Sunday August 5th, 2023

But, Lord… All We Have Is... August 6, 2023 Worship Bulletin

THE GATHERING OF GOD’S PEOPLE The Time of Greeting The Morning Prelude 8:30 - Communion with God Franklin Ritter 10:00- \"Let Us Break Bread Together Trad. American melody Tom Birchwood GOD CALLS US TO WORSHIP The Call to Worship— L: Good morning in the name of Christ, who was, who is and who is to come!. P: Praise be to our Living God who came to us in Christ! L: Although God came to live among us in Christ centuries ago, God continues to be with us in the Holy Spirit every day! P: Praise be to our Living God present in the Holy Spirit! ALL: May that Spirit rest upon each of us in this hour that we might find the courage, the strength, and the will to be faithful disciples in our mission today! +The Hymn #111 “How Can We Name a Love” +The Opening Prayer— Lord, on this holy day, in the warmth of the summer sun, fill us with your grace and care that we might be assured of your steadfast love. Reveal yourself anew as we gather for worship. Open our ears, our ears and our hearts to the power you have to heal and renew our lives. And feed us this morning with the meal that satisfies us for all eternity as we break the bread and share the cup, for in this sharing we come closest to you that

we can in this mortal life! AMEN. WE CONFESS OUR SINS The Call to Confession The Prayer of General Confession— Creator and Sustainer God… you have given us life. You are the au- thor of the human being and as our creator, you know us inside out. You know what tempts us, and challenges us, in our everyday lives. And we know that you are there to pick us up when we fall. Still, our greatest sin may well be that we turn away from the hurt of others, and rather than tak- ing on the challenge to bring healing and wholeness to others, we tend to turn our eyes to more pleasant things. Lord, forgive us and refocus our attention, so that you can bring healing to the world even through us! In Jesus’ name. AMEN Moments For Personal Confession Words of Assurance and Pardon The First Lesson WE SHARE THE WORD Romans 9:1-5 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, ac- cording to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. [a] Amen. Response: L: The Word of God for the people of God. All: Thanks be to God! +The Act of Praise #749 (Response #1) Psalm 17 +The Affirmation of Faith #881 The Apostle’s Creed +The Gloria Patri #70 The Morning Prayer…………………………………….……….. .The Lord’s Prayer (using trespasses)

+The Gospel Lesson Matthew 14:13-21 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desert- ed place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for them- selves.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them some- thing to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Response L: This is the Word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God. (#901 –Alleluia, Amen) The Word Proclaimed “But… All We Have Is…..” Rev. Mike WE RESPOND TO THE WORD The Offering and Prayer of Thanksgiving The Offertory Solo Celtic Laud Craig Courtney Janet Muse-Burke, soloist +The Doxology #94 +The Hymn # 2265 “Time Now to Gather” (Those who want to praise God for an answered prayer may come forward and place a stone in the jar during this hymn.)

+The Sacrament of Holy Communion #17 (All persons are welcome at Christ’s table! Please come forward as directed by the ushers…) +The Hymn # 634 “Now From this Table Rise”” +The Benediction +The Response #347 “Spirit Song” (Vs 1 only) +The Postlude \"O Lord, We Praise Thee\" Trad. German melody Samuel Scheidt + Please stand in stature or in heart as you are able! Next Week’s Scripture Texts Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28, Psalm 105, Romans 10:5-15, Matthew 14:22-33

WELCOME TO THIS MORNING’S WORSHIP! We hope the music, scriptures, prayers and fellowship of this service strength- en your faith and encourage your discipleship. If you are our guest today, please know you are WELCOME! We’re glad you are here and hope you might come again. If you are looking for a church home, or wanting to grow in your faith, we would be glad to tell you more about our church’s ministry and would hope you might consider being part of our community of faith. Please sign the pew pad located at the end of your pew. Tear out the sheet and place it in the offering plate when passed during the service. Please visit our Welcome Table in the rear of the sanctuary for more infor- mation about our church. Our Nursery is available for your young children should you want to leave them in a safe place during worship. Also, a changing table is available in the rest room next to the nursery. It is located through the left rear door and then down the hallway. Ask an usher to direct you… Restrooms are located in the main hallway. Use the left door as you face the back of the sanctuary and follow the hallway towards the main entrance. Restrooms will be on your left. We are a “Safe Sanctuary” church. Parents, please accompany all young children to the rest rooms during the worship service. Our Mission – “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ For the Transformation of the World!”

Assisting in Today’s Worship In The Chapel and Sanctuary Senior Pastor………………………………………………………...Rev. Mike Bealla Associate Pastor…………………………………..……………..Rev. Andy Weidner African Language Service Pastor…………………………...Rev. Jean Takasongo Lay Leader………………………………………………………………...Diana Howe Guest Organist ………………………………………. ……………...Cindy Thomas Hospitality Host/Hosts…………………………………………….Cindy & Don Fisch In the Chapel Chapel Reader………………………………………………………...Scott Sadowski Chapel Greeter/Ushers…………………………………………...Ed & Paula Bugno In the Sanctuary Reader……………………………………………………………….Dr. William Miller Sanctuary Greeters………………………………………………....……Mike Shibak Acolytes……………………………………………………………….Elm Park Youth Media Team……………….Wesley Bealla, Bill & Betsy Miller, Dylan Smith, Ben, Ethan, Luke and Lily Warring Head Ushers……………………………………....John Luczak and Leigh Redmon The flowers for the worship service have been given In memory of William Pasco, by Joan Pilosi

Elm Park United Methodist Church Elm Park is a 712 Linden Street United Methodist Congregation Scranton, PA 18510. and is proud to be Our Telephone number is a church of the (570) 342-8263 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre District We can be reached by email at of the [email protected] Susquehanna Conference Our website address is of www.elmparkumchurch.org Our Conference website address is The United Methodist Church. Our Resident Bishops are www.susumc.org Bishop Cynthia Moore-KoiKoi Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball Our District Superintendent is Rev. Judy Walker Our Senior Pastor is Reverend Mike Bealla Our Associate Pastor is Reverend Andy Weidner Our Lay Leader is Diana Howe African Language Service Pastor Rev. Takasongo Jean