Highland Presbyterian Church

 

       August 17, 2008                                 10:00 AM

           

              Pastor................................. Rev. Albert Rhodes Stuart

           Worship Leader.............................. Elder John Powell

           Organist.................................................................... Martha Lange 

           Head Usher ............................  Elder Fritz Richardson

           Greeters............................................ Joe & Jessie Landa

           Pastor Emeritus.................... The Rev. Crea M. Clark

               

Welcome guests, visitors and members to

Highland Presbyterian Church.

Visitors: please sign our pew pads and include your address.

 

 

The Welcome & The Announcements:      Elder John Powell

 

*The Passing of the Peace:                                                     Elder John Powell

Leader:  Since we have been justified through faith, we now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us live into and share this peace & grace with our neighbors in all we do.  May the peace of Christ be with you.

People: And also with you.

 

The Prelude:                                                                                   

 

* The Call to Worship:                                                                Elder John Powell

Leader:   Let us join hearts and minds together as we worship the Triune Lord in the splendor of His glory and holiness.  As we come together in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit let us make a joyful noise to the Lord as we sing…

                                              “ He Is Exalted ”                                SB # 9

 

*Hymn                      “ O God, Our Help in Ages Past ”                   # 52

 

* The Call to Confession:                                                       Pastor Stuart

 

 

* The Prayer of Confession:                                         Elder John Powell

 Unison: Everlasting Father, We stand before You confessing our many faults, sins and errors committed against You and the people You created in Your own image and into whom You breathed the breath of life.

              Despite clear directives, dire warnings, and Your loving insistence delivered by prophets too numerous to count, we continually place higher value on our perceived freedom than upon Your fatherly embrace.  We regularly debase and deny Your righteous demands and celebrate the very evils You condemn.  Worse yet, we all too frequently detour others away from the ‘narrow way’ You have established and applaud them when they go astray.  By silence and feeble proclamation we — Your Church — bar the door to the costly redemption won by Your own Son and then refuse to enter in ourselves.

              Lord forgive us, transform our heart, minds and souls, and empower us to believe anew and shout aloud the Good News.  Heal us and send us forth in thanksgiving and gratitude with the works of repentance.   Amen.

 

*A Time of Silent Reflection:

*The Assurance of Pardon:                                                    

*The People’s Response:                “Gloria Patri”            #623

 

The Prayer for Illumination:                                    Elder John Powell

 

Scripture Lessons:                                                                   Pastor Stuart

                Luke 11:37 – 54                                                                           Page 904

Response:

Pastor:     This is the Word of the Lord!

People:    Thanks be to God.

 

Softball Presentation:                                                                             Joe Landa

  

*Hymn:                          “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”                   #211

The Sharing of Joys and Concerns:                                           Pastor Stuart

The Prayer for the People & Lord’s Prayer:                                                                  

 

The Offering:                                                                     

       The Offertory:                                                                           

*The “Doxology”:                                                     

*The Offertory Prayer:

                                               Sermon:

                “ Woe to Us! — When We’re Being Pharisees! ”

 

*The Affirmation of Faith:          Apostle’ Creed

Unison: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

               And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

            I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.  Amen.

 

*Hymn:                  “ Leaning on the Everlasting Arm ”                         #354

*The Charge & Benediction:    

*Threefold Amen: 

*Postlude   

*Please stand if you are able

 

 

Church Calendar

Sunday, August 17

        9:00 AM        Adult Coffee and Bible Study

      10:00 AM       Worship Service: Recognition of Softball Team

         5:30 PM       Grace Anglican Church

Monday, August 18

      Carpets being cleaned in the church

Tuesday, August 19

         6:30 PM       Boy Scouts

Wednesday, August 20

         5:30 PM       Weight Watchers

Thursday, August 21

         7:00 PM       Session Meetings

Saturday, August 23

         8:00 AM       Planning Retreat

Sunday, August 24

        9:00 AM        Adult Coffee and Bible Study

      10:00 AM       Worship Service: 

         5:30 PM       Grace Anglican Church

Articles for Newsletter Due!

