SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH 2025 | FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
INVOCATION
L: The Lord be with you
All: And with your spirit.
L: Lift up your hearts
All: We lift them up to the Lord
L: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
All: It is right to give thanks and Praise!
L: Let us Worship God
SONGS OF WORSHIP
THE CALL TO CONFESSION
Gathered with the whole church on this Pentecost Sunday, hear this call to confession from Psalm 32
Do not marvel that Jesus says to us, “You must be born again.” What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit, who convicts us of sin and leads us into all righteousness. Let us confess our sin to God. —based on John 3:6-8; 16:8, NRSV
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name.
Take a moment for silent confession
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
“Be assured of our forgiveness:
“I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees. You will be my people, and I will be your God.” Friends in Christ: by the power of the Spirit, we are united with Christ and given a new spirit. Live in the joy and peace of that assurance.
—based on Ezekiel 36:24-28, NIV and adapted from TWSB
PASSING OF THE PEACE
SONG OF WORSHIP
THE SERMON
Freedom in Christ
Pastor Keon L. Abner
Galatians 5:1-12
New International Version
Freedom in Christ
5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
THE APOSTLES CREED
CATECHISM QUESTIONS
Leader: What is the Lord’s Supper?
All: The Lord’s supper is a sacrament where we receive bread and wine as a reminder of the death of Jesus Christ for our sins.
Leader: How does the Lord’s Supper help us?
All: The Lord’s Supper helps us to experience the real presence of Christ while we examine our own lives and repent of our sins.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Apostles Creed
We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, his only
Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy christian church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
BENEDICTION