Opening Hymn
In the name of God: Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of life. Amen.
Call to Worship and Confession of Sin
Light! Light, light and more light!
Rise and shine—your light is here! God’s glory streams in! The world will be drawn to your glow! Leaders will follow your shining brilliance.
The awesome light of our Saviour Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Seers speak of the coming light of God which calls all people of the earth to come together in peace. Let us confess the ways in which we have turned away from this vision of wholeness.
God of light and darkness, we have seen the glimmer of your star-light beckoning to us, but we have turned away – through distraction, habit, sloth, or simple lack of love – and followed other paths. We confess that we have not loved you with everything we’ve got. And we haven’t loved our neighbors as ourselves.
Forgive us, Holy One. Strengthen our faltering steps. Guide us in your way of peace. Amen.
Lift up your eyes and see the grace of God pouring into your lives. The healing, forgiving, restoring light of God shines through the darkness.
Our hearts rejoice for Christ is in our midst.
Canticle of Praise for Epiphany
From Godspell
Collect of the Day
The Great Spirit be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The Ministry of the Word
Old Testament
A reading from Isaiah 42:1-9
“Take a good look at my servant.
I’m backing him to the hilt.
He’s the one I chose,
and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.
I’ve bathed him with my Spirit, my life.
He’ll set everything right among the nations.
He won’t call attention to what he does
with loud speeches or gaudy parades.
He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt
and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.
He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped
until he’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.
Far-flung ocean islands
wait expectantly for his teaching.”
God’s Message,
the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies,
laid out the earth and all that grows from it,
Who breathes life into earth’s people,
makes them alive with his own life:
“I am God. I have called you to live right and well.
I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe.
I have set you among my people to bind them to me,
and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations,
To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light:
opening blind eyes,
releasing prisoners from dungeons,
emptying the dark prisons.
I am God. That’s my name.
I don’t franchise my glory,
don’t endorse the no-god idols.
Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been fulfilled.
I’m announcing the new salvation work.
Before it bursts on the scene,
I’m telling you all about it.”
Hear what the Spirit is saying to our church. Thanks be to God.
Psalm 29
Bravo, God, bravo!
Gods and all angels shout, “Encore!”
In awe before the glory,
in awe before God’s visible power.
Stand at attention!
Dress your best to honor him!
God thunders across the waters,
Brilliant, his voice and his face, streaming brightness—
God, across the flood waters.
God’s thunder tympanic,
God’s thunder symphonic.
God’s thunder smashes cedars,
God topples the northern cedars.
The mountain ranges skip like spring colts,
The high ridges jump like wild kid goats.
God’s thunder spits fire.
God thunders, the wilderness quakes;
He makes the desert of Kadesh shake.
God’s thunder sets the oak trees dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.
We fall to our knees—we call out, “Glory!”
Above the floodwaters is God’s throne
from which his power flows,
from which he rules the world.
God makes his people strong.
God gives his people peace.
Epistle
A reading from Acts 10:34-43
Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone.
“You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
“And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn’t put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets.”
Hear what the Spirit is saying to our church. Thanks be to God.
Hymn
Matthew 3: 13-17
Our words of freedom Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!”
But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it.
The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”
The Gospel of our Saviour. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
The Prayers
Because We Believe
Words adapted from Because We Believe, Don Moen
We believe in God the Father
We believe in Christ the Son
We believe in the Holy Spirit
We are the Church
And we stand as one
Holy holy, Holy is our God
Worthy worthy, Worthy is our King
All glory and honor are His to receive
To Jesus we sing, because we believe
We believe in the Living Scriptures
We believe in all peoples’ worth.
We believe in the resurrection
That Christ calls us
To protect the Earth.
Holy holy, Holy is our God
Worthy worthy, Worthy is our King
All glory and honor are His to receive
To Jesus we sing, because we believe.
We believe it’s love that saves us
That we’re all meant for divine rebirth.
We believe that beyond our vision
Is a boundless realm of joy and mirth.
Holy holy, Holy is our God
Worthy worthy, Worthy is our King
All glory and honor are His to receive
To Jesus we sing, because we believe.
Prayers of the People
We pray for the coming of a Living Community of Love.
