November 18, 2007, 11:00 AM

WE ENTER INTO GOD’S PRESENCE
Preparation for Worship
Call to Worship –
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
*Song of Praise – 637 “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”
*God Greets Us
*We Greet Each Other
*Continuing Praise  – “I Will Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving”
“We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise”
“Give Thanks”
Call to Confession
We cannot come before God unless we are first honest with ourselves about who we are, about the mistakes we make, and about how well or poorly we care for others.  In this spirit, let us offer our prayers to God.
Prayer of Confession
Holy God, you have given us many good gifts.  Today we thank you for all of them, but we also confess that sometimes we love those gifts more than we love you.  We confess wanting more and more things:  food, clothes, toys, and money.  Forgive us for not being content and thankful.  Forgive our selfishness.  Help us to love you more than everything else.  We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Here are words you may trust, words that merit full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.  To all who confess their sins and resolve to lead a new life, he says, “Your sins are forgiven.”  He also says, “Follow me.”  Now to the one who rules all worlds, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
Thanks be to God.
*Song of Thanks – “Thank You, Lord”
The Offering – General Fund
Prayer for Operation Christmas Child
WE HEAR GOD’S WORD
Children’s Time
Scripture Reading – Jeremiah 29:4-14
Message – “Thankful Living in a Strange Land”
Prayer
WE RESPOND WITH THANKSGIVING
*Song – 453 “Let All Things Now Living”
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Intercessory Prayer
WE ARE SENT TO LOVE AND SERVE
Opportunities for Ministry and Fellowship
*God Blesses Us
*Closing Praise – 631 “Praise and Thanksgiving”
Postlude

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Wednesday Women’s Bible study group does not meet this week.  Also, there will be no prayer meeting on Thursday evening.

This evening is the annual Chenango Valley area Thanksgiving service.  Please join with your neighbors for a time of music and thanks.  The service is hosted by the Ogden – Hillcrest United Methodist Church and will begin at 7:00 PM.

Our Valley Church Thanksgiving Eve worship service will be held this Wednesday at 7:30 PM.  Plan to join us as we give thanks to God for all the blessings of another year.

Thank you for bringing lots of food for our Thanksgiving baskets.  The social workers from the Chenango Forks Schools will again be distributing them to needy families in the area.  Thank God for such a good relationship with the schools as together we serve God’s people around us.

This morning we will send the “Operation Christmas Child” shoeboxes on their way with our prayers.  We especially thank Mrs. Doller’s Sunday School class for taking the lead on this project, but we also thank all who so generously contributed items to fill the boxes and in this way helping to make Christmas a special treat for children around the world.  Continue to pray that the love of Jesus for these children will be clearly conveyed as they receive these gift boxes.

Continue to pray for speedy recovery and full healing all who recently have undergone surgery.  Beth Cunningham had her surgery on Tuesday. 

We extend our Christian sympathy to Joe and Jan Patak on the death of Joe’s brother Jerry on Monday.  May God’s loving arms surround them as they grieve his passing.

Council notes:  1. Pastor Gelder read from Matthew 13 and challenged us to be sowers of the seed while trusting God to provide the harvest.  2.  We worked on putting together a first draft of the 2008 budget for the finance team to refine and get back to council for presentation at the congregational meeting on December 5.  3.  The growth and renewal team presented several recommendations in response to council’s request for help in envisioning Valley Church in five years.  Council endorsed the goal of continuing to have a dual ministry focus, both toward those already in the church and to those in the community, especially people who have some Christian background but who are not connected with a church.  We approved formation of a new youth ministry team to be led by Erin Peterson, along with the youth elder, youth deacon and some parent representation.  The idea is to develop a ministry plan and to explore options for leading youth programs.  A third set of recommendations involve making our identity as a “safe” Christian church more clear to the community.  We are not a cult, as some assume.  We approved exploring placement of a cross prominently on the church grounds, as well as seeking a possible redesign of the church sign to include the Valley church logo and web site while highlighting our identity as “Valley Church”.  4.  Amy Cook and Erin Peterson will be attending the youth ministry conference at Willow Creek next April.  5.  The annual winter congregational meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 5.

The “giving tree” announcement from the deacons.
Also, deacon announcement re the Habitat for Humanity and Group workcamp support – will receive your dollars today.

Next Sunday, November 25, 2007

SUNDAY SCHOOL:  9:45 AM   No Sunday School classes this week.  Regular schedule of classes resumes December 2

MORNING WORSHIP:     11:00 AM   Pastor Gelder will lead our worship.  He will conclude the series of messages on Jeremiah with a message to “Live Hopefully”, based on Jeremiah 32.  We will also claim the promises of God’s covenant for Charlise Canary as she receives the sign of baptism at this service.