Katelyn Aguayo 9/8/21 Katelyn Aguayo 9/8/21

Gathering Preview | Philippians 1:3-13 | Renewed Lives (Our Vision and Mission)

CALL TO WORSHIP -

Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with a jubilant cry.
For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great King over the whole earth.
He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.
He chooses for us our inheritance—
the pride of Jacob, whom he loves.Selah

God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord, with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praise to God, sing praise!
sing praise to our King, sing praise!
For the God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!

Psalm 47:1-7

Prayer

SONG | Friend Of God

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Proverbs 28:13

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

SONG | Come Ye Sinners

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

Prayer

SONG | Is He Worthy

SCRIPTURE READING - Philippians 1:3-13

I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

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 | Jesus Paid It All

SONG | You Never Change

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we do for you. May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

New Circle Church 9/8/21 New Circle Church 9/8/21

Genesis 25:19-26 | Birth of Jacob and Esau | Shane Mosby

The story of the birth of Jacob and Esau serves many purposes including foreshadowing the relationship between the brothers that will be later expanded on in Genesis, showing what it looks like to live as a servant of God and shows another example of God’s character and faithfulness. From this passage we learn that prayer leads us to communion and transformation.

We already know that God promised to Abraham plentiful offspring and the nation of God. Isaac, as Abraham’s son, grew up hearing these promises often, and learned from his father. So then Isaac understood at some level that he would have some part to play in this, but his wife, Rebekah, was barren. His response was to pray to God, and we see that God hears his prayer and responds, giving him that which he asks for. His wife also prays to God when she had some sort of complications with the pregnancy, and God revealed to her what was to come.

God desires relationships with humanity. In James 2:23 we read that Abraham was considered “a friend of God”. Abraham was devoted to God, trusted his promises, acted in faith, and prayed to him often, both in the good times and the bad. Relationships aren’t one sided, and they aren’t always perfect. Think of the ways that God has used your brokenness and shortcomings to bring about good in your life. If we are honest, we can all think of ways this has happened.

These good and bad moments of life are intended to direct us to prayer. We see Isaac do this here, in direct response to the difficulty of infertility, he prayed to God. The original word for prayer used here is the same one used to describe Moses’ prayer in Exodus on account of the plagues being brought down on Egypt by God. These prayers were likely not clean and proper. Sometimes communicating with God is messy, raw, perhaps even angry, but it’s real, and that is what God wants from us. He knows us better than we know ourselves, so trying to put up walls when speaking to him is foolish and unnecessary. We also recognize that Isaac chose to rely on God and his promises rather than taking matters into his own hands. He could have chosen the path that his father did and impregnate another woman to bring about offspring, but he didn’t. He naturally responded to his circumstance with prayer, and God responded.

Prayer is not merely a circumstantial action, but also cultivates our relationship with God. When we see our relationship with God as an actual relationship, we realize that communication is not just recommended, but essential. We know in our personal lives that poor communication or the lack thereof ruins relationships, and the same is true with God. Not only that, but we see that it is essential in the way God intervenes, and makes us more aware of that intervention. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. As Christians our lives should be marked with prayer in all things, as a natural response in desiring communion with God, not just as a means of desperation in the hard moments.

Lastly, as we see, prayer transforms the world around us. In this passage, Isaac prays for a child, God hears him, and gives him what he asked for in direct response. Prayer is by no means trivial. We may not understand it completely, but it is an undeniably important tenant of the faith through the Old Testament and New. James 4:2 says “You do not have because you do not ask.” What are the good things you need in your life that you have not asked God for? Do you struggle to feel connected to him, or others? Have you asked him to help you in that? He knows our need before we ask. May we live lives so dependent on God that prayer comes forth as a natural response in or pursuit of cultivating a relationship with him instead of feeling like an obligation. Where we fall short (which we all will), may we learn to depend on him all the more.

Katelyn Aguayo 9/1/21 Katelyn Aguayo 9/1/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 27:1-29 | The Stolen Blessing

CALL TO WORSHIP -

May you be blessed, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head overall. Riches and honor come from you, and you are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. Now, therefore, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name.

1 Chronicle 29:10-13

Prayer

SONG | Forever Reign

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

How joyful is a person whom
the Lord does not charge with iniquity
and in whose spirit is no deceit!

