Abraham and Sarah, by Deborah Nell, 2015
For modern artist Deborah Nell, every painting begins with a prayer. Her art is an expression of her connection and communication with God. Her father, Herman Sillas, instructed her while the two of them painted side by side at their easels when she was a child growing up in her native Southern California. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine art from UCLA, Nell later settled in East Berlin, Pennsylvania, where she experimented with various painting techniques on Yupo paper (a waterproof synthetic paper). Nell’s faith is always integrated into her paintings. She says, “I begin each painting by praying that God will give me an image that will bless and encourage the viewer. I see my painting process as a way to worship and communicate with the Lord.”
Her painting Abraham and Sarah depicts the scene from the aftermath of Genesis 17 when God tells the 100-year-old Abraham that his 90-year-old wife is going to bear a son. In this scene, Sarah is telling Abraham that she is indeed pregnant. Thus, God has miraculously fulfilled his promise of giving them a child. Notice their joyful faces and warm embrace amid the bright red and yellow background, which captures the emotion of the encounter.
Call to Worship – Psalm 84
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Invocation
O God, powerful and loving, we look to You for both strength and compassion. We confess that we don’t really understand power, nor — when it comes down to it — are we very good at love. Very easily we go to extremes: too hard or too soft. Teach us Your tough love. Sharpen us this hour on the whetstone of Your Word. With the tender arms of Your Spirit, embrace us. O powerful and loving God, fashion us to become tough and tender disciples. We worship You now because we know of no other like You. In the name of Jesus, Your beloved Son, our leader and friend, we pray. Amen.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear; now to his temple draw near,
Join me in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth;
Shelters thee under his wings, yes, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how all thy longings have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with his love he befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
Gladly forever adore him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
Gladly forever adore him.
Words: Joachim Neander; Translator: Catherine Winkworth
Music: LOBE DEN HERREN
Children’s Sermon
Prayer and Intercession
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, you promised through your son Jesus Christ, to hear us when we pray in faith. Open our minds and win our hearts that our thoughts, affections and will may be pure, robust, and joyful and forever forgiving.
Strengthen for service, Lord, all members of your Church, not only the leaders, but also the led. Help us all to exercise our gifts by the indwelling of your Holy Spirit, without hindrance, that the richness of your uniting truth may bring us to the life that reveals your glory in the world.
We pray for those who are denied freedom in their religious beliefs, for those who are suffering in prison, and for those who are martyrs. May their courage set faith alight in other lives.
We pray for those who struggle against injustice, the men and women who have to establish themselves in violent and oppressive societies; may they be filled with your wisdom in their war against inhumanity.
We pray for our fellow Christians in the developing world, those for whom hunger is a daily reality, those who feel powerless to change the ways of nature or the ways of nations.
We pray for our country. Give wisdom and guidance to our statesmen and leaders, and to all who have positions of responsibility in education, industry and commerce.
Grant that all who come into our church may be enabled to renew their relationship with you and that they may find your peace, your strength, your grace and above all your presence. Help us as a congregation to be outward-looking, so that what we find within our fellowship we may share with those outside, for the benefit of all and for your greater glory. Amen.
Please take a few moments to pray for:
- Chelsea Mends-Cole
- Brady Adams
- The Paradee Family
- Reilly Keith Bachelder, Lissy & Bryce
- Howard Deuso
- Kevin Fleming
- Donna Waguespack, our missionary in Mexico
- Healthcare workers
- Other personal concerns
Scripture Reading – Genesis 17
The Covenant of Circumcision
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
Sermon
What’s in a Name by Rev. Jason R. McConnell
Eternal Power, Almighty God
Eternal Power, Almighty God, Who can approach thy throne?
Accessless light is thine abode, To angel eyes unknown.
Before the radiance of thine eye, The heavens no longer shine;
And all the glories of the sky Are but the shade of thine.
Great God, and wilt thou condescend To cast a look below?
To this dark world thy notice bend– These seats of sin and woe?
How strange, how wondrous is thy love! With trembling we adore:
Not all th’ exalted minds above Its wonders can explore.
While golden harps and angel tongues Resound immortal lays,
Great God, permit our humble songs To rise and speak thy praise.
Eternal Power, Almighty God, Who can approach thy throne?
Accessless light is thine abode, To angel eyes unknown.
Words: Anne Steele
Music: Jennifer McConnell