FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF WEEDSPORT
August 23, 2026
Rev. Brian Copeland
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost
CHIMES (Preparing ourselves for worship.)
PRELUDE
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Liturgist
OPENING SENTENCES (Responsive) Liturgist
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
HYMN #446 Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
CONFESSION AND PARDON (Responsive) Liturgist
We seek the will of God, but still find ourselves conformed to this world, instead of being transformed into God’s image. Let us seek forgiveness for the ways we have turned away from justice and mercy.
Almighty God, when faced with earthly powers that seem overwhelming, we crumble.
We fear this world. We fear losing our status, our stability, our station more than we fear you. Forgive our shortcomings and teach us to trust in you when we take a risk for what we know is right.
SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION MAY BE OFFERED
If God was not on our side, we could not stand in the judgment. But God is with us, steadfast and faithful, as we seek to live in peace.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!
SPECIAL MUSIC
PRAYERS FOR ILLUMINATION (Unison) Liturgist
Faithful God, how blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Sanctify us by your Word and Spirit so that we may glorify you
in the company of the faithful; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 124:1-8 Liturgist
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 16:13-20 Rev. Brian Copeland
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON Rev. Brian Copeland
HYMN #405 What Does the Lord Require
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (Unison) Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33
The life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ has set the pattern for the church’s mission. His human life involves the church in the common life of all people. His service to men and women commits the church to work for every form of human well-being. His suffering makes the church sensitive to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ in the faces of persons in every kind of need. His crucifixion discloses to the church God’s judgment on the inhumanity that marks human relations, and the awful consequences of the church’s own complicity in injustice. In the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming, the church sees
the promise of God’s renewal of human life in society and of God’s victory over all wrong. The church follows this pattern in the form of its life and in the method of its action. So to live and serve is to confess Christ as Lord.
JOYS AND CONCERNS
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND THE LORD’S PRAYER (Hymnal p.16 Traditional)
With one mind in Christ, and one heart in the Spirit, let us pray to the Lord of heaven and earth. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING (Offering plates are not passed. Offering plates are on the front and side tables.)
DOXOLOGY (Hymn #592)
PRAYER OF DEDICATION (Unison)
Merciful and gracious God, you abound in steadfast love and faithfulness. With gratitude, we bring our gifts to you. Bless these gifts and bless our lives that together we may share your mercy and grace for the world you dearly love. Amen.
HYMN #434 Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples
BLESSING AND CHARGE
POSTLUDE
*LARGE PRINT BULLETINS ARE AVAILABLE. Please ask the greeter.
Reminders:
Sept. 3 - Blood drive, register on line
Sept. 18 – Doug’s to Go fundraiser to benefit Weedsport Good Samaritan Fund
Sept. 25 – Sennett Federated Potter’s Pop-Up Kitchen
Oct. 3 & 4 – Honor Flight can and bottle drive
Oct. 16 – Sennett Federated Potter’s Pop-Up Kitchen
Oct. 18 – Joint worship with MFPC at MFPC at 11 a.m.
