For the Call to Worship, coordinate with the presider from December 29 to collect the Psalm phrases people wrote. If they weren’t compiled, prepare to do that, editing them by combining similar phrases. Arrange for printed copies of the completed work to be inserted in the worship bulletins, arranged as a congregational responsive reading, or project the words on a screen. Categorize participants in any of these ways: high/low voices; birthdays in January-June/birthdays in July-December, or any other creative way that includes young and old.
You will need the Advent wreath with four candles lit and the center (Christ) candle unlit.
We Gather for Worship Prelude
Carols of the Season
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
Choose at least two.
“Lovely Child, Holy Child”
“Silvery Star, Precious Star”
“In The Bleak Midwinter”
“Star-Child”
Welcome
Call to Worship
Use the original Psalm created in last week’s service.
OR Ephesians 1:3, 7-8a, 13-14
Hymn of Praise
“Je louerai l’Éternel/Praise, I Will Praise You, Lord Sing twice
CCS 434
CCS 428
CCS 419
CCS 422
CCS 420
CCS 115
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
OR “Creator God We Sing/Cantemos al Creador”
Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.
OR “All Creation Sings God’s Music”
Invocation
Instrumental Response
We Celebrate our Joys and Share Our Concerns Joys and Concerns
Prayer of Intercession
We Listen to Learn and Prepare for the Sacrament
A Reading of Scriptures
Reader 1: John 1:1-5 Light the Christ candle in the Advent wreath as the scripture is read.
Reader 2: John 1:14-18
Reader 3:
CCS 114
CCS 110
Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and if you will deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is God’s grace sufficient for you, that by God’s grace you may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God you are perfect in Christ, you cannot deny the power of God.
Moroni 10:29, adapted Communion Message
Based on the texts above.
Hymn of Preparation
“Who Is This Jesus”
OR “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”
OR “Here at Thy Table, Lord”
OR “Joy and Wonder, Love and Longing”
OR “We Meet as Friends at Table”
New Year Reflection
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
CCS 38
CCS 516
CCS 517
CCS 534
CCS 532
The first time we share in this holy sacrament each year can be a spiritual moment of reflection, repentance, and renewal. I invite you to close your eyes, if you are comfortable doing so, and spend one minute in silence, remembering what you promised when you were baptized, and what was promised to you through confirmation of the Holy Spirit.
Ring a chime or bell or strike a wood block or other sound source to draw people back to the group.
Prayer of Confession
Communion Scripture
Choose one of these scriptures to read.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12–26, or Luke 22:7-39
Invitation to Communion
All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others might have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.
Blessing and Serving of the Bread and Wine
Log in to Our Ministry Tools and search for Guidelines Lord’s Supper. If you have not used this library of resources, go to CofChrist.org/our-ministry-tools.
We Desire to Be Peacemakers and Responsible Stewards
Prayer for Peace
Light the peace candle.
Invite participants to turn to CCS 165, “How Deep the Silence of the Soul,” and read it silently.
Statement
Today we have heard about God’s grace extended to each of us, we have experienced God’s grace in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and we have remembered that we have only to turn toward God to be surrounded by God’s embrace and peace.
But if we hug those things to ourselves without helping others experience these, we are denying others the opportunity to also be enfolded in God’s embrace and feel the peace that brings.
Peace Prayer
Gracious God,
We have been praying for peace for a long time, and now we ask that you help each of us sense what we can actively do to help your peace be a reality for ourselves and others. Help us extend our desire to love you as you have instructed and to also love our neighbors, known and unknown, friend or foe, so that your reign of peace on the earth will come to pass. Amen.
Disciples’ Generous Response
Hold up a new yearly calendar and as you talk, slowly flip through the unmarked pages.
Statement
Today is the first Sunday of this year as a gathered community. The year before us is like a brand-new calendar. We will fill it with dates for worship services, special events, meetings, classes, and outreach ministries in our communities.
This is also an opportune time to think about what we can do to financially support our efforts by continuing or even increasing our monetary offerings. As you consider your
response to the call to be generous disciples, thinking just now of your monetary giving, reevaluate why you give, how often you do so, and how it may bless local and worldwide ministries.
As we open our hearts to courageously and generously share by placing money in the offering plates or through eTithing, we join the movement of God’s compassion in the world. On this Sunday as we share in the sacraments, our offerings are dedicated to Abolishing Poverty and Ending Needless Suffering. This is how God’s generous compassion grows more visible in tangible ways.
