Greeting & Call to Worship

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Our help is in the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.

O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Amen.

Prayer of Praise

We Praise You, O God (Te Deum)

As we come to worship today, many of us may come slightly on edge. We find ourselves bombarded by a convergence of things that feel beyond our control. The rising case counts of a global pandemic; another police shooting, more unrest, followed by a violent response against the police; an election in two days.

It’s also All Saints Day, this beautiful day of the church year where we remember the saints that have gone before us, the church heavenly, and we inevitably think of the saints departed just this year from our church family. And it’s the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians: all our brothers and sisters around the globe who worship every Sunday in hidden places, and face the very real possibility of suffering and death because they confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” 

And then there is our own weariness, anxiety, and frustration—a sense of foreboding, confusion, and helplessness about the months to come. This—all of this—is the context in which we come to worship.

In the midst of all of this, it can be easy to forget that what we do here, in this space, at this time, is the most important and most formative thing in the world: we worship the living God. Worship—being lifted into the heavenly throne room—re-frames all of the above.Rest in that. In the real conditions of real life, tossed, turned, and tempted: we praise; we lament; we are comforted; we hear the word; we commune with Christ; we are formed in the gospel; we are sent.

And we begin with praise. We always begin with praise. Because God is worthy of our praise.

We praise you, O God;
we acclaim you as Lord;
all creation worships you,
the Father everlasting.

To you all angels and all the heavenly powers cry aloud;
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles, praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets, praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs, praise you.
Throughout the world the holy church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded;
your true and only Son, worthy of all praise;
the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the King of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you took our flesh to set us free,
you humbly chose the virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come to be our judge.

Come, then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting. Amen.

Song

Lament & Comfort

Prayer of Lament

Holy God, we cry out to you.
From the depths of our hearts, we cry,
“Lord, hear our prayer.”

We are consumed by grief.
We are feeling overwhelmed by news of the pandemic,
by the actions and rhetoric of our politicians,
by school being done in a strange and different way,
and by so many things in our lives—
it’s hard to sleep, it’s even hard to pray.
From the depths of our hearts, we cry,
“Come and listen to me.”

Deep down, we know you love us—
we’ve experienced your mercy and your faithfulness in the past,
and it has sustained us through many difficult times.
We refuse to believe that you have deserted us,
or that you are unaware of the pain and anxiety we’re feeling.
And so we turn to you again, longing for your presence,
looking for your comfort and peace.

Surround us with your unfailing love.
Remind us that you alone are God,
and that you hold us in the palm of your hand.
Give us courage and strength to face the days ahead,
and strengthen us in the knowledge that we do not face them alone.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen. 

Song of Assurance: O Lord, Hear My Prayer (v. 2)

To the same tune as above, sing verse 2 if you are able. Otherwise, simply read the lyrics below as words of assurance.

The Lord is my song,
the Lord is my praise.
All my hope comes from God.

The Lord is my song,
the Lord is my praise.
God, the wellspring of life.

Text: Psalm 102:1-2; adapt.; Tune (HEAR MY PRAYER): Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) The Community of Taizé © 1991 Ateliers et Presses de Taizé, Taizé Community, France, GIA Publications, Inc., exclusive North American agent

The Peace

The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.

Song

Prayer of Illumination

Since we do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from your mouth,
make us hunger for this heavenly food,
that it may nourish us today in the ways of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Genesis 4

4 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methushael, and Methushael the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
    you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
    a young man for striking me.
24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
    truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

25 Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, because Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to invoke the name of the Lord.

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Sermon

East of Eden

Song

God’s Invitation and Promises

It is a powerful thing to come to the Lord’s Table East of Eden. Amidst all of the pressures that converge on us today—rising case counts, racial justice, election, global persecution; or simple weariness and depression—we join with saints around the world and saints above at this small feast of the garden. Here is the life of heaven, the feast of the gospel, that shapes us for life in the world.

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.

With thanksgiving, let us offer God our grateful praise.

The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right for us to give thanks and praise.

We lift up our hearts and give thanks
because here we see the extravagant generosity of God’s gifts in all of creation,
but most of all for the inestimable gift of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who reconciles us to God.
And so we say,

“Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.”

We lift up our hearts and give thanks
because here we meet, experience, eat and drink
an icon of the gospel, and so proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

And we lift up our hearts and give thanks
because here the Holy Spirit descends,
blesses broken bread and poured out cup,
raises us into Christ, our head, and binds us to each other,
making us Christ’s body, and establishing our unity.

As we come to the Table, hearts uplifted and thanks offered,
we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us until he comes again.

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation 
But deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.

Spiritual Communion

For those worshiping with us online, and not able to partake of the sacrament, we invite you to pray the following prayer of Spiritual Communion and listen to the following song, knowing that God himself is with you, and that your union with Christ remains unbroken.

O Christ, we love you above all things,
and we desire, at all times and in all ways, to be fed by you.
And since we cannot now come to your Table,
we ask you to come by your Spirit into our hearts.
Unite us to you, together with all your faithful people,
and help us to embrace you with all our affections, body and soul.
Never permit us to be separated from you.
By your goodness we pray,
Amen.

Song

Praise & Prayer

Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!

Lord God,
in deep gratitude for your grace,
we give ourselves to you.

Take us out to live as changed people,
because we have received the gift of your Spirit,
and cannot remain the same.

Ask much of us, expect much from us,
enable much by us, encourage many through us.

So, Lord, in all the places you send us,
may we live to your glory,
both as inhabitants of earth
and citizens of your heavenly kingdom.
Amen.

Offering

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The Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Text: Thomas Ken, 1709, P.D. Tune: (OLD HUNDREDTH): Louis Bourgeois, 1551, P.D.

God’s Parting Words

May God go before you to lead you.
May God go behind you to guard you.
May God go beneath you to support you.
May God go beside you to befriend you.
Do not be afraid.
Let the blessing of God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—
come upon you today and settle in around you.
Do not be afraid.
Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.