First Presbyterian Church (USA) of Smithville
300 Burleson, Smithville, TX 78957
(512) 360-5231
As a Church we are committed to:
Glorifying God through worship
Welcoming all as children of God
Serving others in the light of God's love.
The First Presbyterian Church (USA) of Smithville welcomes you to our online ministry. Our Church is a church filled with life, serving the community of Smithville and surrounding areas for over 140 years . . . and just a short, pleasant drive from Bastrop, Cedar Creek, Flatonia, and towns throughout Bastrop County. If you are searching for a Church home, we would be pleased to welcome you into our fellowship. New members are received by our Session upon letter of transfer from another Christian congregation, or by profession of faith or reaffirmation of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Please come and visit us here in our building or on Facebook!
MEET PASTOR KRIS AND HER FAMILY - HUSBAND DAVID AND SONS ALEX AND HENRY
21st
We are open in our church building for the 11 AM service but we will continue to provide a Facebook Live video and post the video here. The video from July 18th is now available. If you attend in person, currently masks are no longer be mandatory and hymnals will be used.
The videos from Facebook Live will be available here and on Facebook. There are lots of reasons why we are glad it's 2021. One of them is that it is our church's 150th birthday. We have set up a special committee to help plan events to celebrate. Why don't you join this committee? Let Harleigh Elliot or Pastor Kris know if you are interested.
Here is the bulletin for the July 25th service:
Service for the Lord’s Day
First Presbyterian Church
Smithville, Texas
July 25, 2021 11:00AM
9th Sunday after Pentecost
Welcome and Announcements
Welcome to First Presbyterian Church. We are glad you are worshipping with us today. If you are searching for a church home, please speak to our pastor or one of our elders.
*Church Cookbooks are available. The cost is $20. You can get one from any Session member.
There will be an Ice Cream Social and Game Night on August 21st at 6:30pm. All are invited to attend. Bring a favorite game and a friend!
Happy Birthday: Blake Hernandez (28)
Happy Anniversary: Jeri & Walter Winslett (26)
Call to Worship
L: This is the hour to bend our knee before God. This is a time to offer our best to our Creator.
P: We gather before God, who sees all our deeds. We open our hearts to One who knows all our thoughts.
L: Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” We come together proclaiming, “God is with us!”
P: We come to be strengthened in our inner being. We seek to pattern our actions after Christ Jesus.
L: God’s presence evokes our joyous worship. The Holy Spirit empowers our service.
P: To God be highest glory in the church. To God be endless adoration in the world.
L: Our first hymn is Number 56 “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above”
Sing praise to God who reigns above, the God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation,
My soul with comfort rich he fills, and every grief he gently stills;
To God all praise and glory!
What God’s almighty power has made, in mercy he is keeping;
By morning glow or evening shade his eye is never sleeping.
And where he rules in kingly might, there all is just and all is right,
To God all praise and glory!
We sought the Lord in our distress; O God, in mercy hear us.
Our Savior saw our helplessness and came with peace to cheer us.
For this we thank and praise the Lord, who is by one and all adored;
To God all praise and glory!
Let all who name Christ’s holy name give God the praise and glory.
Let all who know his power proclaim aloud the wondrous story.
Cast every idol from its throne, the Lord is God, and he alone;
To God all praise and glory!
Call to Confession
L: The psalmist asserted that all have gone astray, all are alike perverse; there is no one who does good – no, not one. We eat up people as bread and do not call upon God. Before we dismiss these claims as unwarranted exaggeration, let us examine ourselves before God. Let us confess our sins to God and one another.
