January 14 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship

Flowers from the Coopers

The choir warms up ahead of worship

Heyji Park offers the postlude

The fellowship is warm!

Second Sunday after Epiphany

(link to today's service)

Today’s Meditation Verse: “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; any shall see, and stand in awe, and put their trust in the LORD.”         —Psalm 40:3

Welcome...Pastor Charles

Prelude...Hyeji Park / “Did you think to pray?” arranged by Linda Hartman

*Call to Worship (Psalm 139:1-5)...Rebecca Glancy

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

*Hymn...“Lord, Speak to Me” (UMH #463)

Litany for Human Relations Day (Discipleship Ministries of The UMC)...    Rebecca Glancy

The weeping in Ramah (Matthew 2:18) has been loud, and nothing will comfort the cries of mothers whose children will never come home. Oh God, hear our cries and send healing, change, and unity to Your land.

Innocent blood cries out from the soil for lives taken because of the color of their skin, their gender, and cultural differences. Oh God, hear our cries and send healing, change, and unity to our land.

We have marched, sung, and run, we have prayed, watched, and waited for a change to come. We have buried loved ones, leaders slain in their prime, and our families have suffered for the hatred that has plagued our land.

We’ve seen our dreams delayed and fade with the passing of time, hoping, praying that a brighter future would come for our children and grandchildren. We listened to “I have a dream” speeches; we chanted with the crowd “Yes, we can!” We believed in a new day when we too would be seen, treated as accepted, protected as    American.

AND God has heard our cries and is sending healing, change, and unity to our land.

We stand together, Black, White, Jews, Gentiles, Muslims, churched and unchurched. Together we watch the dream become a reality as we put aside our differences and hold hands. God has heard our cries and is sending healing, change, and unity to our land.

Yes, we celebrate this day our unity in God. Our differences serve as a reminder of how precious each of us is in the human tapestry of life and that the future holds great things for the next generation. Yes, God has heard our cries. Yes, healing, change, and unity are sweeping the land!

Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations

Pastoral Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer...Pastor Charles

Gospel Lesson: John 1:43-51...Rebecca Glancy

Choral Anthem...“Peace Song” by Greg Gilpin

Old Testament Lesson: 1 Samuel 3:1-10...Pastor Charles

This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

Sermon...Pastor Charles / “Are you listening?”

*Hymn...“Here I Am, Lord” (UMH #593)

*Words for the Journey...Pastor Charles

Postlude...Hyeji Park / “Jesus Loves Me,” arranged by Jungmin Kim