The Link…Making Connections for Ministry
NOTES:
FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SUNDAY, October 19th, 2014
The Welcome mat is out for you!
We are glad to have you here today as a partner in prayer, in song
and in the hearing of God’s Word.
We hope that you will stay for refreshments and fellowship after
worship, so that we may become friends, strangers no longer!
The Congregation of First Presbyterian Church
WEEKLY CALENDAR
Sunday
October 19
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Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
October 20
October 21
October 22
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Thursday
October 23
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Friday
October 24
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Sunday
SERVING YOU TODAY IN WORSHIP
Reverend Dr. Bruce Taylor
Pastor:
Amy Muegge
Choir Director:
Burton Tidwell
Organist:
Margaret Smith
Liturgist:
Amy - Vacation Day
9:00 a.m. Worship Service
10:30 a.m. Church School - all ages
October 26
5:00 p.m. TOPS
6:00 p.m. Cub Scouts
7:00 p.m. Bible Study
6:30 p.m. Session
5:30 p.m. Midweek Meal & Program
6:00 p.m. Youth & GOLD
7:00 p.m. "What Every Christian Should Know
About Islam" Adult Study
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2:30 p.m. Pastor's Adult Study
6:00 p.m. Jubilation Ringers
7:00 p.m. Chancel Choir
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5:45 p.m. Youth Tailgating at POHI Game
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9:00 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
2:00 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
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Worship Service
Church School - all ages
CROPWALK - registration 1:30 pm
Hallelujah Party at the Miller's Farm
Time Change is just around the
corner...
Sunday, October
19
Monday, October
20
Tuesday, October
21
Wednesday,
October 22
Thursday, October
23
Friday, October
24
Saturday, October
25
Sunday, October
26
Summer Lewis; Winter Lewis; Alexa Gurrola;
Jacque Salmons
Bill & Ann Salmons; Mark & Lisa Sanders;
Leslie Sanders
John & Kim Schatz; Lauren Schatz; Donna
Secrest
Garrison Shears; Cameron Sherbon; Floyd &
Marilyn Sherrod
Margaret Smith; Ton & Valerie Smith Mackenzie, Evan, Olivia
Ben Southard; Carol Southard; Mark & Laura
Southard
Destiny Laughrey; Tedi Spore; Conner
Oberbeck
Martha
Stover;
Earl
October
Liturgist
List Sutton; Kara Swopes;
Pat Tebrinke
October 26th - Kerry Ebbert
Daylight savings time begins on Nov.
2nd
Children and youth are encouraged to join us each Sunday morning at 10:30 am. We offer classes
for nursery/preschool, elementary aged children, and middle school and high school youth. The
preschool, elementary children, youth and one adult class use the Faithweaver Bible study
curriculum. Each class studies the same scripture in an age appropriate way, and the adults are
encouraged to engage the children and youth in conversation about their Bible lesson each week
September through May the elementary children are invited to GOLD (Giving Our Lives to God
Daily) directly following our midweek meal. This is a structured time of interactive activities that are
tied to the week’s Bible study lesson. Wednesday 5:30-7:00 pm
The youth group also meets at this time for fellowship, activities, and Bible study under the direction
of fulltime youth director, Annette Newcomb. They are a growing youth group with a focus on
building healthy and happy relationships and growing closer to God. Wednesday 5:30-8:00 pm
DAILY PRAYER FAMILIES-PLEASE PRAY THIS WEEK FOR:
Prayer List
Please help us keep this list updated.
Let us know of additions and/or deletions.
We pray for those in mourning: Let us remember in
prayer those who are mourning the death of loved ones.
Family Night
We pray for those who are homebound: Barbara Ware;
Stella
Aggers;
Betty
Throop;
Jack
Bowker;
Carolyn Bourne; Saundra Gee; Joan Fuller; Delma Jackson; Eva Roberts;
Virginia Brown; Beth Purvis; Ann Harlin
Please join us for Church Family Night this Wednesday,
October 22nd for a delicious home-cooked meal.
Program: Pastor Bruce Taylor speaking on CROPWALK
Cost is $5/person and $10/family. Guests eat free.
Please invite family, friends, and neighbors!
