Preparation for Worship. Today is Trinity Sunday! Add white to your worship area with flowers, white paper, or white fabric. White is the liturgical color for Trinity Sunday. Use 3 candles this Sunday, if you would like, to represent the Trinity or add beauty to your worship area in groups of threes. If you want to celebrate communion, have some food and drink to share. The type of food and drink does not matter for they are merely symbols which help us celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Invitation. Trinity Sunday invites us to worship God who is Trinity, whose essence is that of threefold unity bound together in love. Expressions of Trinity abound:
Father, Son, Holy Spirit;
Creator, Reedemer, Sustainer;
Wisdom, Peace, Purity.
The Worship of God
Light candles in recognition of God’s presence. In our practice, we usually light two: one to represent Jesus’ divinity and the other Jesus’ humanity. This Sunday being Trinity Sunday, you may want to light three to represent the Trifold nature of God’s abounding love.
Gathering for Worship
Passing the Peace of Christ
Say to one another, “May the peace of Christ be with you.”
Respond by saying, “And also with you.”
Call to Worship
Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praise to our God!
It is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!
Come let us worship the Lord
And praise our God!
Opening Prayer
To You, O God, we lift up our souls.
We offer You our praise and prayer,
our worship and thanksgiving,
our desires and very lives.
Teach us Your way.
Show us Your path.
Lead us in Your truth.
We trust You and we will wait for you all day long.
Amen.
Songs and Psalms of Praise and Prayer
Song of Praise
Holy, Holy, Holy
1 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
2 Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee
perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
A Reading from the Psalms
A Responsive Reading of Psalm 8
Lord, our Lord, how majestic
is your name throughout the earth!
You made your glory higher than heaven!
2 From the mouths of nursing babies
you have laid a strong foundation
because of your foes,
in order to stop vengeful enemies.
3 When I look up at your skies,
at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars
that you set firmly in place—
4 what are human beings
that you think about them;
what are human beings
that you pay attention to them?
5 You’ve made them only slightly less than divine,
crowning them with glory and grandeur.
6 You’ve let them rule over your handiwork,
putting everything under their feet—
7 all sheep and all cattle,
the wild animals too,
8 the birds in the sky,
the fish of the ocean,
everything that travels the pathways of the sea.
9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
Prayers for Others. As we did last week,
pause after each line to give voice to prayers as prompted.
Merciful God, who shelters us and guides us,
we give you thanks for….
God who comforts, receive those who are fearful and lonely….
God whose love is steadfast,
be refuge for the ill, the dying, and those who care about them.…
God of righteousness,
we ask for your wisdom and ways of justice to prevail
in our community, this nation, your world….
God who seeks our trust,
grow us and guide us in your ways that are life-giving in your world. Amen.
Song of Praise
How Majestic is Your Name
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
O Lord, we praise your name.
O Lord, we magnify your name:
Prince of Peace, mighty God; O Lord God Almighty.
[Repeat]
Celebrating Communion
Communion. (Bread and wine were common foods during Jesus’ day. As we celebrate communion at home, use common food and drinks you have. The type of food and drink is not what matters, but it matters that you remember Christ as you share, eat, and drink.)
A Reading from the Gospels, Mark 14:22-24. While [the disciples and Jesus] were eating, [Jesus] took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Share what you have to eat. Before everyone eats, have someone say,
“This food represents the body of Christ. As we eat, we remember Jesus.”
Share what you have to drink. Before everyone drinks, have someone say,
“This drink represents the covenant Christ made with us that our sins will be forgiven. As we drink, we remember Jesus.”
Prayer of Thanksgiving. Dear God, thank you for your abounding compassionate love. Thank you for guiding and leading us through these difficult times. Thank you for always being with us. Amen.
Song. End communion by singing a hymn. You may want to sing Amazing Grace.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
was blind but now I see.
The Gospel Reading
Song of Adoration
We The Lord’s People
We the Lord’s people,
Heart and voice uniting.
Praise him who called us
Out of darkness,
Light and truth revealing.
Bring we now before Him
All our gladness and joy.
O God, the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit,
Trinity blessed, heav’nly light,
The source of our salvation.
Shine forth in our living
Now and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading, Matthew 28:16-20
Listen to the Gospel lesson and/or read below.
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”
Reflection “The Proper Use of Authority” from Jeffrey
Listen to Jeffrey’s reflection and/or read below.