     

 

 

The flowers adorning the sanctuary are in

memory of

Dr. Raymond Ralston
 

Prayer List:

(Anonymous concerns are welcomed (16))

     James Schmelzer                                           Don Schmelzer (brother)

   Bill Gobert                              Lymphoma                 Don Schmeltzer (cousin)

     Gloria Schmelzer                     Very Ill      Georgia Schmelzer (sister-in-law)

     Aaron Dumbaugh   Brain Cancer /Hardening of arteries   Dave Schmelzer

     Ida Corbett                          Throat Cancer                  Phyllis English (friend)

     Lois Montgomery             Colon Cancer                     Rennae Allison (friend)

     Tommy Widenhoffer 14 yrs. old w/ Life-threatening Cancer    Cindy Regis

     John Shick               Problems w/Kidney & Heart            Becky Faith (uncle)

     Peg Graber                  Pancreatic Cancer                            Al Graber (wife)

     Bob Schwartz          Recovery from Stroke                        Lexie Dean (cousin)

     Anne Fleming              3 yr old with cancer

     Stephen Crofoot         Serving in Iraq                 Sandy Stillwagon (grandson)

     Mechelle Hawk            Return of cancer                       Alyssa Barrett (friend)

     Cindy Schanebel & family  Breast Cancer (not doing well) Jeff Kirk (cousin)

     Donnette Bouchier         Breast Cancer                              Stuart Family (friend)

     Rennie Watson                Heart Failure                                Chris Gould (friend)

     Larry Basso                         Heart                           Georgia Schmelzer (friend)

     Rachel Rothenburg    Brain aneurism                           Leona Knight (family)

     Marianne Harley  Uterine Cancer/Heart Attack     Fritz Richardson (friend)

     Pastor Budd Johnson         Brain Tumor                  Kay Brandon (FL Pastor)

      Jack Donaldson

      Meghan Stuart                    Pre-Lupus                           Pastor Rusty (cousin)

      Becky Stebbins           Aneurisms in Brain         Deb Schmelzer (co-worker)

      Gladys Cook               Stage 3 Lung Cancer                 Shirley Martin (sister)

      Thelma                            Breast Cancer                             Norma Rodgers (sister)

      Don & Lori Hoffman     Don has cancer                   Puddie Taggart (sister)

       Marylee Rebman         Brain tumor/Stroke        Sandy Stillwagon (family)

       Tyler Beachem    Basic Training/National Guards        Brad Davis (stepson)

      Holly Tissue Thompson  Serious Heart Problems        Lucy Fergus (friend)

      Sandy Sankey Good       Advanced Ovarian Cancer    Lucy Fergus (family)

      Leah Pelton             Parkinson’s disease            Bobbi Kyler (grandmother)

      Scott Thomas          Return of Rare Cancer                 Bobbi Kyler (cousin)

      Jane Rector       Problems with Knees and legs            Lucy Fergus (friend)

      Mary Umbaugh              Colon Cancer                           Barb Wiles (friend)

      Hogg Family on the passing of Twila

      Ethel Dale                   Tests on Heart                               Barb Wiles (mom)

      Bicehouse and Hullahan families on the death of the father of both families

      Larry Vogt                       Hospitalized           Sandy Stillwagon (son-in-law)

      Kenny Faith         Pleurisy/ Blood clot in lung          Sandy Stillwagon (son)                                                                                                                                                            

     

Date:            Sunday,  17  August  2008

Texts:           Luke 11:37 - 54   [NIV]

Title:         “ Woe Unto Us!  — When We’re Being Pharisees. . .  ”

 

   Luke   11:37 - 54  

 

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to eat with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.  38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.

39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.  40 You foolish people!  Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?  41 But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.  You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.”

45 One of the experts in the law answered Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us also.”

46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them.  48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.  49 Because of this, God in His wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’   50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary.  Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge.  You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose Him fiercely and to besiege Him with questions, 54 waiting to catch Him in something He might say.