The Celebration of the Gospel
Human Relations Sunday
January 18, 2015
2nd Sunday after the Epiphany
______We Gather as The Body of Christ____
GREETING
PRELUDE Adagio from Symphony No. 5 – Charles-Marie Widor
* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The Lord calls us, Church. Hear the cry of the oppressed!
All: How long, O Lord, will your servants be caught sleeping in the comforts of the status quo?
Leader: Awake, Body of Christ! Arise with justice and mercy!
All: Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening.
Leader: Christians, do not be afraid; speak justice and show mercy.
All: Open our mute lips that we might advocate for the voiceless; open our hands that we might aid the hurting.
Leader: The Lord calls us, Church. Hear the cry of the oppressed!
All: Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening!
SONG Here I Am, Lord Blue hymnal #593
CHILDREN’S TIME
______ We Attend to the Word____
THE WORD IN SONG At the River, adapted by Aaron Copland, arranged by R. Wilding White
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Eternal God, Lover of our souls, we come to you this morning hungering for honesty instead of corruption; for generosity instead of greed; we come hungering for integrity instead of intrigue. We come hungering for our neighbors to be fed and for all to have enough honest work to provide for the basic needs of their families. We come hungering for your words, telling us how to participate in your great work of re-creation. We come listening, praying that we will have the courage to respond. Speak, Lord, we are listening. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT 1 Samuel 3:1-10
The boy Samuel was serving God under Eli’s direction. This was at a time when the revelation of God was rarely heard or seen. One night Eli was sound asleep (his eyesight was very bad—he could hardly see). It was well before dawn; the sanctuary lamp was still burning. Samuel was still in bed in the Temple of God, where the Chest of God rested.
Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” Then he ran to Eli saying, “I heard you call. Here I am.”
Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” And so he did.
God called again, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel got up and went to Eli, “I heard you call. Here I am.”
Again Eli said, “Son, I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” (This all happened before Samuel knew God for himself. It was before the revelation of God had been given to him personally.)
God called again, “Samuel!”—the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, “Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am.”
That’s when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, “Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, ‘Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.’” Samuel returned to his bed.
Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak. I’m your servant, ready to listen.”
PSALTER Psalm 139:1-6 Blue hymnal, page #854
GOSPEL John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, “Come, follow me.” (Philip’s hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)
Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” Nathanael said, “Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding.”
But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”
When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”
Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea? You don’t know me.”
Jesus answered, “One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”
Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”
SERMON
SONG The Summons Black hymnal #2130
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
PASSING THE PEACE
_____ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World____
OFFERING SONG Jesus Calls Us Blue hymnal #398, vs. 4
PRAYER
O Lord, open our hearts that we may see the needs of others; open our ears that we may hear their cries; open our hearts so that they need not be without comfort. Do not let us be afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show us where love and hope and faith are needed; and use us to bring them to those places. So open our eyes and our ears that this very day we might do some work of justice for you. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
SONG Lord, Speak to Me Blue hymnal #463
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE Please stand and sing to your neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
POSTLUDE