Call to Worship & Greeting

Psalm 34:3, Psalm 9:1-2; Revelation 1:4-5

O magnify the LORD with me.
Let us exalt God’s name together!
We will give thanks to you, O LORD, with our whole heart;
we will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
We will be glad and exult in you;
we will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 

Grace to you and peace from him who is
and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Amen. 

Song

Prayer of Invocation

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open
and all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hid:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession & Assurance

Call to Confession 1 John 1:8-9

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Prayer of Confession

You are invited to listen to and reflect on the following song, based on Psalm 51, as you come before God in a time of confession.

Assurance of Pardon Romans 8:1, 11, 14-16

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

If the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
he who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies
also through his Spirit that dwells in you. 

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, 

but you have received a spirit of adoption.
When we cry, “Abba! Father!”
it is the very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit
that we are children of God.
Alleluia! Amen. 

The Peace

The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.

Affirmation of Faith: Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will 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.

Prayer for Illumination

Breathe on us, Breath of God,
fill us with life anew,
that we may love the way you love,
and do what you would do. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Exodus 14

14 Then the Lord said to Moses: 2 Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.” 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed toward the people, and they said, “What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?” 6 So he had his chariot made ready, and took his army with him; 7 he took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out boldly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army; they overtook them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16 But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17 Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”

19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24 At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25 He clogged[a] their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Sermon

Water, Wind & Fire

The sermon for our online worship today is given by Rev. Dr. Laura Smit, taken from her chapel address at Calvin College in 2006. The sermon is audio only and can be found at this page.

Song

Moment for Missions

Our Moment for Missions today comes from the Community Action House. See the video that they made for 14th Street CRC here.

Prayers of the People

Our Prayers of the People this morning comes from Norm Steen, an elder in our congregation.

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT 

Spirit of God,
you came suddenly to the waiting, praying Church at Pentecost.  
Their faint hearts were filled with your strength.
We ask for this same miracle for ourselves.   
This, Lord, is our prayer.
Come Holy Spirit…

Come Holy Spirit. 
Breathe upon us, breathe into us, your waiting, praying people. 
Breathe upon us now, Holy Spirit,
who in the beginning moved over the face of the waters
and without whose breath every living creature would die;
who blessed the Virgin Mary and made her womb the dwelling place for your Son,
who anoints us also that Jesus may dwell in our hearts, filling us with love and grace.
This, Lord, is our prayer.
Come Holy Spirit…

Come Holy Spirit.
Kindle within us the fire of Your love. 
Inspire our hearts and minds through your word to witness boldly to our Savior. 
Fill us with your presence and power.  
Comfort us, who have been born anew of water and Spirit,
that we may grow in faith and by our lives glorify you, together with the Father and the Son.   
This, Lord, is our prayer.
Come Holy Spirit…

Come Holy Spirit -
like wind and fire and sweep through all the churches of all the nations,
but especially through this congregation,
setting us free to witness with boldness to Jesus, to lift up his name,
to be Jesus' loving presence in this community, telling the good news,
caring about justice and righteousness,
eager to help, willing to serve - whatever the need.   
This, Lord, is our prayer.
Come Holy Spirit…

Come Holy Spirit,
energize missionaries and evangelists all around the world
as they seek to cross difficult cultural barriers with the message of Jesus and his love. 
We pray especially for the Altenas in Lithuania, the Cadys in China, and Lorrie Scholten in Mexico.   
This, Lord, is our prayer.
Come Holy Spirit…

Come Holy Spirit,
to the poor, the sick, the lonely, those in despair. 
Lord God, you have given yourself to us so completely. 
No one is poor who has your love.  
Help us to be so gripped by Your Spirit,
that we are able to give ourselves completely and generously to your service,
and to the people around us. 
This, Lord, is our prayer.
Come Holy Spirit… 

Amen.

Offering

In addition to our various funds (General, Building, Mission, Benevolence, Christian Education), online giving is also now available for today’s special offerings (Community Action House & Good Samaritan Ministries) through the Give button below.

God’s Parting Words

2 Corinthians 13:14

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all. Amen.

Song