NOTICE!! THERE ARE TWO BULLETINS POSTED

ONE FOR OCTOBER 11 AND ONE FOR OCTOBER 18!!

Asbury United Methodist Church

October 11, 2026

All Are Welcome!

Prelude

 Joys, Concerns, Announcements

 

Greeting – Gail Jacobson

God, we come into Your presence

with praise and thanksgiving for Your faithful love.

Your love never fails—not even when we turn away from You:

when we ignore Your invitation,

or desert You for gods of our own making.

Even then, You do not abandon us,

but reach out—again and again—

Calling us back onto this journey of faith we are in our lives.

Thank you for welcoming us back over and over.     

 

 Please stand as you are able at *.

 

*CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) Gail Jacobson

ONE: Beloved, God’s never-ending love spills out all around us, drawing us together in beloved community with God, neighbor, and all creation.
ALL: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again we say, rejoice!

ONE: God’s always-present grace surrounds us, enlivening us to love ourselves and our neighbors just as Christ loves us. 
ALL: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again we say, rejoice!

ONE: God’s persistent peace sweeps through us, guarding our hearts and empowering us to live as agents of God’s mercy and justice wherever we go. 
ALL: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again we say, rejoice!

ONE: May our rejoicing overflow into our families, neighborhoods, and the whole earth that through our living, working, resting, and playing, God may be glorified.
ALL: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again we say, rejoice!

 (Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, July 2026)

 

*Hymn UMH #378 “Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound”

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

 

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed.

 

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,

I have already come;

‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

 

The Lord has promised good to me,

His word my hope secures;

He will me shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.

 

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And moral life shall cease,

I shall possess, with in the veil,

A life of joy and peace.

 

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing

God’s praise than when we’d first begun.

 

1st READING: Exoduse 32:2-14 (NRSVUE) Gail Jacobson

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took these from them, formed them in a mold, and cast an image of a calf, and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the LORD.” They rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being, and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to revel.

The LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, and of you I will make a great nation.”

But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

 

Psalm 106 UMH Pages 829-830    Gail Jacobson

Response: Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

 

R

Praise the Lord!

O give thanks to the Lord who is good;

  Whose steadfast love endures forever!

Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,

  Or show forth all God’s praise?

Blessed are they who observe justice,

  Who do righteousness at all times!

Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

  Help me when you deliver them,

That I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

  That I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

  That I may glory with your heritage.      R

 

Both we and our forebears have sinned;

  We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.

Our forebears, when they were in Egypt,

  Did not consider your wonderful works;

They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love 

but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.

God saved them for the sake of his holy name,

  To make know the might power of God.

God rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;

  And led them through the deep as through a desert.

So God saved them from the hand of the foe,

  And delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

And the waters covered their adversaries;

  Not one of them was left.

Then they believed God’s words;

  They sang God’s praise.      R

 

Anthem:

 

2^nd Reading: Philippians 4:1-9 (NRSVUE)    Lay Speaker Chris Swiser

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSVUE) Lay Speaker Chris Swiser

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

 

Pastor: The word of God for the people of God.                                                                     

People: Thanks be to God!

 

SERMON: “Checking In Today” Message by Lay Speaker Chris Swiser

 

HYMN UMH #348 “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling”

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

Calling for you and for me;

See, on the portals he’s waiting and watching,

Watching for you and for me.

 

Come home, come home,

You are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home!

 

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,

Pleading for you and for me?

Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,

Mercies for you and for me?

 

Come home, come home,

You are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home!

 

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,

Passing from you and from me;

Shadows are gathering, death beds are coming,

Coming for you and for me.

 

Come home, come home,

You are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home!

 

O for the wonderful love he has promised,

Promised for you and for me!

Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,

Pardon for you and for me.

 

Come home, come home,

You are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home!

 

Prayer Time

Lord’s Prayer

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, the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen

 

OFFERING

 

DOXOLOGY #94

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise god, all creatures here below:

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Praise God, the source of all our gifts!

Praise Jesus Christ, whose power up-lifts!

Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

PRAYER OF DEDICATION                                                                                                            

Steadfast Joy, when “always” feels larger than our capacity, you remain near. In gratitude, we bring these gifts, signs of love learned from you. Quiet our anxious hearts and turn our attention toward what is true, honorable, and worthy of praise. Shape us into a people whose generosity is gentleness made visible, whose offerings declare we are on the side of our neighbors. Receive what we place in your hands and let it become courage, welcome, and hope. Guard us with your peace as we press on in Christ. Amen. 

 

*HYMN UMH #549 “Where Charity and Love Prevail” verses 1-3

Where charity and love prevail,

There God is ever found;

Brought here together by Christ’s love,

By love are we thus bound.

 

With grateful joy and holy fear

True charity we learn;

Let us with heart and mind and strength

Now love Christ in return.

 

Forgive we now each other’s faults

As we our faults confess;

And let us love each other well

In Christian holiness.

 

*Benediction

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Today 10/11

8:45 am  Worship with Lay Speaker Chris Swiser

9:45 am  Breakfast Buffet Social Hour

Wednesday 10/14

5:00 pm  Choir Practice

Next Sunday 10/4           

8:45 am   Worship with Don Taylor

9:45 am   Fellowship Time

 

Prayer for at home:                                                                                                                       

Peaceful God, we praise you! We rejoice knowing you are present with each of us in the ups and downs of life. You are with us in our disagreements and worries. You are there in our celebrations and elation. You encourage us to press on and continue to be of the same mind of Christ. May we continue to focus on what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and commendable knowing your peace will surrounds us. We praise you and together we pray. Amen.

