Government Street Presbyterian Church Sunday, February 7, 2021 | 10am F i f t h S u n d ay a f t e r E p i p h a n y
Gathering
Art: Christ healing Peter’s mother-in-law by Rembrandt. Wherever you are worshiping today, we pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to you through the scripture, prayers, music, and sermon. We are called to worship by the promises of God in whom we place our faith and trust. Scripture and Hymn settings can be found on pages 7-9 of the bulletin. We invite you to reflect on the hymn texts as they are sung, and the Scriptures as they are read.
Prelude
Aria on a Chaconne
Joel Martinson
Chiming of the Hour Welcome
WESTMINSTER
Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar
Minute for Mission | PW
Bligh Jones
Call to Worship
from Isaiah 40
Have we not known? Have we not heard? Has it not been told to us since the beginning? Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Let us worship God!
Hymn 331
God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand
NATIONAL HYMN
Hymn 331—This hymn was generated by 19th-century Prayer of Confession unison centennial celebrations: the Everlasting God, you are the creator of all that is and your words by the Declaration of understanding is beyond measure. Independence and the music Though our wisdom is limited, by the adoption of the United we continue to follow our will rather than yours. States Constitution. Despite We have sinned against you and our neighbors. these origins, no specific nation is mentioned in this In your compassion, forgive us, hymn of praise and prayer for for we place our hope in your steadfast love. peace. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
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Assurance of Pardon Response | Hymn 581
Glory Be to the Father GLORIA PATRI
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
P roclaiming the Word In the Prayer for Illumination, we ask the Holy Spirit to be present with us as we hear God’s word read and preached. We seek to better understand God’s will so that we can follow Christ more faithfully.
Prayer for Illumination
Coleman Oswalt
First Reading
Isaiah 40:21-31
Children’s Sermon
Rev. Alexandra Hutson
The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven. Spiritual Song— One of and the power, approximately 6,000 spirituals Give us this day our daily bread; and the glory, forever. and forgive us our debts, or “sorrow” songs, Give Me Amen. Jesus was first published in “Slave Songs of the United Second Reading Mark 1:29-39 States” in 1867. Its date of “In the Morning” Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar composition is unknown as it Sermon was written by AfricanAmerican slaves. These songs w e r e c r e a t e d extemporaneously and passed Spiritual Song Give Me Jesus orally from person to person, Jacob Mohr, tenor arr. Robert Sterling being improvised as suited the singer; however, the oral In the morning when I rise. tradition of the slaves’ And when I am alone. ancestors (and the prohibition against slaves learning to read And when I come to die. or write) meant that the actual You can have all this world, but give me Jesus. number of songs is unknown.
Thanksgiving
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ď ˜Affirmation of Faith unison
Rev. Alexandra Hutson
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
Confessions define what we as a community believe, affirming our beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and about humanity, the church and the world. The Apostles’ Creed affirms the historical nature of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ and confirms the Trinitarian nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
Doxology | Hymn 607
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow OLD HUNDREDTH
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God all creatures here below. Praise God above ye Heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!
Offertory
Prayer of Intercession & Thanksgiving
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Sending Hymn 634 Hymn 634—This American gospel song became popular Benediction in England in the late 19th century, then returned to this Postlude country in the mid-20th century with the Billy Graham crusades. Its continuing popularity may well be due to the freedom from subjective considerations in its praise of God.
To God Be the Glory TRADITIONAL
Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar Improvisation on ‘Give Me Jesus’
arr. Watts
At the conclusion of the service, please leave in a distanced fashion without standing in or blocking the aisles. Celebrating in Worship Sami Anselmo Jacob Mohr
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Isaiah 40:21-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
23 who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God�?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
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Mark 1:29-39 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 And he
cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted prayed.
place, 36
and
And
there
he
and
his
Simon
companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 He answered, neighboring
“Let
us
towns,
go so
on
to
the
that
I
may
proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. 6
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CopyrightŠ Certificate Hymn settings, scripture, and other materials used by permission. Government Street Presbyterian Church CCLI# 11115660 Valid thru 10/31/2021 11
The Sanctuary Flowers are given by the Presbyterian Women to the glory of God and in loving memory of Laura Keith Durant, Rebecca Anderson Ivy, The Rev. Julia Parker Simmons, and Margaret “Tutter” Stairhime. 300 Government Street Mobile, Alabama 36602 251.432.1749 | gspcmobile.org Member PC(USA)
Staff REV. REBEKAH ABEL LAMAR Pastor & Head of Staff rebekah@gspcmobile.org REV. ALEXANDRA HUTSON Associate Pastor alexandra@gspcmobile.org TOMMY WATTS Director of Music & Organist Communications tommy@gspcmobile.org SAMANTHA ANSELMO Children’s Choir Director
KATY PARTRIDGE Office & Property Manager katy@gspcmobile.org
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Women’s Bible Study Tuesdays at 10AM via Zoom Contact: Laurie Shorter or Mary Elizabeth Perry Sunday Book Study Group Sundays at 12PM via Zoom Contact: Laurie Shorter Monday Book Study Group Mondays 2:30 p.m.– 3:30 (February 8—April 12) Presbyterian Women P.W. Circle & Bible Study Second Monday night of each month via Zoom (2/8, 3/8, 4/12, 5/10) Contact: Bligh Jones
DAWN HEARN Bookkeeper dawn@gspcmobile.org BARBARA WILLIAMS Hostess barbara@gspcmobile.org SHELIA SMITH Director of Food Services MARILYN MILLS Sexton ARTHUR LEWIS Sexton
@GSPCMOBILE 12