Prelude Miriam Enman
Call to Worship: From Isaiah 40
Leader: For now we see in a mirror, dimly,
People: But then we will see face to face.
L: Now I know only in part;
P: Then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
L: And now faith, hope and love abide, these three:
P: And the greatest of these is love.
L: Come, let us worship God,
P: Who is Love, and will reveal all to those who are faithful.
Hymn: My Savior’s Love
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.
Refrain:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
For me it was in the garden
He prayed: “Not My will, but Thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
And suffered and died alone.
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
God of Steadfast Love and Mercy, help us to pull back the veil and notice how You are at work in our lives and in the world around us. Help us to find Your secret notes for us in the turning leaves and new buds and shoots. Guide us to find Your messages in the snowprints of Your creatures and the dripping of icicles. Lead us to the knowledge of Your love in the care and compassion of our neighbors and friends, and help us to share Your love messages with others in our own acts of mercy and forgiveness. You are at work, in us and through us and around us; help us to reveal Your works to the world. We pray as Jesus taught: 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Offering
Special Music
Prayer for Offering
Gracious God, we give you thanks for the light of love around us and the fire of faith within us. As we go forth from this place let our lives reflect the One who is the image of your glory: Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen
Prayer of the Day
Lord, by your Spirit, grant what we ask.
Hymn: I Need Thee Every Hour
I need Thee ev’ry hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.
Refrain:
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Ev’ry hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.
I need Thee ev’ry hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow’r
When Thou art nigh. [Refrain]
I need Thee ev’ry hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain. [Refrain]
I need Thee ev’ry hour,
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill. [Refrain]
Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Questions to Ponder:
- Often this scripture talks about worry, but today I want you to ponder your value according to this scripture. What are some ways that your value is communicated in this passage?
- Verse 26 states “Are you not more valuable than they?”- When was a time you felt valued?
- What makes you feel unvalued?
- By what authority does someone assign value to you? Media (TV, advertisements), People’s opinions, comparison… where do you look for your value?
- How can you lose your value?
- Do you not know, have you not heard… YOU ARE VALUABLE! God sees you as valuable.
- What does it mean to seek God’s kingdom and his righteous ness first?
- Now let’s look at our neighbors. Do they have value? (of course!!!!)
- How are we communicating that value to them in our everyday interactions with them?
Hymn: All the Way My Savior Leads Me
All the way my Savior leads me,
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.
All the way my Savior leads me,
Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.
Blessing
Postlude