Home Worship for the week of February 1
Morning Prayer: O God, You spoke Your word and revealed Your good news in Jesus Christ. Fill all creation with that word again, so that by proclaiming Your joyful promises to all nations and singing of Your glorious hope to all peoples, we may become one living body, Your incarnate presence on the earth. Amen. (Lectionary Prayers)
Opening Hymn: #98 To God Be the Glory
- To God be the glory, great things He hath done!
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the lifegate that all may go in.
Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son,
and give Him the glory, great things He hath done!
- O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer the promise of God;
the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives. (Refrain) - Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
and great our rejoicing thru Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher, and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.
(Refrain)
Psalm 27:1, 4-5
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Should I fear anyone?
The Lord is a fortress protecting my life.
Should I be frightened of anything?
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord—
it’s all I seek:
to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life,
seeing the Lord’s beauty
and constantly adoring His temple.
5 Because He will shelter me in His own dwelling
during troubling times;
He will hide me in a secret place in His own tent;
He will set me up high, safe on a rock.
Epistle Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18
10 Now I encourage you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Agree with each other and don’t be divided into rival groups. Instead, be restored with the same mind and the same purpose. 11 My brothers and sisters, Chloe’s people gave me some information about you, that you’re fighting with each other. 12 What I mean is this: that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos,” “I belong to Cephas,” “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 Thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that nobody can say that you were baptized in my name! 16 Oh, I baptized the house of Stephanas too. Otherwise, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. 17 Christ didn’t send me to baptize but to preach the good news. And Christ didn’t send me to preach the good news with clever words so that Christ’s cross won’t be emptied of its meaning.
18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.
Prayers of Intercession: (Lectionary prayers, adapted) God of all creation, who called every being into life, who is mindful of humankind in all its diversity, who embodies us with dignity, granting different gifts and talents to shape life in this world, we ask for Your Spirit to unite us where we face lack of understanding and disunity in our churches, in our communities, in our countries. And in silence, we lay before You the burdens of our hearts.
We ask for Your Spirit to unite us in the face of the conflicts, hatred, and violation of life experienced in so many regions of the earth and, in silence, we bring to you the pain of the victims.
We ask for Your Spirit to unite us wherever fear prevents us from caring for our neighbour, from meeting people of different ethnicities, cultures, and faith communities with respect and, in silence, we bring to You the brokenness of human relationships.
God of all creation, in Christ, we are reconciled, and so we ask for Your uniting Spirit to help us overcome all our divisions that we may live in peace in and through Jesus, who taught us to pray together saying…
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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: The United Methodist Church supports ministries that address poverty, injustice and community building. Using the envelope provided in today’s bulletin or by giving online, you can promote the vision of the beloved community. Through our connections to churches in this conference and United Methodist Churches all over the world, we pool our financial resources, but most of the money collected is used to foster employment and fund hands-on projects in impoverished communities here in the Susquehanna Conference.
Offering prayer: Steadfast Light of our salvation, in a world that trembles with uncertainty and teaches us to fear, You shine with unwavering hope. You call us to seek Your face and trust in Your presence more than in our own strength. Receive these gifts, given not out of fear but in joyful confidence that Your love casts out fear and Your grace makes us bold. Use our offerings to build a world where Your light leads, Your justice reigns, and Your people—unafraid—become living testimonies of Your goodness. In the name of Christ, our rock and redeemer, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of preparation: #398 Jesus Calls Us
- Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea;
day by day His sweet voice soundeth, saying, "Christian, follow me!" - As of old the apostles heard it by the Galilean lake,
turned from home and toil and kindred, leaving all for Jesus' sake. - Jesus calls us from the worship of the vain world's golden store,
from each idol that would keep us, saying, "Christian, love Me more!" - In our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and hours of ease,
still He calls, in cares and pleasures, "Christian, love Me more than these!" - Jesus calls us! By Thy mercies, Savior, may we hear Thy call,
give our hearts to Thine obedience, serve and love Thee best of all.
Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23
12 Now when Jesus heard that John was arrested, He went to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum, which lies alongside the sea in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what Isaiah the prophet said:
15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
alongside the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people who lived in the dark have seen a great light,
and a light has come upon those who lived in the region and in shadow of death.[a]
17 From that time Jesus began to announce, “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!”
18 As Jesus walked alongside the Galilee Sea, He saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, throwing fishing nets into the sea, because they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow Me,” He said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” 20 Right away, they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Continuing on, He saw another set of brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father repairing their nets. Jesus called them and 22 immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
23 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues. He announced the good news of the kingdom and healed every disease and sickness among the people.
Message: Pastor Becky
I am hopeful that within this morning's scripture reading, you heard something very familiar. I'm hoping when you heard verse 19 where Jesus says, “Come follow Me, I'll show you how to fish for people,” something in your brain identified that verse as the one we've been using to define a disciple.
A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who's committed to:
belonging to the body of Christ,
becoming more like Jesus,
and blessing the world.
This is who we're striving to become. This is the framework we're organizing our congregational life upon. When you look at our bulletins the definition now appears on the front. Our announcements are sorted under the labels of belonging, becoming, and blessing. With this framework in mind, I'm hoping that you'll be able to identify the part of your discipleship pathway you're working on. In the weeks to come, we'll be fleshing out the layers and dimensions and adding depth as we look to deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ.
This morning I want to look at the invitation that Jesus extends to Simon, Andrew, James and John. We need to look at the decision to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. The first thing that we notice in this exchange is Simon, Andrew, James, and John have no dialogue. There's no conversation. Jesus spoke and they acted.
Simon and Andrew left their fishing nets. They dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus. James and John left their boat and their father. Those were life defining decisions.
They left their jobs and their family. They left what they knew and what they were known for. They left behind how they had been known in community and how community knew them. They left their identities there at that spot to take on a new identity, the identity of being a follower of Jesus.
They left to become fishers of people. What would that even mean or look like? They ask Jesus no questions, just followed.
The skill set they had was knowing how to fish for fish, but now Jesus is calling them to fish for people. They would use the skills that they had to gather people instead of fish. Jesus is redirecting them, changing their focus. They're to take what they know and use it for a new purpose.
When we say yes to Jesus, Jesus isn't asking us to forget what we know. He asks us to leave the way we knew it and to employ it differently. The same way Simon, Andrew, James, and John were always going to be fishermen. Jesus knows the skill set that we have, we're always going to be what we were trained to be first.
Each of us carry with us differing abilities, different knowledge, different wisdom. In church language, we talk about these as gifts and graces. It's the stuff that enables us to navigate our lives. Jesus is asking us, as His disciples, to use our knowledge, wisdom and abilities for Kingdom building.
Jesus is going to show Simon, Andrew, James and John, they are so much more than fishermen. Jesus shows us we are so much more than what it is we have allowed ourselves to be defined as. When we look at all the skill sets within our congregation, we are a tapestry of gifts and graces.
Along with our vocations, we bring with us interests, hobbies and the workable knowledge we gained in our upbringings. We point to things like being able to sew, to garden, to build, to fix. Within all of us as a collective, there are organizational skills, accounting skills, listening skills, cooking skills. This list is endless. The deployable skill set of this congregation is unmeasurable. It's so large that I don't even know how to quantify it. And Jesus is asking us to focus our skill out into the community, to impact lives for Jesus to bring the Kingdom here. The question becomes, what would our community look like if the Jesus in our hearts became the Jesus in our hands and we use those hands to remove suffering, loneliness, fatigue and replace those things with grace, joy, and love? Let us discover and connect our skill sets, to build the Kingdom here. Amen
Closing Hymn: #593 Here I Am, Lord
- I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save.
I, who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Refrain: Here I am, Lord. Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.
- I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them. They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak My word to them. Whom shall I send? Refrain:
- I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give My life to them. Whom shall I send? Refrain:
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
Go Now in Peace: Go now in peace. Never be afraid. God will go with you each hour of ev’ry day. Go now in faith, steadfast strong and true. Know He will guide you in all you do. Go now in love and show you believe. Reach out to others, so all the world can see. God will be there, watching from above. Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
