July 27, 2027

WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE

PRELUDE                                                                “Grace Medley”                                      arr. Jenifer Cook

INTROIT                        “What a friend we have in Jesus”                                                          

WELCOME                                                                    Rev. Karen Chakoian

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 are weary and weighed down by expectations.

All: We come to find rest in Christ’s welcoming arms.

One: Come, all who long to be seen and known fully.

All: We come to be embraced just as we are.

One: Let us worship the One who calls us beloved and invites us to the dance.

*HYMN 157                                  “I Danced in the Morning”                          LORD OF THE DANCE

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                                                        MacKenzie Murray       

Gracious God, We confess that we often cling to rules and measures of worth that you never gave us. We strive to earn love instead of receiving it freely. We carry shame instead of dancing in grace. Forgive us for forgetting that we are already rooted in your love. Turn our hearts again to your open invitation, that we may live as your beloved children. Amen.

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

*RESPONSE OF PRAISE 659         “Know That God Is Good”                   MUNGU NI MWEMA

*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                     “A Call to Silence”                                      Craig Courtney 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Mary Rebekah Fortman

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION 

SCRIPTURE  Colossians 2:6-19  adapted from The Message

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. But that’s not the way of Christ.

Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of holier-than-thou diets, worship services, or holidays. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word  

Thanks be to God

SERMON                                                                                          Rev. Karen Chakoian

                                                       WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD 

*HYMN   649              “Amazing Grace”                                          AMAZING GRACE

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE  

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

OFFERTORY         “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”                              arr. John Dixon

*OfFFERTORY RESPONSE 648   “Thankful Hearts and Voices Raise”              THANKFUL HEARTS

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Loving God, Receive these gifts as signs of our gratitude and trust. Use them to build your kingdom of welcome and grace, where all are invited to be who they are and dance on in joy with you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

*HYMN 837                                               “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”                                   SHOWALTER

TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE       “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”     arr. Vicki Tucker Courtney       Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452