You sent your Son to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, freedom to the captives, salvation to your people, healing for our planet: anoint us with your Spirit; rouse us to work in Christ’s name. God, by your Spirit
Unleash your domain.
Send us to bring help to the poor and liberation for the oppressed. We remember all refugees and migrants in this country and around the world. We remember the hungry, the homeless, those living in regions and homes torn by war and violence, those grieved by prejudice and hatred.
God, by your Spirit
Unleash your domain.
Send us to tell the world the good news of your healing love. We pray for those who are ill or suffering and those in need of healthcare, those suffering from suffering of body, mind or spirit, naming them now either silently or aloud. (Pause)
God, by your Spirit
Let your realm arise.
Send us to those who mourn, to bring joy and gladness instead of grief. We remember those who have died, naming them now either silently or aloud. (Pause)
God, by your Spirit
Let your realm arise.
Send us to bear witness to You, to your love and kindness, to your justice and compassion.
God, by your Spirit
Let your realm arise.
God, use us, imperfect as we are, to bring in your kingdom of mercy, justice, and peace. Empower us by your Spirit and unite us in your Son, that all our joy and delight may be to serve you, now and for ever. Amen.
The Peace
Announcements
The Holy Communion
God loves it when the giver delights in giving.
2 Corinthians 9:7
During the Offertory, a hymn, psalm, or anthem may be sung.
Doxology
(Words: Isaac Watts (1674-1748), para. of Psalm 117; Music: Old 100th, melody from Pseaumes octante trois de David, 1551, alt.; harm. after Louis Bourgeois (1510?-1561?); Licensed for Use: CCLI Copyright License 20716203; CCLI Streaming License 20716210
The Great Thanksgiving
The Great One is here.
God’s Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them into the Day-giver’s clear light.
Let us give thanks to our most Holy God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
We give you thanks, O God, for making your love visible since the very beginning of time. You spoke the word which replaced the darkness of chaos with life-giving light. This light has nurtured generations of people, creatures and plants, great and small. This same light nurtures the virtues and strengths of our human souls, and heals the pain and harm caused by cruelty, violence and hatred.
At a pivotal moment, you spoke the Word of Light which would, decisively, dispel the darkness of chaotic lives. Because you love the world, Jesus became flesh and lived among us full of grace and truth. The entire created order, with forces visible and invisible, join together in crying out their praise.
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
To you indeed be glory, visible God, because on the night before he died, your Son, Jesus Christ, took bread; when he had given you thanks, he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body given for you; do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup; when he had given you thanks, he gave it to them and said:
This cup is an unbreakable bond in my blood poured out for you; do this as often as you drink it to remember me.
And so in this great sacrament we celebrate and proclaim the mystery of our faith.
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come in glory.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on all gathered here, that we might be your light in the world.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and wine, that we might be infused with the gift of your nourishing guidance. Transform us with your nourishing grace, as we eat of this bread and drink of this wine. Transfigure us to be your presence in the world, as we are redeemed and reclaimed by your great love.
By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in service to the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at the heavenly banquet.
Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever more. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
And now, in the words that Jesus taught us, we pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven. hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kindgom 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.
Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the Earth
We are one body in this one Lord
Gentile or Jew, Servant or free
Woman or man, No more
One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the Earth
We are one body in this one Lord
Many the gifts, many the works
One in the Lord, Of all
One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the Earth
We are one body in this one Lord
We are one body in this one Lord
Songwriter: John B Foley; One Bread, One Body lyrics © Epoch Universal Publications Inc
The congregation receives communion.
Prayer after Communion
Gracious God, you are the author and giver of all good things. We give you thanks for the gift of life, for the meal we shared, and for reconnecting us as your people. Keep us nourished by this meal and this community. Keep us grounded in the ways in which you feed us, and in the ways we are all hungry. We pray these things through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Blessing
May the path that Christ walks to bring justice upon the earth, to bring light to those who sit in darkness, to bring out those who live in bondage, to bring new things to all creation: may this path run through our life. May we be the road Christ takes.
Closing Hymn
Dismissal
Some prayers taken from The Church of England and https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/11/epiphany-worship-resource-index.html