Hebrew Bible Wisdom and Poetry-
“Ecclesiastes: Wisdom for Surviving”
Sunday, July 19, 2026
*Please stand in body or in spirit. Congregational responses are in bold and preceded by "All"
GATHERING
Welcome and Announcements
Invitation and Sharing of Peace
Peace be with you. And also with you.
Prelude Deborah Frounfelder, Guest Organist
Call to Worship (enfleshed)
LEADER: How precious, how fragile, how short is life!
ALL: Our lives are but a breath.
LEADER: God brings us into being.
ALL: God weaves our lives together.
LEADER: God ushers us into eternal rest. Blessed are the Sacred rhythms of life and
holy are these gifts:
ALL: to be alive,
LEADER: to be free in Christ,
ALL: to be held in love’s eternal embrace.
LEADER: Let everything that has breath praise God!
Opening Prayer (enfleshed)
ALL: Creative and Creating One, by your Spirit, all life is set in motion. Generation after generation, you have held us and all the earth in our coming and our going. Though your steady hand upholds us, still we struggle to give up control. Give us the courage to hold life and one another gently, grasping neither at possessions nor power. Grant us a posture of release and an openness to all you have for us. In Christ we pray, Amen
*Opening Song Take My Life, and Let It Be UMH 399
1. Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments
and my days;
let them flow
in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands,
and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet,
and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.
2. Take my voice,
and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips,
and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
Take my silver
and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as
thou shalt choose.
3. Take my will,
and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart,
it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love,
my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its
treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
LISTENING
Scripture Reading Ecclesiastes 8:1, 8:9-9:12
This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Message for All Ages
Sermon “Ecclesiastes: Wisdom for Surviving” Rev. DV Yost
RESPONDING
*Sermon Song There Is A Balm In Gilead UMH 375
Refrain
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
- Sometimes I
feel discouraged,
and think my
work’s in vain.
But then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again.
Refrain
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
- Don’t ever
feel discouraged,
for Jesus is your friend,
and if you
look for knowledge
he’ll ne’er refuse to lend.
Refrain
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
- If you can’t
preach like Peter,
if you can’t
pray like Paul,
just tell the love of Jesus,
and say he died for all.
Refrain
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
Prayers of the People
Leader: Source of all Wisdom, ALL: We lift our prayers to you.
The Lord’s Prayer (Spoken)
All: 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, forever.
Offertory Deborah Frounfelder, Guest Organist
*Offering Response Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow (UMH 94)
*Prayer of Dedication (enfleshed)
All: Holy Maker, we are grateful that you require nothing more from us than becoming our most loving, authentic selves. Forgive our striving to earn our worth - we get ensnared by arrogance and shame, fear and individualism. Draw us deeper into the simple and sacred meaning woven into existence, woven into our being. In gratitude, we offer what we have. Amen.
SENDING
*Closing Song It Is Well With My Soul UMH 377
1. When peace, like a river,
attendeth my way,
when sorrows
like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot,
thou hast taught
me to say,
It is well,
it is well with my soul.
Refrain
It is well (It is well)
with my soul, (with my soul,)
it is well,
it is well with my soul.
2. Though Satan
should buffet,
though trials should come,
let this blest
assurance control,
that Christ has regarded
my helpless estate,
and hath shed
his own blood
for my soul.
Refrain
It is well (It is well)
with my soul, (with my soul,)
it is well,
it is well with my soul.
3. My sin, oh, the bliss
of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part
but the whole,
is nailed to the cross,
and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord,
praise the Lord,
O my soul!
Refrain
It is well (It is well)
with my soul, (with my soul,)
it is well,
it is well with my soul.
4. And, Lord, haste the day
when my faith
shall be sight,
the clouds be
rolled back as a scroll;
the trump shall resound,
and the Lord shall descend,
even so,
it is well
with my soul.
Refrain
It is well (It is well)
with my soul, (with my soul,)
it is well,
it is well with my soul.
*Benediction
Benediction Response
Postlude Deborah Frounfelder, Guest Organist
Next Week
Hebrew Bible Wisdom and Poetry - “Song of Solomon: Relational Wisdom”
July 26, 2026 Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7
This Week at Arnolia
- Tuesday, July 21: 8:30 – 11:30 AM Thrift Store accepting donations
- Thursday, July 23: 10 AM – 2 PM Thrift Store Open
- Friday, July 24: Pastor’s Sabbath – Church Office Closed
- Sunday, July 26: 10 AM: Worship Service
- Sunday, July 26: 11:15 AM SPRC
- Sunday, July 26: 11:15 AM Prayer Group
Copyright
Take My Life, and Let It Be - UMH 399 - Public Domain
There Is a Balm in Gilead, by William Farley Smith, © Words: Public Domain; Music: 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House, CCLI #5612914 - UMH 375 Used by Permission. CCLI Church Copyright License Number: 1684333 and Streaming License Number: 20155039.
It Is Well With My Soul - UMH 377, Public Domain
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