With Every Good Thing Series - A Sacrifice of Praise - Hebrews 13

A communion worship service originally held at the Calvin Symposium on Worship, planned around Hebrews 13. The last of a six-part series on the book of Hebrews from the 2008 Symposium on Worship. These services are designed to rejuvenate the vigor of the faithful by returning us to our first love: our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ.

Tags:: baptism, hebrews, lord's supper, sacraments, symposium 2008, with every good thing series
Worship Service: posted on June 1, 2005

Theme of the Service

Gathering

Choral Call to Worship: “Sing Unto the Lord a New Song” from Psalm 96 (from Nagaland, in Northeastern India)

Please join the choir in singing as directed.

Text: from Psalm 96, James S. Swu
Music: James S. Swu
Copyright © James S. Swu, AILM.

Silence

“Silence My Soul,” Francisco F. Feliciano (from the Philippines)

* Greeting: “You Are Mine” (from the United States)

Choir on stanzas, all on refrain.

Text and music: David Haas (b. 1957)
Text and music copyright © 1991, GIA Publications, Inc.

* Prayer of Adoration

Lord God, the wonders of your creation,
the splendor of the heavens,
the beauty of the earth,
the order and richness of nature,
all speak to us of your glory.

The coming of your Son,
the presence of your Spirit,
the fellowship of your church,
gathered here from so many peoples and nations,
all speak to us of your love.

We worship and adore you,
God of grace and glory,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

* “O Worship the King” (text from India)

Choir only on stanza 4

Text: Robert Grant (1779-1838), 1833, alt.; based on Psalm 104
Music: Lyons; W. Gardner's Sacred Melodies, 1815; attr. Haydn; st. 4 arr. Joel Navarro, 2007

Confession and Assurance

Call to Confession (from Hebrews 4:14, 16)

Prayer of Confession

God of love and faithfulness, who never forgets your covenant,
we forget to love you and serve you, and we wander from your ways.
We are careless with your creation.
We talk of our concern for others,
but fail to match our words with action.

Kyrie eleison / Lord, have mercy (Michiel Karatem, from Indonesia)

Sung on our behalf by the choir

Assurance of Pardon: Jeremiah 31:31-34

* “Alleluia” (from the Taizé Community in France)

Music: Jacques Berthier (1923-1994), 1982
Music copyright © 1982, 1983, 1984, GIA Publications, Inc.

Proclamation of the Word

Prayer for Illumination

Scripture: Hebrews 13:9-16

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Sermon: “A Sacrifice of Praise”
• Listen (10 MB)

Response to the Word

* Hymn: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” (from England)

St. 1, all in harmony; St. 2, women; St. 3, men; St. 4, all in unison

Text: Isaac Watts (1674-1748), 1707
Music: Hamburg; Lowell Mason (1792-1872), 1824

* Nicene Creed

You are invited to say the creed in your own language.

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Spoken prayer refrain: Let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

The Lord’s Supper

Invitation

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. This is the table of the Lord. He invites all who love him and trust in him alone for their salvation to sit with him and share in this joyful feast.

Child: Why do we come to this table?

Pastor: We come to this table because of Jesus’ command and invitation. In remembrance of him, Jesus tells us to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in true faith and to keep doing so until he comes again.

Child: How is this meal different from all others?

Pastor: In this supper God tells us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross where his body was broken and his blood was shed. God also tells us that the Holy Spirit makes us one with Christ, and in Christ one with all other Christians.

Come, then, people of God, to the joyful feast of our Lord.

* “Now the Feast and Celebration”

Choir on stanzas, all on refrain

Text and music: Marty Haugen (b. 1950)
Text and music copyright © 1990, GIA Publications, Inc.

* Prayer of Thanksgiving

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Loving God, You made this world marvelous for us to enjoy.
You gave Jesus to be our Savior, Lord, and friend, and to bring us to you.
You send your Spirit to make us one family in Christ.

For these gifts of love we thank you
and join with angels and saints in this joyful hymn of praise:

* “Santo, santo, santo” / “Holy, Holy, Holy” (from El Salvador)

Text and music: Guillermo Cuéllar (b. 1955), from La Misa Popular Salvadoreña; tr. Linda McCrae (b. 20th c.)
Text and music copyright © 1980, GIA Publications, Inc.

For your kindness to us and your goodness to all,
we give you thanks.
We thank you that you showed your love by sending your Son,
who gave his life for us,
and rose again from death,
and lives to pray for us forever.

We thank you that he has taken away all that separates us from you,
and has made us friends with you and with one another.
We thank you that he has brought us together at this table,
to strengthen us by his love.

Send your Holy Spirit
on us and these your gifts of bread and wine,
that we may know Christ’s presence,
real and true,
and be his faithful followers,
showing your love for the world.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father,
now and forever. Amen.

Child: Why do we eat the bread?

Pastor: The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. We remember and believe that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was given for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.

Child: Why do we drink the cup?

Pastor: The cup for which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ. We remember and believe that the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.

Come, for all is ready. The gifts of God for the people of God.

Professing members in good standing of a church in which Jesus Christ is confessed as Lord and Savior are warmly invited to come forward and join with us in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

* Communion

Music during distribution

* “Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester,” Malcolm Archer

Thanks be to thee, our Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which thou hast given us,
for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for us.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may we know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly. Amen.

Text: St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253)

* “Make Us One in You, Lord” (from Korea)

Sung the first by the choir, then by all

* “Behold the Lamb” (from Ireland)

* “Eat This Bread” (from the Taizé Community in France)

Text: From John 6; para. Robert Batastini (b. 1942) and The Community of Taizé
Music: Jacques Berthier (1923-1994)
Text and music copyright © 1984, Les Presses de Taizé (France), admin. GIA Publications, Inc.

* “Bless the Lord, My Soul” (from the Taizé Community in France)

Text: From Psalm 103; para. Robert Batastini (b. 1942) and The Community of Taizé
Music: Jacques Berthier (1923-1994)
Text and music copyright © 1982, Les Presses de Taizé (France), admin. GIA Publications, Inc.

Sending

* Prayer of Thanksgiving

God our Redeemer,
you have delivered us from death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ
and brought us to new life by the power of your Spirit.
Give us grace to keep our promises
to praise and serve you all our days,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

* Hymn: “Neither Death, Nor Life”

See next page

* Blessing: Hebrews 13:20-21

Blessing given in different languages.

Postlude: Improvisation, Tom Trenney

Credits

Prayer of Adoration and Prayer of Confession adapted from Book of Common Order of the Church of Scotland (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1994), pp. 29-30. Used by permission of Panel on Worship, Church of Scotland.

Prayers of Intercession adapted from the Eastern Liturgies of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom.

The Lord’s Supper liturgy is developed from resources in The Worship Sourcebook (Faith Alive/Bakers) and liturgies from the Church of Scotland, based on guidelines for Lord’s Supper liturgies for the Christian Reformed Church. The practice of a child asking questions at the table is derived from traditional Passover practices, and reminds us of both intergenerational community and the importance of interpreting the central symbols of the faith.

Anthems

“You Are Mine,” David Haas, GIA Publications, G-3656
“Now the Feast and Celebration,” Marty Haugen, GIA Publications, G-3600
“Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester,” Malcolm Archer, GIA Publications, G-6494