February 2, 2020

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February 2, 2020

Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Micah 6:1-8

Psalm 15

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Matthew 5:1-12


Call to Worship  (from Micah 6)

(if you have musicians who can sing this round, or teach it to the congregation, it’s a
wonderful setting of Micah 6:8 – CH #661.
Use this at the beginning and again after the sermon or at t he end of worship)

Otherwise, here is a spoken version:

One:  Gathered as God’s people, we yearn to know how to live!
Many:  We’re eager to know what is good, and what God requires.
One:  So we hear from Micah, the prophet:  “The Lord has told us…
Many:  what the Lord requires is for us to
One:  DO justice, LOVE mercy, and WALK HUMBLY with our God!”
Many:  Here is our life’s description:
DO justice, LOVE mercy, and WALK HUMBLY with our God!

Opening Prayer
Giver of Life, you’ve told us how to live, and pointed the way.  You’ve given us Jesus to model for us, and provided your Spirit to draw us in.  Thank you!
So help us be encouraged and strengthened as we worship you this morning, that we might confidently step into our week, committed to doing justice, loving mercy and walking every step with you!   AMEN

Moment for Stewardship 

In Matthew, Jesus’ “sermon on the mount” is directed to the crowds who brought all their sick to be healed and stayed to hear him teach.

In what we know as “the beatitudes”, Jesus described the blessings of living as people who are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers persecuted for righteousness, reviled.

It’s almost as challenging to imagine our lives identified by these characteristics as it is to hear Jesus’ teaching about faithful stewardship!

Here’s the truth:  In the Gospels, Jesus taught about money, faithful giving and generosity MORE than any other one topic!  11 of 39 parables attributed to Jesus are about finances.

Why?  Because what we do with our money is a strong indicator of who we really are.  We areblessed.  When we live into lives of mercy, purity and peace we believe we will receive a great reward in heaven.

But here and now?  What we do with our finances makes a clear statement about our identity.

Let your giving today speak clearly of your own identity as you share a portion of all you have received.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Creator of all life, we present these offerings to you as signs of who we really are.  Use them, and use us, to proclaim the Good News of your realm, where all are welcome, all are valued, and all are blessed.  AMEN

Invitation to Communion  

In Matthew’s description, Jesus goes up the mountain and sits down to teach.  His disciples (followers/learners) gather to listen to Jesus’ teaching.

Week by week, we gather.  We listen to Jesus’ teaching as we hear scripture read and interpreted, sing hymns of our faith, and pray together the words Jesus taught his disciples.

In addition, however, we are given the opportunity to gather around this table.  Here we remember Jesus as we share in these emblems of bread and juice.  Today, we’re invited to come to the table, identifying ourselves as his learners/followers/disciples.

So come!  Come to this table!  Bring your hearts and your lives, for we are holy people, Spirit-filled, and the sign of Jesus’ life with us.

(use CH #413, Take our Bread)