The Celebration of the Gospel

January 31, 2016 —4th Sunday after Epiphany

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Realm of God.
  — Luke 6.20

_______ We Gather as the Body of Christ_______

GREETING
PRELUDE Intermezzo   Josef Rheinberger

[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]

* CALL TO WORSHIP   Psalm 71.1-6
[We ask God for help dealing with rejection (and perhaps inner troubles as well).]

In you, O Love, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
For you, O Love, are my hope, my trust,
O God, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
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* SONG   Your Love, O God   Blue hymnal # 120

(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME

___________ We Attend to the Word___________

(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG    The Greatest is Love Allen Pote

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor:   The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see all that is in us that is loving,
and all that is not loving.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
receive us, forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER …   THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE   Alleluia Black hymnal #2014

PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of love Jesus proclaimed your blessing for those who are poor. Speak your grace to the poverty in our hearts. Speak your grace to the hunger in our souls. Speak your grace and bring us back to the life of the beloved. Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT   Jeremiah 1.4-10
[The boy resists God’s call, in part because he is so young. But God has chosen him before he was born, and appointed him to bear God’s truth with power and authority.]

Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But Yahweh said to me, “Do not say, “I am only a youth; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says your God.”

Then Yahweh put out a hand and touched my mouth; and God said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over powers, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
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NEW TESTAMENT       1 Corinthians 13
[The whole point of our faith is to be loving: nothing else, nothing less. ]

If I speak in learned or mystic languages
but do not speak in love,
it is all just clatter and chatter.

If I know everything
and understand life completely
and have miracle-producing faith
but do not act in love
it’s all for nothing.

If I give away everything I own
and die a heroic martyr’s death
but do it without love,
I have just wasted my time.

Love is kind.
Love has time for the other.
Love is generous, humble and gentle.
Love does not keep score of faults,
but rejoices in what is good and true.
Love bears willingly,
trusts deeply,
hopes boldly,
endures patiently.

Love does not die.
Beliefs will end; languages will fade;
knowledge will exhaust itself.
We know only partly; we believe only partly.
But there comes a time of wholeness,
when we let go of the part for the whole.
When I was a child,
I spoke and thought like a child.
Becoming an adult, I abandoned those ways.
Now, we see as if through foggy glass;
but in time we will see clearly, face to face.
Now I know only partially;
in time I will know fully—
and know that even now I am fully known.

We have these three great gifts: faith, hope and love.
And the greatest is love.
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GOSPEL           Luke 6.20-38
[Jesus lays out the heart of his Gospel: God loves us perfectly, transcending our will, fate and intention. And we are to love one another thus—even loving our enemies.]

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude you, revile you,
and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
for surely your reward is great in heaven;
for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
or you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

“But I say to you that listen,
Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
If anyone strikes you on the cheek,
offer the other also;
and from anyone who takes away your coat
do not withhold even your shirt.
Give to everyone who begs from you;
and if anyone takes away your goods,
do not ask for them again.
Do to others
as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
For even sinners love those who love them.
If you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
For even sinners do the same.
If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.
Your reward will be great,
and you will be children of the Most High.
For God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as God is merciful.”
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SERMON

SONG  The Gift of Love Blue hymnal # 408

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]
RESPONSE: This is my prayer. All: This is our prayer.

THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Mother, our Father, Source of our living,
whose presence is heaven,
your holy love fills Creation.
May your delight be fulfilled
and your Realm unfold among us,
the visible world blossoming out of the unseen.
We turn to you for our sustenance,
one moment at a time.
Set us free from our failings,
as we set free all who have failed us
Lead us beyond our desires
and save us from the grip of evil.
For the world is within you;
all power is from you,
and all glory is about you,
in eternity, which is in the present moment.
Amen.

PASSING THE PEACE

______We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____

OFFERING OUR GIFTS   Open My Eyes  Clara Scott, arr: Teresa Wilhelmi

* OFFERING SONG   Doxology Blue hymnal #95

* PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Send us in love to all who are brokenhearted for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

* SONG   They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love Black hymnal #2223

* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE   We stand and sing to our 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   Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah    John Hughes, arr: Pierce Dickens

[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]