Online worship for Sunday May 17, 2020:
- DOWNLOAD the Bulletin PDF now: RIVIERA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH SUNDAY May 17, 2020 (PDF)
- WATCH the video above on this page. Premiere is at 11:00 a.m. Sunday. The video is 32 minutes long.
- HOLY GROUNDS ZOOM: Wait until 11:45 a.m. and then JOIN our fellowship call on Zoom…
- Let us know you attended worship with us today / submit a prayer of praise or concern
Don’t forget…
BULLETIN TEXT FOLLOWS:
RIVIERA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
WORSHIP FOR SUNDAY MAY 17, 2020
‘Nuggets of Joy in a Time of Turmoil’
GRADUATION SUNDAY
Good Morning! We’re delighted that you are joining us today. We thank God for the gift of technology and the ability to worship together even when we are apart. Let us know you worshiped with us today by filling out the Friendship Form located on our website WORSHIP page www.rivierachurch.org.
If you are joining in via Facebook, please leave us a comment and don’t forget to keep checking our various social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for up-to-date information.
HYMN
CHIMING OF THE HOUR
WELCOMING THE LIGHT
WELCOME – Rev. Martha M. Shiverick
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- Remembering of Jae Sweeny Lardner
CALL TO WORSHIP – Ruth Gonzalez
One: God calls us together this morning. From work and play within the world, God gathers us to give thanks for creation’s goodness, for the strength to labor, and the wisdom to relax.
All: From amidst our families or alone in our homes, God calls us together, even now over the internet, to participate as a community of faith and as God’s people.
One: From our everyday conversations, God invites us to engage one another in dialogue, to speak truth from the depths of our hearts and minds, to celebrate life’s milestones, and to pray freely.
Let us Pray:
O God, in our time of worship and throughout the hours within our days, remain at the center of our thoughts and actions. When all that we do seems to fly off in scattered bits and pieces as our lives spin as we live in this pandemic, we are thankful that you draw us back to you.
All: You are for us a home base, the center of our gravity, a balancing point, and the source of loving support. We heed your call and rejoice as we worship you.
CALL TO CONFESSION – Christian Mazzola
We are children of a God who is steadfast in love and who assures us that as we confess our sins, we will be forgiven. Let us therefore confess our sins before God.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION – Christian Mazzola
Loving God, we do not always keep your commandments;
We fail to love you; our conscience is not clear.
So we ask that you wash us in the water of life that we may live again confident of your love and grace. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON – Christian Mazzola
God forgives, restores, and strengthens us.
Know that we are forgiven and be at peace;
So that we all might witness to the love that is within us and share Christ’s love in the world in our words and deeds.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE – Rev. Martha Shiverick
THE WORD
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION – Ruth Gonzalez
Come Holy Spirit, our helper and advocate:
Open our hearts and minds this day,
Entice us with your presence.
Spark us with a message we may share with others as we try and share your love with the world.
We ask all this in the name of God, who creates, redeems, and sustains us. Amen.
SCRIPTURE John 14:15-21
15 “If you love me, you will keep[a] my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[b] to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in[c] you.
18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
SERMON – Rev. Martha M. Shiverick
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- ‘God Be With You Until We Meet Again’
THE RESPONSE
ANTHEM
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- “Pomp and Circumstance”
LITANY – Cindy Hershey
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- FOR GRADUATING SENIOR DYLAN VALDIVIA
One: Holy One and Source of all Wisdom, we ask your blessing on Dylan who is now graduating from High School.
All: Be with Dylan as he ends one journey and begins another.
One: We are thankful for the precious gift of knowledge and the discovery that learning continues throughout our lives.
All: God, this is an odd time. As Dylan graduates he will not be surrounded by his teachers, coaches, friends, and mentors, who all cared and nurtured him these past years. But we are grateful that he knows they are proud of his accomplishments as are his parents, his brother, and sister, and his whole extended family.
One: Dylan, you are surrounded by our love and our profound thanksgiving for the way your presence in our church has enhanced our ministry. We know we are better for having you within our community.
