The Church of ACTS - ACT like a Community

September 25, 2022
 
Greeting
Rev. David Petty
 
Prelude
Stephanie Shorden

*Call to Worship
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
 
Leader: We gather to be a community of believers, to come together as one.
People: We share what we have for the good of all.
Leader: For those who have much to give and those who have little, bring all you have before the Lord.
People: We will strive to lift our voices and our lives to God this day.
Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made.
People: We shall rejoice and be glad in it!
 
 *Gathering Song
Christ is Made the Sure Foundation
UMH #559
WORDS: 7th cent. Latin; trans. by John Mason Neale, 1851(Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-7)
 
1. Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and cornerstone; chosen of the Lord and precious, binding all the church in one; holy Zion’s help forever, and her confidence alone.
 
2. To this temple, where we call thee, come, O Lord of Hosts today! With thy faithful loving kindness hear thy people as they pray, and thy fullest benediction shed within its walls alway.
 
3. Here vouchsafe to all thy servants what they ask of thee to gain; what they gain from thee forever with the blessed to retain, and hereafter in thy glory evermore with thee to reign.
 
4. Laud and honor to the Father, laud and honor to the Son, laud and honor to the Spirit,
ever three and ever one; one in might and one in glory, while unending ages run.
 
Scripture Reading
Acts 8:26-40
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
 
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
 
Mystery Box              
 
Invitation to Prayer
Rev. David Petty
 
Prayer Song
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart      
v. 1 UMH #500
 
1. Spirit of God, descend upon my heart; wean it from earth; through all its pulses move; stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art, and make me love thee as I ought to love.
 
Holy Spirit Prayer, Silent Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer
CLM Twinkle Gordon
 
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 trespasses, as we forgive those to trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory forever.
 
Prayer Response
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart
v. 4 UMH #500
 
4. Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh; teach me the struggles of the soul to bear. To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh, teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
 
Invitation to Offering                      
Nancy Gehrung

Offertory
How Majestic is Your Name
Sanctuary Choir

Prayer of Thanks & Dedication
Rev. David Petty

*Doxology
Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow
UMH #94
 
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below: Alleluia! Alleluia!  Praise God, the source of all our gifts! Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts! Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
 
Message
 
Scripture Reading      
Acts 4:32-37
Nancy Gehrung
 
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite from Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
 
Anthem
Sing a New Song by Stan Pethel
Sanctuary Choir

Prayer for Illumination                    
 
Leader: May the words of my mouth,
People: and the meditations of all of our hearts
All: be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
 
Message
The Church of ACTS—ACT like a Community
Rev. David Petty
Sending Forth
 
*Affirmation of Faith
CLM Twinkle Gordon
 
Leader: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the one true church, apostolic and universal, whose holy faith let us now declare:
All: We believe in God as creator and parent, infinite in wisdom, power, and love, whose mercy is over all creation, and whose will is directed toward the good of all people.  
 
We believe in Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of man, the gift of the Creator’s unfailing grace, the ground of our hope, and the promise of our deliverance from sin and death.
 
We believe in the Holy Spirit as the divine presence of God in our lives, whereby we are kept in perpetual remembrance of the truth of Christ, and find strength and help in time of need.
 
We believe that our faith is lived out in the service of love and that we are co-creators of God’s world.
 
We are the People of God. We are St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Celebrating the Love of God, following the teachings of Christ, Building a better world, and living in the Power of the Spirit.
 
Amen.
 
*Sending Hymn
Be Thou My Vision
UMH #451
WORDS: Ancient Irish; trans. by Mary E. Byrne, 1905; versed by Eleanor H. Hull, 1912, alt.
Alt. © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
 
1. Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
 
2. Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word; I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord; thou and thou only, first in my heart, great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
 
3. Great God of heaven, my victory won, may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
 
Announcements
World Communion Sunday,
Blessing of the Animals,
Keenagers,
Fall Clean Up Day
 
Benediction
Rev. David Petty

Postlude
Stephanie Shorden