The Rev. Dr. Albert Potgieter, Pastor Elizabeth Frank, Music Director Cheryl Warfield, Piano WE APPROACH OUR GOD Welcome and Announcements Introit: I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me - Eric Thiman Call to Worship L: God has called all God’s people to lives of hope and service. P: We want to serve God, but sometimes life gets to be too difficult for us. L: Place your trust in God’s power and love. P: God understands our needs, our sorrows, and our joys. L: Come, let us worship God who is with us always. P: Praise God for God’s eternal presence. Amen! Hymn of Praise O Praise Ye the Lord - Laudate Dominum O praise ye the Lord! praise him in the height; rejoice in his word, ye angels of light; ye heavens, adore him by whom ye were made, and worship before him in brightness arrayed. O praise ye the Lord, all things that give sound; each jubilant chord re-echo around; loud organs, his glory forth tell in deep tone, and sweet harp, the story of what he hath done. O praise ye the Lord, thanksgiving and song to hm be outpoured all ages along! for love in creation, for heaven restored, for grace of salvation, O praise ye the Lord! Praise ye the Lord! Call to Confession Let us humble ourselves before the Lord and confess our sins, seeking his forgiveness, and trusting in his mercy. Prayer of Confession Lord, we look for you in the wrong places. We put our trust in material things. We worry about things we cannot change. We wonder if you are even there at all. For all the times we have doubted you, Lord, forgive us. For all the ways we have neglected your word and ignored your people, forgive us. Do not be far from us, Lord. There is no one else we can turn to for help. Renew our fickle hearts and help us put our trust in you. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen! Lord Have Mercy - John Weaver Words of Assurance L: There is no wrong that God cannot make right. P: There is no chasm that can separate us from God’s love. L: The Lord is patient and kind, generous and good. God will not forsake you or leave you. P: We turn to the Lord with confidence and put our faith in God’s great mercy. L: By the power of Jesus Christ, we are made whole. Amen. The Law of God: Yet we know that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we followed the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law. Galatians 2:16 (NCV) Do not owe people anything, except always owe love to each other, because the person who loves others has obeyed all the law. Romans 13:8 (NCV) Passing the Peace L: Peace be with you. P: And also with you. L: As members of God’s family, let us share God’s peace with one another. WE LISTEN TO GOD’S WORD Children’s Message Hymn of Preparation: I Need Thee Every Hour I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord; no other voice but thine can peace afford. Refrain: I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee! O bless me now, my Savior - I come to thee. I need thee every hour, stay thou nearby; temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. Refrain I need thee every hour; teach me thy will; and thy rich promises in me fulfill. Refrain Scripture Reading: Selected verses from 1 Samuel 17:20-50 (NRSV) 20 David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David said, “The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you!” 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” 45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s and he will give you into our hand.” 48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. Message: Hope for the Underdog - Pastor Albert The Bible is full of stories of characters who, against all odds, experience victory.But there is a common thread in these stories as well. The characters all are fully aware that without God on their side, there is no hope of a favorable outcome. Left to themselves, they would face defeat. 1 Samuel 17:20-21 (GN) We are rarely for the fight. 1 Samuel 17:23-24 (GN) 1 Samuel 17:23-24 (GN) David has hope, because of God’s faithfulness to him in the past. If God is for us, can stand against us. Remind yourself of how God has been with you in the past. Because hope is really a byproduct of trust. When you believe that someone is trustworthy, it gives you hope. It's a battle and we need God to fight with us. Ephesians 6:12 (CEV) Hope is . It begins with one person who believes that God can use them. It takes one person with a heart for a particular cause. It takes one person who believes that prayer changes things. It could just be the spark that ignites a whole congregation of hope. WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD Time of Offering and Thanksgiving Your offering may be placed in the plate near the entrance door or sent to the church via check in the mail to: CCD, 39-50 Douglaston Parkway, Douglaston, NY 11363 or digitally through Tithe.ly: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1332203 Offertory: Let Heavenly Music Fill This Place - Gordon Young Doxology Prayer of Dedication/Offering The Prayers - Concluding with The Lord’s Prayer in unison: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Closing Hymn: Blessed Assurance Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood Refrain: This is my story, this is my song praising my Savior all the day long: this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, all is at rest I in my Savior am happy and blest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. Refrain Blessing