Thursday
Apr022026

First Presbyterian Church of Niles

 Sunday Morning Worship

10:00 A.M.                                                                                         June 28, 2026

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(*Stand if you are able.)

PRELUDE

 

REFLECTION TEXT                       Psalm 13: 6

I will sing to the LORD because he has dealt bountiful with me.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS  

 

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP                 Holy Manna                          Arr. Blake 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP (Responsive)                                                                             

Let us sing of God’s steadfast love forever;

    With my mouth I will proclaim God’s faithfulness to all generations.

Let us declare that God’s steadfast love is established forever;

    God’s faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

 

OPENING PRAYER                                

 

*HYMN 39                             Great Is Thy Faithfulness                  FAITHFULNESS

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with thee;

Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not;

As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

 

Refrain:

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy Faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 

Summer and winter, and spring-time and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. Refrain

 

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Refrain

 

CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                                           

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (In Unison)                                                                   

God of the risen Christ, you broke the power of sin and evil. And we yet we still live in the tombs of forgetfulness, anxiety and fear. We have failed to love you as we should. We have neglected to love our neighbor. Indeed, we have even failed to love ourselves. Release us from the tombs that terrify us, so that we can see your image in one another and in your good creation. Indeed, free us from the graves of self-hatred, so that we can see ourselves as your children. Amen.

 

MOMENT OF SILENT AND PERSONAL CONFESSION 

 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON (Responsive)                                                               

The mercy of the Lord is sure. In Christ, we are forgiven and set free

from the chains that bind us so that we can be your people.

   Thanks be to God!

 

PASSING THE PEACE                                                                                              

As God has forgiven us in Christ let us also forgive one another.

The peace of Christ be with you all.

    And also with you.

Please share the sign of peace with one another.

The sharing of Christ’s peace.

 

RESPONSE                      Peace is Flowing Like a River                      TRADITIONAL

Peace is flowing like a river, flowing out to you and me.

Flowing out into the desert, setting all the captives free.

 

His love is flowing like a river, flowing out to you and me.

Flowing out into the desert, setting all the captives free.

 

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION                                                                                    

 

FIRST SCRIPTURE READING        Psalm 89: 1-4, 15-18                                       

 

SPECIAL MUSIC                           I Give My Life                                    Shafferman

                                              Larry Funk, Sarai St. Clair

 

SECOND SCRIPTURE READING         Matthew 10: 40-42                                    

 

MESSAGE                Rewards and Welcoming             Rev. Christopher Mergener

 

*HYMN 203                   Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love                CHEREPONI

Refrain: Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

 

Kneels at the feet of his friends, silently washes their feet, Master who acts as a slave to them. (refrain)

 

Neighbors are wealthy and poor, varied in color and race, neighbors are near us and far away. (refrain)

 

These are the ones we should serve, these are the ones we should love, all these are neighbors to us and you. (refrain)

 

Loving puts us on our knees, willing to wash others’ feet; this is the way we should live like you. (refrain)

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                                                                                         

In a broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

 

CALL FOR THE OFFERING                                                                                      

    Offertory                                   Here I Am, Lord                                    Arr. Carter

 

*DOXOLOGY                        What Gift Can We Bring                            ST. DENIO

This gift we now bring, this present, this token, these words can convey it, the joy of this day! When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing, this song we now offer in honor and praise! Amen.

 

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION                                                                                     

 

PREPARATION FOR PRAYERS 695  Change My Heart, O God   CHANGE MY HEART

Change my heart, O God, make it ever true.

Change my heart, O God, may I be like you.

You are the Potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.

Change my heart, O God, make it ever true.

  Change my heart, O God, may I be like you.

 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE (Responsive)                                                              Lord in your mercy,

     hear our prayer.                                                                                                    

 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (Unison)                                                                                 

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.

 

*HYMN                     Let There Be Peace on Earth            LET THERE BE PEACE

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.

 

*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE

 

All music is reproduced under permission from ccli.com License #11146543.

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