Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
First Sunday after Epiphany
Baptism of Jesus
Call to Worship (from Isaiah 43)
One: Welcome to this time of worship, where we share Good News!
Many: Gathered for worship we affirm:
God has called us by name.
We belong to God!
One: Isaiah writes: In all situations God will be with us.
Many: Our Creator’s declaration is for us, “Do not be afraid!”
One: God gives us God’s own name, and creates us to give God GLORY!
Many: Remembering our baptism, we know we are redeemed.
One: We are named and claimed!
Many: Thanks be to God!
Opening Prayer
We turn to you, loving God, in the early days of this new year,
giving thanks for the ways you faithfully claim us
as your own beloved children.
Accept our offering of praise as we worship you, giving thanks for the constancy of your presence and your love. Bring us together!
Bind us to you and to one another beyond our fears and our anxieties.
Help us rejoice in this new year’s opportunities for service, reaching out to share the Good News of the Gospel in word and in deed. AMEN
Moment for Stewardship
Luke writes in chapter 3, describing Jesus’ baptism, followed by the gift of the Holy Spirit and a voice claiming, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
As we remember that description, I’m struck by what a remarkable reality it is for each one of us to be claimed by God.
Remember? Isaiah 43 says, “I have called you by name, you are mine.”
In gratitude for that relationship, we come to offer our gifts of money, time and talent. With joy, we bring the best we have to celebrate the way God reaches out to us. May each of us reach deep to offer our gifts today.
Source of all being,
Hear our thanks as we offer ourselves
and these symbols of our daily living to you.
May your Spirit pour into us, as it came into Jesus,
for we truly want to be claimed by you as we follow him.
Help us find ways to live the Good News of your love for one and for all,
Help us use these gifts and our time and talents
in service with Jesus, your Beloved Son, Amen.
Invitation to Communion
Use CH #365, “Wash, O God, Your Sons and Daughters” as your communion hymn on this day recognizing Jesus’s (and our) baptism.
For those who have been baptized, do you remember particular details? Or, if you were baptized as an infant, have you heard stories or seen pictures from your baptism day?
Our communion hymn includes this beautiful line: “We your people stand before you, water-washed and Spirit-born.” What a marvelous way to identify ourselves!
Each time we gather at this Table, we re-claim our identity as “water-washed and Spirit-born.” Each time we use our senses to see, touch, and taste, we claim our place at this Table where Jesus invites us to share this meal.
Here we re-member (put together again) Jesus in our day-to-day life.
Here we’re given a small piece of bread and a thimble full of juice link our bodies, minds, and spirits with Jesus and his followers across time and space.
Come! Remember! Claim your place!