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Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
First Sunday of Epiphany
Beginning with Praise
(9:50 am)
“Joys
are flowing like a river”
301
Creating Space *Hymn
“Come,
thou Almighty King”
41
Message
“In quietness and in trust”
Receiving Grace Hymn
“The
church’s one foundation”
311
Our Response
Sharing
a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise *Hymn
“Sent
forth by God’s blessing”
478 *Postlude *Rise in body or in spirit #'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book Worship leaders - see basic guidelines |
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Readers surround the sanctuary: 1 - You, divine beings! Give to the Lord - 2 - Give to the Lord the glory due his name! 3 - The Lord’s voice is over the waters; 4 - The Lord’s voice is strong; 3 - The Lord’s voice breaks cedar trees - 4 - He makes Lebanon jump around like a young
bull, 1 - The Lord’s voice unleashes fiery flames; 2 - The Lord’s voice convulses the oaks, 1 - The Lord sits enthroned over the
floodwaters; 2 - the Lord sits enthroned—king forever! 3 - Let the Lord give strength to his people! 4 - Let the Lord bless his people with peace!
(pause) 1 - Rise in body or spirit. 2 - Stand if you are able. 3 - Lift up your voice and sing: 4 - “Come, thou Almighty King,” # 41 Psalm 29 from the
Common English Bible |
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(refers to “Come, thou Almighty King”) By many names do we know you,
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When do you take down all the Christmas decorations? Some folks do
so right after the new year is ushered in, others leave them up
through the traditional twelve days of Christmas. Then, there are
those who never take them down… In the “Christian year,” the
seasons of Advent and Christmas have passed, the 6th of
January being the celebration of the coming of the wise men. We
are now in the season of Epiphany. The time has come to shift our
worship space from one season to the next. To do this, we need
some help from the younger part of our fellowship. Anyone who is
young, or young at heart, please come forward.
As we transform this sanctuary, we need some background music.
Instead of putting this on our organist, the rest of you are the
instruments. Everyone can hum, and that’s what you’ll do, led by
Meghan, starting with a few times through “We three kings,” then
“As with gladness men of old,” and “What child is this.” Have you
got your “hummers” on? Good! Let’s move from Christmas to
Epiphany…
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Lord, our God, Hymnal #699. Based on a prayer from |
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1 - The first Sunday of Epiphany focuses on
the baptism of Jesus. On Christmas, we remembered the beginning of
his life on earth. Now, we turn to his ministry as an adult, which
started with his baptism by John. This “voice … crying out in the
wilderness” prepared the way, calling people to turn away from sin
and turn toward God. The first 14 verses of the third chapter of
Luke share John’s story, all of which was a prelude to what
follows. Listen. 2 -
15 As
the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning
in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered
all of them by saying, 1 -
“I
baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is
coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will
baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing
fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather
the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire.” 2 -
21 Now
when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been
baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy
Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice
came from heaven, 1 -
“You
are my Son, the Beloved; with
you I am well pleased.”
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God still speaks. Are we quiet enough to listen? The Word to be
heard just now is ancient, the prophet Isaiah’s encouragement to
God’s people living in exile. A strange aspect of our day and age
is that we live in relative comfort, for the most part safe and
secure in our homes. And yet, fear abounds. It permeates our
politics and seeks to crush our spirit. Fear divides us. Can this
word spoken long ago and far away speak to us here and now?
... “In quietness and in trust,” listen…
Isaiah 43:1-7 (from the
Common English Bible)
Sons and daughters of God, everyone who is called by the name
which above every name, let us come together to the Lord’s table
and receive grace. Turn to #311 in your hymnal, and sing of “The
church’s one foundation.” As we do so, the deacons will come
forward to distribute the bread. |
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Leader: Blessed are you, O God. Hymnal #785a Let
us eat together this communion of the body of Christ.
As the
deacons now distribute the cup, turn to #493 in your hymnal.
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Leader: Blessed are you, O God. Hymnal #785b Let
us eat together this communion of the body of Christ.
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Bringing our Tithes and Offerings
The offerings we bring do not “buy” us anything from God. Instead,
what we place in the plate as it is passed is our response the
grace of the Lord, who invites us to step out of fear and into
faith. As the ushers guide our giving, spend a few moments reading
the back of your bulletin, if you have not already. The writer,
Carl Hill, along with his wife, Roxane, have recently directed our
denomination’s ministry with our Nigerian Brethren, as they
traveled through fear to faith amid the terror campaign of Boko
Haram. Ushers, come and serve.
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As we shift from responding to God’s grace with our tithes and
offerings, to responding with our prayerful attention to the needs
of others, let’s turn from Isaiah’s call to courageous faith and
listen to a soundbite from the early church. One of the first
deacons, a fellow named Philip, was led by the Lord to share the
good news of Jesus in Samaria. If you are up on the history of
ancient Israel, you know that Jews and Samaritans were not exactly
on speaking terms with each other. In fact, there was downright
hate between them. But Philip went there anyway, and good things
happened – so much so that Peter and John (key leaders in the
Jesus movement) had to go and see. Listen to what happened next.
One thing leads to another: Grace received leads to grace
extended. Stepping from fear into faith leads to overcoming hatred
with the power of the Holy Spirit… The time has come to share our
joys and concerns. Let’s do so remembering that God’s Spirit moves
among us, empowering us to pray. “Where
two or more are gathered in my name,” Jesus said, “I’m
right there with you” (Matthew
18:20).
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“Don’t be afraid,” you say to us, repeatedly, O Lord - words we
struggle to hear amid all the chatter of our daily lives. “Fear not, I have redeemed you.” O, for the ability to quiet the
inner voices that lead away from your peace...
“I call you by name,” you speak. Your initiative, not our own. “By
name,” like that Nigerian schoolgirl for whom we have been
praying this past year and a half – Salomi Pogu. As you call her
by name, in the middle of the flood and fire of her experience, so
you call us … by name, saying firmly - with a clasp that will not
let go, “you are mine.”
By the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to hear this not as a
suffocating possessiveness, but as a word that sets us free to be
who you created us to be. We are yours, known first by whose
we are, before we ever figure out who we are. And you say,
“Don’t fear, I am with you.”
Your Holy Spirit moves among us, Lord, transforming fear into
faith, overcoming fear-based hatred, leading by your power toward
your promised land where steadfast love and mercy reign, where
justice and righteousness prevail. You hear the cries of our
hearts, even before emotions and thoughts can be formed into words
and then spoken aloud. Your Spirit knows our spirits, and you give
us the ability to passionately pray for others, in ways that lead
from silence toward action. And so we speak our caring, just now,
by name. Because you are faithful to your word, O
God,
(names mentioned in joys and concerns)
Having received your grace, given to all of us in Christ Jesus,
just because you are who you are, we pray for the courage to step
forth into this day and week, called by name, knowing that we are
yours, to extend your grace to everyone we encounter along the
way, even toward those to whom we might least want to be graceful,
or expect any grace in return. This we pray in the name of the One
whom you sent to be our Savior and friend. Amen
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God has called you by name.
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Interested in Sunday School? |
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International Lesson: |
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International Lesson: |
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While one of our adult classes follows the International
lesson above (see
also), using |
For children and youth, we use the new |
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©2015 Peter
L. Haynes
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