JULY 19, 2026 ORDER OF WORSHIP

 

THE FIRST WORD Rev. Jacob T. Jackson

 

Pastor: This is the day that the LORD has made.

People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

 

WELCOME Rev. Jacob T. Jackson

 

PRELUDE Dr. Banks

 

INVOCATION (Remain Seated) Liturgist

Almighty and merciful God,

Your strength is the source of all justice, yet Your power is revealed through patience, compassion, and mercy. You rule over all creation, not with harshness or fear, but with love that seeks to restore and redeem.

As we gather in worship today, teach us to trust in Your wisdom. When we are impatient, remind us of Your patience. When we are quick to judge, remind us of Your mercy. When we struggle to understand the brokenness of this world, help us rest in the assurance that You are working all things toward Your good purposes.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.

Amen.

**CALL TO WORSHIP Liturgist

Leader: O Lord, You have searched us and known us.

People: You know our thoughts, our journeys, and our hearts.

Leader: Where can we go from Your Spirit? Where can we flee from Your presence?

People: Whether in joy or sorrow, You are with us.

Leader: Search us, O God, and know our hearts.

People: Lead us in the way everlasting.

Leader: Let us worship the God who knows us completely and loves us faithfully.

People: We come to worship the Lord!

**WORSHIP SONG “In Christ Alone” Adrienne Camp and Geoff Moore

In Christ alone, my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

 

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

 

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

 

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

 

OFFERING & OFFERTORY

 

**DOXOLOGY    

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him all creatures here below;

Praise Him above ye heav’nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

 

OFFERTORY PRAYER Rev. Jacob T. Jackson

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Rev. Jacob T. Jackson

Matthew 13:40-41

40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 

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41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,

 

JOYS AND CONCERNS Rev. Jacob T. Jackson

PASTORAL PRAYER

LORD’S PRAYER

 

SCRIPTURE READING Romans 8:12-25 NRSV Liturgist

12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—

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13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 

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14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 

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15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 

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16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 

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17 and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 

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18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 

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19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, 

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20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 

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21 that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 

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22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, 

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23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 

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24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? 

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25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

 

RESPONSE TO SCRIPTURE Liturgist

Liturgist:  The Word of God for the people of God.

Congregation:  Thanks be to God.

 

SPECIAL MUSIC Dr. Banks

 

SCRIPTURE READING Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

NRSV Pastor

24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, 

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25 but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. 

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26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 

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27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 

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28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 

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29 But he replied, ‘No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 

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30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 

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37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 

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38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 

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39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 

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40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 

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41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 

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42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

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43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

 

RESPONSE TO SCRIPTURE Pastor

Pastor:  The Word of God for the people of God.

Congregation:  Thanks be to God.

 

SERMON “Already and Not Yet” Rev. Jacob T. Jackson

 

**UMH HYMN #377 “It Is Well With My Soul”

When peace like a river 

attendeth my way,

When sorrows like 

sea-billows roll;

Whatever my lot, 

Thou hast taught me to say,

“It is well, it is well with my soul.”

It is well 

with my soul,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS Liturgist

 

FELLOWSHIP BLESSING Youth Representative

Gracious God,

As we gather around tables together, we celebrate the blessings You have already given, even as we continue to wait and hope for what is still to come. When life feels uncertain, help us to trust in Your faithfulness. May the peace that comes from knowing You settle deeply within our hearts, so that whatever season we face, it may be well with our souls.

Bless our food, our fellowship, and our week ahead.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.

**BENEDICTION Rev. Jacob T. Jackson

POSTLUDE Dr. Banks

(Please be seated as the postlude closes our service)