All: We thank you God, for your love and guidance which has sustained Dylan throughout High School and will continue to carry him as he goes forward into college.
One: Be with Dylan and give him the sure confidence in your unconditional love that will go with him as he moves into his future.
All: God we ask that you bless Dylan. May he know you are only a breath away and that he is and he always will be a part of this family called Riviera. Amen.
VIDEO
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- PRESENTATION OF CROSS AND CARDS
- Elder Kathy Stults – Glass Artist
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Amy Bogardus and Dylan Valdivia
Dear Lord, we pray for all who search for you:
May they find their way in you.
Bless us with lips that sing your praise and lives that tell the stories of all that you have done for us.
Open our eyes to find you among us as we share your love with others.
Lord, in your mercy, receive our prayer.
We pray for all those whose lives have been so negatively affected by the Corona Virus. We pray for those who are ill. We pray for those who have lost their jobs. We pray for those who are fighting for air and those who do not know how they will feed their families. We ask that you show us best how to love and care for each other as we find our sustenance in you.
Lord, in your mercy, receive our prayer.
We remember all who are graduating this year. We celebrate their achievements whether they finished elementary, Middle, or High School. We rejoice in those who have finished college or graduate schools this Spring. Go with them as they journey to where you call them next.
Lord, in your mercy, receive our prayer.
We pray all this in Christ’s name who also taught us when we prayed to pray in this manner:
For the Lord’s Prayer we appreciate the diverse traditions and backgrounds that make up the Riviera family of faith, and encourage you to use whatever words for this prayer are meaningful for you.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (unison)
Our Creator in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Rev. Martha Shiverick
CALL TO OFFERING – Rev. Martha Shiverick
O God, through the offering of our gifts and tithes may we become a more open people…
open – minded in hearing your Word and wisdom,
open – hearted in healing a broken world,
open – handed in heeding your call for charity and enacted love.
With thanks for all the gifts you have given us, we present a portion of our substance and the whole of ourselves. Amen.
INVITATION TO GIVE TITHES AND OFFERINGS
The Act of Gratitude
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- You may donate today via credit/debit card by visiting our website atwww.rivierachurch.org and clicking on the GIVE button
- You may download the free Give+ app (iOS & Android)
- You may consider setting up online payment via your bank bill pay program.
- You may also mail in your check to the church at Riviera Presbyterian Church at 5275 Sunset Drive, Miami FL 33143
If you are a member of another church, please donate to them during this time
DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God, ye hosts in heaven above;
Praise God, the Trinity of Love. Amen
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION – Rev. Martha Shiverick
CLOSING HYMN
NOTES
LIST OF GRADUATING STUDENTS
From Elementary School to Middle School
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- Jackie Fouche
- Lexie Hannemann
- Ethan Lee
From Middle School to High School
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- Morgan Adams
- Jakk Schoenblatt
From High School
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- Dylan Valdivia
From UM School of Law-Juris Doctor
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- Robert Friedhoff
Don’t forget to fill out the Friendship Form below on this page, or leave us a comment on Facebook so we know you worship with us today. Please include any prayer requests you have which will be sent to our pastoral care team.
ZOOM
Grab a cup of coffee and join us after the worship service on Zoom Holy Grounds to connect with others in the Riviera church family.
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- Meeting ID: 931-409-506 // Password: 5275
Riviera’s Food Pantry Ministry will be distributing food on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon on the east entrance of the sanctuary.
If you would like to shop for the food pantry the following items are needed: peanut butter, pasta sauce, pasta, crackers, tuna, rice -1lb bags, canned soup, cereal or granola bars, canned veggies, and canned fruit.
Donations can be dropped off at the church Fellowship Hall doors on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon. If you are ordering the food to be delivered please schedule them for Tuesdays or Thursdays.
–Thank you
NOTES
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- Video and audio was recorded by various members of the church’s staff and family for the purpose of providing online worship to the members of Riviera Presbyterian and others who view the link.
- Music reprinted under OneLicense.net A-713957
- Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-713957.