Welcome and Announcements
Invitation to Worship
Loving God, Creator of all seasons
and of this autumn day,
We come to worship you.
We have learned that being in your presence,
we are safe,
for with God there is always
love, compassion, and forgiveness.
As summer sheds her sheen of warmth,
as the long days give way to longer nights,
we give thanks for the daily invitation
to shed all that smothers and stifles
human flourishing.
We humbly enter this time of worship
with open minds and hearts
so we might hear what needs to go from our lives
so our praise of God will be more rich and full.
Prelude
Adam Emery
Opening Prayer
Song of Praise
God, Whose Living Knows No Ending
By Robert L. Edwards
Tune of NETTLETON
God, whose giving knows no ending,
From your rich and endless store:
Nature’s wonder, Jesus’ wisdom,
Costly cross, grave’s shattered door,
Gifted by You, we turn to You,
Off’ring up ourselves in praise;
Thankful song shall rise forever,
Gracious donor of our days.
Skills and time are ours for pressing
Toward the goals of Christ, Your Son:
All at peace in health and freedom,
Races joined, the Church made one.
Now direct our daily labor,
Lest we strive for self alone;
Born with talents, make us servants
Fit to answer at Your throne.
Treasure, too, You have entrusted,
Gain through pow’rs Your grace conferred;
Ours to use for home and kindred,
And to spread the gospel word.
Open wide our hands in sharing,
As we heed Christ’s ageless call,
Healing, teaching, and reclaiming,
Serving You by loving all.
Jeremiah 31:7-13
Common English Bible
The Lord proclaims:
Sing joyfully for the people of Jacob;
shout for the leading nation.
Raise your voices with praise and call out:
“The Lord has saved his people,
the remaining few in Israel!”
I’m going to bring them back from the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the disabled,
expectant mothers and those in labor;
a great throng will return here.
With tears of joy they will come;
while they pray, I will bring them back.
I will lead them by quiet streams
and on smooth paths so they don’t stumble.
I will be Israel’s father,
Ephraim will be my oldest child.
Listen to the Lord’s word, you nations,
and announce it to the distant islands:
The one who scattered Israel will gather them
and keep them safe, as a shepherd his flock.
The Lord will rescue the people of Jacob
and deliver them from the power of those stronger than they are.
They will come shouting for joy on the hills of Zion,
jubilant over the Lord’s gifts:
grain, wine, oil, flocks, and herds.
Their lives will be like a lush garden;
they will grieve no more.
Then the young women will dance for joy;
the young and old men will join in.
I will turn their mourning into laughter
and their sadness into joy;
I will comfort them.
Song of Praise
Here in this place new light is streaming
By Marty Haugen
Tune of GATHER US IN
Here in this place, new light is streaming.
Now is the darkness vanished away,
See in this space our fears and our dreamings,
Brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in the lost and forsaken,
Gather us in the blind and the lame;
Call to us now and we shall awaken,
We shall arise at the sound of our name.
We are the young, our lives are a myst’ry,
We are the old who yearn for your face,
We have been sung throughout all of history,
Called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty,
Gather us in, the proud and the strong;
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly,
Give us the courage to enter the song.
Here we will take the wine and the water,
Here we will take the bread of new birth,
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters,
Call us anew to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion,
Give us to eat the bread that is you;
Nourish us well and teach us to fashion,
Lives that are holy and hearts that are true.
Not in the dark of buildings confining,
Not in some heaven, light years away,
But here in this place the new light is shining,
Now is the Kingdom, now is the day.
Gather us in and hold us forever,
Gather us in and make us your own;
Gather us in, all peoples together,
Fire of love in our flesh and our bones.
Fire of love in our flesh and our bones.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Choral Anthem
Kyrie Eleison
Arr. By Tim Sharp
Hebrews 6:13-20
Common English Bible
When God gave Abraham his promise, he swore by himself since he couldn’t swear by anyone greater. He said, I will certainly bless you and multiply your descendants. So Abraham obtained the promise by showing patience. People pledge by something greater than themselves. A solemn pledge guarantees what they say and shuts down any argument. When God wanted to further demonstrate to the heirs of the promise that his purpose doesn’t change, he guaranteed it with a solemn pledge. So these are two things that don’t change, because it’s impossible for God to lie. He did this so that we, who have taken refuge in him, can be encouraged to grasp the hope that is lying in front of us. This hope, which is a safe and secure anchor for our whole being, enters the sanctuary behind the curtain. That’s where Jesus went in advance and entered for us, since he became a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Reflection on the Scriptures
Dr. Jeffrey Vickery
Hymn of Response
I Am Walking A Path of Peace
Words by Janet Bauman Tissandier
Tune of I AM WALKING A PATH OF PEACE
I am walking a path of peace, I am walking a path of peace,
I am walking a path of peace, lead me home,
lead me home.
I am walking a path of love…,
I am walking a path of grace…,
I am walking a path of hope…,
I am walking a path of joy…,
I am walking a path with heart…,
I am home.
Prayer of Sending
Let us learn from the trees letting go of their leaves:
for all that we cling to,
our stories, our prayers, our convictions,
give us the courage to let go.
Give us the courage to open ourselves
in this season of falling leaves.
Help us to open our hands,
our minds and our hearts,
trusting that in letting go
new beginnings are nurtured
and the ground beneath us whispers
‘Thank you’.
Closing Song
Blessed Be the Tie
Words by John Fawcett
Tune of DENNIS
Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
When we are called to part, it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.
This glorious hope revives our courage by the way;
while each in expectation lives and waits to see the day.
Acknowledgements. The Sending Out was written by Fiona van Wissen in Autumn, published in Wild Goose Publications, copyright 2021 Ruth Burgess, and used with permission. Permission to print the words and lead lines to the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-724755. All rights reserved.
Cullowhee Baptist Church 
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