Communion

Prelude

 

Greetings

 

Open Scripture                                                       

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20  

 

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.   

 

Call to Worship                                                         

Psalm 19

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.
Yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes.

More to be desired are they than gold, sweeter also than honey.
Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord.

Let us worship our rock and our redeemer!

 

Hymn of Welcome

Jesus Is All the World to Me

                                                                                   

Psalter                                                                                                           

Psalm 19

 

Opening Prayer

 

Call to Confession    

 

Prayer of Confession (unison)        

God of Sinai and the empty tomb, we confess that we love your law in the abstract and resist it in particular. We have made idols of our possessions, our nation, our comfort, and ourselves. We have taken your name in vain by invoking you to bless our agendas. We have not honored our elders, told the truth, or protected our neighbor's dignity. We have coveted what we have no right to want. We have built our lives on every foundation except your Son, the stone you have chosen. Forgive us. Free us again. Write your law on our hearts, that we may live as your people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

 

Assurance of Pardon                       

 

Gloria Patri

 

Call for the Offering

 

Doxology

 

Prayer of Dedication (unison)

God of the vineyard, we dedicate these gifts and ourselves. Use them to feed the hungry, house the stranger, speak truth to power, and keep the Sabbath for all who labor. Make our lives the fruit of your kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Passing of the Peace

The peace of Christ be with you.

And also with you.

 

Prayer for Illumination

 

Second Reading                                                                  

Philippians 3:4b-14

 

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

 

Gospel Reading                                                                    

Matthew 21:33-46

 

This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Christ.

 

Sermon                                  

Ten Words and a Table         

Rev Tony DeLucia

 

Hymn of Response                                           

Come to the Table

                                   

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper                                               

 

Invitation to the Table

 

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper

Invitation to the Table

Friends, this is not the table of Trinity Parish Presbyterian Church alone. It is the table of Jesus Christ, and on this World Communion Sunday, Christians on every continent are gathering around it. All who trust in Christ, all who hunger for grace, all who seek to follow him - you are welcome here. Come.

 

The Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

Holy God, creator of heaven and earth: the heavens are telling your glory, and day and night pour forth speech without a single word. You formed us in your image and taught us your way, giving commandments to a people freed from slavery - words that revive the soul and rejoice the heart, sweeter than honey. When we turned to idols and broke every one of them, you did not abandon your vineyard. You sent your prophets; when we rejected them, you sent your Son, the heir of all things, the stone the builders rejected, who became our cornerstone.

 

And so with all the faithful of every tongue and nation, we praise your name, singing:

 

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

 

Words of Institution

 

You are holy, O God of majesty, and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. On the night of his betrayal, he took bread, and after giving thanks to you, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way he took the cup, saying: "This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me."

 

Christ has died

Christ is risen

Christ will come again

 

Prayers of Intercession & The Lord’s Prayer

 

Communion of the People

 

Communion Meditation

 

Prayer After Communion

Gracious God, we thank you for this feast of grace, shared today with the whole communion of saints on earth and in heaven. You have fed us with the body and blood of Christ, the stone the builders rejected, the cornerstone of our lives. Send us out now to produce the fruit of your kingdom - to love you with all our heart and our neighbors as ourselves - until we

Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the death of the risen Lord, until he comes in glory.

 

Hymn of Sending                                        

I Will Praise Him

                                                              

Charge and Benediction                                                                  

 

Response to the Benediction #358, Blue Hymnal    Because He Lives, refrain

 

Postlude     

 

 

October Birthdays

 

Anniversaries

 

Upcoming Events:

Communion - October 4, 2026

World Sunday - October 4, 2026

October Potluck After Worship - October 11, 2026

Bible Study - October 14, 2026, Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Newell Community Dinner - October 24, 2026, Saturday from 3p to 5pm at American Legion in Newell with: Roast Pork, Haluski, Chunky Applesauce, a Roll, and a Dessert

 Bible Study - October 28, 2026, Wednesday at 6:30 pm

 

Prayer Requests of the Congregation

• Brent - strength and healing

• Dave Lyons - healing and strength

• Jeannie, (Peggy’s sister) - prayers continue to do well

• Jimmy - healing and strength

• Luke Durst - Cardinal Mooney High School freshman passed after ATV accident

• Lynda Knight (Niki’s aunt) - family comfort

• Bruce Frogge - fighting MDS

• Derek Terry and his family

• Matt Camlin - fighting MS

• Scott Norse - 46, stroke

• Shelly - surgery on 29th

• All affected by the Nor'easter on the Eastern Coast

• All affected by the storms of nature and of life, especially by the paths of floods and other natural disasters

• Continued prayers for the latest victims of the tornadoes and severe storms, flooding and wildfires hitting our nation.

• Prayers for the people of Iran, Israel, and US Servicemen and Women being sent into the latest conflict.

• Prayers for those victims of the Measles outbreak

 

Why "Ten Words"?

In this morning's sermon, you'll hear the Ten Commandments called the "Ten Words." Here's why - and what it means for us.

 

It's the Bible's own name

In the Hebrew text of Exodus 20, the commandments are called the Aseret ha-D'varim - literally, "the ten words." The Bible uses that title itself:

 

"God spoke all these words, saying..." (Exodus 20:1)

 

"God declared to you his covenant, the ten words; and he wrote them on two tablets of stone." (Deuteronomy 4:13)

 

The familiar name "Ten Commandments" came later, when the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy were translated into Greek and Latin. The Hebrew original is more intimate: not ten orders shouted from a distance, but ten words spoken close - the first words of a covenant between God and a people God had just rescued.

 

Words, not burdens

Notice that before any of the ten are spoken, God says: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." The rescue comes first. The words come second. In Jewish tradition, that opening line is counted as the first of the ten - which means the very first "word" is not a command at all, but a statement of grace: I am your God. I have already set you free.

 

The ten words, then, are not the price of freedom. They are the shape of it - how freed people live, so that no one in the community is enslaved, exploited, or discarded again.

 

Why you may see different numberings

If you compare lists - in a Catholic friend's catechism, a Lutheran hymnal, a Jewish prayer book - the numbering differs:

• Reformed and Orthodox (our tradition): "no other gods" and "no idols" are words one and two; coveting is one word.

• Catholic and Lutheran: "no other gods" and "no idols" are combined; coveting is split in two.

• Jewish tradition: "I am the Lord your God" is the first word.

Same ten words. Different counting - a good reminder that the words themselves matter more than the arithmetic.

 

Ten words, one Word

Jesus said the whole law hangs on two words of his own: love God with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). And John's Gospel calls him "the Word made flesh" (John 1:14) - the living Word who not only spoke the ten words at Sinai, but kept them, fulfilled them, and welcomed all people to God's table.

 

Ten words at Sinai. One Word at the table. That is the story we gather to tell.