PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND 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, and the power, and the glory forever. ~ Amen.

Sharing the Bread and the Cup

As directed by the ushers, please come forward, take a piece of bread,

dip it in the cup and partake. Servers are available to bring Communion

to those who wish to remain in their seats. Gluten-free crackers are

available in each basket.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

All: God of love, we give You thanks for these gifts of bread

and wine. For the love they symbolize, and for the healing

and wholeness they offer us, we give You praise. Give us

the courage to go from this table to share Your love in

word and in action, through Jesus Christ. ~ Amen

GOING FORTH TO MINISTER

*CLOSING HYMN “Christ Is Our Light” [Insert]

*BENEDICTION

*SUNG BLESSING [171 V.1]

The King of love my Shepherd is,

Whose goodness faileth never;

I nothing lack if I am His

And He is mine forever.

POSTLUDE Alejandro Alumbreros

*Please stand as you are able.

[Bold type] indicates text to be spoken or song to be sung by the congregation.

March 4, 2018 9:30 a.m.

“ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM”

Join us this Wednesday the 7th

for “Supper and Substance”

from 5:30 to 7:00PM

. At 5:30PM

, we will share a simple

potluck meal and 6:00 to 7:00PM

will be dedicated

to study, conversation and reflection.

Pastor Gillian leads this weekly program.

GATHERING WITH PRAISE

PRELUDE Alejandro Alumbreros

(As we listen to the beautiful music may we silently prepare ourselves for

worship)

FIRST THOUGHT

“Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light

is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death; victory is

ours through him who loved us.”

Desmond Tutu

One: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

*CALL TO WORSHIP

One: For God so loved the world God gave His Son

All: Out of love, Jesus became one of us

One: For God so loves the world even now

All: God continues to be with us in our joys and our sorrows

One: For God so promises to love us forever

All: In this is our hope and our comfort

One: Let us worship the God who is Love

OPENING HYMN “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” [220]

*PRAYER OF THE DAY

WELCOME

Welcome! Whoever you are, wherever you come from and whatever you

have done or failed to do, welcome to this place where we celebrate the

love of God and are inspired by the hospitality of Jesus Christ. May you

find God’s love, peace and grace as we worship together.

CALL TO CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Rev. Steven Fringer

We come to You, Holy God, to confess our sins and to seek

Your forgiveness. With humility, we confess that our lives

are not as You want them to be. Our love is limited, and our

hearts can be indifferent to needs of others. We have made

promises we have not kept and missed opportunities to do

good for others. Our lives are far from perfect, yet we are

more willing to point out the failures of others than address

our own shortcomings. God, forgive us and whisper into our

lives the healing words of forgiveness and the encouraging

words that speak of Your everlasting love for each and for

all of us. In the name of Jesus through whom we see Your

love and know Your forgiveness. ~ Amen

(Let us continue to pray in silence.)

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

One: Friends, hear the good news of the Gospel.

All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

*ACT OF PRAISE [335 V. 3]

Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control,

Our spirits long to be made whole.

Let inward love guide every deed;

By this we worship and are freed.

PROCLAIMING THE WORD

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

TIME FOR ALL AGES

CHANCEL CHOIR “None Other Lamb”

by Craig Courtney

SCRIPTURE John 3:14-21 [O.T. p. 94]

SERMON “Rosetta Stone of Faith”

Rev. Gillian Weighton

RESPONDING TO THE WORD

OFFERING/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

SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

Invitation to the Table

The Table at First Presbyterian is open to all. Friends from other tradi-

tions are welcome to share in the Lord’s Supper because Christ is our

host. Children who are being nurtured in the faith are also welcome.

We invite all to share in this meal in order to be renewed and assured

of God’s love and grace.

Welcome to this sanctuary.

Welcome to this time of worship and wonder.

Welcome to this family of faith.

WELCOME TO FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

We’re glad you’re here today and pray that your experience

with us in worship is both challenging and uplifting!

9:30AM

—Worship with Communion

10:15AM

—Sunday School

Fellowship to follow in Ihrman Hall.

