Isaiah Bulletin by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl

All Original Prayers by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl, permission to use with credit

Prelude Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence                 Fernando Ortega

Opening Prayer (1)

O Holy God, 

like Isaiah the prophet, we stand in awe of Your glory,

feeling tremendously small and polluted by our sin, 

and the sin of our society.

Even so, You touch us with Your burning presence,

and we are made clean and whole.

O God, our Creator, 

continue to build this household of faith into what You want us to be.

O Christ, our Savior, 

lead us to do as You will.

O Spirit, our Power,

strengthen us for the work of the Kingdom.

Amen.

Call to Worship (Response is Isaiah 6:3) (2)

Glory in God’s holy name. Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

99:9Exalt the Lord our God. Worship at his holy hill, 

for the Lord our God is holy.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

145:17The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

145:21My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord.

Let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Call to Confession   

John Calvin, whose work and theology are the basis for the Reformed tradition, including our Presbyterian faith, notes that when we compare ourselves to others, we may think highly of ourselves. But when we compare ourselves to God’s absolute holiness and goodness, we see how far we fall short of who God created us to be. Let us be reminded of God’s holiness and our need for forgiveness.

Prayer of Confession (from Isaiah 6:1-7)

O Holy Lord,                                                                                                       when we see that just the hem of your robe fills the whole temple,                                  we know we are a people of unclean lips.

When the six-winged seraphim attend you,                                                   we know we are a people of unclean lips.

As the angels proclaim that the whole earth is full of your glory,                          we know we are a people of unclean lips.

When the thresholds shake and the place is filled with smoke,                                        we know we are a people of unclean lips.

Woe to us! When we see you, O King and Lord of hosts,                                                we know we are lost because                                                                                    we know we are a people of unclean lips.     

(Silent confession)

Assurance of Pardon 

God touches us with burning coal, 

and our guilt departs, our sin is blotted out. 

Thanks be to God for the Good News: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Gloria Patri: (Blue #579) Glory Be to the Father 

Prayers of the People/Lord’s Prayer (traditional)

Celebration of Birthdays and Anniversaries

Hymn of Dedication  Just As I Am, Without One Plea

Just as I am, without one plea But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee O Lamb of God, I come! I come

Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot O Lamb of God, I come, I come

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind Sight, riches, healing of the mind
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve
Because Thy promise I believe O Lamb of God, I come, I come

Doxology (Blue, #592)   Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow

(1) From prayer based on Isaiah 6 from My Redeemer Lives website. 

http://www.myredeemerlives.com/prayers.html

(2) 1 Chronicles 16:10; Psalm 99:9; Psalm 145:17, 21. King James Version.

 Prayer of Dedication            Blessed are you, God of all creation; 

through your goodness we have these gifts to share. 

Accept and use all that we give and all that we are 

for your glory and for the service of your kingdom. Amen.

Prayer for Illumination  Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord

Take thou our minds, dear Lord, we humbly pray;
give us the mind of Christ each passing day;
teach us to know the truth that sets us free;
grant us in all our thoughts to honor thee.

Old Testament Reading  (NRSV)                     Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,                  high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.     3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called,            and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost,                  for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

What comes before “Here I Am”? Rev. Barb Hedges-Goettl

Affirmation of Faithfrom the Westminster Confession of Faith

God alone is the Holy One.

There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection.

God alone is the Holy One.

God is a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, and incomprehensible.

God alone is the Holy One.

God is almighty; most wise, most holy, most free, and most absolute,

God alone is the Holy One.

God works all things according to the counsel of his own immutable 

and most righteous will for his own glory,

God alone is the Holy One.

God is most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness 

and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.

God alone is the Holy One.

God is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom, 

are all things.

God alone is the Holy One.

God is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands.

God alone is the Holy One.

To him is due from angels and from human beings, and every other creature, worship, service, and obedience for

God alone is the Holy One.

Closing Hymn  Here I Am, Lord  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcxOkht8w7c

[Verse 1] I, the Lord of sea and sky; I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin. My hand will save

[Chorus] Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?  

I have heard you calling in the night.

I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.  [Chorus]      

[Verse 2] I, who made the stars of night
I will make their darkness bright

Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send? [Chorus]

[Verse 3]  I, the Lord of snow and rain
I have borne my people’s pain
I have wept for love of them They turn away [Chorus]

Charge and Benediction

Postlude Holy is the Lord Twila Paris 

Author: katyandtheword

Pastor Katy has enjoyed ministry at New Covenant since 2010, where the church has solidified its community focus. Prior to that she studied both Theology and Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She also served as an Assistant Chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and as the Christian Educational Coordinator at Bethany Presbyterian at Bloomfield, NJ. She is an writer and is published in Enfleshed, Sermonsuite, Presbyterian's today and Outlook. She writes prayers, liturgy, poems and public theology and is pursuing her doctorate in ministry in Creative Write and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She enjoys working within and connecting to the community, is known to laugh a lot during service, and tells as many stories as possible. Pastor Katy loves reading Science Fiction and Fantasy, theater, arts and crafts, music, playing with children and sunshine, and continues to try to be as (w)holistically Christian as possible. "Publisher after publisher turned down A Wrinkle in Time," L'Engle wrote, "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was too difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adult's book, anyhow?" The next year it won the prestigious John Newbery Medal. Tolkien states in the foreword to The Lord of the Rings that he disliked allegories and that the story was not one.[66] Instead he preferred what he termed "applicability", the freedom of the reader to interpret the work in the light of his or her own life and times.

One thought on “Isaiah Bulletin by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl”

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: