November 14, 2021

Below, you’ll find the song lyrics and scripture readings for the live stream on November 14th (in the order they are needed).

Amazing Grace

amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now i’m found
was bound but now i’m free

‘twas grace that taught my heart to fear
and grace my fears relieved
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed

through many dangers toils and snares
I have already come
’twas grace that brought me safe thus far
and grace will lead me home

my chains are gone I've been set free
my god my savior has ransomed me
and like a flood god’s mercy rains
unending love amazing grace

when we’ve been there 10,000 years
bright shining as the sun
we’ve no less days to sing god’s praise
than when we’d first begun

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship
the Eternal One

by whom the bows of the mighty are broken
by whom the lowly are lifted from the ashes

to enter the story of God

and find our own stories reimagined

that the Spirit of God might form us in the way of Christ

teaching us to love God, our neighbor, and our selves
in our ordinary lives

Amen

Bonfire

you are a bonfire, creation the ash coming off your flame
I am a shadow thrown to the ground by the light you gave
you were a mending force, patching up wounds, making dead things breathe
I am a fracture, split to the core, but you could fix me

so we wait for the day we’d rise from the darkness inside us
when every good and broken thing will meet you there
on that golden shoreline; we won’t need the stars to guide us
there’s a new light in the sky

you are a writer, twisting the plot so the words don’t fade
I am a margin, framing the side of the phrases you laid
you hold the best intentions of gravel and dust in time and space
while I am the friction between bending the knee and running away

and its breaking through even now, it’s breaking down
the fears we’ve called our refuge and even now
we can see the faintest light like a crack in time
like you’re already there and you’re calling us home
to the new world that you’ve grown

There

before there were mountains to crumble
before there were seas to rise
before there was pain, the loss and the weight
you were there, you were there, you were there

although our fear is rising
although our fire has gone out
although our hearts are worried and fraught
you are there, you are there, you are there

i’ve got a problem, i’ve made a drug
of worrying over what is yet to come
it’s clouding my vision, strangling my love
away

after the sun stops burning
after the stars have gone out
after the world ceases to turn
you’ll be there, you’ll be there, you’ll be there

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

o love that will not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give you back the life I owe
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer fuller be

o light that follows all my ways
I yield my flickering torch to thee
my heart restores its borrowed ray
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter fairer be

o joy that seeks me through the pain
I cannot close my heart to thee
i’ll trace the rainbow through the rain
and feel the promise is not in vain
that morn shall tearless be

o love don’t let go of me
o light hold my flickering
o joy don’t lose sight of me
o love don’t let go of me

o cross that’s lifting up my head
I dare not ask to fly from thee
though I lay in dust, life’s glory dead
from the ground there blossoms red
life that shall endless be

endlessly
endless be
endlessly

Old Testament Reading

Today’s Old Testament reading, and Josh’s sermon text, is 1 Samuel 1:4-20:

On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”

As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”

New Testament Reading

Today’s New Testament reading is Mark 13:1-8:

Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.”

Giving

UBC relies on the generosity of the community. If you are a in place that you are able to give of your time, talent, and resources to UBC we would be grateful. If you want to make a financial contribution, the easiest way to do so is through our church center app.

Where God Has Always Been

praise be the lord of all with their backs against the wall,
hands above their heads and eyes lifted up
to that impossible line where the hill meets the sky
who wonder if the distance is a trick of the earth
or a trick of the mind, and if help will arrive
before they slip away

praise be the lord of all who wrestle until dawn
who wear their scars like names, yet find
heaven and earth strangely aligned
like water in the sour wine; hidden in plain sight

for god is now where god has always been
bunkered down with those in the ditch
raising fountains from the cracking dirt
and raising a feast for the hollow unheard
unheard, unheard
while the powerful who reign dissolve into the grave
the eternal one will shade the ones they cast away
until the coming of the day where all this is remade

praise be the lord of all who’ve nowhere to belong
for the kingdom is drawing near

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise God, all creatures here below
Praise God above, ye heavenly hosts
Praise Timeless, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen.

Benediction

As we approach this week

May we love God
Embrace Beauty
and Live Life to the fullest