 

Pastor Alison Dix Cell: 319-573-4801 

Email: Alison.dix@iaumc.net                             

Website: www.theasburymethodistcr.com

Phone: 319-364-3188

Church office hours: Tues, Weds, Thurs 9am-1pm

To view live streaming or recordings please visit www.youtube.com and search for Asbury UMC CR and subscribe.

Asbury United Methodist Church

October 18, 2026

All Are Welcome!

 

Prelude

 Joys, Concerns, Announcements

 

Greeting – Carol Hills

Gracious God, we confess our tendency to worry. Help us to be more aware when we begin to worry, so that we can turn those moments of anxiety into opportunities of prayer. Guide our thoughts that we might focus on your truth, your beauty, and your justice. Amen.

 

 Please stand as you are able at *.

 

*CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) Carol Hills

Leader: Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice!

People: Today we choose to rejoice. Today we choose to worship and give thanks.

Leader: Seek the peace of God that will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

People: Today we choose God's peace; today we place our trust in God.

Leader: Turn your hearts away from the distractions and disappointments of life that will always flow in and flow out like the tide.
Set your affections on things above and worship the Lord who loves you and cares for you.

All: We come to worship God who alone is excellent and worthy of praise!

 

*Hymn UMH #454 “Open My Eyes, That I May See”

Open my eyes, that I may see

Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

 

Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

 

Open my ears, that I may hear

Voices of truth thou sendest clear;

And while the wave notes fall on my ear,

Everything false will disappear.

 

Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!

 

Open my mount, and let me bear

Gladly the warm truth everywhere;

Open my heart and let me prepare

Love with thy children thus to share.

 

Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!

 

1st READING: Isaiah 5:1-7 (NRSVUE)       Carol Hills

I will sing for my beloved

   my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

   on a very fertile hill.

He dug it and cleared it of stones

   and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it

   and hewed out a wine vat in it;

he expected it to yield grapes,

   but it yielded rotten grapes.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

   and people of Judah,

judge between me

   and my vineyard.

What more was there to do for my vineyard

   that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes,

   why did it yield rotten grapes?

And now I will tell you

   what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge,

   and it shall be devoured;

I will break down its wall,

   and it shall be trampled down.

I will make it a wasteland;

   it shall not be pruned or hoed,

   and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;

I will also command the clouds

   that they rain no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts

   is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah

   are his cherished garden;

he expected justice

   but saw bloodshed;

righteousness

   but heard a cry!

 

 

Psalm 99 UMH Pages 819-820   Carol Hills

Response: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory over all the earth be found.

 

R

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!

  The Lord sits enthroned upon the cherubim;

     Let the earth quake!

The Lord is great in Zion,

  And is exalted over all the peoples.

Let them praise your great and wondrous name!

  Holy is the Lord!

Might Ruler, lover of justice,

  You have established equity;

You have executed justice

  And righteousness in Jacob.

Extol the Lord our God.

  Worship at the Lord’s footstool!

  Holy is the Lord!     R

 

Anthem:

 

2^nd Reading: Philippians 4:1-9 (NRSVUE)    Lay Speaker Don Taylor

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

Pastor: The word of God for the people of God.                                                                     

People: Thanks be to God!

 

SERMON: “Reflections on Scripture” Message by Lay Speaker Don Taylor

 

HYMN UMH #399 “Take My Life and Let it Be”

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 then move

At the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet, and let them be

Swift and beautiful for thee.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Prayer Time

Lord’s Prayer

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, the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen

 

OFFERING

 

DOXOLOGY #94

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise god, all creatures here below:

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Praise God, the source of all our gifts!

Praise Jesus Christ, whose power up-lifts!

Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

PRAYER OF DEDICATION                                                                                                            

Mighty God, deserving of all honor and praise: we bring our gifts this morning, remembering that the offering you truly seek is the offering of our whole lives. Help us, we pray, to live a life that is worthy in your sight. When we struggle and stumble, help us up and put us on the path. On the advice of the apostle Paul, may our lives be focused on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable”, so that our offering may be pleasing in your eyes. In Christ, we pray. Amen.

 

 

*HYMN UMH #549 “Help Us Accept Each Other”

Where charity and love prevail,

There God is ever found;

Brought here together by Christ’s love,

By love are we thus bound.

 

With grateful joy and holy fear

True charity we learn;

Let us with heart and mind and strength

Now love Christ in return.

 

Forgive we now each other’s faults

As we our faults confess;

And let us love each other well

In Christian holiness.

 

Let strife among us be unknown,

Let all contention cease;

Be Christ the glory that we seek,

Be ours his holy peace.

 

Let us recall that in our midst

Dwells God’s begotten Son;

As members of his body joined,

We are in him made one.

 

Love can exclude no race or creed

If honored be God’s name;

Our common life embraces all

Whose Maker is the same.

 

*Benediction

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Today 10/18

8:45 am  Worship with Lay Speaker Don Taylor

9:45 am  Fellowship Time

Wednesday 10/21

5:00 pm  Choir Practice

Next Sunday 10/25                   

8:45 am   Worship

9:45 am   Fellowship Time

 

Prayer for at home:                                                                                                                       

Lord, thank you for holding us in the palm of your hand. Help us to see ways to be patient with ourselves and each other. Help us to spread understand, love and peace in a small and big ways. Thank you for helping us make it through this week and next. You are the one we are putting our trust in. AMEN!

 

Pastor Alison Dix Cell: 319-573-4801 

Email: Alison.dix@iaumc.net                             

Website: www.theasburymethodistcr.com

Phone: 319-364-3188

Church office hours: Tues, Weds, Thurs 9am-1pm

To view live streaming or recordings please visit www.youtube.com and search for Asbury UMC CR and subscribe.