UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

Neillsville, Wisconsin

Pastor Jacoba Koppert

Church 715-743-2147

Pastor's Office 715-743-2117

www.uccneillsville.org.

We Gather to Worship God

October 13, 2019 10:00 a.m.

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

All who are comfortably able are invited to stand at those

places in the service indicated by an asterisk*

We ask you to please turn off all telephones and electronic devices.

We Gather to Worship God

PRELUDE

RINGING OF THE BELL

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

We would like to welcome all of you who have gathered with us today for worship. We come from many places to this time and place. From our varied and hectic lives, we gather in this sacred space, as a community to be challenged, to give thanks and to worship. No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey you are welcome here.

GATHERING “Sanctuary”

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.

With thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary for you. (repeat)

PRAYERS OF THE CONGREGATION

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader: Where will you go?

People: Wherever God leads us.

Leader: Who will be your people?

People: God’s people will be our people.

Leader: Who will go with you?

People: We will journey with each other.

Leader: What are you willing to risk?.

People: We will risk everything..

All: For the One who calls us provides in ways we could never imagine.

*HYMN “Great Is Your Faithfulness”

We Confess Our Sin as We Seek God’s Forgiveness

CALL TO CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Holy One, we come before you to confess the emptiness of our lives.

It seems we do not have enough time;

we do not have enough resources;

we do not have enough energy.

Overwhelmed in our too busy world, we feel we have nothing more to offer;

Overwhelmed by our own needs, we fail to accept the offers of help and to see the needs of others;

Overwhelmed by our own and the world’s expectations, we are paralyzed by guilt.

Our lives are governed by scarcity rather than generosity.

Forgive our lack of trust in your abundance. Open our eyes to the possibilities you set before us.

We want to find refuge in you, Life-Giving God.

Restore in us a right spirit; refresh our souls; grant us your joy and peace.

Hear our prayer the name of Jesus who is our Salvation

SILENCE FOR PERSONAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

God is generous! God generously forgives us; God generously accepts us; God’s generous love never ends. Let your hearts and minds be transformed by the saving love of Jesus Christ who came to bring us life – an abundant life, filled with joy.

Trust God’s generosity and learn once again to be generous – to God, to others and to yourself.

*PASSING THE PEACE

We are a people in need of peace. In so many places we are overwhelmed and our world is overwhelming. My friends, Jesus wants us to have the peace that passes all human understanding. Let us encourage one another, reminding each other that Jesus offers peace. The Peace of Christ be with you.

And also with you.

(All are invited to greet others with handshakes or hugs while saying to them "the peace of Christ be with you" and responding " and also with you.")

*SONG OF PRAISE "For the Beauty of the Earth” (verse 4)

For the good that love inspires, for the world where none exclude.

For a faith that never tires, and for every heart renewed,

God of all, to you we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

We Listen for Words that Encourage and Challenge Us

As Jesus Followers

CHILDREN’S TIME

THE CHILDREN SING “All that I Am”

SCRIPTURE READINGS Ruth 1; 4:13-17 (Common English Bible)

1 During the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. A man with his wife and two sons went from Bethlehem of Judah to dwell in the territory of Moab. ² The name of that man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the territory of Moab and settled there.

³ But Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died. Then only she was left, along with her two sons. ⁴ They took wives for themselves, Moabite women; the name of the first was Orpah and the name of the second was Ruth. And they lived there for about ten years.

⁵ But both of the sons, Mahlon and Chilion, also died. Only the woman was left, without her two children and without her husband.

⁶ Then she arose along with her daughters-in-law to return from the field of Moab, because while in the territory of Moab she had heard that the Lord had paid attention to his people by providing food for them. ⁷ She left the place where she had been, and her two daughters-in-law went with her. They went along the road to return to the land of Judah.

⁸ Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, “Go, turn back, each of you to the household of your mother. May the Lord deal faithfully with you, just as you have done with the dead and with me. ⁹ May the Lord provide for you so that you may find security, each woman in the household of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

¹⁰ But they replied to her, “No, instead we will return with you, to your people.”

¹¹ Naomi replied, “Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Will there again be sons in my womb, that they would be husbands for you? ¹² Turn back, my daughters. Go. I am too old for a husband. If I were to say that I have hope, even if I had a husband tonight, and even more, if I were to bear sons— ¹³ would you wait until they grew up? Would you refrain from having a husband? No, my daughters. This is more bitter for me than for you, since the Lord’s will has come out against me.”

¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her. ¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her gods. Turn back after your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶ But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to abandon you, to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do this to me and more so if even death separates me from you.”¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

¹⁹ So both of them went along until they arrived at Bethlehem. When they arrived at Bethlehem, the whole town was excited on account of them, and the women of the town asked, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰ She replied to them, “Don’t call me Naomi, but call me Mara, for the Almighty has made me very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the Lord has returned me empty. Why would you call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has deemed me guilty?”

²² Thus Naomi returned. And Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, returned with her from the territory of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

4¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife.

He was intimate with her, the Lord let her become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be blessed, who today hasn’t left you without a redeemer. May his name be proclaimed in Israel. ¹⁵ He will restore your life and sustain you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law who loves you has given birth to him. She’s better for you than seven sons.” ¹⁶ Naomi took the child and held him to her breast, and she became his guardian. ¹⁷ The neighborhood women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They called his name Obed. He became Jesse’s father and David’s grandfather.

SERMON “Extravagant Generosity: Abundance Possibilities” Pastor Jacoba Koppert

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We Respond in Faith

to God’s Love for the World

HYMN “Open My Eyes, that I May See”

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

THE PRAYER OF OUR SAVIOR

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. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

INVITATION TO OFFERING

THE OFFERTORY Vicente Cortez

*THE DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise God, all creatures here below;

Praise God for all that love has done;

Creator, Christ and Spirit One. Amen.

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

HYMN “O Savior, Let Me Walk with You”

THE BENEDICTION

CHORAL RESPONSE ”Let There Be Peace”

By Sy Miller and Jill Jackson

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be. With God our Creator, children all are we.
Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me; let this be the moment now.
With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow:
To take each moment and
live each moment in peace eternally!
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Reprinted under OneLiense.net A-723900

*POSTLUDE Vicente Cortez

The Light of Christ Leads Us into the World to Serve