Katelyn Aguayo 7/21/21 Katelyn Aguayo 7/21/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 15:1-6 | The Abrahamic Covenant

CALL TO WORSHIP -

May God be gracious to us and bless us;

may he make his face shine upon us

Selah so that your way may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, God;

let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy,

for you judge the peoples with fairness

and lead the nations on earth.

Selah Let the peoples praise you, God,

let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has produced its harvest;

God, our God, blesses us. God will bless us,

and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalms 67:1-7

Prayer

SONG | You Reign

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalms 51:1-6

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk-in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

God is our refuge and strength,

a helper who is always found

in times of trouble.

Therefore we will not be afraid,

though the earth trembles

and the mountains topple

into the depths of the seas,

though its water roars and foams

and the mountains quake with its turmoil.

Selah There is a river—

its streams delight the city of God,

the holy dwelling place of the Most High.

God is within her; she will not be toppled.

God will help her when the morning dawns.

Nations rage, kingdoms topple;

the earth melts when he lifts his voice.

The Lord of Armies is with us;

the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Selah Come, see the works of the Lord,

who brings devastation on the earth.

He makes wars cease throughout the earth.

He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;

he sets wagons ablaze.

“Stop fighting, and know that I am God,

exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

The Lord of Armies is with us;

the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah

Psalms 46 1-11

SONG | Give me Faith

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 15: 1-6

After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.” Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.

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 | Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)

SONG | Here I Am To Worship

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

New Circle Church 7/19/21 New Circle Church 7/19/21

Genesis 14:17-24: Melchizedek’s Blessing (Shane Mosby)

A common calling Christians share is that they are to spend their lives walking with God. It is also a common phrase to hear that God has a plan for our lives. These phrases and callings often lose their meaning to us when they are stated vaguely or without particular application. However, as we see in the story of Abram and as is evidenced in the lives of followers of Christ today, the call God has for our lives is rarely stated boldly and clearly, but that does not make it any less true. To live out God’s plan for your life is to walk with him daily.

In multiple places in the Bible, it is clearly stated that God has a plan for his people, both collectively and as individuals. The most common is in Jeremiah 29:11. Galatians 5 also highlights the importance of prayer as a means of staying in step with the Spirit, the Spirit by which we as followers of Christ are given to experience his presence and walk with him. For Abram at this point in the story, he had lived out a big step in God’s particular calling for his life, to enter into an unknown land. What he may not have known was that part of this calling would include a violent battle with Chedorlaomer and the kings of that land. Nonetheless, that is what happened, and God made Abram victorious. Adversity is a common part of following God’s calling for our lives. Some of the adversities Abram faced were external ones like famine and tyranny, but some were intimate and personal, like the barrenness of Sarai. Abram also faced failure, on account of his own decisions and actions. He intentionally misled and lied to the Egyptians about his wife’s identity in an attempt to maintain security, which ultimately led to misfortune coming about anyways. Even in this though, God still blessed him.

After all the adversities, failures, and victories, God sends in Melchizedek to the picture. Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a high priest to God. He meets Abram and offers up bread and wine, acknowledging Abram’s blessing from God, and Abram offers him a tenth of his wealth. The King of Sodom offers up wealth to Abram on account of his victories, to which Abram rejects due to the oath he took before God, further displaying his faithfulness and trust that God will maintain his promise. Just as Melchizedek reminds Abram of his blessing from God, we also must be reminded in our walks that he has blessed us through his Son. We have the good fortune of living after Jesus’ return to earth and his sacrifice and seeing that part of God’s plan. Even here a foreshadow is presented, and the writer of Hebrews expands on it in Hebrews 7, ultimately making the claim that Jesus is greater than this high priest. Just as Melchizedek brought out the bread and wine as a symbol of bountiful joy and blessing, Jesus offers up bread and wine, only he does it directly proceeding his crucifixion. This parallelism gives us a somber, powerful and hopeful idea of what the death and sacrifice of Jesus truly meant.

In our fast-paced lives we must be reminded that we need to slow down, stop, and remember. Abram did so after engaging what was most likely the most intense and stressful event he had ever encountered, but it was good, and it reminded him of God’s blessings. When we consider the calling God has for our lives, we need not burden ourselves with “figuring it out”. God has done the work, and his grace is sufficient to cover all of our shortcomings. But God wants us to live fulfilled lives in step with him and his Son, which is exactly how we come to understand his calling for our lives. Let us walk by the Spirit daily, and take rest in remembering the promises of God. We can take comfort in the truth that he has a plan for our lives, and that even in the midst of trials, our own failures and the brokenness of the world, that God will complete the work he started and stay true to his promises.

Katelyn Aguayo 7/16/21 Katelyn Aguayo 7/16/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 14:17-24 | Melchizedek’s Blessing

CALL TO WORSHIP -

Now bless the Lord,

all you servants of the Lord

who stand in the Lord’s house at night!

Lift up your hands in the holy place

and bless the Lord!

May the Lord,

Maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion.

Psalm 134 (CSB)

Prayer

SONG | Forever Reign

ORDINATION OF DEMETRIUS WARREN

We read 1 Timothy 3:1-7,

Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

SONG | I Surrender All

SONG | Great Are You Lord

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 14: 17-24

After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valley). Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—they can take their share.”

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.

