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Tag: Baptism of Jesus

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Written by St. James UCC on . Posted in Bulletins.

Baptism of the Lord

For Meditation and Reflection:

“There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread, but there are many more dying for a little love.” (Mother Teresa)

Welcome and Announcements

Opening Prayer (Pastor)

Call to Worship (Lay Reader)

  • Leader: There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.
  • People: The holy habitation of the Most High.
  • Leader: The Lord pours forth rivers from bare mountains, and fountains in valley’s depths.
  • People: God opens rocks and water gushes out.
  • Leader: God springs forth streams in the desert.

Opening Hymn: Blessed Assurance #473

Prayer for Illumination (Lay Reader)

Today’s Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:13-17(Lay Reader)

Sermon “With Whom I Am Well Pleased” Mike Lyle

The Offerings and Offertory Music

A Litany of Thanksgiving

  • Pastor: All things come from you, O God, and with gratitude we return to you what is yours. All that we are, and all that we have, is your gift to us.
  • People: And so, in gratitude for all your gifts, we offer ourselves, and all that we have. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.
  • All: Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Reflective Hymn: Guide My Feet #497

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Prayers of the Pastor and People

Lord’s Prayer [Traditional, with “debts”]

Closing Hymn: O Savior, Let Me Walk with You #503

Benediction (Pastor) Go forward in the comfort and strength of God’s blessing. Remember that you are loved, that God is ever near, and that divine mercy is your way in the world. Amen.

Thought for the Day/Week “Those who make us believe that anything is possible and fire our imagination over the long haul, are often the ones who have survived the bleakest of circumstances themselves. They have every reason to despair, but don’t, so may have the most to teach us.’” — Paul Rogat Loeb

ANNOUNCEMENTS

This Sunday, Jan. 12th 10 am – Sunday School for children and adults; 11 am – Worship led by Rev. Mike Lyle

Next Sunday, Jan. 19th 9 am – Council Meeting, all welcome; 11 am – Worship led by Rev. Mike Lyle

Sunday, Jan. 26th 11 am – Worship led by Rev. Mike Morse

Sunday, Feb 2nd 10 am – Adult Sunday School; 11 am – Communion Worship led by Rev. Mike Lyle 12:15 pm – Join in for First Sunday Congregational Pot Luck!

During the Week at St. James:

Mindfulness Meditation. Wednesday mornings 10:30 am, Fellowship Hall. Free. All welcome; beginners encouraged!

Stretch It Out! Friday evenings 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Starting January 10th, Fellowship Hall: Come feel good with stretching and strengthening for all ages. Bring a yoga mat. $10. First class free.

English Language Classes for adults. Saturday mornings 8:30 -10:30 am, Free. Led by a certified ELL teacher. Please pass the word. Childcare provided. Fellowship Hall. Need volunteers: come work with adult students or help with childcare. Training provided; no experience needed.

Lovettsville Food Bank: Please bring non-perishable food items to church. See sign and box in Fellowship Hall.

Statement of Faith: We gather as an open and affirming community to worship God, however known. We welcome everyone, no exceptions. Together we seek spiritual comfort and challenge, learn from ancient and modern texts, and seek new dimensions of truth. We practice following the way of Jesus. We dare to demonstrate God’s love by working for justice and peace among all people.

Sunday, January 16, 2019

Written by St. James UCC on . Posted in Bulletins.

SERVICE CANCELLED DUE TO WINTER WEATHER.
Bundle up, enjoy these readings, and have a wonderful week!

First Sunday after Epiphany

Gospel Reading: The Baptism of Jesus
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.

And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

For Meditation and Reflection:
“Though it’s a familiar story to modern-day Christians, in many ways it might have made little sense to the early church. Why would Jesus need to be baptized? If anything, shouldn’t the Son of God be doing the baptizing?
For the early church, eager to proclaim Jesus’s divinity to the world, the story would obviously have proved problematic. Reading backward, then, we can see that the evangelists seemed to be stuck with an event that would have been hard to explain to newcomers. There is little chance that they would have consciously made up something like this. In addition, the story is included in all three Synoptic Gospels and referred to in John, so it needs to be taken seriously.”

~ James Martin, SJ, Jesus, A Pilgrimage

Thoughts for the day:
Jesus was probably baptized near a site about eight miles north of the Dead Sea on the east bank of the Jordan. Today it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the river there is diminished, polluted and “shrunk to a miserable stream barely 3 m. wide”

~ Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, The Holy Land

A very touristy site is maintained far to the north of the original baptismal site, in one of the few places on the Jordan where water still flows. Those willing to pay a fee, and queue up with others, can be baptized there.
Thankfully, the holy mystery of baptism is a spiritual matter uncontrolled by location, volume of water, influence or profit.

~ Rev. Michael Lyle

Statement of Faith: We gather as an open and affirming community to worship God, however known. We welcome everyone, no exceptions. Together we seek spiritual comfort and challenge, learn from ancient and modern texts, and seek new dimensions of truth. We practice following the way of Jesus. We dare to demonstrate God’s love by working for justice and peace among all people.