Worship Service
January 31, 2021
We are RECEIVED as the Beloved of God
The actual worship service begins 16 minutes into the recordings.
OPENING SONG – Holy is the Lord (W&S #3028)
WELCOME
OPENING PRAYER
Dearest Lord,
We praise you on this beautiful morning
– for the sunshine that pours through our windows and opens our eyes to the wonders of this day.
– for the cold that chills us to shivering. We are grateful for heated homes and are reminded of homeless people, poor people, and elderly people, those will not be warm today.
We praise you for a time of new hope in the land. We pray that this will be a time of coming together, an opportunity to hear and understand the beliefs, concerns, and fears of others, and to seek understanding instead of strife.
Oh, God, we marvel at the majesty of your creation; we are honored by your love. We rest as children in your grace and mercy, and trust that you will always be faithful to us.
But teach us Lord to always be faithful to you, to seek justice in our communities and in our world, to treat the earth as a precious gift created by you, for us, and for the generations who come after us. They are our children; they are our gift to you.
Teach us to be patient in this time of pandemic. Help us to be cautious, to wear masks and wash our hands, and to take a vaccine when it is available. We know you will be with us if we fall ill and if our loved ones become ill. We look forward to the time when your grace prevails, and we can greet one another face to face, touch each other’s hands, and hold on tight.
Dearest Lord, we delight in all your creation and stand in awe of your wonderful deeds. Help us to be worthy of your graciousness. We pray for wisdom and grace, to find humility, to relish life, and to live with love.
Amen
SONG – How Can We Name a Love (UMH #111)
CHILDREN’S TIME
SONG – Refiner’s Fire
We are TRANSFORMED by the Word of Jesus Christ
Psalm 111 (NRSV)
Praise for God’s Wonderful Works
1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.
Mark 1:21-28 (NRSV)
The Man with an Unclean Spirit
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
GOOD NEWS
SONG – You Are My Hiding Place (FWS #2055)
RESPONSE TO GOD’S GRACE (OFFERING)
Pastor: God wants our love more than God wants our offerings; God cares about our hearts not the amounts of our offerings. (Hosea 6:6).
All: As we count all the blessings God has already given to us, we cheerfully give our offerings to God, the Provider, with grateful hearts. Amen! (2 Corinthians 9:7).
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
We are SENT in the Power of the Holy Spirit
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BLESSING AND SENDING
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you, my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
SONG – It is Well (UMH #377)