August 8, 2021

Below, you’ll find the song lyrics and scripture readings for the live stream on August 8th (in the order they are needed).

Boundless Love

I woke up this morning to a garbage truck
seems this old horseshoe’s done run out of luck
if I came home would you let me in
fry me some pork chops and forgive my sins?

and surround me with your boundless love
confound me with your boundless love
I was drowning in a sea, lost as I could be
when you found me with your boundless love

sometimes my old heart is like a washing machine
it bounces around ‘til my soul comes clean
and when i’m clean and hung out to dry
i’m gonna make you laugh until you cry

and surround me with your boundless love
confound me with your boundless love
I was drowning in a sea, lost as I could be
when you found me with your boundless love

if by chance I should find myself at risk
a’fallin from this jagged cliff
I look below, I look above
i’m surrounded by your boundless love

surround me with your boundless love
confound me with your boundless love
I was drowning in a sea, lost as I could be
when you found me with your boundless love
you dumbfound me with your boundless love
you surround me with your boundless love

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship
the Living God

the Eternal One whose love endures all things

to enter the story of God

and find our own stories reimagined

that the Spirit might form us more fully in the way of Christ

bending our hearts and minds
toward God and our neighbor
casting the light of the Kingdom
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
from the light you gave
you are a mending force
patching up wounds, making dead things breathe
I am a fracture, split to the core
but you could fix me
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
and 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
for gravel and dust in time and space
while I am the friction
between bending the knee and running away
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

Abide With Me

abide with me, fast falls the eventide
the darkness deepens, lord with me abide
when other helpers fail, and comforts flee
Help of the Helpless, abide with me

swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day
earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away
change and decay in all around I see
thou who changest not, abide with me

thou has not left me, oft as I left thee
on to the close, o lord, abide with me
I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless
ills have no weight and tears no bitterness

hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes
pierce through the gloom and point me to the skies
heavens morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee
o thou who changest not, abide with me

All My Hope Is In This

this I call to mind, all my hope is in this
each breath is a gift, shelter in the stern of the ship

I heard you used to sleep
while the storm, it raged
while I can barely keep my feet
amidst the slightest change

if I could touch the edge
of your shirt would it help
ease the terror in my chest
and bid my mind, be still

and if I could not reach
but just called your name
would your eye fall upon me
through the gloom like the break of day

and if I could not speak
would you hear me still
my groans too deep for words
would you gather me up in your quilt?
would you gather me up in your quilt?

this I call to mind as the walls start closing in:
your love’s like the wind
never starts and never ends
it only flows
whether whisper or din
return, infinite

Old Testament Reading

Today’s Old Testament reading, and Josh’s sermon text, is from 2 Samuel 18:

The king, David, ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom. So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. Absalom happened to meet the servants of David.

Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.

And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.

Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”

The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

New Testament Reading

Today’s New Testament reading is John 6:35, 41-51:

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

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.

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

love divine, all loves excelling
joy from heaven to earth come down
fix in us thy humble dwelling
all thy faithful mercies crown

Jesus thou art all compassion
pure unbounded love thou art
visit us with thy salvation
enter every trembling heart

breathe, o breathe, thy loving spirit
into every troubled breast
let us all in thee inherit
let us find that second rest

finish then thy new creation
in full bloom, let us be
let us see thy great salvation
lost in wonder, love, and praise

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