If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).
Blessing and Receiving of Oblation, Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
We Receive God’s Grace for the New Year
Hymn for the New Year
“By Gracious Powers”
CCS 268 OR “Year by Year”
CCS 345 OR “This Is a Day of New Beginnings”
CCS 495 OR “God of Wonder, God of Thunder”
CCS 18
Closing Prayer
Instrumental Response
Postlude
Year C Letters
Second Sunday after Christmas
John 1:1-18 (A,B,C)
Exploring the Scripture
Today is the second Sunday of Christmas. For many, Christmas has been put away. The decorations are down, and the Nativity scene carefully wrapped and safely tucked into storage to wait for next year. Is that the only thing about Christmas that has been tucked away? Or, is hope still tangible? Is joy expected? Is the call for peace still heard? Can love find an outward expression to a stranger?
John calls us to look past the birth of Jesus, to see what Jesus’ birth means for us. Jesus is the word and the word is God. The word gave light and life. Biblical text is understood through the life, teachings, and acts of Jesus who embodies God in the world (vv. 9–18). The word and relationships are outlined in today’s text: the word and God (vv. 1–2), the word and creation (vv. 3–5), the word and John the Baptist (vv. 6–7), the word and the world (vv. 9–13), the word and community (vv. 14–18).* John establishes the divinity and humanness of Jesus and sets before us the invitation for our rebirth to become children of God.
“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God” (vv. 12–13). This is the essence of the message: Jesus came that we might become the children of God. We are no longer bound by circumstances that surround us. We are no longer defined by societal norms. We, all of us, are children of God.
Jesus came and was born, lived, died and was raised again to remind us, to show us, that God loves us without reservation, without condition. How do we accept the powerful message of Christmas into our lives? Maybe we need to unpack the manger and keep it out all year to remind us God sent the Son so we might become children of God.
Central Ideas
1. The message and invitation of Christmas does not end in December.
2. Jesus’ birth and life created the path for us to become children of God.
3. God loves all humans unconditionally.
Questions for the Speaker
1. When did the life of Jesus come alive in your life?
2. When did you realize God’s love was for you and for all humanity?
3. What are the things in our lives we need to pack up and put away so we can live into our lives as disciples and as children of God?
4. How will your congregation keep the joy and hope of Christmas lively and vibrant in the coming days?
*Note: Based on R. Alan Culpepper, “Second Sunday after Christmas Day Exegetical Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, vol. 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 189 and Karyn Wiseman, Commentary on Gospel, WorkingPreacher.org (accessed February 24, 2015).
SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY
Year C Letters
Second Sunday after Christmas
Ephesians 1:3–14 NRSVue
Communion Gathering
Welcome
The Christmas season lasts twelve days, from Christmas Day to Epiphany on January 6. During this time, we celebrate the joy, love, hope, and peace of Jesus Christ.
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.
Light the peace candle
God of understanding, as our season of celebration ends, may we carry Christ’s peace into the world.
Peace in our families.
Peace between neighbors.
Peace in towns and villages.
Peace between tribes and clans.
Peace in our conversations.
Peace between those who disagree.
Peace in our politics.
Peace between nations.
We pray for peace in our choices, words, and actions that we may live Christ’s peace. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Hymn Meditation
Read the following aloud:
Reflecting on hymns can bring insight into our life in community with each other and the Divine. The following meditation is an opportunity to read through a hymn instead of singing it. As we read, we will focus on the words and meaning of the song. Together, we will read it aloud one time. Then we will read it through once silently. At the end we will share what stood out to us as the message for us today. How is the Spirit stirring within us to respond to this message?
The hymn meditation for today is Community of Christ Sings 437, “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.”
Sharing Around the Table
Ephesians 1:3–14 NRSVue
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
In the letter to the Ephesians we hear of conflicts and confusion about who belongs to Christ. Jesus was born a Jew. It would have been normal for Jewish Christians to expect that a Gentile following this rabbi would mean converting to Judaism.
There long had been Gentile onlookers interested in Judaism, its stories, and prophetic witness. They were allowed to take part from a distance. They were limited to second-class status within the community. Jewish Christians expected this same division. Instead, Paul taught that Gentiles could be adopted into God’s special family and receive the same inheritance as the Jews without becoming Jewish and experiencing circumcision.
