Home Worship for the week of January 4
Morning Prayer: O God of light and peace, whose glory, shining in the child of Bethlehem, still draws the nations to Yourself: dispel the darkness that shrouds our path, that we may come to kneel before Christ in true worship, offer Him our hearts and souls, and return from His presence to live as He has taught. Amen. (Lectionary Prayers)
Hymn: #238 Angels We Have Heard on High
- Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plains,
and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains.
Refrain: Gloria, gloria, gloria, gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, gloria, gloria, gloria, in excelsis Deo!
- Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be which inspire your heavenly song? (Refrain) - Come to Bethlehem and see Christ whose birth the angels sing,
come, adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King. (Refrain) - See Him in a manger laid, whom the choirs of angels praise,
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, while our hearts in love we raise.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60:4-6
4 Lift up your eyes and look all around:
they are all gathered; they have come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters on caregivers’ hips.
5 Then you will see and be radiant;
your heart will tremble and open wide,
because the sea’s abundance will be turned over to you;
the nations’ wealth will come to you.
6 Countless camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
They will all come from Sheba,
carrying gold and incense,
proclaiming the Lord’s praises.
Epistle Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
3 Bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. 4 God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in God’s presence before the creation of the world. 5 God destined us to be His adopted children through Jesus Christ because of His love. This was according to His goodwill and plan 6 and to honor His glorious grace that He has given to us freely through the Son whom He loves. 7 We have been ransomed through His Son’s blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on His overflowing grace, 8 which He poured over us with wisdom and understanding. 9 God revealed His hidden design to us, which is according to His goodwill and the plan that He intended to accomplish through His Son. 10 This is what God planned for the climax of all times: to bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth. 11 We have also received an inheritance in Christ. We were destined by the plan of God, who accomplishes everything according to His design. 12 We are called to be an honor to God’s glory because we were the first to hope in Christ. 13 You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance, which is applied toward our redemption as God’s own people, resulting in the honor of God’s glory.
Prayers of Intercession: (CORE adapted and edited) Let us pray that the light of Christ may shine upon the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the Light of the World, Your dear Son Jesus! Thank You for revealing Your mercy and loving-kindness to all people. Thank You for Jesus as He reveals You as the God of every kindred, nation, and tribe, until the world ends and Christ is all in all.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Make Your Church a faithful caretaker of the mysteries of Christ. Fill her leaders with wisdom, holiness, and faithfulness. May the Church’s worship, fellowship, and acts of charity be as frankincense, gold, and myrrh offered to her infant Redeemer.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Make this congregation a place where the broken hearted encounter the living Christ. Shape us into “magi” who eagerly seek, study, and worship Jesus. And send us home “by a different way” – as His disciples, and as His sisters and brothers.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Protect and bless Your Church wherever it suffers from malice, persecution, and scorn. Give even to its enemies a teachable heart and questioning mind, so Your goodness, holiness, justice, and mercy may touch and transform them.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Put Your Spirit upon the leaders of this and every nation, that they may faithfully bring forth and establish justice throughout the world. Give them the wisdom and the will to rightly protect and provide for their people. And grant peace and blessing to all in this new year.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Bring the light of Christ to everyone who dwells in the shadows of suffering, sin or sorrow, especially those we lift before You now in voice and silence. Give competence, compassion, and patience to everyone charged with their care; and grant health and hope according to Your merciful wisdom.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
All these things, and whatever else You see that we need, grant to us, dear Father, for the sake of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ in whose name we have been taught to pray together –
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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Community Friendship meals at Wesley United Methodist Church, Bloomsburg, providing food and friendship. We take 4 turns each year to prepare and serve plus clean up.
Offering prayer: Radiant God, the light of Your wisdom and love shines for all who seek You, guiding us not with force, but with grace. Like the magi, we come bearing gifts, not to earn Your favor, but in response to the gift of Christ You’ve given us. Use these offerings to reflect Your light into dark places, so that others might be drawn to Your love, Your justice, and Your joy. Keep us faithful in our seeking, generous in our sharing, and willing to be led wherever Your star shines next. In Jesus’ name, Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Preparation Hymn: #254 We Three Kings
- We three kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.
