Welcome
Please use this link for the
Zoom Worship Service October 8, 2023 at 8:30am
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81188368778?p30wd=QzZNMlFNNWVRVFIyUXZieWtNWkV0UT09
October 8, 2023
Acton Community Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 177, 32142 Crown Valley Road, Acton, CA 93510
Message: 661-208-8032 w who ww.actonpc.org
1888 – 2023 Celebrating Heritage and Sharing Hope
"Knowing which principles are worth standing up for and which ideas are not worth elevating to an importance they do not deserve is a sign of discernment and leadership. Not every issue is worth starting a war over when it comes to the gospel and the ethnic unity of the church.” —Darrell Bock
WELCOME, ANNOUNCMENTS, GUESTS AND SPECIAL DAYS
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
People: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
Leader: Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
People: He does not deal with us according to our sins nor repay us according to our iniquities.
Leader: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
People: Come, let us worship the Lord our God! Let us praise the King of Heaven!
OPENING HYMN #43 Great is Thy Faithfulness
1 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 for ever wilt be.
Refrain:
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!
2 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. [Refrain]
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Loving God, you have given rich and abundant blessings, the greatest of which is the full forgiveness of sins and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Yet, rather than rejoice in the giver, we often spend your gifts selfishly. Our lives have become thin, without worship, without joy, without courage, and without love. We have sought to build our identity on the things of this world—on approval, charisma, performance, wealth, and power. This is grasping at the wind. Forgive us, Lord. Help us stop seeking to be for ourselves what only you can be for us. Renew us in the grace that abounds to the broken-hearted. Turn us away from all self-salvation strategies. Return us to your loving embrace. Remind us of the salvation purchased by our sacrificing elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. Grant unto us the joy of our salvation!
SILENT CONFESSION PRAYERS FOR GOD’S PEOPLE
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Nehemiah 1: 5-11
I said, ‘O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.” They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!’ At the time, I was cupbearer to the king. The Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God
NEW TESTAMENT READING :: Romans 8:18-27
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in[o] hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes[p] for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that
very Spirit intercedes[q] with sighs too deep for words. And God,[r] who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit[s] intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.[t]
The Gospel of the Lord, Praise to You Lord Christ
SERMON : Dr. Randy Working “An Empathetic Spirit”
CALL FOR OFFERING–Congregation sings
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.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: The Apostles' Creed (Traditional)
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. 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 living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; The holy catholic church, the communion of saints; The forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
HYMN # 465 I His Time
1. In His time in His time He makes all things beautiful In His time
He makes all things beautiful in His time
Lord please show me ev'ry day As You're teaching me Your way
That You do just what You say In Your time
2. In Your time in Your time In Your time in Your time
You make all things beautiful In Your time
Lord my life to You I bring May each song I have to sing
Be to You a lovely thing In Your time
HOLY COMMUNION
CLOSING HYMN # 210 Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
1 Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home:
2 Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received its frame,
From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.
3 A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.
4 Time, like an ever rolling stream, Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.
5 Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last, And our eternal home.
BENEDICTION – The Lord Be With You
Congregation sings
God Be With You God be with you till we meet again, By his counsels guide, uphold you, With his sheep securely fold you God be with you till we meet again.
**Offerings
1. May be deposited in the Offering Box by the Narthex.
2. Processed through “E-Give” online at actonpc.org
3. Send a check to Acton Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 177 Acton, Ca. 93510
UP COMING EVENTS
Friday, Oct 13, 2023 at 2 pm
We invite you to join us in the celebration of life of Mark Reed at
Acton Community Presbyterian Church
32142 Crown Valley Road, Acton, CA 93510.
November 4, 2023
The Santa Clarita Valley Concert Band
Presents A Fall Festival Concert
Canyon Theater Guild, 4242 Main St. Downtown Newhall
