Bulletin – January 17, 2021

Saturday, January 16, 2021 Laura

Second Sunday after Epiphany

Approach

Lighting the Christ Candle

We light this candle not only as a symbol of light in this place, or only as a symbol of light in our lives, but as a symbol of light in a world that so often lives in darkness. Epiphany is the season of light, may the light of your presence O God illuminate not only our lives but the world with your love, compassion, and mercy. May the glory of your love, like this candle illuminating the darkness, shine through each one of us for the whole world to see.

Call to Worship

One: Jesus comes along side us and calls us by name:
All: come and follow me. Jesus calls!

One: A simple call. A hard call.
All: Because following requires leaving, sometimes leaving so much behind.

One: And we look around to see who else Jesus could be talking to.
All: And we look around to see the trappings of the life we know.

One: It’s hard to leave our nets and walk away from the lake. It is hard to leave our old life.
All: But we have come this far, to this place, where we can listen and be transformed.
(adapted from Joanna Harade)

Hymn – “New Every Morning”

New every morning is the love our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought, restored to life, and power, and thought.

New mercies each returning day hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sing forgiven, new thought of God, new hopes of heaven.

If on our daily course our mind be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still of countless price God will provide for sacrifice.

The trivial round, the common task, will furnish all we ought to ask,
Room to deny ourselves, a road to bring us daily nearer God.

Only, O God, in your dear love fit us for perfect rest above.
And help us, this and every day, to live more nearly as we pray.

Prayer of Approach

You call us to follow, to come and follow you, but what you are really calling us to, is to change. But we are afraid. We are afraid of changing, of leaving our old selves, our old lives behind. We are afraid of this unknown life that you call us towards.

Even though we feel our spirit being called to you, we turn away, continuing to follow the path of this world. But we know that your call is persistent always beckoning us to new life, to new life with and in you.

Help us to truly hear your call, to listen with our hearts and souls, to hear your call to come and follow. Give us the courage to answer your call, to follow with all that we are, so that we might find new life in you. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Time for All Ages

Hymn – “Will You Come and Follow Me”

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?|
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

Will you love the “you” you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

Christ, your summons echoes true when you but call me name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

The Word

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-20

¹Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

²At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; ³the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. ⁴Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. ⁶The LORD called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” ¹¹Then the LORD said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. ¹²On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.”

¹⁹As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beer-Sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD.

Scripture Reading: John 1:43-51

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” ⁴⁹Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.

Meditation – “Can You Hear Me Now?”

Anthem – “Servant Song”

The Response

Prayer

One: Eternal God, you are the maker of us all, and we are your creation, people formed in your image, as individuals, as community; formed and fed and furnished with understanding of who you are and of who and whose we are.
We worship you today in recognition of your calling, of your communicating, of your caring to invite us to share in your creative and healing work. We are here because we have heard you speak in us and through others. Help us, loving God, to ever respond to you and your invitation to your grace…We offer our prayers to you this morning.