The Proper Use of Authority
Since today is Trinity Sunday, we are to be reminded that what we say and do as Christians has its basis in the nature of God. Trinity introduces the idea of diversity within the nature of God. That is, God is not and cannot be limited to one image, one name, one characteristic, yet this fact doesn’t divide God into thirds or any other fraction. God is One, but not one thing. If God could be held to a single idea or picture, then God can be made into an idol. From the beginning of the biblical story, in Genesis 1, God is quoted as saying, “Let us make humankind in our image.” God as “us” and “our” tells us that God is One yet understood in diverse ways. Thus for us humans, both women and men image God equally but neither does so fully. One is not more like God than the other. God is both masculine and feminine without God being either male or female. Thus when Christianity began to affirm that God is One in an indivisible and undivided nature but not limited to one thing, the idea of the Trinity began to take shape. The Bible says God is love, a rock, a king, a mother hen, a breastfeeding mom, a father, a light, along with Wisdom, Spirit, and the most-human one of God sent to dwell among us – Jesus, the Christ. Yes, Trinity, at least!
With this image of God as the example of diversity within the unified nature of God, how can we suppose that God has endowed any one person or one race with more grace than another? If what we say and do is a reflection of God, how can any people who claim God’s name allow for racism? With the fear and foolishness in this week’s news, it’s time to speak clearly.
The United States of America is a country that has a racist past that led to the death, enslavement, and mistreatment of hundreds of thousands of Africans. That past is not behind us, for we are living today in a racist country that continues to allow the death, incarceration, and maltreatment of hundreds of thousands of Americans who are people of color. Only some of that racism is found in some of the police in our nation, or in some of our politicians who promote racist policies that diminish or deny opportunities. Even more racism, is passed on to another generation when it is tolerated among our friends, modeled by the adults our children emulate, spoken with words that are both repeated and believed, and brought to light by people who claim authority by majority and benefit from privilege by social leverage. In every case, racism is sinful. Since racism is not something we are born with, we must confess that it is against God’s will for our life and society. It is not a part of the biblical teaching of Christianity.
So let us confess boldly. After all, confession is what we Christians can and should do well. Let us confess our sin. Know we are wrong. Acknowledge that we can and could and should do more. Let us ask God to change our hearts and our minds and our words and our parenting and our education and our politics. But also confess that if it was my child that was killed unjustly by a policeman, I’d be angry, and throwing things, and calling officials who cover it up lots of names, and asking for powerful men who claim authority over the life and death of my child to be fired, jailed, or both. I would read the story of Jesus turning over the money tables in the temple court, and making cords into a whip to drive them away (read Gospel of John 2)…I would read that story differently. Jesus is not guilty of property damage. Jesus is rightly angry that their greed, or self-righteousness, comes out in seeking personal gain through the use of God’s name. It is the same violation of the gospel that President Trump displayed recently.
On Monday the President of the United States stood in front of a church he doesn’t attend, walked there without any intention to pray or worship, and raised a Bible in his hand in order for the press to take his picture. Regardless of what was on his mind or who helped stage it, the image of any president holding a Bible, without any briefing or explanation, is intended to communicate a man of power acting on God’s authority. He was claiming God’s will legitimated by biblical teaching as the basis for his actions and words and policies. With the context of this week’s racist events and the president’s own threats of violence against US citizens, everything about that image is wrong from the point of view of the Christian message of peace and justice and forgiveness and reconciliation.
I cannot say to you it will get better. It may not. The Gospel calls us to be peace makers, but it does not guarantee peace from the powerful in the world. The misuse of power leads to more injustice rather than a more gracious society. The birth of a military dictatorship begins with a single narcissistic megalomaniac in power with an army that supports him and politicians that will not oppose him and a population that is silenced. But this is a sermon so let me put this in a biblical context–what we see daily in our country at this time is against the “Great Commission” offered by Jesus in Matthew 28, our text for today where the only proper authority over anyone is Jesus.
It’s an audacious claim when Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v. 18). I don’t typically trust people who chest-thump and say “I’m the greatest!” (I find Muhammad Ali amusing, I must admit!) Mostly, however, history is filled with the horrors of authority exercised over others by those who claim the right to authority for themselves.
So what makes Jesus’ statement different? How is it that he can claim God’s authority and then ask others to participate in carrying out his wishes? I’m not going to stand here and give you a glib answer like, “well, he is God after all.” And I’m not questioning Jesus’ divinity. But I want it known that any claim to holy authority, even when Jesus makes it, is only as valid as the nature of the person who claims it, the manner of their life and speech, the pattern of their service to and love for others, and their willingness to take on the responsibility to bring life rather than take it. And in the case of Jesus, we can say that he unwaveringly and without exception said and did the things of God in a manner that demonstrates his divine nature and rightful authority.
If you are listening to this sermon, then likely you agree that Jesus has the proper authority to tell us what God wants us to do. In brief, here’s what I find (vv. 19-20) when I consider Jesus’ final words of commission to those of us who claim his name.
- “Go.” Don’t stay where we are, which we can take literally or figuratively. The Gospel of Jesus propels us into the world rather than seeking our own comfort.
