Welcome & Key Info
- Community Brunch and Dinner | tsgeng.org/rsvp
- Return of TSG KIDS | tsgeng.org/rsvp
- Outside services through October | tsgeng.org/rsvp
- Generosity | tsgeng.org/give
Generosity Prayer
All that we have we have received from God. We bring nothing into this world and we take nothing out of it. We choose to follow the way of Jesus and increase in generosity until it can be said, ”there is no one in need among us.” We choose to be faithful stewards of all our resources: relationships, time, possessions, and money. We choose to be generous because our Father is generous, and as his daughters and sons we want to show the world what He is like.
FALL AFRESH
Awaken my soul, come awake
To hunger, to seek, to thirst
Awaken first love, come awake
And do as You did, at first
Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul
Pour in me to overflow
To overflow
Awaken my soul, come awake
To hunger, to seek, to thirst
Awaken first love, come awake
And do as You did, at first
Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul
Pour in me to overflow
Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul
Pour in me to overflow
To overflow
Come and fill this place
Let Your glory now invade
Spirit come and fill this place
Let Your glory now invade
Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul
Pour in me to overflow
To overflow
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Part 1
LEADER: Our Father, loving maker of heaven and earth, we come before you with a posture of gratitude for all you have created and all you are creating in, around, and through us. We open our hands and our hearts to what you have in store for us. We thank you for your love and mercy that gives us life; may the name of Jesus be blessed above all names!
EVERYONE: We love because you first loved us.
LEADER: We offer prayers for the leadership of our country. We pray that our President, Donald Trump, the women and men of Congress, and our Supreme Court justices would rule with diligence, fairness, and kindness. We pray that they would resist and oppose deceitfulness, divisiveness, and self interest.
EVERYONE: May they know the weight of their responsibility and the levity of your grace.
LEADER: We pray for our parish, the City of Englewood; for which we are taking spiritual and social responsibility.We pray for the business owners of our city who are rebuilding their businesses after the uprooting caused by the pandemic. We ask that you hold them up in their fatigue, grant them integrity in both public and private, and above all sustain them with your grace.
EVERYONE: May they be wise, kind, and gracious; cultivating love and generosity in this community.
LEADER: We pray for the mistreated in our parish; for those experiencing oppression and injustice on the basis of race, gender, and income. We pray against the spiritual and human systems, institutions, and laws that keep people down and hold people back.
EVERYONE: For the oppressed we pray for justice; for the oppressor we pray for repentance.
GREAT IS THY 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.
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 springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
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!
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!
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!
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Part 2
LEADER: We offer prayers for our friends and family; for our loved ones, those who have been given to us, and to whom we have been given: [NAME]
LEADER: Bless them by drawing them near to Christ.
EVERYONE: Bless them, keep them, and grant them peace.
LEADER: We lift up those who don’t know you, that you may reveal yourself to them with your pursuing love and adopt them as your daughters and sons: [NAME]
LEADER: Draw them near to you, oh Lord.
EVERYONE: Invite them into your family just as you have invited us.
LEADER: And for those we know who face particular trials and tests this day: [NAME]
LEADER: Grant them grace and peace, oh Lord.
EVERYONE: Satisfy them and free them from their troubles.
LEADER: Make us a people who move out towards our city, making disciples as you have commissioned us.
EVERYONE: Strip from us our complacency and apathy, which prevent us from joining you in establishing your kingdom and will in Englewood as it is in heaven.
LEADER: Now with all your people on earth, we pray the prayer that Jesus taught those he called brothers and sisters and friends.
EVERYONE: 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory; forever and ever, amen
DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav’nly hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen Amen Amen Amen
HOMILY | Nathan Hoag
“The opposite of poverty isn’t wealth, it’s justice.” — Brian Stevenson
Job 8
“How long will you say such things?
Your words are a blustering wind.
Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead with the Almighty,
if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your prosperous state.
Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.
“Ask the former generation
and find out what their ancestors learned,
for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
What they trust in is fragile[a];
what they rely on is a spider’s web.
They lean on the web, but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.
They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
Surely its life withers away,
and from the soil other plants grow.
“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”
Please trust me when I tell you that Jesus is real in suffering. Not in a “let go and let God” way. Because what does “let go” even mean pragmatically in a lived experience of loss and grief?
No, I mean in the actual darkest, pitch black night of the soul, there is a comfort in the weird, miraculous proximity of Jesus who loves us. He doesn’t even suggest “letting go and letting God” or give any sense of hustling through suffering.
God as Mother has brought so much comfort to me. I am less interested in STRENGTH and POWER and COURAGE and more hungry for quiet, patient nurture. Which I receive every single day.
So do you. This sort of divine proximity is not in a hurry. It is not uncomfortable with grief. — Jen Hatmaker
“He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.” ― Brother Lawrence
“Our tendency in the midst of suffering is to turn on God. To get angry and bitter and shake our fist at the sky and say, “God, you don’t know what it’s like! You don’t understand! You have no idea what I’m going through. You don’t have a clue how much this hurts.”The cross is God’s way of taking away all of our accusations, excuses, and arguments.The cross is God taking on flesh and blood and saying, “Me too.” ― Rob Bell
LAMENT & CONFESSION
LEADER: God of grace, you have always called your people to weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn;
We join our voices together today in lament, confession, and celebration for all that has been done and all that remains undone.
The effects of sin and brokenness are deep and wide: racism, sexism, abuse, economic disparity, violence, slavery and oppression of every kind.
Let’s take a few seconds to reflect on this question:
How have you recently observed the world or yourself to be incomplete, lacking, or broken?
May your grace and love heal with greater depth and width than any evil thing created or allowed by us.
LEADER: Lord, have mercy.
EVERYONE: Christ, have mercy.
LEADER: Most merciful God, we confess that we sinned against you, our neighbors, friends, family, and strangers by what we have done and what we have left undone.
Let’s take a few seconds to reflect on this question:
In what ways, internal or external, have you wronged another person, God, your environment, or yourself?
May your grace and love fill us and make us whole in spite of our propensity toward disobedience.
LEADER: Lord, have mercy.
EVERYONE: Christ, have mercy.
LEADER: Jesus, your yoke is easy and your burden is light. We are weary and we are broken.
EVERYONE: Will you stand in our place? Will you hold us up? Reconcile us with God, with our neighbor, and with ourselves, we pray.
The Blessing
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen
COMMUNION
The Bread
LEADER: The Lord is here
EVERYONE: His Spirit is with us.
LEADER: Lift up your hearts.
EVERYONE: We lift them to the Lord.
LEADER: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
EVERYONE: It is right to give Him thanks and praise
LEADER: We cling to the promise of the resurrection
EVERYONE: Christ Has Died, Christ Is Risen, Christ Will Come Again.
The Cup
LEADER: We celebrate with courage all You have done today And hold on to hope for all You will do tomorrow.
EVERYONE: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and forever shall be. World without end! Amen!
BENEDICTION
LEADER: Now receive the benediction
LEADER: All of us are guilty at one time or another of looking for relief and rest in all the wrong places. We are prone to expect our surrounding society, our friends and family, our job, and our successes to achieve that rest for us. But God is capable of satisfying us in a unique and abiding way. His presence is a healing salve during times of pain and suffering. May he be exactly that for you in your times of trial.
As you go about your week, may the peace of Christ go with you.
EVERYONE: And also with you!