It’s not anything that makes sense according to the social norms and hierarchies of the time. All these years later, we easily might lose sight of the extent that this idea upended the social norms. Admitting Gentiles was so controversial that it nearly destroyed the early church. Ultimately the church decided Gentiles did not need to become Jews to become Christians. Gentiles could become children of God, not through circumcision, but because God wanted the world to work that way.
Questions
1. In Christ we tear down social divisions. Where do you see the need for equality, inclusivity, and acceptance of all?
2. When have you experienced hierarchy in a way that excluded or diminished you?
3. What would it look like to live as a radically inclusive community?
Sending
Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give. The offering prayer for Advent is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response.
God of love and light, in this season of joy, love, hope, and peace, may the peace of your Son Jesus be made real in the world. May our hearts, minds, hands, and resources be useful in the cause of bringing your light where there is darkness and your love where there is despair, anger, fear, and suffering. May our offerings be used toward your purposes we pray. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn
Community of Christ Sings 437, “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
• Thoughts for Children
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSVue
Communion Statement
All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.
We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community.
In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (choose from below options):
• 516, “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”
• 521, “Let Us Break Bread Together”
• 523, “As We Gather at Your Table”
• 526, “Is There One Who Feels Unworthy?”
• 528, “Eat This Bread”
• 532, “We Meet as Friends at Table”
Thoughts for Children
Materials:
• a bouquet of flowers, real or artificial
Say: In today’s scripture we learn that we all are part of God’s family. God has “adopted” us Another way to say it might be, God includes us in God’s community. Show children a bouquet of flowers.
Say: Flowers are given to bring joy when we celebrate important occasions. Being “adopted” by God is a special occasion for each of us.
Give every child several flowers and ask them to share flowers with each group member as a way to celebrate our adoption into God’s community.
Say: As you take your flower with you today, remember that we celebrate God’s welcome to all people.
Adapted from Scripture-based Focus Moments: CofChrist.org/search?q=focus+moments
Prior to today’s worship, using construction paper, cutout stars of all colors the more colors, the better! (See below for a star template.) Place your pre-cut stars on a table toward the front of your worship space. Provide markers/pens for each participant. These will be used for the Focus Moment in the service. Prepare enough for all to have one.
We Praise
Prelude
Songs of Presence and Praise
Choose two.
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
“Seek Ye First”
“Jesu, Tawa Pano/Jesus, We Are Here”
“All Creatures of Our God and King”
“Earth and All Stars”
Welcome and Announcements
Responsive Reading
CCS 599
CCS 71
CCS 98
CCS 102
Leader: The heavens tell the glory of God; and the firmament proclaim God’s handiwork!
All: And we are in awe!
Leader: Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night declares knowledge.
All: And we are in awe!
Leader: There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
All: And we are in awe!
All: Amen!
Psalm 19:1-5, adapted
Hymn of God’s Revelation
“Speak, O Lord”
OR “Fountain of All Revelation”
CCS 66
CCS 67 OR “We Limit Not the Truth of God”
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
Invocation
Musical Response
Prayer for Peace Light the peace candle.
Peace Prayer
Oh God,
CCS 69
We Pray
You have searched and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways…
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me…
Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”
Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
To you, even the smallest light of a candle, shines bright as a star! Amen.
Psalm 139: 1-11, adapted
We Listen
Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-12
Focus Moment: You Are a Star! See the end of this service
Hymn of Reflecting Light
“Light Dawns on a Weary World”
CCS 240 OR “From a Far-Off Land/De tierra lejana venimos”
CCS 440/441
Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.
OR “Peace Among Earth’s Peoples”
Morning Message
Based on Matthew 2:1-12
CCS 448
Hymn of Preparation
“Open My Heart”
OR “Searcher of Hearts”
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
OR “According to the Gifts”
Communion Scripture Reading: Luke 22:14-23
Hymn of Preparation
“God Extends an Invitation/Nuestro Padre nos invita”
CCS 171
CCS 178
CCS 591
CCS 520
Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.
OR “Let Us Break Bread Together”
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
OR “Is There One Who Feels Unworthy”
Invitation to Communion
CCS 521
CCS 526
All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others might have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.
Blessing and Serving of Bread and Wine
Log in to Our Ministry Tools and search for Guidelines Lord’s Supper. If you have not used this library of resources, go to CofChrist.org/our-ministry-tools.
