February 9, 2025

WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE

PRELUDE                                                                           “Amazing Grace”                                                     arr. Lori Line

INTROIT                  “With Joy, With Praise, With Love, With Peace”           Emma Lou Diemer

WELCOME                                                                    Rev. Trip Porch

One: This is the day that the Lord has made

All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  

*CALL TO WORSHIP

One: Come, all who seek truth and justice, and let us worship our God.

All: We come with open hearts, ready to hear and respond.

One: God calls us to bear witness—to name what is broken and to proclaim what is good.

All: We will listen, confess, and be transformed by grace.

One: The Spirit moves among us, leading us toward truth and renewal.

All: With grateful hearts, we come to worship God

*HYMN 240                             “Alleluia, Alleluia! Give Thanks”                                 ALLELUIA NO. 1

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                         Peter Maurath

Merciful God, we confess that too often we have turned away from hard truths. We have ignored history’s wounds, minimized injustice, and resisted the call to repair what is broken. We have been silent when we should have spoken and complacent when we should have acted. Forgive us, O God. Open our hearts to the fullness of your grace, that we may be people of truth, justice, and reconciliation. Strengthen us to name sin, receive your mercy, and labor for  healing in the world. Amen.

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON  

*RESPONSE OF PRAISE 583            “Gloria, Gloria”                                        GLORIA (Taize) 

*PASSING OF THE PEACE                                       

One:   The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

All:      And also with you.  

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD

ANTHEM                               “As Truly As God” Carlotta Ferrari

CHILDREN’S RECESSIONAL 175      “Seek Ye First” vs. 1

    Children: May God be with you here

      Congregation: May God be with you there 

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE   1 Corinthians 15:1-11   VOICE

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated—unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. Afterward He appeared alive to Cephas (you may know him as Simon

Peter), then to the rest of the twelve. If that were not amazing enough, on one occasion, He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. Many of those brothers and sisters are still around to tell the story, though some have died in Jesus. Soon He appeared to James, His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, and then to all the rest of the apostles He Himself commissioned. Last of all, He appeared to me. You see, I am the least of all his emissaries, not fit to be called His apostle because I hunted down and persecuted God’s church. Today I am who I am because of God’s grace, and I have made sure that the grace He offered me has not been wasted. I have worked harder, longer, and smarter than all the rest; but I realize it is not me—it is God’s grace with me that has made the difference. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it was I or the other witnesses who brought you the message. What matters is that we keep preaching and that you have faith in this message.

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word

Thanks be to God                                                                                                                                                                  

SERMON  Rev. Trip Porch

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

*HYMN 441                           “Hear the Good News Salvation”                              NETTLETON

                                                   (Wotanin waste nahon po)

Originally written by the first Native American Dakota to be ordained to Presbyterian ministry and translated here into English.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

      Saying: O God of grace, bless us with peace.

TIME OF OFFERING  online giving is available at  www. indianolapres.org/give

Offertory                 “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy”                          Philip Paul Bliss

                                                                                                                                                                            arr. Marilyn Wells

*OFFERTORY RESPONSE 710         “We Lift Our Voices”                                                   OFFERING 

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Holy and just God, we offer these gifts as a sign of our commitment to your work in the world. Bless them, multiply them, and use them to heal wounds, uplift the weary, and proclaim your truth. May our lives, too, be an offering, shaped by your love and justice. Amen.

*HYMN 649                        “Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound”          AMAZING GRACE

TIIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

CHORAL RESPONSE               “We Take the Love of God”                               Emma Lou Diemer 

POSTLUDE                           “Grace Greater Than Our Sin”                   Daniel B. Towner

                                                                                                                                                                             arr. Michael Ware

Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452