Beacon Worship 6/6/2021

We hope you join us for worship, either live-streaming on our Youtube Channel or via Zoom. Email info@thewordatbeacon.org for zoom info.

Gathering Time (unmuted)

Feel free to say hi and check in with others before the service begins!

Welcome/Announcements

• Our virtual midweek prayer gathering will be this Wednesday at 6pm on Zoom

• We are looking for folks to help water the plants in the garden. You can sign up here: https://signup.com/go/hWWYJWR

• Our next in-person, outdoor worship service will be on Sunday, June 27 at 5pm for our Pride worship gathering

Facing God: adapted from Psalm 138

(Remain muted and read liturgy aloud at home)

Leader: All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,

All: For they have heard the words of your mouth.

Leader: They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,

All: For great is the glory of the LORD.

Leader: For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;

All: The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me

Leader: Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Let us worship God.

God of Grace and God of Glory

God of grace and God of glory,

on your people pour your power;

crown your ancient church's story,

bring its bud to glorious flower.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

for the facing of this hour,

for the facing of this hour.

Lo! the hosts of evil round us

scorn the Christ, assail his ways!

From the fears that long have bound us

free our hearts to faith and praise.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

for the living of these days,

for the living of these days.

Cure your children's warring madness;

bend our pride to your control;

shame our wanton, selfish gladness,

rich in things and poor in soul.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

lest we miss your kingdom's goal,

lest we miss your kingdom's goal.

Save us from weak resignation

to the evils we deplore;

let the gift of your salvation

be our glory evermore.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

serving you whom we adore,

serving you whom we adore.

Laying Down Our Burdens & Assurance

(Remain muted and read liturgy aloud at home)

All: Loving God of heaven and earth, we admit that we often act like the leaders of this world instead of like you, concentrating on the ‘bottom line’ and our survival, building up our own resources, and exercising inappropriate power. We admit we are guilty of paying attention to the wrong things—we put our own comfort first; we put the church at the center of our world and we fail to see beyond its walls. Forgive us O God, because our eyes have been so fixed on priorities of our own making that we have failed to look for Jesus in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned. Forgive us for all the times we fail to touch people’s lives with acts of loving and caring, justice and mercy. Help us to see the world as you see it and empower us to go out into this day to care for the least of these among us. Amen.

Leader: The Good News is that Christ has come and Christ will come again.

All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

Refrain: I’m Gonna Live

I’m gonna live/pray/work/sing so God can use me

Anywhere, Lord, anytime.

I’m gonna live/pray/work/sing so God can use me

Anywhere, Lord, anytime.

Children's Bible Story

Lectio Conversation (1 Samuel 8:4-20; 11:14-15)

(Hold onto these questions while we read our scripture.)

What stands out to you about this text? Why do you think people crave a king?

Has there been a time when you found yourself wanting a leader?

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the LORD, and the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only — you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship.” So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Discussion

Homily

For You, My God, I’ll Wait

For you, my God, I wait

With hope born of the Word.

Like sleepless ones who long to dream

I wait and call my Lord.

Lord, hear my pleading voice,

And let me know you hear!

As sleepless ones feel rest approach,

I know my God is near.

If you should list my faults,

The sins of heart and hand,

Like sleepless ones who groan at dawn

I know I could not stand!

O God, you are my hope;

I know that you forgive.

Your love redeems me from the depths

So I may rise and live.

Prayers of the People

Now is the time when we share the prayers on our hearts and minds. If you have a private prayer, you can email them to us throughout the week and the pastoral team will pray over them.

If you have a prayer, please unmute your mic to share.

After each prayer, I will lead our response on mute:

Lord in your mercy // hear our prayers

***

Now I will offer a prayer for the greater community and world. We will end by saying the Lord’s Prayer together in whatever language you prefer. Let us pray.

(muted)

Leader: Just as God/Christ taught us to pray...

All: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.

Offering

To give online, click here: https://www.thewordatbeacon.org/donate

To give your prayers, email us at info@thewordatbeacon.org

We’ll Understand It Better By and By

Chorus:

By and by, when the morning comes,

when the saints of God are gathered home,

we'll tell the story of how we've overcome,

for we'll understand it better by and by.

We are tossed and driven

on the restless sea of time;

somber skies and howling tempests

oft succeed a bright sunshine;

in that land of perfect day,

when the mists are rolled away,

we will understand it better by and by.

Chorus

We are often destitute

of the things that life demands,

want of food and want of shelter,

thirsty hills and barren lands;

we are trusting in the Lord,

and according to God's word,

we will understand it better by and by.

Chorus

Trials dark on every hand,

and we cannot understand

all the ways of God would lead us

to that blessed promised land;

but God guides us with God’s eye,

and we'll follow till we die,

for we'll understand it better by and by.

Chorus

Sending/Blessing (from 2 Corinthians 2)

(Remain muted and read liturgy aloud at home)

As we close this time together, let us read this word from second letter to the Corinthians:

All: From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Leader: The steadfast love of God goes with you, the deep and abiding peace of Christ goes with you, and the comfort and guidance of the Holy Spirit goes with you, now and always. Amen.

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Feel free to hang out a little longer and catch up with others! Please also leave us feedback in the chat so we know what's working well and what to tweak for the future.