We Share
Disciples’ Generous Response
Hymn of Generosity
“Take My Gifts and Let Me Love You”
CCS 609 OR “Brothers and Sisters of Mine”
CCS 616
Statement
The treasure you offer is worth more than you realize. Even if we feel like we do not feel it, God’s grace and generosity that works through us proves otherwise. In Choose
Generosity: Discovering Whole-Life Stewardship, we read:
“When we choose to believe that God is continuously pouring out grace and generosity, we begin to see God in everything the good, the bad, and everything between …Seeing all of life as a gift from God is a choice of faithful disciples.”
Just as the Magi offered their gifts to the newborn king, so are we invited to. Although we might not be perfect, God’s treasure flows through us.
Testimony
Share a testimony about a time when you felt overwhelmed by God’s generosity.
God’s generous compassion is limitless. As we open our hearts to courageously and generously share by placing money in the offering plates or through eTithing, we join the
movement of God’s compassion in the world. God shares abundantly, we share faithfully, others share generously, and God’s love and compassion grow endlessly. If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).
Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
We Are Sent
Hymn of Commitment
“Send Forth Your Light, O Zion”
OR “Go Now Forth into the World”
OR “Now Go in Joy”
Benediction
Sending Forth
CCS 622
CCS 646
CCS 659
You are a blessed and loved people. Go from this place rested, reassured, and rejuvenated. Go into the world and shine your light. Let the world know that God’s love lives and breathes!
Be a star and guide the way forward!
Postlude
Focus Moment: You Are a Star!
Distribute stars and markers to all participants.
Leader: Who can tell me what this is?
Hold a star so all can see. Allow time for responses.
Leader: That’s right! It’s a star! We heard in today’s scripture that a star was used to guide the Magi, or the Three Wise Men. What did they find when they got to the star?
Allow time for responses.
Leader: That’s right! They found baby Jesus! Overwhelmed with joy, they knelt before their new king and gave their most treasured belongings. Have you ever given a gift before?
Allow time for responses.
Leader: Epiphany is a day Christians around the world celebrate God’s revelation to all people through baby Jesus. But it was a star that led the way!
And guess what…each of you are stars! If you choose to, you can lead people to God’s love! Your acts of kindness and love reflect God’s love for all people!
Hand out stars to each participant.
Leader: Take a star as a reminder that you can show the way to God’s love! Go and light your world!
Thank all participants.
Optional Activity
Participants can write “You are a Star” on each star and place them on a wall or poster board.
(Sample pattern for star cutout.)
Year
C Letters
Epiphany of The Lord
Matthew 2:1-12 (A,B,C)
Exploring the Scripture
In the Christian calendar, today is Epiphany, the twelfth day after Christmas, which has deep roots in our text. We find people who were foreign to both the religious and governing communities of Judea but who experienced an amazing epiphany the manifestation of God through a baby.
Only Matthew tells the story of people who came from the East bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. Over the years these people have been identified as “kings,” probably due to passages in Isaiah about gold and frankincense being brought to Zion and the psalms declaring kings would come bearing gifts of gold. Matthew identifies them as wise men, presumably reflecting their religious practice of stargazing. However, there is no mention of how many, although because of three gifts (gold, frankincense, myrrh), traditionally the number of magi was said to be three. Following a star, the travelers stopped in Jerusalem asking about the location of the child. Had they assumed the child was in Jerusalem? Possibly. Jerusalem, the more populous, outstanding, and powerful location, must be where this new king had been born. Could such a royal occurrence happen in some dusty, peasant village? Today there are those who believe important things are associated with the popular, powerful, and glamorous. Challenge the hearers to consider what they are seeking in life. Are they missing the “Bethlehems” because the “Jerusalems” seem more attractive?
An unlikely meeting occurred during this stop in Jerusalem a city that represented the world then, and to some degree, the world now. At that meeting were King Herod, religious leaders, and seekers from the East. Herod represented people and institutions using oppression and force to achieve their goals of power. Herod asked the religious leaders for an interpretation of the scriptures about this new king. He might be considered representative of those who use the scriptures for their own motives and agendas. We must be willing to challenge the prejudicial and oppressive acts of the Herods in today’s world. Each of us must also acknowledge the Herod-like characteristics buried in our own hearts.
Religious leaders who were among the most devout followers of the God of Abraham were also at this meeting. They knew the scriptures identified Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace. However, they made no effort to go there. They interpreted the scripture, but because of their preconceived notions of the Messiah, were unwilling to be drawn into places where the scripture was calling them. Having a new vision of God, an epiphany, most often occurs when we step out in faith and journey to the Bethlehems of our own experience. The preacher may want to challenge the congregation to be more open to new places and approaches to life as disciples to which the scriptures will call them.
