august 2,2026
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo
Please use this Order of Service to easily follow the service online.
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Prelude: Richard Harper
Chalice Lighting: by Sara Eileen LaWall
Out of the flames of fear,
we rise with courage of our deepest convictions
to stand for justice, inclusion and peace
Out of the flames of scrutiny, we rise to proclaim our faith
With hope to heal a fractured and hurting world
Out of the flames of doubt, we rise to embrace the mystery, wonder and awe
of all there is and all that is yet to be
Out of the flames of hate, we rise with the force of love
Love that celebrates our shared humanity
Out of the flames we rise
Opening Hymn: What a Friend We Have in Jesus NCH 506
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship:
At God’s table of justice, everyone has a place and none are turned away. All: Here strangers are welcomed as friends, the poor sit alongside the rich, and the upside-down kin-dom of God is revealed.
At God’s table of abundance, a banquet of righteousness and liberation is set for all. All: Here the powerless are heard; the outcast are showered with honor, and the inside-out kin-dom of God is revealed.
At God’s table of life, all peoples know peace and creation flourishes.All: Here the hopeless are nourished with possibility, the complacent are transformed into advocates for change. Here in our very midst the kin-dom of God is revealed.
Prayer of Invocation:
First Sacred Reading John 11:1 – 44
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,[g] the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Passing of the Peace
Sharing of Our Joys & Concerns
Prayers of the People/Pastoral Prayer
Offering & Doxology: We Give You But Your Own – NCH 785
We give you but your own, what e'er the gift may be; All that we have is yours alone, we give it gratefully
Second Sacred Reading: Bhagavad Gita 18:61
The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.
Hymn of Reflection: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy NCH 23
Sermon: Letting Go, Held Whole
Service of Communion:
God is with you
And also with you
Let us open our hearts
Let us open them to God
Let us give God thanks and praise
It is a good and joyful thing to do
Closing Hymn: Some Glad Morning NCH 595
Benediction: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo
Postlude: Richard
All Souls Bethlehem Church
An Open and Affirming Congregation
Pastor: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo
Ministers: All Members of ASBC
Minister Emeritus: Rev. Bill Nye
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and be our guest at the gathering following the service!
Interested in “Official” Church Membership?
Please speak with Council President Raquel Irizarry about our next New Member gathering!
An All-inclusive, Welcoming Community of Faith
born from the traditions of the:
Disciples of Christ - www.Disciples.org
United Church of Christ - www.UCC.org
Unitarian Universalist Association - www.UUA.org
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