The Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
COLLECT
Lord of heaven’s reach, of earth reborn; you call us from starless graves to sing under infinite skies: we praise your name for those who have walked this way unheralded and unnumbered but known to you, their beginning, their end, their joy in life; give us the same grace to be unbound and take the step of faith; through Jesus Christ, the alpha and omega. Amen.
PRELUDE
GREETING
Rev. Fred Harrell (he/him), Worship Leader
Leader: The Lord be with you.
ALL: And also with you.
PREPARATION
CALL TO WORSHIP
based on Psalm 145:3-4, 10-11, 21
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; there is no end to God’s greatness.
One generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your power.
All your works praise you, God, and your faithful servants bless you.
They make known the glory of your kingdom and speak of your power.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord:
Let all peoples bless God’s holy name forever and ever.
PRAYER OF ADORATION
PRAISE
SONGS
Hands of the Healer
Eddie Kirkland, © 2007
Build My Life
Brett Younker, Karl Martin, Kirby Kaple, Matt Redman, Pat Barrett, © 2016
RENEWAL
CALL TO CONFESSION
Psalm 46:10-11, NRSV
“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Eternal One, in every age you have remained faithful to your Church, full of people just like us: believing and doubting, trying and failing to follow Jesus. Forgive our indifference to your will. You have commanded us to speak, but we have been silent. You have called us to do what is just, but we have been fearful. You have showed us the way of peace, but we have chosen violence.Have mercy on us, O God. Help us return to the way of Jesus, so that living with courage and love, we may inherit the peaceable kingdom promised in Christ our Lord. Amen.
SILENT CONFESSION
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Ephesians 2:19-20, NRSV
You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. This is the good news!
Thanks be to God!
PASSING THE PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
SONG
It is Well (Peace)
BLESSING OUR CHILDREN & YOUTH
Leader: People of God, what is our prayer for our children and youth?
People: May the Lord be with you.
Children: And also with you.
Leader: May the Lord bless you and keep you;
may the Lord grow you strong in Divine grace,
may the Lord fill you with the love of Christ.
All: Thanks be to God!
SONG OF RENEWAL
I Will Sing
Leslie Jordan, Sandra McCracken, © 2020
COMMITMENT
WORDS OF WELCOME
SCRIPTURE
2 Samuel 11:1-17, 26-27; 12:1-10, NRSV
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”
So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.” As Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant warriors. The men of the city came out and fought with Joab; and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well. When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,
The Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
SERMON
Rev. Jonathan Gundlach (he/him)
Bathsheba’s Untold Story
OFFERING OURSELVES & OUR GIFTS
The offering is a way for Christians to support the mission and ministry of the church. Christians offer a sacrificial portion of their resources–time, talents, possessions–as an act of faith and gratitude in response to God’s grace. While many at City Church make their regular contributions through online giving and automated bill pay, offerings are a part of our worship service as an opportunity for the regular, proportionate and generous giving of the resources God has given us.
OFFERING PRAYER
Eternal Source of Love, you are the giver of every good gift. Accept these offerings we pray, that through them we may do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you, our Savior and our God. Amen.
MUSICAL OFFERING
Hallelujah Sing
Leslie Jordan, Orlando Palmer, Latifah Alattas
COMMUNION
INVITATION TO THE LORDS TABLE
CONFESSION OF FAITH: APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
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.
SONG
Sanctus
by Karl Digerness, © 2017
Together we proclaim the mystery of the faith:
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BREAD & CUP
The Gifts of God for the People of God
COMMUNION PRAYER
Eternal Source of Love,
in this holy sacrament you give substance to our hope.
May this meal be to us a comfort in affliction, and a pledge of our inheritance in that kingdom where there is no death, sorrow, or tears, but the fullness of joy with all your saints; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
SONG
God With Us
Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, © 2012
BENEDICTION
from Ephesians 3:16-18, NRSV
May God strengthen you with power out of God’s glorious riches so that Christ would dwell in your hearts through faith. May you have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
DISMISSAL
Let us go forth to serve the world as those who love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God!
POSTLUDE
MUSICIANS
Amy Foote, vocals
Minna Choi, vocals
Lora Libby, vocals
Jeff Marrs, drums
Jason Muscat, bass
Adam Shulman, piano