Welcome You, Welcome Me

Seal Beach, CA 90740-5307 7 (562) 431-2503

Opening Announcements — Rev. Johan Dodge

Good Morning and Welcome to Worship!

Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact

with this growing community of faith. And so if you are joining us for

the first time, I say to you what I say every Sunday. You are welcome

here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of

God for God’s Very Good Creation.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Steadfast God, you greet us as a loving parent; and patiently love us beyond all measure. Great is your faithfulness. May we offer that same kindness to all whom we encounter, knowing it is Christ whom we greet as we welcome others. Amen.

We pray for the health and welfare of all nations....

We extol your righteousness forever, and by your favor our horn is

filled.

We pray for the strength and vitality of your church....

We exult in your name, O God, and sing of your righteousness.

We pray for all who suffer from sickness, hardship, or danger ...

for you are the glory of our strength and our shield in times of

adversity.

We pray for the goodness and well-being of your creation....

Your steadfast love is declared forever; your faithfulness is as firm as

the heavens.

We remember those who make their procession home to you this day

and live eternally in the light of your countenance. Unite us in one

unending song of praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Loving God, as we hear your Word this day, send your Spirit to equip and inspire us, that your grace-filled hospitality may be the center of our lives. Amen.

Romans 6:12-23 12Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. ¹³ No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. ¹⁵ What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, ¹⁸ and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19] am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. ²⁰ When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Matthew 10:40-42 40“\Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; ⁴² and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple— truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

Questions for Reflection: Rev. Johan Dodge

The life and witness of the prophet Jeremiah remind us that in

challenging times we often choose denial and despair and resort to

easy answers. How can we more faithfully discern God’s will during

times of trial in our life, nation, or community? At the expense of

comfort, ease, and half-truths, to whom or to what do you turn for the

courage to choose justice, hope, and truth, and what is the reward

that you seek?

We are pleased to offer both white and red grape juice. If you are afraid of

spilling red grape juice, a limited number of cups with white grape juice are

provided.

Here at Community Church we celebrate “Open Communion’.

Anyone who wishes to commune may come to our Lord’s Table. You

do not have to be sinless; God forgives you. You do not have to be

perfect; but God is encouraging you to grow. You need not belong to

this or any church; God Invites all people to this meal. It is enough to

love the Lord and follow Him with all your heart. This is what God

asks us to do. Come to our Lord’s Table in faith this day. Go from

this place to live, and never be the same again. Let us commune as

brothers and sisters in Christ.

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Lift up your hearts.

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

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

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

Pastor: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and

everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of heaven

and earth. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the

breath of life. When we turned away, and our love failed, your love

remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant

to be our sovereign God, and spoke to us through your prophets, who

looked for that day when justice shall roll down like waters and

righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, when nation shall not lift

up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. And

so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we

praise your name and join their unending hymn:

People: 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. Pastor: Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. Your

Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim

release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at

liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had

come when you would save your people. He healed the sick, fed the

hungry, and ate with sinners. By the baptism of his suffering, death,

and resurrection you gave birth to this your Church, delivered us from

slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water

and the Spirit. At his ascension you exalted him to sit and reign with

you at your right hand.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave

thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:

“Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in

remembrance of me.”

When the supper was over he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave

it to his disciples, and said: "Drink from this, all of you; This is my

blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the

forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance

of me."

And so, In remembrance of these Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

We offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving As a holy and living

sacrifice, In union with Christ's offering for us, As we proclaim the

mystery of faith.

People: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pastor: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these

gifts of bread and fruit of the vine. Make them be for us the body and

blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one

in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we

feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son Jesus Christ, with

the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours,

almighty God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we

all partake of the one loaf.

The bread which we have eaten is a sharing in the bread of Christ.

The cup over which we give thanks is the sharing in the cup of Christ.

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. INVITATION TO THE OFFERING — Virginia Olejnik Jesus said, Truly I tell you, those who offer a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple will not lose their reward. Beloved, let us offer to God the gifts of our lives and our labor.

Faithful God, we give you thanks that you have entrusted us with the gift of hospitality and generosity, and that you have set us free to be generous givers of the gifts you so freely give to us. May our offerings this day draw us closer to you as we share them with others for righteousness ’sake. Amen.

Siblings, you have been given the spirit of freedom and saved for the sake of God’s love. Learn the ways of God, for they are the ways of life. Trust in Jesus Christ, the Son, for he is the way to God. Live by the power of the Holy Spirit and Freely share the love of God in the world. AMEN. Blessed Be the Tie that Binds Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.