We pray for those who are undergoing tests, treatments, rehabilitation and
recovering from surgery: Ann Salmons; Telle Miner; Agnes Hatlelid;
Sharon Uhlig; Nancy Cool; Pat Keast; Floyd Griggs; Frances Elenburg; Scott
Dewey
We pray for those in need of prayer: Suzan Walsh (daughter of Pat Tebrinke);
Bill Majors; Kyrsten (step-daughter of Lou Ann Bush); Mavis Robison; Fred &
Peggy Lyon; Summer Flegler; Karen Mannino; Andrea Lambert; Ray and
Annette (neighbors of Lou Ann Bush); Wendy (neighbor of Lou Ann Bush);
Cathie Huddleston (daughter of Donna Miller)
Children and Youth Sunday School and Activities
at First Presbyterian Church
We pray for those in military service to our country: WO2 Nathan Smith
and family, USA (nephew of Mary Ann Holt); Major Keith O'Halloran
and family, USAF, (nephew of Mary Ann Holt); Capt. Jacob Lynes (White
Sands Military Reservation, New Mexico) (grandson of Chip & Jody Whipple);
Specialist Jason Paynter; Cadet Carol Southard (Air Force Academy)
(daughter of Mark and Laura); Capt. David James (son of Jack and Bonita); Capt.
Maren Lowrey (granddaughter of Betty); all the women and men serving our
country in the military.
We pray for the victims of natural disasters: the people who continue to recover
from the numerous natural disasters, all those affected by the drought,
and everyone still affected by various hurricanes and tornados.
We pray for our community, state, country and world: people all over the U.S.
suffering from one disaster or another; our world leaders; for the US congress, unity
and cooperation among the churches in our city, our state, and our country.
PRINTED SONGS ARE UNDER LICENSE CCLI#321348
and make us wholly your own.
We ask this in the name of Jesus,
who lived and lives in loyalty to you.
(Silent confession)
Amen.
ORDER OF WORSHIP
SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 19, 2014 – 9:00 A.M.
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON (concludes with…)
Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME
PRELUDE
“Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts”
Walford Davies
GREETING AND CONCERNS OF THE CHURCH (Please sign the friendship register and pass
it on to those seated beside you. Then, as it is returned, note the names of fellow worshipers
in order to offer them a personal greeting at the close of worship.)
*CONGREGATIONAL INTROIT
The Doxology (Hymn No. 592)
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.
“For the Fruit of All Creation”
CONFESSION OF SIN AND PRAYER FOR PARDON (Unison)
Merciful God,
you have declared through prophets and saints
your will that we should have no other gods before you,
but we confess that
we have bowed down to many altars—
popularity, pleasure, prudence, patriotism.
We have thought that
we could compartmentalize our life and our allegiances,
and we have sometimes regarded your claim
as simply one of many loyalties.
Forgive our unfaithfulness, O God,
*indicates assembly may stand
CARIBBEAN
*THE PEACE
Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
OLD HUNDREDTH
PROCLAIMING GOD’S WORD
SHARING THE GOOD NEWS WITH YOUNG DISCIPLES
THE COLLECT
FIRST READING: Exodus 33:12-23 After the incident of the golden calf, Moses asks God for
assurance that God will accompany Israel; God promises to pass by Moses in dazzling glory,
but to hide Moses in the cleft of a rock so that Moses will not perish from looking upon the
face of God.
*CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 24:1-2)
The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
We are gathered to worship God.
*HYMN No. 36
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE
“Halle, Halle, Halle”
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! (Repeat)
AR HYD Y NOS
SECOND READING: Romans 13:1-7 Paul admonishes the Roman Christians to be good
citizens, subject to the authorities in things that are appropriate, including payment of taxes,
since God’s purpose is achieved through human agents and governments.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
VOCAL OFFERING:
“How I Love Your Word”
Mark Hayes
Brad Newcomb, Soloist
*GOSPEL READING: Matthew 22:15-22 When Pharisees try to trap Jesus by asking whether it
is lawful to pay the census tax with a coin bearing the emperor’s image, Jesus answers that
God and the earthly authorities are both entitled to what is due them.
