Kinderhook Reformed Church Worship Services

“To Know Christ and to Make Him Known”

Sunday, September 21, 2014 - Rev. Rudy Visser, Pastor

Rev. Tom McCrossan, Guest Preacher

Assistant Chaplain, City Mission of Schenectady

A warm welcome to visitors.  We would like to get to know you better

and 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 & God's Greeting

  Morning Prayer

*Morning Praise Hymn                                                            

  Scripture                                                                                 Matthew 14:13-21 (p. 692)
  Sermon                                                   “Feeding of the 5000 - More than a Miracle”

  Prayer of Blessing

  Offering

  Intercessory Prayer

*Closing Hymn                                                                           

*Benediction

10 A.M. CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP

All are invited to enjoy refreshments and fellowship downstairs in the Fellowship Room following today’s Worship service.

Ushers:  Ted Call, Jerry Flansburg, Glenn Warren, Chip Wood

Greeter(s): Courtney, Abigail, and Emily Wood     Preschool Nursery available downstairs.

Guest Organist: David Smith

  Prelude

  Announcements & God's Greeting

Drawing Near To God

  Prayer of Adoration  (Responsive)

O God, how great You are!  On the first day of the week we commemorate Your creation of the world and all that is in it.
       THANK YOU FOR THE LIGHT WHICH WAKES US MORNING BY MORNING,        

       AND FOR THAT GREATER LIGHT WHICH SHINES IN JESUS CHRIST.
O God, how great You are! 

On the first day of the week You raised Jesus from the dead.
       RAISE US WITH HIM TO A NEW QUALITY OF FAITH AND LIFE.
O God, how great You are!  Again on the first day of the week

You sent Your Spirit on Your disciples.
       HOW WE NEED YOUR HOLY SPIRIT! 

       RENEW YOUR SPIRIT IN US DAY BY DAY.
Make us one, Lord, in faithfulness to Jesus Christ who never fails us,

and who will come again in triumph.
       FILL US WITH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT, SO WE MAY HAVE AMONG US

       THE SAME MIND THAT WAS IN CHRIST JESUS,

 
May every knee bow down and every tongue confess Him Lord,

to the glory of Your name.
       ALLELUIA!  AMEN.

*Hymn #9                                                                                      Sing Praise to the Father

  Turning Our Hearts to God

  Confession  (Responsive)

PASTOR:   We have sinned against you and the people you love in thought,

word and deed; by what we have done and what we have left undone.

PEOPLE:   FORGIVE US WHEN THE FIRE OF YOUR SPIRIT TOUCHES US

AND WE QUENCH THE FLAME, AFRAID OF THE NEW LIFE IT MIGHT BRING.

PASTOR:   Forgive us when the wind of your Spirit blows and we close

the windows of our hearts, afraid the breeze will disrupt our ordered lives.

ALL:   GIVE US THE COURAGE TO OPEN OUR LIVES TO YOUR SPIRIT,

THAT WE MAY DREAM YOUR DREAMS AND FEEL YOUR STRENGTH

THAT CAN MAKE THOSE DREAMS REALITY.  IN THE NAME OF CHRIST, AMEN.

  Assurance of Pardon   Romans 8:31, 33-34, 38-39
  Way of God  Colossians 2:6-7; 3:23-24
 

Allowing God to Shape Us

  Prayer of Blessing upon Our Children  (Unison)

Great God, make your presence known to these children.  May they experience you and acknowledge you as a God of miracles – especially the miracles of their salvation and eternal life.  Amen. 

  Scripture                                                                                 Matthew 14:13-21 (p. 692)
  Sermon                                                   “Feeding of the 5000 - More than a Miracle”

  Prayer of Blessing 

  Offering and Offertory   

*Doxology and Offertory Prayer

  Pastoral Prayer and The Lord’s Prayer

*Hymn #522                                                                     Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

*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

~ HISTORY IN THE MAKING AS THREE CONGREGATIONS TAKE HANDS ~

After extensive prayer and discussion, the Consistories of the Kinderhook, Muitzeskill, and Stuyvesant Reformed Churches are meeting to pursue calling a pastor for rural ministry to serve the Muitzeskill and Stuyvesant churches.  Please pray for these congregations as they move forward, discerning God's will.  If you are interested in serving on a search committee, please contact a member of Consistory.

