Radiance

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 is said 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 God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye Heav'nly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Holy God, present in our midst and yet beyond our comprehension, by your light, we see light; by your healing, we are made whole; by your mercy, we know your greatness. Turn your gaze upon our weakness and show us the way of your love that we may live with unveiled faces, through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Almighty, all-merciful God, lover of justice and giver of peace, hear our prayer:

For your people Israel, for the church of Jesus Christ, and for all who seek your face. For leaders and elders that they will abide by your commandments.

For the earth that you have made, trembling for redemption and re-creation.

For those who are tormented by the demons of illness, addiction, and grief.

Let our lives and our world be transfigured by your glory and transformed by your love; in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

The LWCC Vocal Quartet joins us today in memory of Joanna Matos, courtesy of The Matos Family.

By your Spirit, O God, enlighten our hearts, open our minds, fill our vision with your radiance, and give us life, as we hear your Word today. Amen.

²⁸Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³⁰Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. ³¹They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. ³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. ³⁵Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” ³⁶When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. 2 Corinthians 3:17 - 4:2 ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. ¹ Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. ²We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is transfigured and his clothes become dazzling white. In Second Corinthians it is we who are transfigured. How have you considered your faith in the past — have you tried to enclose or hide the radiance of God like the disciples on the mountain with Jesus or have you tried to reflect the radiance of God in the world? For most if not all of us, we are both hiders and shiners. What causes you to hide the light and what might you do to shine a little brighter into the darkness of the days ahead?

We 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 God’s Table. You do not have to be sinless; God forgives you. You do not have to be perfect; God encourages you to grow. You need not belong to any church; God invites all people to this meal. It is enough to love and follow God with all your heart. This is what God asks us to do. Come to God’s Table in faith this day. Go from this place to live, and never be the same again. Let us commune as siblings in Christ.

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or you had formed the earth, from everlasting to everlasting, you alone are God. You created light out of darkness and brought forth life on the earth. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away from your way of love, and our love for you and your creation failed, your love for us remained steadfast.

And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

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 his teachings and practice of your way of love, he knit together this new body we call the church.

He prayed that we might be one, as he is one with you, and he asked that we might be known by the love we have for one another.

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; we are one body as we share in the bread together. 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 the cup of the new covenant, an ongoing sign of God’s love for you and all of God’s very good creation. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

And so, in remembrance of these your teachings and acts of love in Jesus Christ, we recommit ourselves to your way of love and pledge to live by the leading of your Holy Spirit, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

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 symbols of your love and desire for us to be your body knit together to build the new creation, your paradise here with us.

By your Spirit help the body of Christ be one. Help the left hand and the right hand work as one in ministry to all the world. Help the eyes and the ears sense your present and coming kin-dom. Bring the blessing of the diversity of the body to bear fruit 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 forever. 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.

We serve God with freedom, we worship God with joy. In freedom and in joy, let us present the offerings of our lives to the Lord. Amen.

Holy are you, O God! We praise your great and awesome name. Use us, and these our gifts, in your service, to establish justice, righteous, and equity, all for the good of your people and the glory of your eternal realm. Amen.

Since we have such hope, live and act with boldness! Love and serve in the freedom of the Spirit. And may the glory of God shine upon you, the Word of God live within you, and the Spirit empower you to shine through this season. Amen.