Hymn Sing     Gray Psalter Hymnal

     # 465     Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above, vs 1, 2, 3

     # 461     Beautiful Savior, vs 1, 2

     Insert     O Wondrous Love   

Call to Worship 

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Hymn     # 501     Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing          (Gray Psalter Hymnal)

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Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon

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Psalm 124     (NRSVUE)          Sue Young

1If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—let Israel now say—

2if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us,

3then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;

4then the flood would have swept us away; the torrent would have gone over us; 

5then over us would have gone the raging waters.

6Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.

7We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the hunters; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Prayer for Illumination                            

New Testament Reading     Revelation 18:1-8, 21   

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       18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined by his splendor. 2He called out with a mighty voice,

       “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul bird, a haunt of every foul and hateful beast. 3For all the nations have fallen from the wine of the wrath of her prostitution, and the kings of the earth have engaged in sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury.”

       4Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

       “Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins and so that you do not share in her plagues, 5for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6Render to her as she herself has rendered, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double dose for her in the cup she mixed. 7As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so give her a like measure of torment and grief. Since in her heart she says, ‘I rule as a queen; I am no widow, and I will never see grief,’ 8therefore her plagues will come in a single day—pestilence and mourning and famine—and she will be burned with fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

       21Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

       “With such violence Babylon the great city will be thrown down and will be found no more.” 

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

Congregation: Thanks be to God for His Word.

Choral Anthem     Above Every Name

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In the beginning, he was the Word,

Creator of all he became,

Hope of the nations, Prophet to come,

Immanuel, Jesus his name!

He is Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father above,

The Immortal, Eternal One, Prince of Peace:

His name is above every name!

Offspring of David, carpenter’s son,

Child of a virgin, he came;

Lamb without blemish, Crucified One;

His name is above every name!

Risen Redeemer, Light of the world,

Almighty God we proclaim!

Alpha, Omega, ever the same;

His name is above every name!

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Children’s Sermon

Hymn     # 479     I Will Sing of My Redeemer          (Gray Psalter Hymnal)

Old Testament Reading     

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       5 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.

       2Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3So they brought in the vessels of gold that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

       5Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote. 6Then the king’s face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners, and the king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around his neck, and rank third in the kingdom.” 8Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king the interpretation. 9Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified, and his face turned pale, and his lords were perplexed.

       10The queen, when she heard the discussion of the king and his lords, came into the banquet hall. The queen said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or your face grow pale. 11There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners, 12because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will reveal the interpretation.”

       13Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? 14I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and tell me its interpretation, but they were not able to reveal the interpretation of the matter. 16But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the kingdom.”

       17Then Daniel answered in the presence of the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else! Nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and let him know the interpretation. 18As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingship, greatness, glory, and majesty. 19And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed those he wanted to kill, kept alive those he wanted to keep alive, honored those he wanted to honor, and degraded those he wanted to degrade. 20But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was stripped from him. 21He was driven from human society, and his mind was made like that of an animal. His dwelling was with the wild asses, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and sets over it whomever he will. 22And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this! 23You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in 

before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose power is your very breath and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored.

       24“So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. 25And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. 26This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27TEKEL: you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; 28PERES: your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

       29Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom.

       30That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. 31And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

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Sermon          Pastor Andrew Winter