Refrain: O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
- Born a King on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign. (Refrain) - Frankincense to offer have I; incense owns a Deity nigh;
prayer and praising, voices raising, worshiping God on high. (Refrain) - Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb. (Refrain) - Glorious now behold Him arise; King and God and sacrifice:
Alleluia, Alleluia, sounds through the earth and skies. (Refrain)
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen His star in the east, and we’ve come to honor Him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
because from you will come one who governs,
who will shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the Child. When you’ve found Him, report to me so that I too may go and honor Him.” 9 When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They entered the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother. Falling to their knees, they honored Him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.
It is no mere coincidence that the start of the new year begins with the epiphany of the Lord. The year ended with the birth of Jesus, giving us hope as one year ends and another begins.
Hope is what we need. We never truly know what the next hour, day or week will bring to us. So we cling to hope. Hope is what is needed in the face of change, and the star that led the wise men to Jesus was a physical manifestation of hope. It is in that hope they trusted and we also trust.
When the wise men left their homes, they didn't know how long they would be gone. They didn't even know where they were going with any kind of certainty. They didn't know where they would be staying or if they'd even be welcomed to stay. There were so many unknowns for them. Yet something moved them to follow the star.
As we look at today's account, I wonder what do we do with the uncertainties and the little epiphanies in our lives. I mean, surely the wise men must have received little moments as they traveled of clarity and reassurance. Just like we receive these little moments in our lives. But what have we done with the aha moments we've experienced? I'm guessing that, like me, the aha moments haven't been what has motivated you but come as validations from God along the way.
When I got married - I'm not speaking for my husband because his experience of our marriage is different from my experience of our marriage - but when I got married, I had no idea what it would mean to be married. Not really. I knew logistically it meant I was leaving my family home and creating a new one with him. I knew that there would be chores and jobs and times of hard work and hopefully some leisure. But it wasn't until that I was truly in it. I didn't know how much it would change me into an us. How it will orientate where I thought I was going into where we were going or what we were doing.
Parenthood is the same story. You can imagine, pretend, go so far as to borrow other people's kids. Yet until you're absorbed by it, until a child depends solely on you, you have no idea what you're in for. Those days are full of aha moments as well.
Death, grief, illness, job changes - you can anticipate these things but until you are faced with them on the journey you don't get to collect the aha moments of clarity. They keep driving you towards the purpose that God has for your life.
When we come back to the wise men and look at their journey, we begin to see the aha moments that they were able to collect on the way. They knew they could fully trust in the God who had called them. They found that they could endure the mystery of where they were going. They could survive on the hospitality of neighboring places. They also found that the stirring that set them on the path would develop into determination to continue and to see this through. Like the aha moments as we go as well.
We find we can trust God. We find and build lasting relationships as we share our lives with others. In many ways, we find that we can endure hardships and uncertainty because we can be certain of the God who is our hope.
What we need to continually remind ourselves is this is to stay on the journey and God will provide the star for us to follow. Like the Magi, we will come to a place where we offer our treasures to Jesus. Our treasures will be a combination of the aha moments that kept us on the journey and the aha moments that identified and shaped our purpose, our gifts. These moments will lead us to offering those gifts up as needed and called for it as we encounter Jesus long the way.
The gifts that we have acquired, the gifts that we have fortified and grown with God's help will be the things that may just keep others on their paths to follow the star God has put in their lives. Things like words of encouragement to the downtrodden, physical food for the hungry, companionship for the lonely. When we look across the vastness of our congregation we, all of us, are a huge warehouse of God's gifts and aha moments.
We don't have the full vision, but we do have clarity when it comes to the mystery. We do know that even in our most discouraged times, the Star of God still shines for us to stay on the journey.
Yet here's the other part as we start the journey. We have to expect to be changed by the journey. The wise man traveled with the expectation of meeting Christ, the King of the Jews, and they focused wholly on that venture. But finding Jesus, meeting Jesus, didn't end their journey. They continued home, not to go home to who they were, because they were never going to be who they were again. How could they be after all that they had experienced in all that they saw. And that's true about us as well. We can never go back and be who we were at 7, 16, 30 or even 50. And we shouldn't want to. The changes we have experienced, the aha moments would not have led us to today. Today is where we meet Jesus again and resume our journeys guided by the hope God has given us. In Jesus. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #382 Have Thine Own Way, Lord
- Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still. - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Savior today!
Wash me just now, Lord, wash me just now, as in Thy presence humbly I bow. - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray! Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine! - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway. Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
Blessing: While remembering that Christ came to earth as a baby, remember also that He lived and died and is available through prayer. May the Lord bless you through God the Father, Jesus Christ the risen Savior, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
