Login / Signup

Free Access

The Epiphany Of Our Lord

Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series IV, Cycle B
Call To Worship
This Call To Worship is based on Eugene Petersen's translation of Isaiah 60:1-3 in The Message.

Leader: Get out of bed, Jerusalem! Wake up, put your face in the sunlight!
God's bright glory has risen for you!
People: The whole earth is wrapped in darkness. All people sunk in deep darkness.
Leader: But God rises on you, O people of God.
People: His sunrise glory breaks over you.
Leader: Nations will come to your light;
People: Kings to your sunburst brightness.
Leader: Let us bow down before the one whose light fills the earth.
People: Amen!

This prayer is loosely based on the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem and their worship of the newborn king. This Call To Worship and the following Prayer Of Confession and Assurance Of Pardon are all related.

Leader: Gifts for the newborn King.
People: O God, endow the King with your justice,
Leader: The royal Son with your righteousness.
People: All kings of the earth will bow down to him,
Leader: And all nations will serve him.
People: Noblemen pay tribute,
Leader: With gifts of gold and incense and myrrh.
People: Humble hearts seek him,
Leader: And lay down their treasures before him.
People: King Jesus, you alone are worthy.
Leader: Let us bow down and worship the King.


Prayer Of Confession
Leader: King of righteousness,
People: We tend toward comfort and conformity in the world,
Leader: Rather than taking our place in ways that are right.
People: We act as if the line between right and wrong
Leader: Is insignificant to you.
People: We do not let your righteousness rule in us.
Leader: Ruler of justice,
People: Who sees those who are oppressed
Leader: And hears the cries of the afflicted;
People: We live sheltered and self-centered lives,
Leader: Not seeing or hearing or caring or acting as you do
People: On behalf of those who are hurting or dying.
Leader: Our sense of justice is dulled.
People: We are slow to respond to the call of justice.
Leader: King of righteousness, ruler of justice,
People: Forgive us, change us, reign in us,
Leader: So that our lives will bear evidence to your presence in us
People: To those who need to know you. Amen.


Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: How great is our God!
People: Ever faithful to his promises!
Leader: He will deliver the needy who cry out,
People: The afflicted who have no one to help.
Leader: He will rescue them,
People: He will rescue me,
Leader: For our lives are precious to him.
People: God is our help and salvation.


Prayer For Illumination
Week in and week out we enter into the sanctuary of God, and yet, we do it without pause or attention to the awesome nature of the one into whose presence we come. As we open now the pages of this book, may we be aware of the humbling presence of the one the Magi met long ago. Amen.


Benediction
Ephesians 3:10
God's intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. As we leave this place, let us go forth intent on being revealers of God's wisdom in all we do. Amen.


Hymns

Adoration

As With Gladness Men Of Old

Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light

Fairest Lord Jesus

Go Tell It On The Mountain

If Jesus Goes With Me

O Sing A Song Of Bethlehem

One Small Child

We Three Kings


Contemporary Choruses
Here I Am, Lord (Appears as a hymn in some new hymnals)
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)
Easter 4
28 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 5
33 – Sermons
140+ – Illustrations / Stories
34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
30 – Worship Resources
35 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 6
30 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Elena Delhagen
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Quantisha Mason-Doll
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For May 5, 2024:
  • Longing for Belonging by Dean Feldmeyer — “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love and be loved and to belong.” Brene Brown
  • Second Thoughts: Is Blood Thicker Than Water? by Elena Delhagen based on 1 John 5:1-6 and Acts 10:44-48.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Suddenly, Kimberly, our middle daughter, was standing next to our bed, sobbing in fear. My wife held and comforted her for a few minutes, and then I led her back to the room she shared with her older sister Kristyn. I tucked her tightly into the sandwich of her sheets and blankets, snugging things up for extra safety.
Bill Thomas
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Acts 10:44-48

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: Pieces you might use, like dice, a spinner, a ball, or any other “unusual” things you might find. I used a beanbag, a shoe, and a piece of paper.

* * *

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (v. 12-13)

You have heard the saying “We are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.” Jesus’ invitation to “follow me” is an invitation to faithfulness. That might be described by the old-fashioned word “fidelity.”

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Do you love anyone enough to offer them your last Rolo? According to the advert, Rolos are so incredibly delicious that nobody could be that selfless. Those who consider offering their last Rolo to someone they love, snatch it back at the last moment and keep it for themselves.

Or you might of course, love Terry's chocolate orange, and feel it's something which would be good to share. But at the last moment, like cuddly Dawn French, you'd say, "No, it's mine, not Terry's, it's all mine!"

SermonStudio

Schuyler Rhodes
Anyone who has made a long road trip with children singing "99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall" can support the notion of "singing a new song." Children love the repetition of singing the same song over and over. Parents or youth group leaders who have been in this situation can identify with the need to sing a new song.
Nancy Kraft
Are you in love with God? In 1 John, the author has a lot to say about the love of God and the way that love changes our lives. We love because God first loved us. God's love fills us to overflowing so that it flows through us to other people. Annie Dillard said that we catch grace like a man filling a cup underneath a waterfall.1 That's the way we receive God's love. But there can be a problem for us when we put a lid on our cups and the water can't get inside. We're closing our hearts off to the love of God.

Harry N. Huxhold
A remarkable feature of Dwight D. Eisenhower's memoirs is the composure with which he greeted crises. He titled his autobiography At Ease, an appropriate description for not only his retirement, but the manner in which he appeared to be on top of life. Colleagues, of course, could recall how excited he could get in revealing his impatience with mediocrity and the failures of the people in his command. However, what was impressive was the way he took control in the European theater in World War II with no fear for his own life and great confidence in the Allied offensive.
E. Carver Mcgriff
Charles Wesley began one of the Methodist Church's favorite hymns with this line: "Come Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire." Of course, tradition now uses the alternate term, "Holy Spirit." Wesley called it the "fountain of life and love." And so it is. Once we experience the Holy Spirit, we know it is exactly that: the source of life and love. The giving of that Spirit into the lives of us all is the point of this passage.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL