Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Epiphany +4
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28
Call to Worship (adapted from Ps. 111)
One: Friends, come! Let’s give thanks to God with our whole hearts
Many: The works of the Lord are great.
One: The Lord is gracious and merciful!
Many: All that God does is honest and true.
One: So let’s lift our voices to praise God.
Many: sing the chorus (or as a round), “Praise Ye the Lord, Hallelujah!”
Opening Prayer
Lord of life and light,
Holy is your name!
In the midst of this congregation we raise our voices to praise you.
Together we give thanks for the ways you work with faithful power
to lead us toward true wisdom.
May your covenantal promises delight us as we claim our identity as
your people, redeemed by love, AMEN
Moment for Stewardship
Early in Mark’s Gospel, barely beyond Jesus’ baptism and the calling of the first disciples, we hear how an unclean spirit recognized Jesus as the Holy One of God.
Rather than rejoicing in that declaration, Jesus told the spirit, “be silent, and come out of (that man)!” Jesus’ followers were amazed as Jesus spoke with such authority even the unclean spirits obeyed him.
We, too, find ourselves amazed when we recognize how Jesus speaks with authority even today. When someone decides to follow Jesus, others can SEE the difference. (tell your own story, or use one or more of these)
A child recently told his teacher, “you’ll see I’m a changed person – I was baptized and now I’ll behave!” To the delight of the teacher, this child’s actions no longer get him into trouble, but show he’s trying to act in love!
A woman known for her tight-fisted handling of money took seriously the teaching of the poor woman who put her last “mites” into the offering (Mark 12:41-44), and began to bring money for the offering every week.
When a young man emerged from a coma after being shot in a drug-deal-gone-bad, he declared “I’m no longer going down that dead-end path! From now on, I’m turning back to Jesus.”
What difference does it make for YOU to be a follower of Jesus? How does your life show you to be a disciple of the One who lived, loved and led the Way to God?
Let’s demonstrate our decision to be followers of Jesus, the Christ, as we receive our morning offering.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
With gratitude, O God, we offer these symbols of our lives in grateful appreciation for the “love so amazing, so divine” we know in Jesus, the Christ. Please continue to astonish us with the teachings of the Man from Galilee. Help us live as witnesses to his authority and presence among us, even as we use this offering to share the Good News. AMEN
Invitation to Communion
Nearly a month into the new year many of us have already stopped acting on our New Year’s Resolutions. Good intentions were not enough to keep us disciplined about our eating, our exercising, our changed language, or our “Dry January” efforts.
Yet when we focus on this Table, we are not chastised for our good intentions gone awry. We come, knowing here we come into close contact with the One who speaks and acts with authority and with love.
We hear the invitation to come,
we’re assured the feast is spread for all,
we’re welcomed into the warmth of forgiveness
as we confess our brokenness.
All who do truly repent,
who turn away from distraction and toward the living God, come!
Take the bread and drink from the cup,
remembering the One who continues to speak with authority
even today.