Feb. 5
Scripture (from the Revised Common Lectionary, with links provided by TextWeek.com – a source for thoughtful worship and preaching throughout the year). Click on Scripture Lessons below for study links and resources:
Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12)
Psalm 112:1-9, (10)
1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16)
Matthew 5:13-20
Suggested Hymns from Chalice Hymnal
90 – Come, Christians, join to sing
606 – God whose giving knows no ending
517-Love divine, all loves excelling
385-An upper room did our Lord prepare
428 – An upper room with evening lamps ashine
Hymn of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2023, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
On 1 Corinthians 2:1-12
You come to us, O friend,
announcing gospel light,
knowing only Christ crucified
among us evermore.
Christ crucified is news,
good news in simple form,
reality that forms our hearts
in readiness to live.
Christ crucified appears,
the word of power found
in Spirit’s continuity,
the wisdom of our God.
The Spirit of our Lord,
Christ crucified indeed,
comes searching through the depths of God
to form our joying hearts.
SM
Suggested tune: Carlisle
Dealing with the Psalm of the Day:
Since Chalice Hymnal does not provide a complete Psalter, there will be occasions when suggestions may be made for alternate Psalm use (or hymn equivalent). A metrical version of the Psalter, for those Psalms not provided in Chalice Hymnal, is being prepared by Rev. David Chafin. Where practical, these may be offered here as well. You may also want to visit http://lectionarypsalms.org/
This week: Psalm 112 does not appear in Chalice Hymnal
Concerning the Following Items: Except where otherwise noted, items are created or adapted by the editor. If you are aware of source notations which are missing, please bring them to his attention. No copyright infringement is intended, but is sure to happen.
Call to Worship
L: Come, let us use our voices to praise the Lord.
P: Our mouths will shout forth praise.
L: Let us use our minds to ponder the wondrous deeds of God.
P: We will call to mind God’s mighty acts.
L: With all of our strength and being, let us worship the Lord of love.
P: We will worship from our depths. Our souls exult in God!
OR from ministrymatters.com
L: Called by God, we have come to worship.
P: Called by Christ, we have come to follow.
L: Called by the Spirit, we have come to rejoice.
P: Called together, we will listen and pray.
OR from ministrymatters.com
L: God said, “Let there be light.”
P: And there was light.
L: Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”
P: And the light shone in the darkness.
L: Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”
A: And the light shall not be quenched.
OR from ministrymatters.com
L: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
P: And also with you.
L: O praise the Lord! Happy is the person who fears the Eternal One.
P: We find great joy in God’s commandments.
Invocation or Prayer of Approach
God of grace, you have given us minds to know you, hearts to love you, and voices to sing your praise. Fill us with your spirit that we may celebrate your glory and truly worship you; through Jesus Christ our Lord (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
OR from ministrymatters.com
Invisible God, you have revealed yourself to us in Jesus Christ, sharing your own Spirit in communion with our spirit. As we come to worship disclose yourself more fully as we hear your written word and pray in the Spirit of Jesus Christ (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
OR
As we worship this morning, O God, we pray that your Spirit will be our strength, your word will be our guide, your love will be our comfort, and your promises will be our hope, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
OR adapted from ministrymatters.com
Holy God, we gather to sing your praise and hear your word. Speak to us now, that we may be wise enough to perceive your call. Strengthen us now, that we may be brave enough to answer “Yes!” Guide us now, that we may follow where you would have us go. This we pray through Christ our Lord (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
Pastoral Prayer – Prayers of the People – Intercessions
God of love and mercy, you have called us and all your children into one family through the resurrection of your Son Jesus. By his gracious presence, we look with new eyes at the whole human family in its brokenness and pain. We seek your strength and determination to embrace them, love them, heal them, and share with them your great good news of hope and new life.
Hear us as we lift to you our deepest needs, our pressing burdens, our fears and hopes. Be near us, we pray, as your people. Help us to receive your many gifts with gratitude and faithful stewardship.
We pray for those who suffer pain or illness, for the lonely and despairing, for the lost and worn and battered of our world. And we lift to you the leaders of this and every nation, community and faith, that they would be guided by your spirit, and aware of the needs, especially of the least, of their people.
We pray for those whose lives are closely linked to our own_______________
and for our own needs, which we offer to you in faith.
To the sick, O Lord, give your healing; to the grieving, give hope; to the dying, give your peace; and to all of us, O God, give faith to go forth from this place, determined to live in the light of your good news in Jesus Christ. It is in his name that we offer to you our prayers and our lives. Amen.
OR (from ministrymatters.com)
Gracious God, we thank you for the light that shone in Jesus, revealing unto us your holiness and our righteousness. We deplore this gap, yet we rejoice that you chased the darkness that kept it hidden from our eyes. By your light we are both encouraged and condemned. We are reassured to see your face turned in our direction, bidding us to come unto you. But we shudder at the sight of us turning our backs on you, resisting the light that could mirror your glory.
We thank you, O God, for leaving your light in the world even though we have not always heeded your summons to become the light of the world. Instead of illuminating your character, we have blurred it. You have commanded us to love you with all our being, but we have consigned our love to the pigeonhole of religion. You have commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we have been too preoccupied with ourselves to find them. You have called us to be peacemakers, yet we have encouraged the arms makers with our fears and our fortunes. You have summoned us to be wall breakers, yet we have supported the wall makers with our silence and our sympathy. We have seen the light, but we have refused to walk in it.
