, October 8th at 6:00 p.m.

Consecration Sunday is next Sunday, October 11th. In the mail you should have received an invitation to make a pledge for 2021, a time and talent sheet, a financial report and a pledge card. There will be an online service featuring a sermon by New Hope’s Executive Pres-byter/Stated Clerk, Ted Churn. Pledge cards may be returned by

driving by the Fifth Street church entrance from 12:00 to 12:30. Masked church members will accept your pledges as you remain in

your vehicle. Pledges may also be returned by mail or using the church office mail slot.

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Prayers for Healing of Friends & Families of the Church

Priscilla Ricks Bill Howell

Glenn & Gayle Garner, @ Meals on Wheels

Sally Ray Warren

David and LaNae Grimes Sandra Stephenson

Mary Francis Fisher

Harrison West

Ellen Burnett

Concerns Outside of our Community

Diane Bone *SYRIA and YEMEN

Eula Cutler *SOMALIA, drought, famine, anarchy

B.T. Brown *EGYPT and LIBYA, political unrest

Doug Hayes *ISRAEL, PALESTINE, GAZA peaceful

Bill Davis coexistence

Betsy Medlin *IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, security

Billy Green *USA, war in Syria, Iraq & Afghanistan

Linda Ray *NIGERIA, abducted Chibok school girls

Roger Fuester *Ukrainian people victimized by foreign

Tim Hardy aggression

Frank Lonesky *People of Sudan

Jeff Peedin *Victims of gun violence in our country

Amy B. Heybrock *People who are effected by Covid-19

Diana and Jeff Dillard Dee Campbell

Nancy Elias, Marie Anderson’s sister, breast cancer

Betty Thrower, Mary Small’s sister

Roni Hackenburg Marie Anderson

Please take a look at our prayer list. If you have someone that needs to be on the prayer list or someone that needs to come off, please contact Tammy at firstpresbyterianchurchrr@gmail.com or call me

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