Hampstead Congregational Church UCC

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Hampstead Congregational Church
August 17, 2025
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost

No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are on Life’s Journey,

You are Welcome Here!

Order of Worship

Prelude                                                                                                              Judy Dobson 

Greetings and Announcements                                                                   

Call to Worship (responsive)                                                                          Rick Little

Leader:  The One who commands the clouds calls us to be poured out for others.

People:  We can, by faith, be the waters of peace which quench the fires of hatred.

Leader:  The One who creates mercy and hope, longs for a world of fair play and grace.

People:  We can, by faith, let righteousness and justice be our constant companions.

Leader:  The One who is with us in every moment composes a love-song for our hearts.

People:  We can, by faith, teach this song to everyone we meet.

Gathering Prayer   (unison)                                                                           Rick Little

     God of our being and our doing: we come from so many places; places of play and study and work; places of joy and worry and fears; places of loneliness and friendship.  We give you thanks that you meet us at all the places in our lives.   Give us the power to perceive you.  Give us the courage to follow you.  Amen.

Passing of the Peace of Christ 

(Feel free to pass the peace by shaking hands, offering hugs or waves.  Those who would like to share peace without physical contact are invited to place their hands over their hearts in greeting.)

*Opening Hymn:  

Scripture Readings:   Luke 12: 49-56                                                      Rick Little

⁴⁹ “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! ⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! ⁵² From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; ⁵³ they will be divided:

father against son
    and son against father,
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens. ⁵⁵ And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

 Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2  (NSRVUE)             

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. ³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

³² And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵ Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹ Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Children’s Message

Sermon: "An Endurance Race"                                    Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Call for Concerns & Celebrations

Pastoral Prayer                                                                Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

     The Lord’s Prayer:

     Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

Call to Offering

*Doxology:        Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
                           Praise God, all creatures here below;
                           Praise God above, you heavenly host:
                           One God, Triune whom we adore.

*Prayer of Dedication                                                          Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

     Like countless others before us, O God, we offer ourselves to you. Take all that we have and are, and use that for the work of making your reign real on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

*Hymn of Going Forth:  

*Benediction                                                                              Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin

Children of God, go now in the presence of the great cloud of witnesses and in the blessing of God who forms us for community. May you find in God and one another the joy to persevere as we follow after Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, as we seek God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Music Usage permitted through OneLicense HCC License # A-730412 and CCLI License Number 2927783. All rights reserved.

Announcements:

9am Worship begins September 7!

As we begin our new relationship with the Atkinson Congregational Church and begin sharing a pastor, our worship time will be changing. Beginning September 7, our worship time will move to 9 am. Atkinson will be moving their worship time to 10:30 am. The worship times will be evaluated in January. It has not been decided whether these times will be permanent or if we will alternate the times in the future.

There will be an exception to this new time. On Sunday, September 28, the two congregations will worship together at 10 am at HCC to celebrate the new covenant.

 August 18^th Church Weekly Calendar

Steeple Lighting

August 18^th to August 24^th

In loving memory of

Mary Della Puietra

Happy Heavenly Birthday