Christ Presbyterian Church

Worship Service

October 8, 2023
Facebook Live: @christpc
Call and Listen: 351-888-7756
Sanctuary Parking Area: FM105.3
 Welcome to Sunday Worship Service
19th Sunday After Pentecost
October 8, 2023 10:00AM
* Please stand if you are able.

Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
One: The Peace of Christ be with You.
All: And also with You.
GATHERING AROUND THE WORD

Call to Worship
One: Give thanks to the LORD, for God is good;
All: God’s steadfast love endures for ever.
One: God crowns the year with bounty;
All: Pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy.
One: Valleys deck themselves with grain, and sing together for joy.
All: So let us all praise God for all God’s goodness to us.

Prayer of Adoration
God of abundant love, when we hunger for fulfillment, you offer us the Bread of Life.
When we thirst for your presence, you fill our cup to overflowing. You draw near to us
in every place, at any time. Holy One, in you our deepest desires are fulfilled. So to you,
O God, Creator, Christ and Spirit, we offer thanksgiving, honour and praise with all your
people, here and everywhere, now and always. Amen

*Hymn
Immortal, Invisible; God, Only Wise
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

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 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might:
thy justice, like mountains high soaring above;
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life thou givest, to both great and small.
In all life thou livest, the true life of all.
We blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree,
then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Thou reignest in glory; thou dwellest in light.
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight.
All praise we would render; O help us to see
'tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!

Prayer of Confession
God of abundant mercy, you see our failures to keep your law of love. We have not
always loved our neighbours as you taught. We find it impossible to love our enemies
as Jesus asked. Forgive us all the times we failed to live out your love. Renew in us the
courage to offer others the generosity of heart you have shown us in Jesus. AMEN

Silent Confession
Assurance of Pardon
*Affirmation of Faith 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
I believe Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice
in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come
to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9
For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete
comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I
thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to
childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.
Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And
now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

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Special Music
Hineini
Solo – Susan Taylor

PROCLAIMING THE WORD

Prayer of Illumination
Reading from the Old Testament
Psalm 19
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day
to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor
are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and
their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes
out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid
from its heat. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are
sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the
commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be
desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of
the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great
reward. 12 But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your
servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be
blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 1989)

Reading from the New Testament

Philippians 3:4b-14
Even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be
confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people
of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as
to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet
whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than
that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order
that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based
on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his
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sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from
the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I
press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do
not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 1989)

One: This is the Word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God!

Family Choir
Jesus, Name Above All Names
Jesus, Name above all names,
beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.
Emmanuel, God is with us,
blessed Redeemer, living Word.

I AM, Light of the Gentiles,

Lord God Almighty, Prince of Peace.
El Shaddai; God is Sufficient,
Shepherd of Souls, King of kings.

Lily of the Valley,

Son of David, Rose of Sharon,
the Alpha and Omega,
Seed of Jesse, Morning Star.

Jesus, our Intercessor,

promised Messiah, Bread of Life,
the Giver of Living Water,
mighty Baptizer, Son of God.

Reading from the Gospel

Matthew 21:33-46
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around
it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to
another country. 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to
collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and
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stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in
the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But
when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him
and get his inheritance.” 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They
said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other
tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you
never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom
of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the
kingdom. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone
on whom it falls.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they
realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the
crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 1989)

One: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God!

Sermon Rev. William Cowfer

“Pressing Toward The Goal”

RESPONDING TO THE WORD

Hymn
Now Thank We All Our God
Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done, in whom this world rejoices;
who, from our mothers' arms, hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
and keep us in God's grace, and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills in this world and the next.
All praise and thanks to God, who reigns in highest heaven,
to Father and to Son and Spirit now be given:
the one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore,
the God who was, and is, and shall be evermore.
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Invitation to Giving
Offertory
*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. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication
Prayers of the People
The Lord’s Prayer
GOING OUT INTO THE WORLD

*Hymn
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
Our God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home:
Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received its frame,
from everlasting thou art God,
to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in thy sight
are like an evening gone,
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.
Benediction
Postlude

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 ANNOUNCEMENTS
**Please join us for coffee fellowship today in Parlor after worship.**
Congregational Meeting
Join us on Sunday October 22nd at 9:15 AM for a congregational meeting. This is the first of a series of meetings to discuss
the future of Christ Presbyterian. If you are able, we highly encourage you to attend each meeting. Thank you.

Thrift Store Volunteers Needed

The thrift store is looking for volunteers to help out once a month on Saturdays from 8:45 AM to 1:15 PM. If you are interested,
please contact June Sanchez at 727-409-4199.

Wednesday Night Take-Out Dinner

Take-out meals will be available for delivery or pickup at 4:45 PM on Wednesdays. The cost per meal is $10. This week’s
menu is pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw, chips, and carrot cake. If interested in receiving a meal, please contact June
Sanchez at 727-409-4199 or the church office at 727-584-8695. The delivery area is limited.

Neighborhood Ministries
* To help support our food ministries you can make financial contribution to the “Neighborhood Funds.”

The Neighborhood Food Program distributes bags of groceries on Wednesdays from 5PM to 6PM. These bags provide
additional food items to supplement caring for the families in need. Food items can continue to be dropped off on Sunday
mornings and placed in the wheeled grocery cart or at the church office.

Pak-a-Snack has resumed providing food bags to students at Anona Elementary.

CPC Night Out on The Town

Join us on Thursday October 19th at 5 PM for dinner at O'Keefe's Tavern 1219 S Fort Harrison Ave, Clearwater. If interested,
please contact the church office at 727-584-8695 or Chad Bender at 727-304-7577 by Monday October 16th to make a
reservation.

Ways to support your church in tithes and offerings

1. Online at www.largocpc.org
2. Through Vanco Mobile Faith Engagement App on Apple or Android devices
3. Mail a gift directly to the church or drop in office mail slot
4. Use the bill pay option through your bank
5. Scan the QR code to the right using your phone

CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Phone: 727-584-8695 • Fax: 727-585-1079 • 3115 Dryer Ave, Largo FL 33770
www.LargoCPC.org • email: Office.largocpc@gmail.com •
Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 9 AM – 11:30 AM or by appointment.
Pastor Cowfer will be in the office on Tuesdays and most Thursdays from 9:00 AM – 12:00PM,
if you would like to reach him, please call 727-434-2768 or the church office.

Pastor Rev. William Cowfer email: Cowferwj@gmail.com

Secretary Sarah Reeves email: Office.largocpc@gmail.com
Director of Music Steven Radeck email: StevenRadeck@gmail.com
Custodian June Sanchez email: JuBug616@aol.com
All songs used by permission CCLI #863215 and streaming CPSL 139714, Expiration date 7/31/2023
FYI - Video and audio equipment are used for the
8 livestreaming & recording of the worship service.