This is the gospel of our Lord.
All praise to our Christ.
SERMON:
“The Things That Are God’s”
Dr. Taylor
RESPONDING TO THE WORD
*HYMN No. 343
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
GERMANY
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (Unison, from A Declaration of Faith)
Throughout its history the church has struggled
to be faithful to God in political situations:
under persecution,
or as an established arm of the state,
or in separation from it.
God rules over both political and religious institutions.
We must confuse neither with the kingdom of God.
We must not equate the Christian faith
with any nation’s way of life
or with opposition to the ideologies of other nations.
We hold Christians are to be law-abiding citizens
unless the state commands them to disobey God,
or claims authority that belongs only to God.
We must not allow governments
to impose Christian faith by legislation,
nor should we demand undue advantages for the church.
The church must be free to speak to civil authorities,
neither claiming expert knowledge it does not have,
nor remaining silent when God’s Word is clear.
THE OFFERING
Prayer of Dedication
Offertory
“Blessed Jesus, We Are Here”
*Congregational Response
“We Give Thee But Thine Own”
We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be:
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee. Amen.
POSTLUDE
J. S. Bach
WINDERMERE
J. S. Bach
The Ponca City CROP Walk Against Hunger will be held next Sunday afternoon, October 26.
Following registration here at the church at 1:30 PM, the walk begins at 2:00. If you would like
to participate by walking or rocking (rocking chair) and seeking sponsors to contribute in support
of your participation, please see Dr. Taylor for a fundraising envelope. Or, participate by
sponsoring a walker or rocker. The walking route will be a 4 mile trip up Fourteenth Street and
back to the church through the Marland Mansion grounds. We walk rain or shine, since so many
of the world’s hungry must walk long distances daily regardless of the weather in order to find
food and clean water. Thank you for taking a big step toward combating the indignity of hunger.
25% of the proceeds will be donated to the New Emergency Resource Agency.
NOTES:
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.
GOING IN GOD’S NAME
“God of the Fertile Fields”
“Prelude in A Minor”
HOLY WOMEN, HOLY MEN
October 22 – Paul Tillich (d. 1965), teacher and theologian, was born in a Polish town that was
then a part of Germany. An ordained Lutheran minister, he was teaching at the University of
Frankfurt when his public lectures and speeches criticizing the Nazi movement resulted in the
loss of his position when Hitler became chancellor. Impressed with his writing, Reinhold
Niebuhr persuaded him to accept a faculty position at Union Theological Seminary in New
York. Through a series of books that synthesized Protestant Christian theology with
existential philosophy and introduced issues of theology and modern culture to a general
readership, he became one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION
*HYMN No. 714
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE
“Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing”
(Hymn No. 546, stanza 2)
Thanks we give and adoration
for your gospel’s joyful sound;
may the fruits of your salvation
in our hearts and lives abound.
Ever faithful ever faithful
to your truth may we be found.
ITALIAN HYMN
Tha
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Dr. Bruce L. Taylor, Pastor
1505 East Grand Avenue, Ponca City, Oklahoma 74604
www.fpcponca.org
Office Telephone: (580) 762-2431 Pastor’s Residence: (580) 762-1377
YOU ARE WELCOME to First Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.). Worship is our primary response to God. We hope that you find our worship service
inspiring and our time together cordial. Please join us for fellowship and refreshments in the
Fellowship Hall, which is at the north end of our building.
If you are a visitor, we invite you to provide your name, address, and telephone number on our
fellowship register so that we can be in touch to thank you personally for being with us today.
Christ calls us into community. There are many ways of serving God through this community of
faith—ushering, teaching, singing in the choir or playing a musical instrument, serving on a committee
or task group, or engaging in evangelism and mission outreach.
If you have any questions about your faith, our church or the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or
wish to explore membership with this congregation, please see me following worship today or
contact me at the church number or my residence telephone listed above.
We are honored by your presence this morning.
Blessings,
Bruce L. Taylor, Pastor
The scripture readings for next Sunday, the Nineteenth Sunday after
Pentecost and Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, are Deuteronomy
34:1-12; Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; and Matthew 22:34-46.