Confession of Our Sins
O God, you know our secret hearts. You are aware of our distortions, our jealousies, our lust. You observe our unfaithfulness, our treachery, our unwarranted fears. We are corrupted by greed, self-indulgence, and desire to be entertained. We do not take responsibility for our misconduct, our abuse of power, our lack of trust in you. We have little sense of vision to see beyond immediate circumstances or to embrace new possibilities. We miss the signs of your grace and resist the empowerment of your Spirit. Mighty God, still the storms within us with your transforming peace and boundless forgiveness, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
L: All who truly repent can know the love of Christ that surpasses human knowledge. We are rescued, delivered, and restored to fullness of life in God, our Creator. We are being rooted and grounded in love that we, in turn, might show love to others. We are invited to join the saints in realizing ever fuller dimensions of life centered in faith and trust.
P: Thanks be to God.
First Reading of Scripture 2 Samuel 11:1-15
Second Reading of Scripture Ephesians 3:14-21
Time for the Children of Our Church
The Passing of the Peace
Special Music Go Tell It On the Mountain
Rosaleigh & Penelope Saunders
Reading from the Gospels John 6:1-21
Sermon Rev. Kris Brown “Looking Toward God”
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen
The Prayers of the People
The Morning Offering
Offertory Invitation
If you are viewing on-line and want to donate, please click here: Donate to FPC on line:
L: We have gladly taken more than our share of the world’s good. Let us give in proportion to the blessings we have received. May the church be at the forefront of feeding, healing, caring for, and loving God’s people. We are the church, the body of Christ, making a difference in the world. Let us return to God our tithes and offerings.
Offertory
*The Doxology No. 34
*Prayers of Thanksgiving and Dedication
L: We join with Jesus in giving thanks for the little things we can see, that our eyes may be opened to the great possibilities we had not imagined. May our efforts be multiplied by your grace so there is more than enough for all – more comfort in sorrow, more relief from pain, more mercy to meet our treachery, more sense of presence amid our loneliness, more strength to overcome our weakness, more joy and enthusiasm to erase our apathy. Amen.
L: Our closing hymn is number 78 “God of the Ages, History’s Maker”
God of the ages, history’s Maker, planning our pathway, holding us fast,
Shaping in mercy all that concerns us; Father, we praise you, Lord of the past.
God of the morning, gladly your children worship before you, trustingly bow;
Teach us to know you always among us, quietly sovereign – Lord of our now.
God of tomorrow, strong overcomer, princes of darkness own your command;
What then can harm us? We are your people, now and forever kept by your hand.
Lord of past ages, Lord of this morning, Lord of the future, help us, we pray;
Teach us to trust you, love and obey you, crown you each moment, Lord of today.
Blessing
.
.
We are open in our church building for the 11 AM service but we will continue to provide a Facebook Live video and post the video here. The video from July 18th is now available. If you attend in person, currently masks are no longer be mandatory and hymnals will be used.
The videos from Facebook Live will be available here and on Facebook. There are lots of reasons why we are glad it's 2021. One of them is that it is our church's 150th birthday. We have set up a special committee to help plan events to celebrate. Why don't you join this committee? Let Harleigh Elliot or Pastor Kris know if you are interested.
Here is the bulletin for the July 25th service:
Service for the Lord’s Day
First Presbyterian Church
Smithville, Texas
July 25, 2021 11:00AM
9th Sunday after Pentecost
Welcome and Announcements
Welcome to First Presbyterian Church. We are glad you are worshipping with us today. If you are searching for a church home, please speak to our pastor or one of our elders.
*Church Cookbooks are available. The cost is $20. You can get one from any Session member.
There will be an Ice Cream Social and Game Night on August 21st at 6:30pm. All are invited to attend. Bring a favorite game and a friend!
Happy Birthday: Blake Hernandez (28)
Happy Anniversary: Jeri & Walter Winslett (26)
Call to Worship
L: This is the hour to bend our knee before God. This is a time to offer our best to our Creator.
P: We gather before God, who sees all our deeds. We open our hearts to One who knows all our thoughts.
L: Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” We come together proclaiming, “God is with us!”
P: We come to be strengthened in our inner being. We seek to pattern our actions after Christ Jesus.