~Property Ministry Report~

The parsonage now has a new roof to replace one that had reached the limit of its reliability. It will be paid for with funds collected last spring from our insurance company for that half of the roof damaged by hail, from any donations given by those who choose to support this necessary upgrade in church property, or from the general fund of the church.

WORKING TOGETHER TO END WORLD HUNGER.

   Around the world, more than 868 million people lack adequate food, and more than 25.000 die each day from hunger related illnesses.

     Stop Hunger Now meal packing events are volunteer based programs that compile highly nutritious dehydrated meals of rice, soy, vegetables, flavoring and 21 essential vitamins and minerals.  Stop Hunger Now provides millions of nutritious meals and other life saving aid to children and families all over the world.  Stop Huger Now collaborates with existing development efforts in vulnerable communities to provide meals to places such as schools, orphanages, nurseries and medical clinics.  Each meal costs just 25 cents and a group of 60 volunteers can package 15,000 meals in just 2 hours.  That's where you come in!

OUR GOAL IS 15,000 MEALS!

 For 2014 our goal at the Kinderhook Reformed Church is 15,000 meals!  That means 2 things: 

  1.  We need 15,000 quarters ($3,750) to pay for the meals.  

  2.  We need  at least 60 volunteers, unloaders & food packers of all ages to complete this mission!

WE NEED YOU!

     OUR PACKING EVENT WILL BE HELD THIS COMING SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014 AT 1 PM.  You and your church or organization can help raise funds and/or participate in the packing day!  Please join us as we gather together with STOP HUNGER NOW to be the hands and feet of Christ in this mission to feed the hungry!  For more information or to sign up to volunteer please contact the church at 518-758-6401 or krc@fairpoint.net   (Please send any funds raised to the church by September 15th so that we may confirm the number of meals we will be packing on the 27th!  If we raise more money we can pack more meals!)

Dear members of the Kinderhook Reformed Church,

       I am working with the KRC Cemetery Committee for my Eagle Project.  My project consists of designing and constructing the new Columbarium within the cemetery.  I will be installing the fence, which will define the perimeter of the Columbarium.  If you feel a calling to my project and would like to contribute to its completion, it would be greatly appreciated.  Donations may be made to the KRC Cemetery with "fence" in the memo.       

                                       Thanking you in the name of Jesus Christ,      Will Carroll

ON THE BACK TABLE

● NEW KRC DIRECTORY – Some directories are still on the back table. They are labeled in alphabetical order by family name, and if you have not yet picked yours up, please remember to do so today.

● KRC CHURCH ADMINISTRATIVE MINISTRIES – KRC’s administrative ministries are looking for additional members to assist them in fulfilling their designated functions, and you are urged to prayerfully consider participating in one of these ministries.  Sign-up sheets are available on the back table.

● “LET’S PRAY – Talking to God with the Words of the Bible” BOOKLETS – Pick up your free copy today from the back table.

● COLUMBIA COUNTY ACTIVITY/DINING GUIDE BOOKLETS – Pick up your free copy today from the back table.

HAPPY SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY!

Jane Deane (1^st), Donna Flansburg (5^th), Morgan Hickman (5^th),

Tana Thompson (6^th), Abigail Wood (6^th), Gordie Van Buren (11^th -

Gordie is celebrating his 88^th birthday!),  John Bosquet-Morra (13^th),

Dawn Van Buren (20^th), Sophie Barmen (22^nd), Phil Sherman (23^rd),

 Bob Wildermuth (23^rd), Nancy Baker (26^th), Barry Knights, (28^th),

Chuck Rothermel (30^th)

REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR

• those who do not know Christ, or who are struggling in their faith, especially: Brian, who is also experiencing disabling health issues; and Craig.
• KRC programs & projects and those planning & administering them: adult and children’s Sunday School; KRC’s youth; small group ministries; adult Bible studies; Community Prayer Group; outreach programs. 
• KRC’s Consistory members and administrative ministries, chairpersons, and supporting members.
• our military men & women, their families, and friends, that they may know God’s presence, protection, and peace.
• survivors of warfare, terrorism, violence, and natural and other disasters worldwide, especially those in Syria, Iraq, other areas of the Middle East, and in our own country, that they may be blessed with God’s peace and the reassurance that he is in control.
• our state and national leaders, that God will grant them the leadership skills, wisdom, and the personal protection needed to govern effectively and safely.
• those, especially children, suffering poverty and hunger; abuse; exploitation; neglect; family hostility.
• family and friends grieving the death of loved ones: the Tuttle and Carroll families grieving the sudden death of Chris Tuttle, 43, of Saranac Lake – remember especially his wife, Heather and their four children, and his father and mother, Frank and Nora Tuttle.
• Alan Dick, who is now on oxygen supplement around the clock.  Please pray that Alan will know God's comfort, strength, and reassurance as he adjusts to this new regimen.
• Brother Arnold, Shaker friend of Suzy Nieman, who suffered two broken ankles and numerous broken bones in both feet in a recent fall from a hay wagon.  These injuries have come at a critical moment in his leadership role among the three remaining Shaker communities. Please pray for a speedy recovery for Brother Arnold, and that he will be blessed with God's wisdom.
• Susan Lamont and kids, that they will find a suitable home & strength in hard times. 
• Zoe, friend of Sue Patterson; pray that Zoe will respond well to radiation and chemo therapies she is undergoing to reduce the size of an inoperable brain tumor.
• those battling or recovering from cancer: Jean; Edward Giordano; Glen; Karen; 2-year-old Logan; Sandy; Bridget; Charlie Ropollo; Donna Scalera.
• those awaiting test results or surgery; recovering from surgery, injury, or illness;  chronically ill; or in hospice care: Doris Schmeider; Morgan Hickman; Maureen Mooney; Andrew McDermott; Jennifer and her unborn baby; Joan Clause; Vicky Metzger; Jane Smith; Susan Lamont’s Aunt Sylvia; Phil Morse, brother of Kay Haber; Blanch Rogers, mother of Diane Morgan; Kate, sister of Maureen Mooney; Dawn Tuttle; Baby Ellie LaTorre; Isabelle Bosquet-Morra; Liz Carroll; Ruth Edge; Laurie (Dunham) Maul; Paul Varga; Florence Rivera.
• those facing challenges, stressful circumstances, and difficult decisions: Bill,  Abby, and Christopher, dealing with unspoken personal issues; the Heimroth Family;  Holly and Marc Morales, daughter and son-in-law of Paul and Joan Clause, as Marc is experiencing serious issues with his employment - pray for God's wisdom for Marc as he faces challenging decisions, and for peace and reassurance for Holly during this stressful time; Amber and others as they face the challenges of beginning their college education - pray that God will bless them with wisdom in all of the many choices, and decisions that they are facing; Cliff, desperately in need of prayers; Greg and Lisa, fighting addictions; Christians everywhere who are suffering persecution; Libby Little.
• those who are traveling.
• reassurance and peace for our loved ones who are nearing the close of this life; those caring for the elderly, displaced, disabled, or ill.
• our residence-bound members Gordie Van Buren, Murray Leonardson, and Joan Van Alstyne.

REMEMBER TO THANK & PRAISE GOD FOR

• Pastor Rudy Visser, our Spirit-filled minister and leader of vision.
• 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.
• the blessing of a safe and decent car for Susan Lamont and her children.
• the good news that, on his 88th birthday, Gordie Van Buren is doing very well.  Pray that Gordie will continue to remain strong and healthy enough to remain in his home and do the things he loves to do.
• the good report that Doris Schmeider, mother of Claudia March, has recovered sufficiently from injuries received in a recent fall to be discharged from the hospital to Whittier Rehab.  Please continue your prayers for a complete recovery for Doris.
• Mary, friend of Erika Johnson, who recovered from a recent near-death experience; please continue to pray for Mary's return to complete spiritual and physical health.
• Dr. Rick, colleague of Merrill Johnson, who has recovered completely from a recent near-death experience and has returned to a full work schedule.
• Missionary Betty Ann Stedwell and Christar International Mission's work around the world; please continue to pray especially for their ministry in the Middle East and for those in that war-torn part of the world to whom they minister.
• the many dedicated and hard-working friends and members of the Kinderhook Reformed Church Family who serve on Consistory, church ministries, and committees; teach Sunday School; lead Youth Group, Bible studies, and prayer group; organize and carry out special church events; prepare food, serve, and clean up for coffee hours, receptions, and dinners; and who are always ready to offer whatever help and support they can to those in need.
• all His provisions for our basic life needs, and the wonderful ways God shows His love to us, especially during difficult times.