Nursery care is available during

worship service in Room 205.

Senior Pastor

Rev. Gillian Weighton

PastorGillian@FirstPresRacine.org

Visitation Pastor

Rev. Steve Fringer

SCFringer@Hotmail.com

716 College Avenue

Racine, WI 53403

262.632.1686

www. FirstPresRacine.org

Office@FirstPresRacine.org

GET THE WEEKLY “E-VOTIONAL”

To receive our mid-week E-votional along with news about what’s going

on in the church, call/email the office and ask to be added to the list!

Sun., Mar. 4 9:30AM

10:15AM

Worship with communion

Sunday School

Mon., Mar. 5

Tue., Mar. 6 9:45AM

11:00AM

11:00AM

Underground Railroad Tour - Group 1

Underground Railroad Tour - Group 2

Staff Meeting

Wed., Mar. 7 12:00PM

5:00PM

to 7:00PM

5:30PM

to 7:00PM

7:00PM

Bible Study (Parlor)

Food Pantry

Supper & Substance (Ihrman Hall)

Handbell Choir Rehearsal

Thu., Mar. 8 2:00PM

to 4:00PM

Food Pantry

Fri., Mar. 9

March 4, 2018

GREETERS: Jerry & Nancy Ritter

USHERS: Ben Neal, Bill Anderson, David & Michael Griffith

PERK-N-POUR: Todd & Jen Seversen, Ken Schacht

LITURGIST: Steve Fringer

Please join us March 11th

at 9:30AM

for Worship

Scripture reading—John 12:20-33

WARM WINTER WEAR DRIVE

We will be collecting new socks, new and/or gently used mittens,

hats and scarves for the children who attend Julian Thomas

Elementary—930 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. We will have

a box in Ihrman Hall for your donations.

Please help us keep the children warm, so they can enjoy recess!

The INTERCESSORY PRAYER GROUP

will meet on Wed., Mar. 14th

at 10:00AM

in Ihrman Hall.

DAYTIME CIRCLE will do the

Soup Dump potluck on

Thurs., Mar. 15th

at noon at

church. We are asking that

each participant furnish a

can of soup. Contact Leah

Fisher if you plan to come

and she will have further

details on what soups to

bring. If you want to bring

another goodie to add to

the potluck, that would

be appreciated!

Submit your 2018 PER CAPITA dues

now, so you won’t have to worry

about it at the end of the year.

The fees for 2018 are $34/person.

Thank you!

(If you cannot make your shift, please find a sub and let Karin, LuAnn or Tony know.)

Our food pantry is currently in need of peanut butter, canned pasta meals,

hearty soups and bars of soap, so keep an eye open for sales.

THANK YOU!

WED., MAR. 7TH

Maria Hansen

Ken Schacht

Elizabeth Tews

Pam Wortley

THURS., MAR. 8TH

Mary Jane Johnston

Pam & Steve Simpson

Debbie Yale

Prayers for our church family—including Marge Henze, Mary

Jane Johnston, Darrell Sutton, David Perkins, Ollie Hopkins, Beth

Elzinga, Annette Anderson, Larry & Ellen Cardwell, Don & Nancy

Tobias. Please keep Ann DePelecyn & her family, Adam Reiss—

son of Ellen Cardwell, Stephen Goodall—grandson of Ollie & Sandy Hopkins, Mary

Larscheidt—sister of Carrie Massey, Mary Jensen—sister of Elaine Jacobson, Lucille

Von Rotz—mother of Diane Lehmann.

Please keep the families of Maggie Seater and Tony Aiello in your prayers, during

this very difficult time.

Prayers for our military—Lt. Col Jay Brooke, Nicholas Hansen, Jordan Smith,

Chad Lawrence, Kyle Sondergaard.

Prayers for our friends— Healing prayers for Ben Johnston-Krase and Ethan,

Lt. Col. Matt Brooke—Army, Retired, and anyone going through rough times—

whether emotionally, physically or spiritually.

And a special prayer for all those who lend a helping hand to make the world

a brighter place for others.