February 23, 2025
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany (Green)
Prayer Focus: A Forgiving Heart
Welcome to worship at Central!
In the name of Jesus Christ, welcome to worship at Central where it is our mission to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors. Our clergy, Rev. Thomas Smith, Rev. Dr. Ann Kovan, and Rev. Meg Jiunnies, are grateful you’ve chosen to make Central a part of your day. If it is your first time worshiping with us, please fill out a Connect Card and bring it to the Welcome Center where you will receive a gift from the church. Once again, welcome!
Celebration of Baptism
Today we joyfully share in the Christian baptism of John Leo Capotosti III. Leo is the son of Cameron and Lee Capotosti and the grandson of Martha Bridgeman, Sterling and Jeff Zalewski, and John Capotosti.
Lenten & Easter Greenery
The season of Lent is rapidly approaching, followed by the glorious time of Easter. Our sanctuary is always beautiful during this season thanks to the generosity of members who donate greenery or lilies in honor or memory of loved ones. Several members have already designated gifts of greenery, but there are still a few things remaining. If you would like to furnish the palms for our children to wave on Palm Sunday, the garland for the cross, or the lily arrangements for Easter Sunday, please contact Shay Justice (sjustice@centralmethodist.net or 843-662-3218).
Altar Flowers
The flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God and in memory of Betty Searcy by David Searcy, Steve and Gail Searcy, and Mary and Brian Falcone.
PARISH CONCERNS
(The service of worship begins. The prelude is offered to the entire congregation. Quiet meditation and private prayer are encouraged.)
OPENING VOLUNTARY .................................................................................................
Daniel Ficarri
Prelude in D
*CHIMING OF THE HOUR
(*All who are able are asked to stand.)
*GREETING
Leader: Take delight in the Lord, who satisfies the desires of your heart.
People: Commit your way to the Lord and trust in God’s actions.
Leader: Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for God.
People: The Lord is our salvation and our refuge in times of trouble.
*HYMN IN PROCESSION 126 ...........................................................................
Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above COLLECT
MIT FREUDEN ZART
God of abundant mercy, you alone can turn evil into good, sorrow into rejoicing, and death into everlasting life. Teach us your way of grace–to meet hatred with kindness, to answer curses with blessings, to love without holding back, to give without thought of return; all in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray:
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, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
RITUAL OF FRIENDSHIP
SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 39 ......................................................................................
Leo Capotosti son of Cameron and Lee Capotosti
(Following the profession of faith on page 41, we will sing the Gloria Patri on page 71.)
MUSIC FOR BAPTISM .................................................................... English Melody, arr. Martin Shaw All Things Bright and Beautiful
PROCLAMATION
*GOSPEL
Leader: The Word of the Lord! People: Thanks be to God!
God’s Word is Shared
Greater Love Hath No Man
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. Love is strong as death. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
EPISTLE LESSON ................................................................................... 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50
Leader: The Word of the Lord! People: Thanks be to God!
*ACT OF PRAISE 772.......................................................................................................... Psalm 37:1-11
CHILDREN’S TIME
(Children are invited to the chancel. Following Children’s Time, children in 3K-1st grade will go with a leader to Children’s Church and may be picked up in room #145 or #147 after the service.)
Where Charity and Love Prevail
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON ...................................................................................... Genesis 50:15-21
Leader: The Word of the Lord! People: Thanks be to God!
SERMON .......................................................................................................................
Rev. Tom Pietila God Meant It for Good PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
OFFERTORY SOLO ...................................................................................................
Felix Mendelssohn O Rest In the Lord (from “Elijah”)
O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him, And He shall give thee thy hearts desires. Commit thy way to Him, and trust in Him, and fret not thyself because of evil doers. O rest in the Lord, and wait, wait patiently for Him.
*DOXOLOGY 95 ..................................................................................................................... OLD 100th Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Assisting in Worship
Preacher .............................................................................................................................
Tom Pietila
Jiunnies
Jiunnies
Don Grice
Ashlei Jones
Wilson and Zanye Curry
Drayton Lee, Henry Love
Music Note
The anthem Greater Love Hath No Man by John Ireland (1879-1962) was commissioned in 1912 for Charles Macpherson, the sub-organist of St Paul’s Cathedral. Intended as a meditation for Passiontide, Greater Love Hath No Man drew its text from a compilation of scriptural passages in Daily Light on the Daily Path, a series of booklets containing Bible readings which Ireland used to observe on a regular basis. The anthem rapidly gained currency in cathedrals and church choirs and, with the outbreak of war in 1914, its text gained a special resonance as the casualties from the front mounted. Ireland discovered that his anthem inadvertently resonated with a wider national mood.