WELCOME TO

SAMPSON’S MILLS

PRESBYTERIAN

CHURCH

We embrace our call to love and serve Jesus Christ as we cultivate community

and empower our neighbors.

1665 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 Phone: 412-678-5355

Email: sampsonsmillspc@verizon.net Website: sampsonsmills.org

Facebook.com/sampsonsmillspresbyterianchurch https://sampsonsmills.org/youtube

A Service of Divine Worship on the Lord’s Day

September 20th, 2020

The Prelude

Welcome

*The Call to Worship

Liturgist: Come in from the night.

People: It is a new day, and this is where love lives.

L: Take off your coat, let the weight fall off your shoulders;

P: For here, you are known. Here, you are loved.

L: Come in from the rain.

P: We can do anything together. We can survive together.

L: When the world unravels from under your feet – come in!

P: Come in.

L: Come in.

P: God is here. You are home. You will never be alone.

L: Let us worship the God who weaves us together. Amen.

*Opening Hymn #572: Blessed Assurance F. Crosby

*A Call to Confession (Liturgist)

When the world falls apart around us — when love unravels and life slowly

fails — let us be drawn into the place of grace that is God’s loving embrace. There,

let us confess for the times we forget who we are and to whom we truly belong.

*Unison Prayer of Confession (prayed aloud by all)

Holy God, we have been angry because we see suffering and we don’t

understand. We have been skeptical because we know heartbreak that doesn’t

seem fair. We have withheld love because sacrifice only feels real when it’s our

own. Forgive us for not remembering that you created the heavens and the earth.

Forgive us for withholding our pain from you. Forgive us for thinking that we

know everything. Oh, Lord, forgive us.

The Silent Confession (please be seated)

The Declaration and Assurance of Forgiveness

Liturgist: When we stand in the awesome wonder of God, we realize, like Job, the good

news that we are not God.

All: God’s ways are above our ways. God’s grace is more sufficient than our own.

God indeed is too wonderful for us, and that’s a cause for rejoicing and celebration!

Alleluia! Amen!

*Passing the Peace of Christ, Sharing in Christ’s Welcome in Sign Language

Liturgist: Peace be with you.

All: And, also with you.

(Congregation shares peace with one another in our pew through sign language.)

Small Talk Video: A Story about Job: A Patient Man from Uz Jo VanMeter

For our at-home worshippers, today’s video is available on our website!

www.sampsonsmills.org/worship - password for video is SMPC2020

Prayer for Illumination

God of unending surprises, this life is a tapestry of moments woven together, and we

long to be weavers of love. Today we gather and pray that you would unravel our bias.

Unravel our assumptions. Unravel whatever it is that keeps us from you. And as you do,

clear space in our hearts for your Word. We are listening. We are praying. Amen.

The Scripture Lesson Job 28:12-28

The Message “Seeking Understanding When Everything Falls Apart”

Rev. Jessica McClure Archer

Affirmation of Faith

I believe in God, the Great Sewer—

Who weaves us together in community,

Collecting our loose ends and turning them into belonging.

I believe in the Holy Spirit—

Who hems us in before and behind,

Catching us when we fall and writing us into God’s holy narrative.

And I believe in Jesus Christ—

Who loved and claimed the people society had thrown out, refusing to disregard

anyone as scrap.

I believe God has woven part of God’s self into the fiber of our being,

Making us inherently worthy of love and belonging.

I believe the fabric of my life is weak,

That I am prone to error and need God’s handiwork to remind me of love.

I believe in the Church, and that like a quilt of different fabrics,

She is designed to be as diverse and beautiful as God’s creation.

And I believe that when life unravels, God is there to stitch my wounds

together, To hold me in the palm of God’s hand, to tell me of love, And to invite

me into a new journey. Amen.

Praying our Joys, Concerns and Hopes Together

*The Sending Hymn #705: It Is Well With My Soul H. Spafford

*The Charge and Benediction

As we leave this service, we are invited to give our offerings. May our offerings be

reflection of God’s abundance in our lives, for the glory of God and for the work of God’s

kingdom in the world. You can give by placing your gift at the door, online, mail-in or visiting

the church office! Thank you for being so generous and sustaining our ministry.

*Postlude

*All liturgy is licensed through Sanctified Art © 2019.