- “Make disciples.” Not followers, but disciples. Being a disciple implies learning and growing and being better in our understanding of loving God and loving each other today than we were yesterday.
- “Of all nations.” Not some nations but all. Not Europe alone but Asia and Africa. Not just southern-born English-speaking Americans but Farsi speaking people from Iran, and Mexican-born Spanish-speaking children of God. The Gospel’s native tongue is any language that tells of God’s love found in Jesus.
- “Baptize.” Jesus isn’t asking us to count the number of people baptized in order to boast. Another generation is invited to the Gospel party and invested with the right to be disciples alongside us. We are not the only ones necessary for God’s work to be done. It’s not all our responsibility either. But it does matter that we open the doors wide and baptize any willing to be Jesus’ disciples.
- “In the name of God.” It is not my church I represent. If what I do and say does not resemble God’s actions and voice in this world, then I am abdicating the right to act in God’s name. If God would love, then I will too. If God won’t hate, and I choose to do so anyway, I am working actively against the will of God. May it never be so.
- “Teaching them what I commanded.” Jesus’ teachings inform what we both teach and learn. If what my country teaches in example or policy is against the Gospel, I choose to teach the Gospel instead of American values. If what my family expects is not what Jesus teaches, then I have no obligation to my family’s values. If any church, school, friend, troop, lodge, work, platform, or other social identity group asks us to teach something in opposition to the teachings of Jesus, our obligation is to teach Jesus’ commands regardless of the cost.
Jesus is asking a lot of us—a great deal of love for everyone, kindness to one another, justice on behalf of the oppressed, and spirit-filled speaking of the truth of God’s eternal welcome for us all. May we decide to take on this commissioning from Jesus, knowing that it comes only with the promise of God’s presence, not the vain promotion of success — “I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth.”
Questions for Reflection
- What stories of overcoming the racism in your own life (or family, etc.) are important to you and the way you understand systemic racism today? When did you first recognize racism, and/or when did you choose a different way to live?
- Jesus’ teachings include acting out of kindness, generosity, humility, patience, and empathy with others. Where do you see these things in the world today?
- Make a commitment with each other to speak truthfully and directly if you see or hear each other acting in ways that do not promote God’s love and justice.
Prayer of Thanksgiving. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s love and ask God to help our church family grow deeper and deeper in love.
Song of Response
The Church of Christ, in Every Age
1 The church of Christ, in every age,
Beset by change, but Spirit led,
Must claim and test its heritage
And keep on rising from the dead.
2 Across the world, across the street,
The victims of injustice cry
For shelter and for bread to eat,
And never live until they die.
3 Then let the servant church arise;
A caring church that longs to be,
A partner in Christ’s sacrifice,
And clothed in Christ’s humanity.
4 We have no mission but to serve
In full obedience to our Lord,
To care for all, without reserve,
And spread God’s liberating Word.
Sending
The blessing of the Holy Three,
be gift to thee,
Wisdom, Peace, and Purity. Amen.
Closing Song. In our tradition, we close worship by singing the first verse of Blest Be the Tie. Mindy starts us each week, and so she does today as well.
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.
Credits: The Call to Worship is based on Psalm 147 and the Opening Prayer is based on Psalm 25. Holy, Holy, Holy was written by Reginald Heber (1826); set to the tune, Nicaea which was composed by John Bacchus Dykes (1876); and played by Kendall on the steel pan. How Majestic Is Your Name was written by Michael W. Smith; sung by Mindy; and played by Tessa on the flute. Scripture readings are from the Common English Bible. Amazing Grace was written by John Newton (1807); set to the folk tune, New Britain; and played by Aidan on the piano. We The Lord’s People was written by Jeffrey Rickard; played by Tonya and Elizabeth on the handbells; and sung by Laura, Mindy, Ally, Tonya, Elizabeth, Rachel, Justin, and Josh (Mindy’s brother). The Church of Christ, in Every Age was written by Fred Pratt Green (1969); set to the tune, Germany which was composed by William Gardiner (1853); and played on the piano by Tracy. The Sending is blessing quoted in The Celtic Way of Prayer by Esther de Waal. It is a ancient Scottish mother’s blessing which would be whispered into the ear of her newborn child, telling the child of her/his birthright. Blest be the Tie was written by John Fawcett (1782) and sung by Mindy. Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-724755. All rights reserved. All writings have been used by permission from the posting sites or authors.
Cullowhee Baptist Church 
Jeffrey…i am glad you finished the sermon.
🙂
Beautiful service by all. Thank you so much.
Thanks Debbie! Mindy picked out a great anthem!
The message we all need today… All aspects of the service were uplifting and meaningful.
Thank you Dianne!