ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2023
BAPTISM OF OUR LORD
Due to copyright limitations, we are unable to print the words to many of the songs. However, our musicians have chosen music to fit the scriptures. We invite you to look up the words in your worship book and ponder them. If you do not have a worship book, ponder the words to one of your favourite hymns and listen for God’s voice. Those who have internet may find the songs on YouTube. QUOTE OF THE WEEK Kindness is always fashionable, and always welcome. ~Amelia Barr BEFORE WE WORSHIP, WE REFLECT… In the gospel, neither John nor Andrew can contain their testimony about who Jesus is. They have had an encounter with Christ that has had such an impact on their lives that they cannot help but tell others about it. John tells his disciples and everyone else within earshot about Jesus. Andrew runs to find his brother, Peter, and brings him to Jesus so that Peter might have the same life-changing encounter he himself has experienced. We are invited to “come and see” who Jesus is. We are reminded that God’s forgiveness and love proclaimed in Jesus Christ is meant to be good news for us and for all people. As we encounter Christ, our lives are changed. Like John and Andrew in today’s gospel, we are called to share with others who we have seen Jesus to be. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We acknowledge we gather and worship on Treaty 1 Territory, the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation. Creator of all, give us one heart and one mind to walk together in the love and strength of your Spirit, in truth, reconciliation, and peace. We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, our brother, our Lord, and our hope. Amen. CALL TO WORSHIP God’s steadfast love extends to the heavens, God’s faithfulness to the clouds; God’s righteousness is like the mighty mountains, God’s judgments like the great deep. God’s steadfast love is a precious gift to be nurtured and shared. God’s faithfulness is a wondrous story to be told. God’s righteousness is a standard to which we aspire. God’s judgments are a right and just verdict to be obeyed. Come, let us worship God! CHILDREN’S SONG: I Just Wanna Be A Sheep CENTERING PRAYER Liberating God, you break the bonds of injustice and let the oppressed go free. Receive our labours in thanksgiving for all your works of merciful power, and shape us as people of your justice and freedom. You we magnify and adore, through Jesus our Savior. Amen. A NEW CREED We are not alone; we live in God’s world. We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit. We trust in God. We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. CHILDREN’S CHAT My dad used to be a welder. In order to weld, he needed a special helmet so that the extremely bright light of the welding torch did not damage his eyes. When I was around 6 years old, there was a solar eclipse. My sisters and I wanted to watch the eclipse, but we couldn’t look directly at the sun or it would damage our eyes. So, my dad brought home his welding helmet. We each took turns looking at the sun as the moon passed over it. Very cool! Jesus is the son of God, the light of the world. Thankfully, we don’t need special helmets or glasses to see Jesus around us! Whenever love is shown to another person, we can see Jesus. Whenever we receive love, we are basically being hugged by Jesus. Very cool! The disciples invited their friends to come and see Jesus. We can do the same. Invite a friend to worship! Let them hear about Jesus in our songs, in the stories from the Bible; let them experience Jesus as they eat bread and drink juice; let them meet Jesus in the people around them in the pews! Let them see that Jesus is real. Let them know that Jesus loves them. They may decide to invite someone in their life to come and see Jesus! Very cool! MINUTE FOR MISSION: Working with Young Leaders: Amy Crawford’s Work Jesus says, “Let the children come to me.” But as Amy Crawford knows, you can’t be passive when trying to bring young people to the church. “We took it for granted that youth and young adults were going to be in the church,” the Team Lead for Identity and Mission says. “And we can’t take that for granted anymore.” But Crawford is not painting a dark picture here. “Our youth ministry in the United Church in many ways has grown in recent years,” she says. “The youth are here because they choose to be here. And they’re here because they find a place for themselves.” Crawford has been doing ministry with youth and young adults for almost 30 years, and she’s never been more excited about the future for youth leadership in the church. Recently, 45 youth at the General Council Youth Forum received honorariums to pursue passion projects on social justice, anti-racism, and Indigenous justice issues. As a result, they developed educational resources and social media programs for their congregations. “These will be resources for the whole church,” Crawford says excitedly. Mission & Service has funded outdoor ministries like camps and supported youth and young adults to take education trips, receive project grants, and initiate new ministries. Crawford recalls one young woman who attended the General Council 43 Youth Forum. She went on to serve as a summer intern with the Church in Mission Unit, working on social justice initiatives for youth. Now, four years later, she serves on the General Council Executive and the Moderator’s Advisory Committee. “When we provide opportunities for young people, it really does have a lasting impact on their lives and on the church,” Crawford reveals. What would Crawford want supporters like you to know about the impact of your generosity? “I would want them to know that young people make a difference,” she says, “that they are creating the next generation of leaders in the church and even beyond the church.” PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION Holy One, we thank you for the healing that springs forth abundantly from your Word. Renew our strength to do justice, love kindness, and journey humbly with you. Amen. READINGS AND PSALM First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7 Here the servant, identified as Israel, speaks for herself and describes her honored mission. Called before her birth like Jeremiah and John the Baptist, the servant is not only to restore Israel. The servant’s ultimate assignment is to bring news of God’s victory to the ends of the earth. God in faithfulness has chosen Israel for this task. 1Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. 2He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. 3And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 4But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” 5And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—6he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, “Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” Psalm 40:1-11 R: I love to do your will, O my God. (Ps. 40:8) 1I waited patiently upon the Lord, who stooped to me and heard my cry. 2The Lord lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a high cliff, making my footing sure. 3The Lord put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many shall see, and stand in awe, and put their trust in the Lord. 4Happy are they who trust in the Lord! They do not turn to enemies or to those who follow lies. R 5Great are the wonders you have done, O Lord my God! In your plans for us, none can be compared with you! Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! But they are more than I can count. 6Sacrifice and offering you do not desire; you have opened my ears: burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required. R 7And so I said, “Here I am; I come. In the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8‘I love to do your will, O my God; your law is deep within me.’ ” 9I proclaimed righteousness in the great assembly; I have not restrained my lips, O Lord, you know. 10I have not hidden your righteousness in my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; I have not concealed your steadfast love and truth from the great assembly. 11You are the Lord; do not withhold your compassion from me; may your steadfast love and your truth continually keep me safe. R Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Though God’s church in Corinth is a fractious congregation beset with many conflicts, Paul opens this letter by spotlighting the multiple ways God has enriched and sustained its life as part of the divine call into the fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—6just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Gospel: John 1:29-42 John the Baptist’s witness to Jesus initiates a chain of testimony as his disciples begin to share with others what they have found. 29 saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” 35The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). HYMN: VU 341 Fairest Lord Jesus SERMON In this narrative, John the Baptizer sees Jesus passing by and points to him, saying, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples of John then set out to follow Jesus. But Jesus is not satisfied with their submissiveness. He wants to know why they are following him. He turns to them and asks for an explanation of their decision. Jesus was not in a hurry to take them on as followers. He did not hold on to them. He wanted them to express the reasons for their step. “What do you seek?” This question returns to us during our lifetime as followers of Jesus. Whoever truly wants to be Jesus’ disciple must do so intentionally. At all the important moments of our lives we need to ask ourselves, “For what am I seeking?” We need to do this so that as we age and change, and our experiences change our perceptions, we will always be current in what matters to us, what feeds our soul, when it comes to Jesus. The reply given by the two disciples can seem like avoidance. “Rabbi, where are you abiding?” Jesus invites the two of them simply to come and see. They join him and enter his dwelling. “And they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.” We should give full weight to the verb “to abide.” They did not only want to get his address or spend a few moments in his home. They did not ask for information about what kind of training they could receive from him. What mattered to them was to encounter him, Jesus. What was important for them was to be with him, to be “at home” with him, to remain in his presence and to allow this first contact to last. They wanted to get to know him. They were not looking for any material or spiritual benefits from Jesus. The modesty of their first reply expresses their lack of self-interest; all they wanted was to be with him. That is how, from that moment on, they began to share his existence. Andrew, one of the two disciples, shared his discovery with Simon, his brother, and brought Simon to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus immediately gave him another name. As the gospel writer remembers it, from that very instant Simon’s life was marked by a new significance. Whoever begins to share Jesus’ life no longer belongs to themselves. John’s community was in conflict because they stuck around Jesus. They focused on one concrete significant detail. For John’s community the concrete significant detail at the center of their lives was that Jesus had a unique relationship with God. It was not the confession of Jesus as Messiah that was problematic in relation to the synagogue. What was problematic in their remaining within the synagogue was the status and identity they attributed to Jesus as Messiah in his relation to God. Jesus was Son of God and Word made flesh. That was the concrete significant detail that fueled their faith in the face of opposition. It was then about four o’clock in the afternoon. John included this concrete significant detail. It is concrete because it was the beginning of Sabbath. It was significant because Sabbath meant staying in one place until the end of the following day. That means that the disciples had an extended opportunity to remain with Jesus and commune with him, enjoying his presence and learning from him. They had the opportunity to abide with Jesus. We do too. Amen. HYMN OF THE MONTH: WOV 735 God! When Human Bonds Are Broken PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Called together to follow Jesus, we pray for the church, the world, and all in need. Put a new song in the mouth of your church. Inspire the baptized to tell of your faithfulness, sharing the good news of your salvation throughout the earth. Bless the witness of missionaries. Merciful God, receive our prayer. The waters of baptism call us into life in the Spirit. Preserve the world’s waters: protect them from pollution, support plants and animals who depend on them, and bring rain in places of drought. Guide us in protecting local waterways and in responding to devastating floods. Merciful God, receive our prayer. In Jesus you are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Show your mercy to all nations. Direct leaders to do your will; fill governing bodies with righteousness; equip judges with discernment and compassion. Merciful God, receive our prayer. You incline your ear to all who cry to you. Draw near to individuals and communities suffering violence, injustice, illness, or poverty. Hide them in the shadow of your hand and make us signs of your faithfulness to all in need. Merciful God, receive our prayer. You are glorified in the servants you have called. With Martin Luther King Jr., give us bold trust in you. Even when it feels like a sharp sword or polished arrow, give us courage to receive your call to repentance and racial justice. Merciful God, receive our prayer. In every place and time, you have sanctified your people. We praise you for the testimony of those who have died in the faith. Strengthen us as we wait for the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Merciful God, receive our prayer. We bring to you our needs and hopes, O God, trusting your wisdom and power revealed in Christ crucified. Amen. THE LORD’S PRAYER SENDING SONG: VU 339 When Morning Gilds The Skies BENEDICTION The God who faithfully brings forth justice and breaks the oppressor’s rod ☩ bless, strengthen, and uphold you, today and always. Amen.