Gathering

Jesus calls us
to praise and prayer, to song and silence;
Jesus calls us to worship.

Jesus calls us
to hearing and healing, to service and solidarity;
Jesus calls us to love.

Jesus calls us
to advocacy and action, to protest and provision;
Jesus calls us to justice.
Let us heed the call of Christ.
Let us worship together with joy.

Hymn

Confession & Words of Assurance

O Lord, forgive us when we fail to respond to your call with faith.

Forgive us when we are shackled by our narrow understandings of discipleship and our clouded sense of purpose.

Forgive us when we are frightened of the future or pull back from the demand of your calling; when we fail to sense your presence in our past, to acknowledge your grace in the present moment, and to trust you for our future.

Through your Spirit we offer ourselves in discipleship. We stand together as your disciples. We seek renewed and renewing faith. Touch us now with your Spirit, Lord.

Come and see what Jesus is all about. Come and hear His promise of new life. Come and live your place in the Community of Christ. Come and be assured that your past mistakes are forgiven. Amen

Story Time

Scripture

Jesus calls disciples

John 1⁴³ The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

⁴⁶ Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”

Philip said, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

⁴⁸ Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! ⁵¹ I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.”

Sermon

 Prayers

Eternal God, we thank You that Jesus’ call to His disciples came in such an uneventful way.  Contrary to the wisdom of the world he did not start with the privileged and the wealthy and the powerful.  He did not begin with those who had little need and little desire for change. He began with some very simple folk. He began with some fishermen.

Give us the power to bring change and transformation to the peoples of the world as did those early fishermen. Give us the power to provide the same kind of hope for the world-weary as they brought to theirs. Give us the vision of a world transformed.

We pray for those whose health is a constant and major concern.  Be especially with those whose health is compromised so much that they have no hope of ever feeling totally well again. For those we ask that you give courage for the frustrating obstacles of life. 

We pray for families at home separated from support and loved ones, struggling to adapt to a world in chaos and restrictions. We pray for teachers doing their best, for parents trying to be all things, and for children who are growing up in a world where friendships are distant and isolation is normal.

We pray for those struggling emotionally and mentally. Only You know their journey, O God. Help them reach out when they are in need, and help us reach out to them in compassion and support. Let us know what we need to do.

All of these prayers and so may more we pull together and pray the prayer tradition has taught us…

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.