HYMN NOTES: “For the Fruit of All Creation” – While attending a conference of the Methodist
Music Society of Great Britain, Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) heard British organist Francis
Jackson’s tune EAST ACKLAM and, at the suggestion of hymnologist John Wilson, wrote “Harvest
Hymn” to go with the music. The tune had been written by Jackson (b. 1917) to accompany the
hymn “God that Madest Earth and Heaven” as an alternative for the tune AR HYD Y NOS with which it
had customarily been paired, but the change never caught on, and the tune might well have been lost
were it not for Green’s hymn. Green’s text appeared in The Methodist Recorder in August 1970, with
a footnote stating that permission for use would be granted upon application to the author. Within a
few weeks, Green had received 125 requests for use of his hymn from all over the world, and, by
1982, it had already appeared in fourteen hymnals. The Presbyterian Hymnal included the hymn with
the EAST ACKLAM setting, but, as happened with “God that Madest Earth and Heaven”, Jackson’s tune
has been left behind in the new Presbyterian hymnal Glory to God, which has Green’s text set to AR
HYD Y NOS. That traditional Welsh melody was published in the first edition of Edward Jones’s
Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1784) for solo and harp variations, with the refrain
“Ar hyd y nos” (“the livelong night”). The harp is the national instrument of Wales, associated with
poetry and bards. When he retired in 1969, Green, a Methodist minister in England, had planned to
do pastels, but, when he accepted the invitation to help prepare a supplement to the Methodist HymnBook, he began writing hymns, which occupied most of the rest of his life.
ADULT EDUCATION Today (10:30 AM):
FAITHWEAVER STUDY FOR ADULTS – The Bible study, related to the lectionary readings
and paralleling the scriptural basis of the children’s classes for the same day, meets on the lower
level in the Multi-Purpose Room. Steve Ernst leads the study.
CURRENT EVENTS – Jolene Ebbert leads the discussion of current events and the way in
which our always-changing world affects us as Christians, in the Parlor.
A DECLARATION OF FAITH – “The Word of God”. When the “Northern” and “Southern”
churches reunited in the 1980s, the General Assembly of the PC(USA) approved the Southern
church’s contemporary statement of faith for use in worship and instruction. Innovative in format
and comprehensive in its content, the Declaration is particularly suitable for liturgical use, dealing
with many themes represented in scripture and sermon. It is the confessional statement from
which our Sunday morning affirmation of faith is most often selected. In this session, we will
study the chapter on “The Word of God”, which, in keeping with Reformed understanding, points
to Christ as the living Word, the ultimate authority for what God wants us to believe and do. Dr.
Taylor leads the class, meeting in Room B-9 (lower level).
ADULT EDUCATION This Monday (7:00 PM):
1 CORINTHIANS – Mark Southard continues a reading and discussion of Paul’s first letter
to the Christian congregation in Corinth. The class meets on the lower level in Room B-9
(lower level).
ADULT MID-WEEK STUDY This Wednesday (7:00 PM):
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM – We conclude a fivepart series on the history and basic beliefs of Islam, the religion embraced by more than
twenty percent of the world’s population. Many people of faith believe that it is their task to
disseminate their faith in the world—a concern especially vital to Muslims and Christians
alike, both followers of missionary religions. Living apart from each other, the two groups of
believers almost inevitably developed a sense of being rivals, even enemies, as each sought to
spread its faith in the world, viewing the globe as a place of spiritual contest. Must we be
adversaries? The study is held in Room B-9 (lower level).
ADULT MID-WEEK STUDY This Thursday (2:30 PM):
THE BOOK OF CONFESSIONS – “The Westminster Confession”. We continue our
study of the Book of Confessions with a look at the Westminster Confession, the confessional
document that has been the official theological authority in the American Presbyterian church
for most of its history, and continues to be part of its constitution. Here is Presbyterianism’s
most vigorous articulation of predestination and the authority of scripture from the (brief) era
of Presbyterian dominance in Britain. The importance of the entire Book of Confessions is
witnessed to by the fact that all Presbyterian church officers commit themselves to be led and
instructed by it as they lead the people of God. “Late-comers” are welcome to join in the
class which meets in Room B-9 on the lower level.