"Prayer of Faith"

BULLETIN FOR STREAMING SERVICE 
THE CELEBRATION OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD

 THE CELEBRATION OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

October 9, 2022 11:00 a.m.

WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HOMEWOOD
MISSION STATEMENT

Through the grace of God, faith in Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we prayerfully seek to discern God’s will for this congregation and to reach beyond ourselves to feed the hungry, body and soul. Adopted by Session 7/31/17

PRAYER FOR PEACE

Peace Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

PRELUDE

*CALL TO CONTINUING WORSHIP
Give thanks to the Lord with your whole heart.
Great are the works of the Lord!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.
God’s praise endures forever! 

*HYMN 661 ||| Why Should I Feel Discouraged? ||| Sparrow ||| (His Eye Is On the Sparrow)

CALL TO CONFESSION
God promises mercy for all those who repent. Trusting in the grace of Jesus Christ, let us confess our sin.

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Compassionate Christ, you send us to cure the sick, but we blame the sick for their choices. You ask us to restore the unclean, but we separate them into high risk pools. You compel us to raise the dead, but we insist some are beyond help. In your patient and persistent mercy, forgive us, O Lord. Teach us to heal without condition and help without limitation. Enable us to love one another as you love us, that as recipients of unmerited grace, we may freely shower care upon all people.
(silent prayer)
Amen.

*DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
In the name of the One who restores the lost, raises the dead, and reigns on high, I proclaim to you that your sins are forgiven. Believe the good news of the gospel:
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven, healed, and made whole.
Thanks be to God!

*THE GLORIA 581

MOMENT WITH OUR CHILDREN ||| Jewel Willis Thomas

WELCOME AND CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS

WE HEAR GOD’S WORD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE READING ||| James 5:13-20
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God!

SPECIAL MUSIC

SERMON ||| "Prayer of Faith" ||| Jewel Willis Thomas

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

*HYMN 470 ||| There Is a Longing in Our Hearts ||| Longing

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH ||| The Brief Statement of Faith 1983
In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
…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.

OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS

OFFERTORY

*DOXOLOGY 606 ||| Old Hundredth
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
As we offer our treasure and hearts to you, O God, may they be used to pass on the promise of hope, of peace, of life, of community to all in need of your gifts and presence in their lives. Amen.

WE GO IN GOD’S NAME

*HYMN 465 ||| What a Friend We Have In Jesus ||| Converse

BLESSING
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever!  Alleluia! 
CHARGE
To be reconciled to God is to be sent into the world as God’s reconciling community. Christ has called us to this mission and given us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

POSTLUDE

Rev. Matt Lang, Pastor
Mrs. Mary Ann Wenzelman, Interim Organist/Pianist

Worship Liturgist: Kathie Darman
Ushers: Charlene Hansen, Bob James, Eleanor Steiner

Web Techs: Shirley Armistead, Nancy Beaudoin, Phil Dillman, Kathie Hazlett 

Today, we welcome Jewel Willis Thomas as our guest preacher. Jewel is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America (RCA). She attended Western Theological Seminary and graduated in 2013. She is the former Associate Pastor of Faith Community Church in Stickney, Illinois and presently the Stated Clerk of the Classis of Chicago for the RCA. 
 
WELCOME –.In the name of Christ Jesus, welcome! Here at First Presbyterian Church of Homewood, we recognize one another as forgiven sinners, we honor one another as children of God, and we seek to serve one another as fellow travelers through life. We are so pleased you are here to offer your worship and praise to the God who loves us all. Come again soon…and often

SCRIPTURES IN WORSHIP – Next Sunday we will be reading Jeremiah 31:27-34 and Luke 18:1-8.

PRAYER CHAIN – If you want prayer requests included on the prayer chain, contact Shirley Armistead at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A NOTE FROM THE PASTOR – If you need to or want to get ahold of me, Matt (aka Pastor, aka Rev. Lang, aka Rev.), you can reach me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (preferred), call or text me at 773/678-9543. Full disclosure, I dislike talking on the phone and my ADHD makes it difficult for me to focus while doing so. If it is not an emergency, I probably won't call back, I'll text or email. It's not you, it's me. If it is an emergency, however, I will call back as soon as I can.