Kinderhook Reformed Church Worship May 7, 2017

“To Know Christ and to Make Him Known”

Rev. Rudy Visser, Pastor

 A warm welcome to visitors.  We invite you to sign our Guest Book

 in the entranceway and fill out a pew card and place it in the offering plate.

8:30 A.M.  CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP

  Announcements, The Lord’s Greeting, and Morning Prayer

*Morning Praise

  Scripture Reading                                                                              1 Peter 2:19-25 (p. 858)

  Message                                                                                                   “God Be My Justice”

  Sacrament of Communion

  Offering and Prayer of Blessing

  Intercessory Prayer

*Closing Hymn and Benediction

10:00 A.M.  CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP

Thanks to today’s ushers, Dave Ennis, Johnathan Pratt, Chuck Rothermel.

Thanks to today’s greeters.      

 Nursery facility available downstairs.

Following worship, all are invited downstairs for fellowship and refreshments.

  Prelude                                                 Rhosymedre                        Ralph Vaughan Williams

  Welcome and Announcements

Drawing Near to God

  Call to Worship, Hymn #86 (Verses 1 & 2)                               We Come, O Christ, to You

  God's Greeting

*Hymn of Praise #52                                                             I Sing the Mighty Power of God

Allowing God to Shape Us

  Summary of The Law of God                                                                    Matthew 22:34-40

  Prayer of Confession (Unison)

O Lord God, we so often turn away from you, and when our shortcomings are exposed to your light, we are so used to hiding from you. We forget your mercy so easily, O God, and become foreigners to your grace. Our sin and the world’s claim on our lives makes us deaf to your call to come into and abide with the light. Still, from the darkness of our hiding places, we look for you. Forgive, we pray, our shameful abandonment, and draw us back once again into the brightness of your holy, life-giving presence.

  Assurance of Pardon

Revelation 13:8 proclaims that Jesus is “the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” In light of this, we know that God’s forgiveness for sin is infinite, eternal, free, and available to all who ask. Go and live the new life in Christ that awaits us every day, for through him we are reconciled to God. Amen.

Coming before God’s Open Word

  Prayer of Blessing upon Our Children  (Unison)

Lord Jesus, lead our children into an understanding that you willingly offered   yourself up to suffering and death so that they might be righteous in the sight of God and enjoy abundant life with you for all eternity.  Amen.  

  Prayer for Illumination and Scripture Reading                           1 Peter 2:19-25 (p. 858)

  Message                                                                                                   “God Be My Justice”

  Prayer of Thanksgiving and Moment of Silent Reflection

Silent Prayer for Those Seeking to Accept Christ as Their Savior:

"Dear Jesus, I confess that I'm a sinner, and I admit that I am not right with you. I repent and ask your forgiveness.  I believe that you died on the cross to take my punishment and to pay the price for my offences.  I believe that you rose from death to give me new life. Wash me clean, Jesus, from all sin, shame, and guilt, and come into my heart as my Lord and Savior.  In your name I pray.  Amen."

Celebrating God, His Abundance, and His Care

    Sacrament of Communion 

                                       THE MEANING OF THE SACRAMENT

The holy supper reminds and assures us that we share in Christ's one sacrifice on the cross and in all his benefits in this way:  Christ has commanded all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance of him. With this command come these promises:  First, as surely as we see with our eyes the bread of the Lord broken for us, and the cup shared with us, so surely his body was offered and broken for us, and his blood poured out for us on the cross.  Second, as surely as we receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with our mouths the bread and cup of the Lord given as sure signs of Christ's body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes our souls for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.           

                                             Based on The Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 75

and Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25

                                                           THE INVITATION

This is the feast of the Lord’s Table, in which all who profess the Lordship of Christ in their lives are invited to share.  Come, for all things are now ready.

COMMUNION HYMN OF EXHORTATION #103 (Verses 1 & 3)   Ye Servants of God

Let us lift up our hearts and give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is holy and right to lift up our hearts and give God thanks and praise.

It is with joy that we give thanks to you in all times and places, Almighty and Everlasting God. You have shown the fullness of your love by sending to us Jesus Christ our Lord, made flesh for us, for our salvation, and for reconciliation with you.  For this precious gift of your Son, we worship and sing praise to you, O God:

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth, and sky, and sea.

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

                                                 THE COMMUNION PRAYER

Most righteous God, we remember in this Supper the perfect sacrifice offered once on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sin of the whole world.  In the joy of his resurrection and expectation of his coming again, send your Holy Spirit upon us, that we may offer ourselves to you as holy and living sacrifices, and proclaim this mystery of the faith:

Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!

