See the Light

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.

Living God, you meet us in unexpected places and surprise us with the abundance of your love. Feed us by your Word and fill us with your Spirit so that we may follow you this day, and always; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our teacher. Amen.

Loving God, in the light of your love we see the evil of the world casting shadows of doubt and fear. We pray for those who are persecuted for their faith; give them freedom, peace, and safety.

We pray for those who breathe curses and threats; give them new hearts and new lives to glorify you.

We pray for those who work by day and night; give them satisfaction and rest from their labors.

We pray for those who fear their efforts are in vain; fill their lives with your providence and grace.

We pray for all who suffer in sickness and grief; give them healing, hope, and joy.

We pray for the faithful in very nation of the earth; give them voices to share your love forever.

We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, who loves us, who feeds us, who taught us the way. Amen.

O God of light, by the power of your Holy Spirit, restore our sight, that in these days we may see your love shining through the darkness of our fear and doubt. Amen.

¹I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and did not let my foes rejoice over me. ²O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. ³O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. ⁴Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. ⁵For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. ⁶As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” ⁷By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed. ⁸To you, O Lord, I cried,? and to the Lord I made supplication: ⁹“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? ¹⁰Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!” ¹¹You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, ¹²so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever. Acts of the Apostles 9:1-20 The Conversion of Saul ¹Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” ⁵He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” ⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank. ¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, ¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, ¹⁴and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” ¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; ¹⁶I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ¹⁷So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, ²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

How do we see the light in the midst of the darkness? Jesus chose Peter, who had denied Jesus in his hour of need, to tend his sheep. He chose Paul, who had persecuted Jesus’ followers, to proclaim the good news. Where have you been caught in doubt or fear? Where have you have been caught in the grip of empire and how did the light and love of God set you free? Do you need to be set free right now?

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 with Jesus,

who showed us the way of God’s love.

Let us give thanks to 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. 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, 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. 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. By his life and teachings, you have revealed your love for us, your co-creative ask upon us, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us. By your great love for us we are born anew to a living hope and to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Once, we were no people, but now we are your children, declaring your wonderful deeds in Jesus, who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always, in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.

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.”

On the day you raised him from the dead he was recognized by his disciples in the breaking of the bread, and in the power of your Holy Spirit your Church has continued in the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup.

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:

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 preferred future for 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. THE LORD’S PRAYER – Celtic Version:

Holy One beyond all names, Eternal Wellspring, May love rise again in us today, with food for every table, shelter for every family, and reverence for every life. Forgive us our failings in love, and free us from all falseness. That the light of our souls may shine, and the strength of our spirits endure — for Earth and all its

people — this day, tonight, and forever. Amen. - John Philip Newell

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.

Jesus calls us to feed his lambs and tend his sheep. Let us show and share his love through the offering of our lives and livelihood. Amen.

Worthy are you, O God, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. Receive these gifts of gratitude and use them for the good of your people as we build the kin-dom of God together with you. Amen.

As we go forth this day, may the Holy Spirit continue to guide your eyes to see the light, and may the love of God empower you to be the light that others experience in the world, and together may we expel the darkness of fear and doubt and give courage to those who have been in darkness to become light bearers. Amen.

Mothering God: When nothing existed but chaos, you swept across the dark waters and brought forth light. In the days of Noah you saved those on the ark through water. After the flood you set in the clouds a rainbow. When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt, you led them to freedom through the sea. Their children you brought through the Jordan to the land which you promised. In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, nurtured in the water of a womb. He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit. He called his disciples to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection and to make disciples of all nations.

Pour out your Holy Spirit, to bless this gift of water and those who receive it.

You are invited to come forward, touch the water, and take a glass bead from the water.