Crandall United Methodist Church

Worship Guide

January 14, 2024

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Creating Disciples of Jesus who Transform the World

ENTRANCE WITH PRAISE

Greetings:

Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

People: And also with you!

Special Music: “I’m Listening” Stefanie & Charles

Centering Words:

Let all who draw breath shout for joy and sing praises to the living God.

*Call to Worship:

Leader:    Speak to us, Lord, for your servants are listening.

People:   The One who fashioned us in our mother’s womb calls us this day.

Leader:    Lead us, O God, and we will follow.

People:   The One acquainted with all our ways leads us into life.

Leader:    Bless us, Spirit of wisdom and truth, and guide us home.

People:   The One who hems us in, from behind and before, is a lamp to our feet.

Leader:    Speak to us, Lord, for your servants are listening. Let us pray.

ALL: Before you formed us in our mother’s womb, you knew us completely. Before a word is on our lips, you perceived it. You hem us in, before and behind. You call us as your own and lay your hand upon us. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is so high we cannot attain it. Even when we fail, Holy One, call us anew, that we might hear your voice and respond with expectation and joy: “Here I am.” Amen.

Hymn: “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”     

Come thou Fount of every blessing,

tune my heart to sing thy grace;

streams of mercy, never ceasing,

call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

mount of thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;

hither by thy help I'm come;

And I hope, by thy good pleasure,

safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

wandering from the fold of God;

he, to rescue me from danger,

interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor

daily I'm constrained to be!

Let thy goodness like a fetter,

bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

here's my heart, O take and seal it,

seal it for thy courts above.

PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD

Words of Assurance

God never gives up on us, and Christ never forsakes us.

Rejoice and be glad, for we are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord.

Praises be to our God. Amen

*Old Testament Reading:     1 Samuel 3:1-10

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

² At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; ³ the 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. ⁴ Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵ and 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. ⁶ The 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.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸ The 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. ⁹ Therefore 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.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Leader:    This is the Word of God for the   people of God

People:   Thanks be to God.

WORD AND RESPONSE

Time with Young Friends: “Jesus Loves Me”

Children’s Message: “Am I Dreaming”

Hymn: “I Am Thine, O Lord”

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,

and it told thy love to me;

but I long to rise in the arms of faith

and be closer drawn to thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to the cross where thou hast died.

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord,

by the power of grace divine;

let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

and my will be lost in thine.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to the cross where thou hast died.

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to thy precious, bleeding side.

O the pure delight of a single hour

that before thy throne I spend,

when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God

I commune as friend with friend!

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to the cross where thou hast died.

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to thy precious, bleeding side.

There are depths of love that I cannot know

till I cross the narrow sea;

there are heights of joy that I may not reach

till I rest in peace with Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to the cross where thou hast died.

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to thy precious, bleeding side.

Sermon: “Your Servant is Listening” John 1:43-51

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip 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.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can    anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! 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 And 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.”

 RESPONSE TO THE WORD  

Hymn: “Two Fishermen”               

Two fishermen, who lived

along the Sea of Galilee,

stood by the shore to cast

their nets into an ageless sea.

Now Jesus watched them from afar,

then called them each by name.

It changed their lives,

these simple men;

they'd never be the same.

"Leave all things you have

and come and follow me."

And as he walked along the shore

'twas James and John he'd find,

and these two sons of Zebedee

would leave their boats behind.

Their work and all they held so dear

they left beside their nets.

Their names they'd heard as Jesus called;

they came without regret.

"Leave all things you have

and come and follow me."

O Simon Peter, Andrew,

James, and John beloved one,

you heard Christ's call

to speak good news

revealed to God's own Son.

Susanna, Mary, Magdalene

who traveled with your Lord,

you ministered to him

with joy for he is God adored.

"Leave all things you have

and come and follow me."

And you, good Christians,

one and all who'd follow Jesus' way,

come leave behind

what keeps you bound

to trappings of our day,

and listen as he calls

your name to come and follow near,

for still he speaks in varied ways

to those his call will hear.

"Leave all things you have

and come and follow me."

Psalter: The Nicene Creed   

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of  heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Gloria Patri  

Glory be to the Father and to the son

and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen. Amen.

Prayers of the People: Joys and concerns

   Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer   

SENDING FORTH

Hymn: “The Summons”   

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 let the blinded see

if I but call your name?

Will you set the prisoners free

and never be the same?

Will you kiss the leper clean,

and do such as this unseen,

and admit to what I mean

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?

Lord your summons echoes true

when you but call my 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.

Benediction