Yet we long, O Lord, to keep your law and do your will. We ask forgiveness for our rebellion, not merely for the sake of the joy we have denied ourselves, but also for the joy we have denied others. Keep ever before us the needs of the world into which you sent Jesus and for whose sake he gave himself to the uttermost. Let us feel its pain as our own, seek its good as our own, and work for its transformation in the name and spirit of him who came into the world not to condemn but to redeem it.
We listen now, O God, for your word. Let its message illumine our minds that we may will as Jesus willed. Let its spirit quicken our hearts that we may love as Jesus loved. Let its power speed our steps that we may do as Jesus did.
Prayers from Common Worship*
Collect
Almighty God,
who alone can bring order
to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
give your people grace
so to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
that, among the many changes of this world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion
Merciful Father,
who gave Jesus Christ to be for us the bread of life,
that those who come to him should never hunger:
draw us to the Lord in faith and love,
that we may eat and drink with him
at his table in the kingdom,
where he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.
Additional Collect
Eternal God,
whose Son went among the crowds
and brought healing with his touch:
help us to show his love,
in your Church as we gather together,
and by our lives as they are transformed
into the image of Christ our Lord.
Collect of the Day (from Book of Common Prayer, 1979**)
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us
the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known
to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns
with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
Collect of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2023, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
Matthew 5:1-12
Blessed Lord God,
in the stirring of the kingdom of heaven
you mark as blessed
those who share your traits of heart.
Instill in your people the character of your will
that we may all resound in your style
and in your grace.
Service of Table
While all of our congregations navigate the Sacred Board in a different way, it seems, there are common elements in most, which are provided here. We would love to hear if your congregation has variations to these elements which we might address in the future.
Offertory / Invitation to Give
You are light for the world; you are the salt of the earth. These are no small commendations from our Lord, and they come with great expectations. Often, we expect very little of ourselves; but the truth of Christ’s invitation to this Table is one which speaks volumes of God’s investment in us. We should be quick to answer the call, and ready to offer our best. Let us bring our best to God as we present our tithes and offerings.
OR
Often, we expect very little of ourselves; but the truth of Christ’s invitation to this Table is one which speaks volumes of God’s investment in us. We should be quick to answer the call, and ready to offer our best. Let us bring our best to God as we present our tithes and offerings.
Offertory Prayer
We offer ourselves to you, O God, in these tokens of our lives. May they make a practical difference in this world, bringing light and life through Jesus Christ to the darkest and most shadowy places. Fill us with your Spirit, that our lives may also bear the light of him who gave himself for us, as we go about our daily living in your presence. Amen.
OR
Thank you, God, for this high and holy moment in worship and in life when we have something to give that others need. Take our bread, our witness, our lives to benefit all your human family. May your glory be known among us and in all the world.
OR from ministrymatters.com
Increase the strength of these gifts, and the strength of our ministries, O God. Expand the nets of our love, that we may reach deeply and share abundantly. In Christ’s name, we pray.
Invitation to the Table
Christ invites to this Table all who desire to walk in faith with God and in peace with one another. Here, the very best of God is offered for us, to nourish our lives and encourage our spirits to share with the world the light that is known only in the Savior Christ our Lord. It is he who invites us. Let us join together in thanksgiving and praise as we receive his gifts of bread and cup, his body and blood offered that all might have life that is eternal.
Prayer of Thanksgiving (Prayers for Bread and Cup)
(The following may be offered as one prayer, or broken between two Elders, if that is the tradition to be followed)
- We who gather in your name, O God, give thanks to you for the gift of this bread – fruit of the earth and work of human hands – and pray that for us it might be the bread of life. Receive our praise, O God, for your abundant gifts, which we offer in union with Christ’s gift of life for us. Bring us with him to life everlasting.
- We bless your name, O God, maker of this gift of wine – fruit of the earth and work of human hands – and pray that it might be for us the cup of our salvation. Pour forth your Spirit upon us, O God, and upon these gifts; make us anew as your body, living faithfully in your world, as we proclaim Christ’s death until he comes again.
Conclusion: Through him, with him, and in him, in the power of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor be to you, O God, now and forever. Amen.
If not previously offered: “And now with the confidence of your children, we offer the prayer our Savior taught us, ‘Our Father…’”
MORE…
Rev. Tim Graves offers Liturgy Bits with valuable, culturally sensitive and creatively contemplative works, well worth your time.
You may also want to visit Worship Connection at MinistryMatters.com, which offers numerous helps, including electronic versions of print resources for worship and preaching planning.
Intercessions and other helpful planning materials geared to the Lectionary (using Roman Catholic version, but normally quite useful for all traditions) for preaching and worship are supplied for several weeks in advance at The Sunday Website of St. Louis University.
Common Worship Almanac and Lectionary for the year beginning Advent Sunday 2022:
Compiled by Simon Kershaw October 2022 from the Common Worship Calendar and Lectionaries using Almanac Maker;
compilation (c) Simon Kershaw 2022; Almanac Maker (c) Simon Kershaw 2010-2022
The Revised Common Lectionary is copyright (c) the Consultation on Common Texts 1992.
Book of Common Prayer (1979), Public domain.
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Epiphany +5A, 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Life in Liturgy 
Ditto!
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