COMMUNION

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 | You Are The Living Word

SONG | More Than Anything

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 7/7/21 Katelyn Aguayo 7/7/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 12:1-9 | Abram and Lot

CALL TO WORSHIP -

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Psalm 67:3-7

Prayer

SONG | Cornerstone

PRAYER OF CONFESSION -

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them around your neck;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good success
    in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3: 1-8

PRAYER

SONG | Great Is Thy Faithfulness

ASSURANCE

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

SONG | Do It Again

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 12: 1-9

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.

COMMUNION

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

SONG | You Never Change

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Numbers 6: 24-26

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

New Circle Church 6/30/21 New Circle Church 6/30/21

Genesis 9:8-17: God's Covenant With Noah (Shane Mosby)

The word ‘covenant’ is often lost in our language, so understanding the meaning of the word is important before exploring the intricacies of a covenant established by the Creator of the world. We know that it is a promise, but it is more than a promise in normal terms as we understand it. A covenant is a solemn commitment, and when God makes a solemn commitment, it carries more depth than anything in this world, physical or not. Other examples of covenants God made with his people are the institution of the Sabbath and of circumcision. Both things serve a higher means than the physical and carry a spiritual depth beyond our physical selves. The closest we have today to compare would be marriage, which carries a rich depth and higher purpose than the symbols and words that it is comprised of. The same can be said of the covenant God makes to Noah and all of creation.

Noah found favor with God and pleaded with God to withhold his wrath from his servant. What it means to truly plead with God and have God seemingly change his mind is a mystery in itself, but that is what Genesis seems to illustrate. God chooses to save humanity through Noah. After the flood comes and destroys life on earth, Noah and his family are spared and are able to return to land and continue their lives. After the death and destruction that God poured out on the earth, a covenant is made.

God tells Noah that he will never again wipe out all living creatures through floodwaters, that there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth. It is a seemingly straightforward promise. God continues on, describing how he has set the rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant, and a reminder to man. If you’ve grown up in a church-going family, you likely have heard someone at some point exclaim about a rainbow, reminding everyone that it is a sign of God’s covenant. And they are right! The physical existence of the rainbow today is the symbol of God’s covenant made with Noah and is a way that the Word explains the purpose of its existence, not the nature of its existence. We learn in grade school science HOW a rainbow is formed, but here the Word tells us the deeper meaning.

The Hebrew text here uses the word ‘bow’ to describe the rainbow, which can be translated as ‘weapon of war’. Understanding that translation provides a much deeper meaning to the symbol. Why would God choose to place a “weapon of war” in the sky as a reminder of his covenant? Furthermore, why is it pointed at heaven instead of at earth? God, in outpouring his righteous judgment, flooded the earth with total and absolute authority and justice, yet in the aftermath, hangs up the weapon in a stance not threatening to the earth. God sought to remind us of his mercy rather than his vengeance. God did not desire a people that would come to him out of fear and terror but would choose him willingly. God knew that the sinfulness of man would persist without a vengeful existence, and he chose to extend mercy.

God made the symbol of his covenant with Noah and with humanity to be one of mercy rather than vengeance. We have the good fortune of living after the time that saw this merciful covenant come to fruition in Jesus. Jesus came to the earth not to condemn it, but to save it. That didn’t mean that Jesus did not warn others of God’s righteous wrath and judgment, because he often did. But Jesus came to earth with a message of love and mercy extended from God the Father, an open invitation to all who would accept and acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and commit their lives to him. Jesus poured out mercy and offered hope for a better existence, just as God did in sparing Noah and all of humanity in the flood. As we reflect upon the covenant God made with Noah, we need to look no further than Jesus as a perfect outgrowth and recognition of that very promise.

Katelyn Aguayo 6/30/21 Katelyn Aguayo 6/30/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 11:1-9 | The Tower of Babel

CALL TO WORSHIP -

Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11: 28-29

Prayer

SONG | Everything Is Yours

PRAYER OF CONFESSION -

“ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

PRAYER

SONG | All The Poor And Powerless

SONG | Give Thanks To God

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 11: 1-9

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.

COMMUNION

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 | How Deep The Father’s Love For Us

SONG | We Sing As One

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15: 5-6

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 6/23/21 Katelyn Aguayo 6/23/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 9:8-17 | God’s Covenant with Noah

CALL TO WORSHIP -

Deacon Ordination

Prayer

SONG | God Is Able

PRAYER OF CONFESSION -

“Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. They must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons. Wives likewise, should be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything. Deacons are to be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently. For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

-1 Timothy 3:8-13

PRAYER

SONG | Promises

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 9:8-17

Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you — birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you — all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.

COMMUNION

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 | Nothing But The Blood

SONG | Jesus We Love You

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

-2 Thessalonians 3:16

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 6/16/21 Katelyn Aguayo 6/16/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 6:5-8 | The Flood

CALL TO WORSHIP - Psalms 136:1-4

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His faithful love endures forever.

He alone does great wonders.

His faithful love endures forever.

Prayer

SONG | Friend of God

PRAYER OF CONFESSION -

Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

Hebrews 1:1-4 (NLT)

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin— in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.

1 Peter 4:1-2

PRAYER

SONG | Establish The Work Of Our Hands

SONG | Come Thou Fount

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 6:5-8

When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved. Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” Noah, however, found favor with the Lord.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.

COMMUNION

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 | What A Friend We Have In Jesus

SONG | What A Beautiful Name

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. —Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV)

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you