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat.Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

Psalms 32:2-5

Prayer

SONG | Psalms 23 (I Am Not Alone)

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus— he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)— and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:19-23

Prayer

SONG | Made A Way

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 27: 22-29

So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”

And he replied, “I am.”

Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said:

Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the Lord has blessed.
May God give to you—
from the dew of the sky
and from the richness of the land—
an abundance of grain and new wine.
May peoples serve you
and nations bow in worship to you.

Be master over your relatives;
may your mother’s sons bow in worship to you.
Those who curse you will be cursed,
and those who bless you will be blessed.

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 | Resurrecting

SONG | God With Us

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 8/25/21 Katelyn Aguayo 8/25/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 25:19-26 | The Birth Of Jacob and Esau

CALL TO WORSHIP -

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
I will boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear and be glad.
Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me;
let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!
You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
Young lions lack food and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.

Psalms 34:1-10

Prayer

SONG | This Is Amazing Grace

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 4:7-10

Prayer

SONG | Lord I Need You

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

Ephesians 1:7-10

Prayer

SONG | Wonderful Merciful Savior

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 25: 19-26

These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her:

Two nations are in your womb;
two peoples will come from you and be separated.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.

When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

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 | Jesus We Love You

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20-21

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 8/18/21 Katelyn Aguayo 8/18/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 24:1-9 | A Wife for Issac

CALL TO WORSHIP -

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
For everything was created by him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and by him all things hold together.
He is also the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come to have
first place in everything.
For God was pleased to have
all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile
everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace
through his blood, shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:15-20

Prayer

SONG | Great is The Lord

SONG | Your Love Never Fails

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. But now he has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him— if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

Colossians 1:21-23

Prayer

SONG | Hope In Jesus

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 24: 1-9

Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything. Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?”

Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’—he will send his angel before you, and you can take a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don’t let my son go back there.” So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

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 | Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

“And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.”

Acts 20:32

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 8/11/21 Katelyn Aguayo 8/11/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 22:1-19 | Isaac Offered Up

CALL TO WORSHIP -

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

Psalms 18:1-3 CSB

Prayer

SONG | Cornerstone

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

“…But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.” Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

Mark 9:22-24 CSB

SONG | Made A Way

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

“In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory. In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.”

Ephesians 1:11-13 CSB

Prayer

SONG | Great is thy Faithfulness

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 22: 1-19

“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand, he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together. Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.” And he replied, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together. When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now, I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your only son from me.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.” Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself, I have sworn,” this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies. And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command.” Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba.”

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

“And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.”

Acts 20:32 CSB

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 8/4/21 Katelyn Aguayo 8/4/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 21:1-7 | The Birth of Issac

CALL TO WORSHIP -

“Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.” Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

Nehemiah 9:5-6

Prayer

SONG | Since Your Love

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

“But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies. “Because of your great compassion, you did not abandon them in the wilderness.

Nehemiah 9:16-19

SONG | I Give Myself Away

PRAYER OF ASSURANCE

Brothers and sisters, we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10: 19-23

Prayer

SONG | Holy Ghost

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 21: 1-7

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

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 | In Christ Alone

SONG | Revelation Song

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you

Katelyn Aguayo 7/28/21 Katelyn Aguayo 7/28/21

Gathering Preview | Genesis 18:16-33 | Sodom and Gomorrah

CALL TO WORSHIP -

My soul, bless the Lord,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
My soul, bless the Lord,
and do not forget all his benefits.

He forgives all your iniquity;
he heals all your diseases.
He redeems your life from the Pit;
he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
He satisfies you with good things;
your youth is renewed like the eagle.

The Lord executes acts of righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He revealed his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.
He will not always accuse us
or be angry forever.
He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve
or repaid us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his faithful love
toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.

Psalms 103: 1-12

Prayer

SONG | Bless The Lord (10,000 Reasons)

SONG | ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?

Luke 9:23-25

SONG | From The Inside Out

SCRIPTURE READING - Genesis 18: 16-33

The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.” Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”

The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?” The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord—even though I am dust and ashes— suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Then he spoke to him again, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “I will not do it on account of forty.” Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of twenty.” Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose ten are found there?” He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.” When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

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 | Living Hope

SONG | Way Maker

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING

BENEDICTION

To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:7

PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you