Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda
- Jul 2
- 14 min read

Sunday Worship on July 2, 2023

The Liturgy of the Word

(No Communion)

5th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 8A)

July 2, 2023 at 9:30 AM

Presider: The Rev. Ella Roundtree-Davis, Deacon

Preacher: Karsten Tyson, Licensed Lay Preacher

Watch the Livestream at www.Facebook.com/StMattSav/Live/

Hymn #525 – The Church’s One Foundation

1 The Church's one foundation

is Jesus Christ her Lord;

she is his new creation

by water and the word:

from heaven he came and sought her

to be his holy bride;

with his own blood he bought her,

and for her life he died.

2 Elect from every nation,

yet one o'er all the earth,

her charter of salvation,

one Lord, one faith, one birth;

one holy Name she blesses,

partakes one holy food,

and to one hope she presses,

with every grace endued.

3 Though with a scornful wonder

men see her sore oppressed,

by schisms rent asunder,

by heresies distressed;

yet saints their watch are keeping,

their cry goes up, "How long?"

and soon the night of weeping

shall be the morn of song.

4 Mid toil and tribulation,

and tumult of her war

she waits the consummation

of peace for evermore;

till with the vision glorious

her longing eyes are blessed,

and the great Church victorious

shall be the Church at rest.

5 Yet she on earth hath union

with God, the Three in One,

and mystic sweet communion

with those whose rest is won.

O happy ones and holy!

Lord, give us grace that we

like them, the meek and lowly,

on high may dwell with thee.

The Opening Acclamation

[BCP, p. 355]

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever. Amen.

Confession of Sin

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14, 16)

The Deacon says

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept. All pray together, kneeling, as they are able,

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

A Deacon or Lay Celebrant says:

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Hymn S280: Glory to God

[see also BCP, p. 356]

Glory to God in the highest,

and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,

almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks,

we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,

Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world:

have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father:

receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,

you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High,

Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Collect of the Day

[BCP, p. 357, 230]

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Reading from the Book of Genesis 22:1-14

God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 13

Read responsively by half-verse (at the asterisk).

1 How long, O Lord? will you forget me for ever? * how long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long shall I have perplexity in my mind, and grief in my heart, day after day? * how long shall my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God; * give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

4 Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him," * and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.

5 But I put my trust in your mercy; * my heart is joyful because of your saving help.

6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt with me richly; * I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High.

A Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 6:12-23

Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn #401 – The God of Abraham Praise (Verses 1-4)

1 The God of Abraham praise, who reigns enthroned above; Ancient of everlasting days, and God of love; the Lord, the great I AM, by earth and heaven confessed: we bow and bless the sacred Name for ever blest. 2 He by himself hath sworn: we on his oath depend; we shall, on eagles-wings upborne, to heaven ascend: we shall behold his face, we shall his power adore, and sing the wonders of his grace for evermore. 3 There dwells the Lord, our King, the Lord, our Righteousness, triumphant o'er the world and sin, the Prince of Peace; on Zion's sacred height his kingdom he maintains, and, glorious with his saints in light, for ever reigns. 4 The God who reigns on high the great archangels sing, and “Holy, holy, holy,” cry, “Almighty King! Who was, and is, the same, and evermore shall be: eternal Father, great I AM, we worship thee.”

The People stand, as they are able, for the reading of the Gospel.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew 10:40-42

Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Hymn #401 – The God of Abraham Praise (Verse 5)

5 The whole triumphant host give thanks to God on high; “Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost” they ever cry; hail, Abraham’s Lord divine! With heaven our songs we raise; all might and majesty are thine, and endless praise.

The Sermon

by Karsten Tyson, Lay Preacher

The Nicene Creed

[BCP, p. 358]

All standing as they are able, the People pray:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Prayers of the People, Form VI

[Adapted from BCP, p. 392]

In peace, we pray to you, Lord God.

Silence

For all people in their daily life and work;

For our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are alone.

For Joseph, our president; Brian, our governor; Van, our mayor; Chester, the chair of our County Commission; and all other civic officials; For this community, the nation, and the world;

For all who work for justice, freedom, and peace.

For the just and proper use of your creation;

For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.

For all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble;

For those who minister to the sick, the friendless, and the needy.

For all the churches in Savannah, that we may be one as you are one with the Son, and the Holy Spirit; For the peace and unity of the Church of God;

For all who proclaim the Gospel, and all who seek the Truth.

For Michael our Presiding Bishop, Frank our Bishop, Guillermo our Priest, Ella our Deacon; and for all bishops and other ministers;

For all who serve God in his Church.

For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, especially for our Day Care’s staff, students, and families, and for those on our Parish Prayer List: Mary Bonaparte, Jacqueline Bryant, Lazola Cope, Aaron Duplechien, Jr., Delois Groover, Marva Harris, David Jones, Beverly Kemp, Whitney Kennedy, Sada Maxwell, Jeannette Outing, and Jewel Wheeler; and those we remember now… [Silence. The People may add their own petitions.]

Hear us, Lord;

For your mercy is great.

We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life, especially for all visitors to this parish, all those celebrating birthdays, especially: Daniel Harris (7/3), Rachael Blue-Jones (7/4), Cheryl Rhett (7/7), Willie Mae Robinson (7/7), and Whitney Kennedy (7/8) and anniversaries this week, and those thanksgivings we offer now… [Silence. The People may add their own petitions.]

We will exalt you, O God our King;

And praise your Name for ever and ever.

We pray for all who have died, that they may have a place in your eternal kingdom, and those we remember now... [Silence. The People may add their own petitions.]