As this grain and these grapes are gathered from many fields and hills into one loaf and one cup, to be to us the communion of the body and blood of Christ, grant also that your whole Church may be joined together in him, attain unity in the faith, and soon be gathered from the ends of the earth into your Kingdom. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! And now, as Christ taught us, we pray together:

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.

                                                                  THE COMMUNION

The Lord Jesus, the same night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me."

                                                   (Distribution of the bread)

The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ.

After the same manner also, he took the cup when they had supped, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

                                                     (Distribution of the cup)

The cup of blessing which we bless is the communion of the blood of Christ.

HYMN OF PRAISE after COMMUNION #72 (Verses 1 & 2)         To God Be the Glory

  Offering/Offertory                  Praeludium I in g minor, op. 16                Clara Schumann

*Doxology #809                                                   Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

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.

  Offertory Prayer  (Unison)

Lord, with the presentation of these tithes and gifts we tell the good news of how, through the gift of yourself, you have dealt generously with us, met our needs, heard our prayers, and proved that your goodness is from everlasting to everlasting. Bless these offerings which are given in the name of Christ, Amen.

  Pastoral Prayer

*Hymn of Blessing #700                                                                          We Are God's People

*Benediction, Blessing, and Response Hymn           My Friends May You Grow in Grace

  My friends, may you grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

My friends, may you grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

 To God be the glory, now and forever, now and forever, amen. (2x)    

Postlude                                    Fuga I in g minor, op. 16                             Clara Schumann

~STOP HUNGER NOW FOOD-PACKAGING EVENT SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER~ 

Stop Hunger Now, which has recently rebranded itself “Rise Against Hunger,” packages and ships food and 
life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable people and works to end global hunger in our lifetime.  Since 
meal-packaging events began in 2005, over 500,000 volunteers have been engaged in this work, and over 225 
million meals have been provided in 74 countries.  This year, nearly 60 million meals will be packaged by more 
than 350,000 volunteers, and will be distributed in needy locations around the world to nourish more than a 
half-million lives.  In addition, $15 million in donated medicines, medical supplies, clothes, soap, and solar 
lights will be shipped to at least 37 countries.  A RISE AGAINST HUNGER FOOD-PACKAGING EVENT IS AN 
IMMENSELY-REWARDING EXPERIENCE OF EASY, HANDS-ON WORK, FUN, AND FELLOWSHIP THAT YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS!  
A group of 40 to 50 volunteers (any age) can package over 10,000 meals in just two hours.  Our local packaging 
event will take place Saturday, September 9, at the Kinderhook Town Hall (formerly Martin H. Glynn school) on 
Church Street in Valatie, during which we hope to pack 20 – 30 thousand meals.  Plan to save this date on your 
calendar and to lend a helping hand to this extraordinary ministry. Donation baggies and canisters are now 
available on the back table of the sanctuary to take home for saving up your contributions, and you are 
encouraged to take canisters to work or to businesses willing to display them. A donation of 29¢ buys one meal, 
$29 one hundred meals, $290 one thousand meals.  

REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR

• those who do not know Christ or who are struggling in their faith journey. Pray also that God will provide opportunities for us to witness for Jesus, and give us the courage and winsome words needed to make the most of these opportunities.
• Rev. Paige Convis, KRC’s associate pastor, as she fulfills her ministerial duties as full-time pastor to the Muitzeskill and Stuyvesant Reformed Churches.
• KRC ministries, programs & projects and those planning & administering them: KRC’s Consistory; KRC’s administrative ministries; Adult and Children’s Sunday School; KRC’s Youth Group; KRC’s small group ministries and Bible studies; Community Prayer Group; 1st Friday, and other outreach programs.
• our state, national, and world leaders, especially President Donald Trump and all of the new government officials now in office, that God will grant them the leadership skills, wisdom, and the personal protection needed to govern effectively and safely.
• our military men & women, their families, and friends, that they may know God’s presence, protection, and peace, especially Jason Lansing serving in South Korea.
• victims world-wide suffering natural and other hardships and tragedies: famine, earthquakes, and other climate-related disasters; economic instability; poverty, hunger, and poor health; political oppression, unrest, terrorism, war, displacement.
• those grieving the death of loved ones, especially: the extended family of Ellen Lawrence, cousin of Deborah Spaulding, grieving Ellen’s death Wednesday, as well as the death of Ellen’s brother, Ken, this past February; Michele Fuchs, co-worker of Nancy Baker, and family grieving the passing Wednesday of Michele's mom, Valerie Molnar; family and friends grieving the recent death of Jim Bult, friend of the Bakers; the Bertram Family, especially Joy and her mother, Lois, grieving the recent death of father and husband, Stan Bertram.
• those who, even after many years, still hurt from the void left by loved ones who have passed on from this world.
• reassurance, peace, and dignity for loved ones nearing the close of this life.
• Ahtua Teo, now in rehab in Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City following a recent auto accident which left him paralyzed in both legs and one arm.
• those awaiting test results or surgery; recovering from surgery, injury, or illness; or chronically ill: Gail Schubert; the young South African boy recovering from a lion attack; Chris, Elize Visser’s dad; Annis and her young daughter; Valarie Molnar; Keith Niver; Betty Osborn; Darla and Jill; Lennox; Lynn; Rob; Virginia Rothermel; Maggie; Art Gross; Angie Rivera; Harriet Stockhoff; Ruth Edge; Jean Skipper; Floyd Haber; Paul Varga.
• those battling or recovering from cancer or in hospice care: J.B; Jen; Bill, Janet Smith's brother; Ronny; Ron Dick; Donna Scalera; Kim Helm; Carol Nel; Paul Osborn; Jeff Peter; Mark; Ann; Jill; Steve; Dorothy Wheeler.
• others facing challenges, stressful circumstances, and difficult decisions: Stacey Baker; Peggy and Fostera, mother and daughter of Keanya Meyer, experiencing special challenges.  Brianna; Libby Little-Saxton – Libby’s April Update is now available on the back table for pick-up; Cydney Rippel, Carly Rippel, Greg Clause Jr., and others as they face the challenges of a higher level of education or seek a career; Vince Beaudoin; the epidemic of addiction to heroin and other substances.
• residence-bound KRC family, George Clowe, and those caring for the elderly, displaced, disabled, or ill.

REMEMBER TO THANK & PRAISE GOD FOR

• Pastor Rudy Visser, our Spirit-filled minister and leader of vision, and for the Christ-centered messages God gives to Pastor each and every Sunday for the spiritual nourishment and growth of our church family.  Praise God also for the Visser Family’s safe return from month-long travels in South Africa visiting family and friends, and for the good times they experienced.
• the inspirational ministries of our guest preachers, Perry Jones, Tom McCrossan, John Bowen, and others who lead worship at KRC from time to time.
• those men and women who have served or are now serving our country, and those who have sacrificed their well-being and lives for the peace & liberties we enjoy.
• new KRC members recently received into fellowship. Please lift them up in your prayers as they join with us in ministry and fellowship.
• all those of KRC's family and friends who volunteer their time, talent, and energy so generously and so willingly to the various ministries and programs of our church, and who often do this quietly and selflessly behind-the-scenes with little notice or recognition.
• His provision for all of our basic life needs, and the wonderful ways God shows His love to us, especially during difficult times.

Elize Visser (4^th), Joan Clause (5^th), Sara Hartman (9^th),

 Brenda Longe (9^th), Tom Call (23^rd), Andrew Welcome (23^rd),

Phil Hurst (26^th), Liezl Visser (28^th), Anina Visagie (29^th),

 Jerry Flansburg (30^th)

COMING EVENTS

Today,   May 7

      8:30 am  Early Communion Worship Service

      9:45 am  Bible study, Book of Genesis, continues.

    10:00 am  Communion Worship Service and Children’s Sunday School

Mon,  May  8

      6:30 pm  Consistory meets

Tues,  May  9

      7:00 pm  KRC Youth Group meets

Wed,  May 10

      6:30 pm  Community Conversations @KRC, Follow-up Workshops

Thur, May 11

       9:00 am  Small Group continuing Bible-based study @KRC:

              Group continues a new Bible study, 1 & 2 Thessalonians

     10:00 am  Community Prayer Group @KRC

      7:00 pm  Bible study group meets, KRC main floor Conference Room

Sun,   May 21  Combined Service for Dedication of Restoration Work to Date

    10:00 am  Dedication Worship Service and Children’s Sunday School

Mon,  May 22

      6:30 pm  Outreach Ministry meets

Sun,   May 28  Children’s Sunday – Last Day of Sunday School

      8:30 am  Early Worship Service

      9:45 am  Bible study, Book of Genesis, continues.

    10:00 am  Worship Service, Sunday School students participating