August 1 Livestream – The Bread of Life

Today we gather to celebrate the sacrament of communion. If you are joining us online, we invite you to gather your own elements of communion and to share with us in the joyful experience at the Lord’s table.

WELCOME

PRELUDE – Anna DiVesta

*CALL TO WORSHIP – Pastor Dan
One: We gather in God’s presence.
All: Through Jesus Christ, all are welcome.
One: Come; stay a while.
All: Through Jesus Christ, all find rest.
One: Relax; and be renewed.
All: Through Jesus Christ, all receive strength.
One: Pray; and be filled.
All: We rejoice, overflowing with God’s forgiving love!

HYMN – How Great Thou Art – #16

1. O Lord my God, when I in awe-some won-der
   Con-sid-er all the worlds Thy hands have made,
   I see the stars, I hear the roll-ing thun-der,
   Thy pow’r thro’-out the u-ni-verse dis-played.

Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Sav-ior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Sav-ior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

2. When thro’ the woods and for-est glades I wan-der
   And hear the birds sing sweet-ly in the trees,
   When I look down from loft-y moun-tain gran-deur,
   And hear the brook and feel the gen-tle breeze.

Refrain

3. And when I think that God, His Son not spar-ing,
   Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in,
   That on the cross, my bur-den glad-ly bear-ing,
   He bled and died to take a-way my sin.

Refrain

4. When Christ shall come with shout of ac-cla-ma-tion
   And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
   Then I shall bow in hum-ble ad-o-ra-tion,
   And there pro-claim, my God, how great Thou art.

*PRAYER OF INVOCATION – Pastor Dan
God of Compassion; in you, we find a love deeper than any love we can imagine. From you, we receive Living Water that wells up to life eternal. You watch over and love all people. As we come to you this day, help us to let go of our fears. Bless every soul who is thirsting for you, Christ Jesus. You are the Living Water. You are a precious wellspring of grace. Blessed Savior of all the world; come alive within us today. Cleanse us. Make us whole. Amen.

*RESPONSE – In The Name of the Lord #19

There is strength in the name of the Lord;
There is pow’r in the name of the Lord;
There is hope in the name of the Lord!
Bless-ed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

GOD’S WORD – Psalm 78:23-29 – Pastor Dan

SPECIAL MUSIC – Rain Down – Anna DiVesta

GOD’S WORD – John 6:24-35 – Pastor Dan

SERMON – Pastor Dan

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer (debts… debtors)
– Pastor Dan

*HYMN – Come, Share the Lord – #260

1. We gath-er here in Je-sus’ name,
   His love is burn-ing in our hearts like liv-ing flame,
   For thru the lov-ing Son the Fa-ther makes us one.
   Come take the bread, come drink the wine, come share the Lord.
2. No one is a stran-ger here,
   Ev-ery-one be-longs.
   Find-ing our for-give-ness here,
   We in turn for-give all wrongs.
3. He joins us here, He breaks the bread;
   The Lord who pours the cup is ris-en from the dead.
   The One we love the most is now our gra-cious host.
   Come take the bread, come drink the wine, come share the Lord.
4. We are now a fam-i-ly
   Of which the Lord is head.
   Though un-seen, He meets us here,
   In the break-ing of the bread.
5. We’ll gath-er soon where an-gels sing,
   We’ll see the glo-ry of our Lord and com-ing King.
   Now we an-tic-i-pate the feast for which we wait.
   Come take the bread, come drink the wine, come share the Lord.
   
   THE JOYFUL SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION
   Responsive Invitation to Receive the Bread of Life
   One: Jesus Christ invites everyone, “Take; eat; and remember me.”
   All: As we eat this bread, we are reminded that God remembers us.
   One: Jesus Christ invites everyone, “Take; drink; and remember me.”
   All: As we drink this cup, we are reminded that God remembers us.
   One: The gifts of God for the people of God.
   All: Praise God for the bread of life!

*HYMN – I Have Decided to Follow Jesus #427

1. I have de-cid-ed to fol-low Je-sus,
   I have de-cid-ed to fol-low Je-sus,
   I have de-cid-ed to fol-low Je-sus,
   No turn-ing back, no turn-ing back.
2. The world be-hind me, the cross be-fore me;
   The world be-hind me, the cross be-fore me,
   The world be-hind me, the cross be-fore me,
   No turn-ing back, no turn-ing back.
3. Tho’ none go with me, I still will fol-low,
   Tho’ none go with me, I still will fol-low,
   Tho’ none go with me, I still will fol-low,
   No turn-ing back, no turn-ing back.
4. Will you de-cide now to fol-low Je-sus?
   Will you de-cide now to fol-low Je-sus?
   Will you de-cide now to fol-low Je-sus?
   No turn-ing back, no turn-ing back.

*BENEDICTION – Pastor Dan

*POSTLUDE – Anna DiVesta

UPDATED: How to join us for worship

The world continues to change around us – but we want you to know you are always welcome at Ivy Chapel United Church of Christ. This is the core of who we are – and even as it seems like things are pushing us apart, we want it to be easy to bring everyone together.

We gather for worship every Sunday at 10 a.m. If you know Ivy Chapel, that sometimes means 10:02 a.m. or even 10:05. Check our Facebook page for updates – we’ll post there if there is a delay.

Here’s how to join us:

In person
You can join us in the sanctuary for worship each Sunday as long as the COVID-19 numbers do not spike again in St. Louis County. Masks are required while you are in the building and you will be seated in a socially distanced manner. Reservations are no longer required. You may join us anytime you want.

Online
We have recently started using a new AV system which changed how we stream worship. Worship will stream live on the Ivy Chapel United Church of Christ YouTube channel. You will find links at the top of this site and on our Facebook page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us. We’re ready to help you find a way to worship with us that works for you.

Praying for the return to in-person worship

Like all of you, we’re looking forward to the day when we can worship together in person again. The Ivy Chapel Board of Deacons – together with our virtual worship team – have been working hard to create a plan to make this all possible.

We’re closely watching case numbers, hospitalizations and vaccination rates so we can do what is right for our members and the community at large.

In addition to the health concerns, there are technical and logistical hurdles to overcome. We are in the process of upgrading the sound system so we can continue to provide a livestream of the worship even once we have people back in the sanctuary.

We’re almost there, with just a few more components to acquire and install. From there, we’ll be testing the new set up. You will likely notice significant changes to the online experience, but we will keep you updated.

Please note that even once we are back in person, the worship experience will be very different. We will strictly enforce the mask requirements and social distancing. We won’t have coffee hour or children in the sanctuary, and will not have congregational singing.

If you need more information, please contact us or reach out to someone from the Board of Deacons or the Ivy Chapel council.

Thank you for your patience and for sticking with us.

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