Our scripture lessons will come from 1 Peter 1:13-21 and John 15:1-8.
Monday, January 2, 2023
Scripture lessons for January 8
Devotional for the Ninth Day of Christmas
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| Salisbury Cathedral |
Let earth and heaven combine,
Angels and men agree,
To praise in songs Divine
The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made man.
He laid His glory by,
He wrap’d Him in our clay,
Unmark’d by human eye
The latent Godhead lay;
Infant of days He here became,
And bore the mild Immanuel’s name.
See in that Infant’s face
The depths of Deity,
And labour while ye gaze
To sound the mystery:
In vain; ye angels, gaze no more,
But fall, and silently adore.
Unsearchable the love
That hath the Saviour brought,
The grace is far above
Or man or angel’s thought;
Suffice for us, that God we know,
Our God is manifest below.
He deigns in flesh to appear,
Widest extremes to join,
To bring our vileness near,
And make us all Divine;
And we the life of God shall know,
For God is manifest below.
Made perfect first in love,
And sanctified by grace,
We shall from earth remove,
And see His glorious face;
His love shall then be fully show’d,
And man shall all be lost in God.
~ Charles Wesley
Sunday, January 1, 2023
January 1 @ St. Paul's UMC: Prayers
Joys:
+We give thanks for all those who donated at the blood drive held here at St. Paul's. Eleven donors stepped up to offer the gift of life. Thank you!!
+Claudia Mills is thankful that her boyfriend, David, is with us today.
+Belinda Alkula gives thanks for the 1,000 bars of soap that our congregation will give to Bridge House this week.
+Myrle Myers gives thanks for this past week's gender reveal party (it's a boy!) when she learned that her first grandchild will be born in June!
+Rebecca Glancy gives thanks for Ben's visit over the holidays and asks for safe travel mercies for their safe return to college in Indiana this week.
+We give thanks for this week's birthdays: Don Berlin, Eric Franz, Melanie Muckle, & Gary Smith.
+We are blessed by those who served this week: Belinda Alkula (video/Zoom host), Austin Cooper (usher), Rebecca Glancy (liturgist), Glancy family (fellowship), Claudia Mills (message), and Chris Wahl (piano).
Concerns:
+Pat Muckle asks for prayers for Bob, Sr. as he enters hospice care.
+Continued prayers are asked for Don Berlin during his rehab stay.
+We ask for prayers for Pat Cleaveland who is home with visiting family following a fall.
+Praying for Tim Cook's mother who is dealing with heath concerns.
+We join with many across our nation in mourning the deaths of the 185 killed and 399 injured due to gun violence last week.
January 1 @ St. Paul's UMC: Announcements
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+Help is needed on Saturday morning, January 7, for the "dehanging of the greens." Many hands make light work, so come and share the fun of getting the building ready for the next season of the church calendar.
+Join us on January 8 for a Wesley Covenant Service celebration. This historic expression of faith has been practiced wherever the spiritual descendents of the Wesleys have gathered since 1755.
+Sew What will meet on Friday, January 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Suzanne Polacek’s home. Please R.S.V.P. by January 17 to Suzanne via email, text, or phone call (Suzanne.Polacek@gmail.com / 303-709-6676).
+Bridge House is collecting donations of toiletry items. They are in need of the following items: metal forks and spoons, socks (new), gloves (new), plastic hangers, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, or combs. Travel sizes are welcome! Please contact Scott@BoulderBridgeHouse.org.
+Consider making the Wired Word part of your plans for the New Year. Each week participants receive an email with a story taken from the week's news, with scriptures addressing the news and questions to spur conversation. Please send an email to the church office or let Pastor Charles know of your interest.
January 1 @ St. Paul's UMC: Worship
Second Sunday of Christmas
Today’s Meditation Verse: “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” —1 Corinthians 13:13
Welcome...Claudia Mills
Prelude...Christopher Wahl
*Call to Worship (from Psalm 24)...Rebecca Glancy
Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord,
mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.
*Hymn...“Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” (UMH #240)
Community Prayer...Rebecca Glancy
Oh, Lord, it is the first day of the new year, a year that as yet is empty, awaiting your word to be written upon t, a year that as yet is blank, awaiting the guidance of your grace. We do not know what this year will bring, but if the past is any guide, it is likely that 2023 will bring both sorrow and joy, tears and laughter, and pain and peace. Whatever lies ahead for us, help us to know that you are there beside us, sharing our joy and sorrow, joining in our laughter and tears, helping us to bear our pain and bringing us to a place of peace. We face the new year in anticipation of blessings beyond measure, if only we can recognize them, for you are a good God, and we count on your steadfast love, which endures forever. Amen.
*Offering/Doxology (UMH #95)
Community prayer requests, concerns, and celebrations
Morning Prayer / The Lord’s Prayer...Claudia Mills
Congregational Hymn Sing
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 22:34-40...Rebecca Glancy
Epistle Lesson: 1 John 4:7-12; 19-21...Rebecca Glancy
This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Sermon...Claudia Mills / “But the greatest of these is love”
*Hymn...“Love Came Down at Christmas” (UMH #242)
*Words for the Journey...Claudia Mills
Postlude...Christopher Wahl
Devotional for the Eighth Day of Christmas
Up to Thy gracious throne,
And bless Thee for the precious gift
Of Thine incarnate Son;
The Gift unspeakable
We thankfully receive,
And to the world Thy goodness tell,
And to Thy glory live.
Jesus, the holy child,
Doth by His birth declare
That God and man are reconciled,
And one in Him we are:
Salvation through His name
To all mankind is given,
And loud His infant cries proclaim
A peace ‘twixt earth and heaven.
A peace on earth He brings,
Which never more shall end:
The Lord of hosts, the King of kings,
Declares Himself our friend:
Assumes our flesh and blood,
That we His Spirit may gain;
The everlasting Son of God,
The mortal son of man.
His kingdom from above He doth to us impart,
And pure benevolence and love
O’erflow the faithful heart:
Changed in a moment, we
The sweet attraction find,
With open arms of charity
Embracing all mankind.
O might they all receive
The new-born Prince of Peace,
And meekly in His Spirit live,
And in His love increase
Till He convey us home,
Cry every soul aloud,
Come, Thou Desire of nations, come,
And take us all to God.
~ Charles Wesley
A Prayer for the New Year
Help Us Enter the New Year
God of all time, help us enter the New Year quietly,
thoughtful of who we are to ourselves and to others,
mindful that our steps make an impact and our words carry power.
May we walk gently. May we speak only after we have listened well.
aware that you have endowed every creature and plant,
every person and habitat with beauty and purpose.
May we regard the world with tenderness.
May we honor rather than destroy.
Lover of all souls, help us enter the New Year joyfully,
willing to laugh and dance and dream,
remembering our many gifts with thanks
and looking forward to blessings yet to come.
May we welcome your lavish love.
In this new year, may the grace and peace of Christ bless us now
and in the days ahead.
- Vinita Hampton Wright
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