St. John United Church of Christ, Manchester, MO

St. John United Church of Christ, Manchester, MO We strive for God's PEACE by:
-Praising God through worship
-Educating through discipleship
-Affirmi

06/14/2026

PRELUDE
“Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
OPENING WORDS
*HYMN
“Christians, We Have Met to Worship”
*UNISON PRAYER:
arr. Don Hustad
# 277
Lord of Laughter, help us to recognize your joy and presence
in our midst. May we greet one another as your precious children
and as messengers of your good news. Help us to offer your
Spirit of humor to a much needed world, so that the most cynical
among us will be filled with laughter. Let your glory shine in this
place today as we lift up your grace and goodness. We pray in
Jesus’ name. Amen.
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The Peace of Christ be with you
Many: And also with you.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
RESPONSE
“Wonderful Words of Life”
THE MINISTRY OF GIVING
Offertory
*Response
“Cantilena”
“Glory Be to the Father”
#323 V1 & Refrain
Darwin Wolford
# 35
*Prayer of Dedication
Bountiful God, as we dedicate this offering, may all
that we give announce your reign among us. Accept
with joy and gratitude, these gifts for the work of your
church. We are disciples of Jesus Christ, commissioned
to share the Gospel. This we pray in our Lord and
Saviors’ name. Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
THE LORD’S PRAYER (using ‘debts’ and ‘debtors’)
HYMN
“Holy Spirit, Truth Divine”
SCRIPTURE READING: Genesis 18:9-15; 21:1-7
# 241
They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “there,
in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season,
and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at
the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old,
advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of
women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old,
and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The LORD said to
Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child,
now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the
set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”
But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He
said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”
The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for
Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a
son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him.
Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him.
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days
old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years
old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, “God
has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah
would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
SERMON
“Sarah Laughed”
Rev. Dr. Kevin P. Gregory
*HYMN
“Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise”
*BENEDICTION
*POSTLUDE
“Voluntary”
*For those willing and able, please stand.

06/07/2026

PRELUDE “Morning Has Broken” arr. Stallbaumer

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

*OPENING SENTENCES
One: God calls us out of places known and secure. The Lord invites
us into a living, trusting relationship. The Spirit is constantly
offering new opportunities to us.
Many: We are called away from empty pursuits. God wants to
employ our talents for the common good. Let us worship
the Living Lord with our whole being.

*HYMN “Lead Me, Lord” # 593

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Righteous God, we come to you as tax collectors and sinners
flocked to Jesus long ago. We have wavered in distrust of
your promises, yet cling to their truth. We believe that your
ways are far more fulfilling than any we can devise, yet we
shrink from following where Christ leads. Forgive our pursuit
of lesser gods we create, and draw us closer to you. We pray
in Jesus’ name. Amen.

*ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The Peace of Christ be with you
Many: And also with you.

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

RESPONSE “Wonderful Words of Life” #323 V1 & Refrain
THE MINISTRY OF GIVING
“Jesus Loves Me”
Offertory
*Response
*Prayer of Dedication
“Glory Be to the Father”
arr. Labenske
# 35
Thank you, O God, for hearing our prayers and restoring
our strength. Let our offerings today fulfill your purposes,
not ours. Let these gifts summon others to follow in the path
of Jesus. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SPECIAL MUSIC
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Alan Stephenson and
Dick Scharnhorst, vocalists
SCRIPTURE READING: Genesis 12:1-9
(Chisolm/Runyan)
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make
your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those
who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in
you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the
possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they
had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of
Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram
passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of
Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the
LORD appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give
this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had
appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on
the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west
and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and
invoked the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on by
stages toward the Negeb.
SERMON
“The Call of Abram”
THE SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION
Invitation
Rev. Dr. Kevin P. Gregory
Communion Prayer
Words of Institution
Consecration of Elements
The Lord’s Prayer (using ‘debts’ and ‘debtors’)
Partake of the Meal
Prayer of Thanksgiving
*A gluten-free option is available. Let a communion server know.
** Grape juice is in the center circle of the tray
*HYMN
*BENEDICTION
*POSTLUDE
“Trust and Obey”
“Everlasting God / A Mighty

Today was our Habitat for Humanity workday, a new build on Vista Ave. The crew installed flooring and had a fun producti...
06/06/2026

Today was our Habitat for Humanity workday, a new build on Vista Ave. The crew installed flooring and had a fun productive day. Thanks to Bob Ruh, Alan Stephenson, Scotty Sander, Tim Zundel & Jan Meckfessel.

Throughout the month of May members of St. John brought in items for the Blessing Box at Shannondale. This morning the i...
06/02/2026

Throughout the month of May members of St. John brought in items for the Blessing Box at Shannondale. This morning the items were bagged and loaded in the back of my van for a "road trip" tomorrow to deliver all the items. In addition to all these items a sizable order has been placed for delivery directly to Shannondale. Items consisted of paper towels, toilet tissue, laundry detergent, and non-perishable food, thanks to the monetary donations also made. St. John, Manchester, you are the BEST! Thanks for such an outstanding response to our plea!

05/31/2026

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: They spoke in the language of the Parthians, the Medes,
and the Elamites.
All: They spoke in the language of the Germans, the Italians,
the Arabs, and the Chinese.
One: They spoke in the language of Mesopotamia, Judea,
Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia.
All: They spoke in the language of the Russians, the French,
the Spanish, and the Indians.
One: They spoke in the language of Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt,
and Libya.
All: They spoke in our language.
One: They shouldn’t have been able to.
All: It was amazing. But more amazing by far
One: Was what they said.
All: Thanks be to God.

*HYMN “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”” # 25

*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The Peace of Christ be with you
Many: And also with you.

