This bulletin includes the order of service for the Season of Epiphany. The items in bold italics are intended for the congregation’s response.
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 is incoming! 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 rejected 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
Day by day
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
Day by day
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day.
The Great Spirit be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Collect of the Day
O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Ministry of the Word
Old Testament
Genesis 45:3-11, 15
A reading from the book of Isaiah.
3 Joseph spoke to his brothers: “I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?” But his brothers couldn’t say a word. They were speechless—they couldn’t believe what they were hearing and seeing.
4-8 “Come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.
9-11 “Hurry back to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: I’m master of all of Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. I’ll give you a place to live in Goshen where you’ll be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. I’ll take care of you there completely. There are still five more years of famine ahead; I’ll make sure all your needs are taken care of, you and everyone connected with you—you won’t want for a thing.’
15 He then kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Only then were his brothers able to talk with him.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42
We follow the responsive recitation method for the Psalm, where the leader alternates verses with the congregation. The items in bold italics are intended for audience response.
37 1-2 Don’t bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
In no time they’ll shrivel like grass clippings
and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he’ll do whatever needs to be done:
He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.
8-9 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes—it only makes things worse.
Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
God-investors will soon own the store.
10-11 Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;
you’ll stare at his once famous place and—nothing!
Down-to-earth people will move in and take over,
relishing a huge bonanza.
12 Bad guys have it in for the good guys,
obsessed with doing them in.
The spacious, free life is from God,
it’s also protected and safe.
God-strengthened, we’re delivered from evil—
when we run to him, he saves us.
Epistle
1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50
A reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
35-38 Some skeptic is sure to ask, “Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this ‘resurrection body’ look like?” If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a “dead” seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don’t look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.
42-44 This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body—but only if you keep in mind that when we’re raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural—same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!
45-49 We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. Physical life comes first, then spiritual—a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. In the same way that we’ve worked from our earthy origins, let’s embrace our heavenly ends.
50 I need to emphasize, friends, that our natural, earthy lives don’t in themselves lead us by their very nature into the kingdom of God. Their very “nature” is to die, so how could they “naturally” end up in the Life kingdom?
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Hymn
The Gospel
Luke 6:27-38
The holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord Christ
27-30 “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously.
31-34 “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.
35-36 “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.
37-38 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord 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 and salvation to your people: 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 freedom to the oppressed.
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 on the prayer list, ill, or suffering – 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 share your abundant blessing with those suffering from war, those displaced from their homes, those suffering from violence, hatred or abuse. We pray especially for those we name now, either silently or aloud. (Pause)
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
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