Gathering Liturgy | September 13

Call to Worship

Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.” Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against him. (from Psalm 66)

Song | This is Amazing Grace

Prayer of Confession

Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I’ve been;
 my sins are staring me down. You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I’ve been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. (from Psalm 51, MSG)

Song | No Longer Slaves

Prayer of Assurance

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
 says the LORD.
 “Though your sins are like scarlet,
 they shall be as white as snow;
 though they are red as crimson,
 they shall be like wool.” LORD—thank you that you take my scarlet sins - the wrong actions I’ve done and the right actions I’ve left undone - and you have made them clean through the blood that you shed on the Cross. Thank you for the powerful promise of forgiveness of sins. Thank you that you are faithful when we are faithless; that you are gracious when we are graceless; that you are present when we are absent; that you are God, and we are not. Thank you for causing us to stand – not through our own power or righteousness, but because of what you, and you alone, have done. We celebrate your wonderful gift this day! In Christ’s name, Amen. (from Isaiah 1)

Song | Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Scripture Reading

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin” ), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples were together. “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them. “We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. “Friends,” Jesus called to them,“you don’t have any fish, do you?” “No,” they answered. “Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” he told them,“and you’ll find some.” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer clothing around him (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea. Since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards away), the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. So Simon Peter climbed up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish ​— ​153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. (John 21.1-14)

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!

Sermon Notes

Communion

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11.23-26)

Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

(For the bread) “This is the body of Christ, broken for you.”

(For the juice) “This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.”

The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.


Song | Jesus Paid it All

Announcements and Giving

• Join us on the lawn for Coffee and Cupcakes on the lawn.

• We want to encourage all of you to join us for the next four weeks as we begin a new sermon series and faith and work. We will examine God’s Plan for Work, Our Problem with Work, The Gospel and Work, and Integrating Faith and Work. We hope it will be beneficial to you all!

• Parents, please be on the lookout for the NCC Kids Devotional.

• 1 Peter Bible Study begins in October-Saturdays 8am in the Sanctuary. Talk to Christopher if you are interested.

Song | I Give Myself Away

Benediction

For we are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6. 16;18 & Lv 26.12)

Peace be with you. And also with you!