Lord, let your loving-kindness be upon them;

Who put their trust in you.

The Celebrant concludes with the following or some other suitable Collect:

Almighty and eternal God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully accept the prayers of your people, and strengthen us to do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Peace

[BCP, p. 360]

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Parish Announcements

Sign up for our e-Newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/StMattSavNews

Join RJGA for July book discussion: On Thursday evenings in July, Racial Justice Georgia will be hosting a Zoom-based discussion series of Melissa Fay Greene's Praying for Sheetrock--a gripping account of the struggle for civil rights in McIntosh County, Georgia.

The book can be ordered through Amazon, Indiebound, and Barnes & Noble. Reading schedule and Zoom link will be in future editions in News From The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, From the Field.

Honey Creek Summer Camps: Sign up now for Summer Camp at Honey Creek at www.honeycreek.org/camps! Camp registrations costs $600 per camper (with $200 due at registration). St. Matthew's can help with registration fees, if the cost is an impediment.

Family Camp (for families of all types): July 14-16, 2023

Vacation Bible School 7/17-7/21: Vacation Bible School for children and adults will be held Monday - Friday, July 17 - 21, 2023, from 5:30 - 7:30 PM. More details coming soon.

Iconography workshop to be offered at St. Augustine of Canterbury: St. Augustine of Canterbury in Augusta is offering an iconography workshop August 17-19 with renowned iconographer Peter Pearson.

St. Matthew's Anniversary Dinner Cruise

Celebrate St. Matthew's anniversary aboard the Savannah Riverboat Cruise on Friday, September 22, 2023. This evening dinner cruise will be set to sail at 6:00 pm from River Street in Downtown Savannah. Attire is casual. Contact Paulette Sanders or Evadne Roberts at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church to purchase tickets. The cost per ticket is $120. Be sure to invite family and friends to enjoy this glorious evening!

T/W/Th Evening Prayer Switches to Zoom Only: During Fr. Guillermo's sabbatical, weekday Evening Prayer services will be available on Zoom only (no Facebook live-stream) and entirely lay-led. You can access the Zoom call using the same link we normally use in the e-Newsletter.

The Offertory

[BCP, p. 376]

Giving to St. Matthew's:

Mail us a check or money order at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1401 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd, Savannah, GA 31415; OR
Make a secure online gift to St. Matthew’s and/or automate future gifts at: https://onrealm.org/StMattSav/-/give/now; OR
Text “stmattsav” to 73256 to make a secure online donation through your phone.

NOTE: Donations made online (#2 or #3) through Realm incur a processing fee of about 2.5%. Please consider adding an additional 2.5% to your online gift to cover these costs.

Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself to us, an offering and sacrifice to God. [Ephesians 5:2]

Give online at: https://onrealm.org/StMattSav/-/give/now

LEV #5 – Great Day

Refrain: Great day! Great day, the righteous marching. Great day. God’s going to build up Zion’s walls. 1 Chariot rode on the mountaintop, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls! My God spoke and the chariot did stop, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls! [Refrain] 2 This is the day of jubilee, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls! The Lord has set His people free, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls! [Refrain] 3 We want no cowards in our band, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls! We call for valiant hearted men, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls! [Refrain] 4 Going to take my breast plate, sword, and shield, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls! And march out boldly in the field, God’s going to build up Zion’s walls!

[Words: Traditional. Music: Negro Spiritual; harm. J. Jefferson Cleveland. Harm. Copyright 1981 Abingdon. Reprinted from Songs of Zion by permission. Copyright © 1981, Abingdon Press. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #72591. All rights reserved.]

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Circling through earth so all may grow

Vanquishing fear so all may give

Widening grace so all may live

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

[BCP, p. 364]

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

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 trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

The Grace

[BCP, p. 102]

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.

Hymn #345 – Savior, Again To Thy Dear Name

1 Savior, again to thy dear Name we raise with one accord our parting hymn of praise; guard thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame, that in this house have called upon thy Name. 2 Grant us thy peace upon our homeward way; with thee began, with thee shall end the day; from harm and danger keep thy children free, for dark and light are both alike to thee. 3 Grant us thy peace throughout our earthly life; peace to thy Church from error and from strife; peace to our land, the fruit of truth and love; peace in each heart, thy Spirit from above: 4 thy peace in life, the balm of every pain; thy peace in death, the hope to rise again; then, when thy voice shall bid our conflict cease, call us, O Lord, to thine eternal peace.

The Dismissal

[BCP, p. 366]

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!

Thanks be to God!

The Parish Prayer List

PRAYER LIST: Mary Bonaparte, Jacqueline Bryant, Lazola Cope, Aaron Duplechien, Jr., Delois Groover, Marva Harris, David Jones, Beverly Kemp, Whitney Kennedy, Sada Maxwell, Jeannette Outing, and Jewel Wheeler

BIRTHDAYS: Daniel Harris (7/3), Rachael Blue-Jones (7/4), Cheryl Rhett (7/7), Willie Mae Robinson (7/7), and Whitney Kennedy (7/8)

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES: N/A

RECENT DEATHS: N/A

May the souls of all the departed rest in peace; and may light perpetual shine upon them. Amen.

Permissions and Credits: This service is reproduced from The Book of Common Prayer 1979 (BCP), Enriching Our Worship 1 (EOW1), The Hymnal 1982 (Hymn), Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal (LEV), and other sources cited. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture readings are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.

Image Credits: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YaQKQIfWcMA/maxresdefault.jpg