L: God’s presence evokes our joyous worship. The Holy Spirit empowers our service.
P: To God be highest glory in the church. To God be endless adoration in the world.
L: Our first hymn is Number 56 “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above”
Sing praise to God who reigns above, the God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation,
My soul with comfort rich he fills, and every grief he gently stills;
To God all praise and glory!
What God’s almighty power has made, in mercy he is keeping;
By morning glow or evening shade his eye is never sleeping.
And where he rules in kingly might, there all is just and all is right,
To God all praise and glory!
We sought the Lord in our distress; O God, in mercy hear us.
Our Savior saw our helplessness and came with peace to cheer us.
For this we thank and praise the Lord, who is by one and all adored;
To God all praise and glory!
Let all who name Christ’s holy name give God the praise and glory.
Let all who know his power proclaim aloud the wondrous story.
Cast every idol from its throne, the Lord is God, and he alone;
To God all praise and glory!
Call to Confession
L: The psalmist asserted that all have gone astray, all are alike perverse; there is no one who does good – no, not one. We eat up people as bread and do not call upon God. Before we dismiss these claims as unwarranted exaggeration, let us examine ourselves before God. Let us confess our sins to God and one another.
Confession of Our Sins
O God, you know our secret hearts. You are aware of our distortions, our jealousies, our lust. You observe our unfaithfulness, our treachery, our unwarranted fears. We are corrupted by greed, self-indulgence, and desire to be entertained. We do not take responsibility for our misconduct, our abuse of power, our lack of trust in you. We have little sense of vision to see beyond immediate circumstances or to embrace new possibilities. We miss the signs of your grace and resist the empowerment of your Spirit. Mighty God, still the storms within us with your transforming peace and boundless forgiveness, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
L: All who truly repent can know the love of Christ that surpasses human knowledge. We are rescued, delivered, and restored to fullness of life in God, our Creator. We are being rooted and grounded in love that we, in turn, might show love to others. We are invited to join the saints in realizing ever fuller dimensions of life centered in faith and trust.
P: Thanks be to God.
First Reading of Scripture 2 Samuel 11:1-15
Second Reading of Scripture Ephesians 3:14-21
Time for the Children of Our Church
The Passing of the Peace
Special Music Go Tell It On the Mountain
Rosaleigh & Penelope Saunders
Reading from the Gospels John 6:1-21
Sermon Rev. Kris Brown “Looking Toward God”
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen
The Prayers of the People
The Morning Offering
Offertory Invitation
If you are viewing on-line and want to donate, please click here: Donate to FPC on line:
L: We have gladly taken more than our share of the world’s good. Let us give in proportion to the blessings we have received. May the church be at the forefront of feeding, healing, caring for, and loving God’s people. We are the church, the body of Christ, making a difference in the world. Let us return to God our tithes and offerings.
Offertory
*The Doxology No. 34
*Prayers of Thanksgiving and Dedication
L: We join with Jesus in giving thanks for the little things we can see, that our eyes may be opened to the great possibilities we had not imagined. May our efforts be multiplied by your grace so there is more than enough for all – more comfort in sorrow, more relief from pain, more mercy to meet our treachery, more sense of presence amid our loneliness, more strength to overcome our weakness, more joy and enthusiasm to erase our apathy. Amen.
L: Our closing hymn is number 78 “God of the Ages, History’s Maker”
God of the ages, history’s Maker, planning our pathway, holding us fast,
Shaping in mercy all that concerns us; Father, we praise you, Lord of the past.
God of the morning, gladly your children worship before you, trustingly bow;
Teach us to know you always among us, quietly sovereign – Lord of our now.
God of tomorrow, strong overcomer, princes of darkness own your command;
What then can harm us? We are your people, now and forever kept by your hand.
Lord of past ages, Lord of this morning, Lord of the future, help us, we pray;
Teach us to trust you, love and obey you, crown you each moment, Lord of today.
Blessing
.
.