"When the Lord returned the captives of Zion we were like those who dream" Psalm 126:1
Worship with us Sundays 10:00 am.
For those unable to come in person, we stream online on YouTube
Sunday, June 22
Proper 7
Jesus, the Gerasene, and the Unclean Spirits
From the Ottheinrichn Bible. ca. 1425-1430, Anonymous, Bavarian State Library
Opening of Worship
[Leader:] The Lord be with you
[ALL:] And also with you
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[Leader:] Whether we are old or young,
whether we are first-time or longtime worshipers,
whether we come full of doubts or confidence, joy or sorrow,
in this place we are all family,
because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Welcome to all of you today!
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[Leader:] There is no longer Jew or Greek,
[ALL:] there is no longer slave or free,
[Leader:] there is no longer male and female:
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
[ALL:] We are children of God through faith.
- based on Galatians 3:26, 28
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[Leader:] This passage from Paul is a powerful summon to the church to grow beyond our divisions. God calls upon us to behave as if we are free, trustworthy, responsible, faithfully self-differentiated people of God, for whom the need of a disciplinarian parent is long past.
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Like the Trinity -- three distinct persons but one God -- we are called to Christ as our identifier and then allow our distinctions to give God glory. One Church with God-blessed distinctions, but not stuck in divisions.
In worship we give voice to say that we find ourselves both individually and collectively in God's amazing grace.
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Let us pray now together in Jesus' name --
[ALL:]
We praise you for creating this world in all beauty,
for redeeming the world through Christ, our Lord,
and for sending us the gift of your Spirit
to encourage, instruct, and sustain us.
We long for your Spirit to work among us now,
to inspire our praise, to challenge us with your truth,
and to equip us for service in your world. Amen.
The First Testament // The Law & the Prophets
Isaiah 65:1-9 (NLT)
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The Lord says,
“I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.
All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes.
All day long they insult me to my face
by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.
They burn incense on pagan altars.
At night they go out among the graves,
worshiping the dead.
They eat the flesh of pigs
and make stews with other forbidden foods.
Yet they say to each other,
‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me!
I am holier than you!’
These people are a stench in my nostrils,
an acrid smell that never goes away.
“Look, my decree is written out in front of me:
I will not stand silent;
I will repay them in full!
Yes, I will repay them—
both for their own sins
and for those of their ancestors,”
says the Lord.
“For they also burned incense on the mountains
and insulted me on the hills.
I will pay them back in full!
“But I will not destroy them all,”
says the Lord.
“For just as good grapes are found among a cluster of bad ones
(and someone will say, ‘Don’t throw them all away—
some of those grapes are good!’),
so I will not destroy all Israel.
For I still have true servants there.
I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel
and of Judah to possess my land.
Those I choose will inherit it,
and my servants will live there.
A Psalm // Sacred Songs
Psalm 22:19-28 (NLT)
O Lord, do not stay far away!
You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
Save me from the sword;
spare my precious life from these dogs.
Snatch me from the lion’s jaws
and from the horns of these wild oxen.
I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.
Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.
I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
The poor will eat and be satisfied.
All who seek the Lord will praise him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
For royal power belongs to the Lord.
He rules all the nations.
"The Holy Trinity", Ulyana Tomkevych
Prayer for Tithes and Offerings
Because God first loved us, we are made to love one another. For the sake of the life of the world, offer yourselves, your time, and your possessions as signs of love.
Generosity & Giving
The tithes and donations you make to DreamHouse Church make a difference to our church, our community, the people of Newport News, and world missions.
There are various ways you can donate. We pass a collection plate during services and electronic giving is available for 24/7 donations. “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” (Proverbs 3:9).
Alfred, King of Essex (ca. 848-899) // Prayers from the Cloud of Witnesses
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Lord God Almighty,
shaper and ruler of all creatures, we pray for your great mercy, that you would guide us toward you, for we cannot find our way.
And guide us to your will, to the need of our soul, for we cannot do it ourselves.
And make our mind steadfast in your will and aware of our soul's need.
Strengthen us against the temptations of the devil, and remove from us all lust and every unrighteousness, and shield us against our foes, seen and unseen.
Teach us to do your will,
that we may inwardly love you before all things with a pure mind.
For you are our maker and our redeemer, our help, our comfort, our trust, our hope.
Praise and glory be to you now and forever, world without end.
Amen.
The Second Testament // The Gospel
Luke 8:26-39 (NLT)
So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town.
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As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power.
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Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
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“Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons. The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.
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There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs.
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So Jesus gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
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When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them.
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So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
The Second Testament // The Epistles
Galatians 3:23-29 (NLT)
Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
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Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
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For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
The Apostle's Creed
WE BELIEVE in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
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WE BELIEVE in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord:
He 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.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge
the living and the dead.
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WE BELIEVE in the Holy Spirit,
the universal Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
"Drink all of it, for it is My Blood", Ulyana Tomkevych;
Medium: egg tempera, Material: gessoed wood, 2021, LINK
The Lord's Supper // Communion
​Hear the words of the institution
of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ:
The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took bread,
and after giving thanks to God,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying,
“Take, eat.
This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this in remembrance of me.”
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord until he comes.
—based on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
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Let us pray --
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Living God,
send your Holy Spirit upon us
as we share your heavenly meal;
nourish us with your grace
so that we are strengthened
to do your work in this world;
unite us with you so that we are renewed;
and join us with your covenant people
throughout time and space
so that all divisions will be healed.
May we gratefully and joyfully remember that Jesus, our Savior,
lived, died, and rose to give us new life and make us new creations in him.
May we live in the hope
we discover through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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The body of Christ, given for you.
Thanks be to God.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Thanks be to God.
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Loving God,
you have given us a share in the one bread and the one cup
and made us one with Christ.
Help us to bring your salvation and joy to all the world.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Doxology and Benediction // The Sending & the Blessing
As you leave this place this day,
may God’s love sustain you,
and may you love those who surround you.
May God’s Spirit empower you,
and may you empower all those you meet.
May God’s joy fill your hearts,
and may this joy overflow
to the ends of the earth for God’s glory, now and forever. Amen