RESPONSE “Wonderful Words of Life” #323 V1 & Refrain

THE MINISTRY OF GIVING
Offertory “Offertorium” J.F. Dandrieu
*Response “Glory Be to the Father” # 35
*Prayer of Dedication
We give our money, O God. Some of it, anyway − a
little, relatively speaking. What if, instead, we were to
give ourselves completely with utter abandon to your
good news − to your way of being? What if we just
said, “Oh, to heaven with it!” and went for it? All or
nothing. We’re going to wager ourselves on you, God.
What if we were to do that? We give our money − some
of it − a little, relatively speaking. It’s a start. We pray
for the possibility of more in the name of the one who
gave himself completely. Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
THE LORD’S PRAYER (using ‘debts’ and ‘debtors’)
PULPIT HYMN
“For the Beauty of the Earth”
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 1:1-2:4a
# 56
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth
was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a
wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let
there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good;
and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day,
and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was
morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters; and let it
separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and
separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were
above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was
evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one
place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land
Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And
God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation:
plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit
with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brough forth vegetation:
plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with
the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and
there was morning, the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the
day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for
days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light
upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights — the
greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night — and
the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the
earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light
from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was
evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and
let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created
the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every
kind, with which the waters warm, and every winged bird of every kind.
And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful
and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the
earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind;
cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.”
And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and
the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of
every kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our
likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God
he created them, male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the
earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is
upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you
shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every
bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that
has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was
so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And
on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested
on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed
the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work
that he had done in creation.
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were
created.
SERMON
*HYMN
*BENEDICTION
*POSTLUDE
“The Very Beginning”
“How Great Thou Art”
“Sent Forth by God’s Blessing”
Rev. Don Frandsen
# 33
O. Westendorf
*For those willing and able, please stand.

Chalk brigade!!!
05/30/2026

Chalk brigade!!!

The bell choir and sanctuary choir had a get together after church to celebrate the past year of music making. Thank you...
05/24/2026

The bell choir and sanctuary choir had a get together after church to celebrate the past year of music making. Thank you to everyone for your hard work and dedication. See you in September!🎵🎶🎼

05/24/2026

Worship Service
May 24, 2026
9:30 am
Order of Worship
The Prelude begins worship - a time to meditate and center ourselves.
PRELUDE
“Percussive Praise”
Handbell Choir
Michael Burns, rain stick
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
*OPENING SENTENCES
McChesney
One: The day has come, and we are together; let us face bravely
into the winds of God.
Many: We are listening for the sounds from heaven; we hear
the rush of a violent wind.
One: Surely God is in this place! Let us sing to the Lord; let us
celebrate the gifts of God.
Many: The Spirit of Christ fills us with awe. Together we are
one body; all have received the Holy Spirit.
*HYMN
*UNISON PRAYER
“On Pentecost They Gathered”
O God, in joyous expectation, we celebrate the birthday of
your church. Pour out your Spirit on all flesh, that our sons
and daughters may prophesy, the young see visions and the
old dream dreams. Calm our fears, lest they block us from
receiving your power. Refashion our doubts, that they may
lead to bold inquiry and faithful ministry. Come, Holy Spirit,
to reform your church. Amen.
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The Peace of Christ be with you
Many: And also with you.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
RESPONSE
“Wonderful Words of Life”
# 237
#323 V1 & Refrain
THE MINISTRY OF GIVING
J.S. Bach
Offertory
*Response
“Excerpts from Concerto No. 3 in D Major”
(Third Movement)
“Glory Be to the Father”
*Prayer of Dedication
Spirit Divine, we rejoice and give thanks for all your
blessings. May our offerings and our lives witness
to rebirth and renewal. Send us into your world
strengthened by your Spirit to respond to people
and circumstances as Christ’s disciples. In Jesus’
name we pray. Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
THE LORD’S PRAYER (using ‘debts’ and ‘debtors’)
CHOIR ANTHEM
“Holy Spirit, Flame and Fire”
Sanctuary Choir
SCRIPTURE: John 20:19-23
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the
doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear
of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be
with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to
them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I
send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said
to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they
are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
SERMON
“Receive the Holy Spirit”
# 35
Govenor
Rev. Dr. Kevin P. Gregory
*HYMN
*BENEDICTION
*POSTLUDE
“God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand”
“God of our Fathers”
# 725
Phil Lehenbauer
*For those willing and able, please stand.
CHOIR ANTHEM
“Holy Spirit, Flame and Fire”
Govenor
Holy Spirit, Flame and Fire, comforter divine.
Fill our hearts with true devotion, make us wholly Thine.
Sun of splendor, blaze of glory, dawn of God’s design,
Light our darkness with Your brightness, make Your glory on us shine,
Holy Spirit, Light Divine.
Holy Spirit, Peace and Presence, source of power and love.
Lord of mercy, God of pardon, Heav’n descended Dove,
Life unending, joy o’erflowing, gifts of boundless love.
With compassion lead Your people; send Your comfort from above,
Holy Spirit, Lord and Love.
Holy Spirit, guide and guardian, font of wondrous grace,
Grant that we may feel You near in ev’ry time and place.
Intercessor, faith renewing God of time and space,
Lead us so to live in You that we may see our Father’s face,
Holy Spirit, Truth and Grace.
Deborah Govenor, © 1998 by Beckenhorst Press, Inc.
Used by Permission. CCLI License #3064853

Vacation Bible School
05/22/2026

Vacation Bible School

Address

332 Old Sulphur Spring Road
Manchester, MO
63021

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 3pm
Tuesday 9am - 3pm
Wednesday 9am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm

Telephone

+16363916655

Website

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