The final group at the meeting was the seekers, stargazers who normally studied the sky and found spiritual guidance in the signs. Something about this new star, though, drew them outside their comfort zones to become seekers. We might take our cue from the wise men, willing to leave our comfort zones in search of the king. It is amazing that the only ones who really got it right, who experienced a new vision of God, were foreigners. These wise men, as defined by Matthew, were not from the Roman or the Jewish worlds; they were from a place outside the known empire.
The writer of Matthew sends a significant message, a foreshadowing of the mission of Jesus. Even in his infancy we find the message that God’s grace is for all persons. The words that show up
later in the letter to the Ephesians about Christ coming to unite all humanity and break down walls of separation (Ephesians 2:14– 16), were beginning to take shape in Bethlehem.
Central Ideas
1. Gaining new insights and experiencing an epiphany requires moving out of our comfort zones.
2. People and institutions still attempt to interpret scripture to serve their own agendas.
3. Dismantling walls of separation in our world is at the root of the mission of Christ.
4. Listening to the questions of seekers may guide us to a new epiphany.
Questions for the Speaker
1. How am I sometimes like Herod? How am I like the priests and scribes?
2. Who are “Herods” in the world today, and what is our response to them?
3. Might this scripture empower you to go outside your normal, daily routine in mission?
4. How is the message of Christ still a threat to power structures today?
SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY
Year C Letters
Epiphany of The Lord
Ephesians 3:1–12 NRSVue
Communion Gathering Welcome
Epiphany is observed twelve days after Christmas on January 6. Epiphany means “to reveal” or “to make manifest.” In the Gospel of Matthew, the story of the Magi traveling to find the infant king is told to illustrate the manifestation of God revealed to all the world, not just the people of Israel.
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.
God of the heavens and Earth, you are in all that grows, hibernates, and dies. You are the twinkling stars that guide travelers, the moon that lights the way, and the dark night sky that frames them. So long ago, Herod told the wise men to “search diligently” for the baby Jesus. So, too, shall we search diligently for you in the beautiful, wondrous world around us! Stay close to us as we journey. Make your love and peace known to us that we, in turn, may make it known to our neighbors. Strengthen us for the journey and embolden us to shine your peace into the unjust corners that exist far and near.
In the name of your Son, the Light of the world. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Dwelling in the Word
I will read a scripture aloud. As you hear the scripture allow the words, images, or phrases to come to mind. Try not to focus on them. Let them rest with you. After a moment of silence, I will read the scripture a second time. As you hear the scripture listen again for how God’s Spirit is nudging you or catching your attention.
Read Matthew 2:10–11 NRSVue:
When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Pause. Read the scripture a second time. Invite group members to share responses to these questions:
1. What images and thoughts came to your mind while listening to this scripture?
2. The Magi brought gifts. What gifts do you bring to this community and the world?
Sharing Around the Table
Ephesians 3:1–12 NRSVue
This is the reason that I, Paul, am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you gentiles, for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access in boldness and confidence through faith in him.
Today we celebrate Epiphany, a day when we remember the journey of the Magi from the East to visit the infant Jesus. Epiphany is one of the oldest celebrations of the Christian church. The season of Epiphany begins January 6 and continues until Ash Wednesday.
Epiphany, in Greek, means “to appear” or “reveal.” In today’s text, Paul writes of the “mystery of Christ.” God’s purpose is revealed as Paul shares the meaning of and an invitation to community through Jesus Christ
Paul says he is a prisoner of Christ for the Gentiles. The metaphor expresses Paul’s advocacy for Gentiles to be full members of the body of Christ.
Paul speaks to the people of Ephesus about the mystery of Christ. Paul suggests this mystery is made clear through embracing Gentiles as members of the body of Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not just for Jewish Christians. The gospel is inclusive and transforming for all.
The transforming claim is a revelation to the community, grounded in the mystery of God’s wisdom. God’s community expands as we live God’s eternal purposes through Jesus Christ.
The idea of equality in Jesus Christ speaks to us today as we consider our world of separateness and independence. Everywhere we look, we see groups that for various reasons are outcasts, less-than, labeled as different, and not “us.” But when we create a culture of “us” versus “them,” we move from the community proclaimed by Jesus Christ, the community about which Paul spoke. God calls us to build a community of oneness because we are dedicated to “the boundless riches of Christ.”
Questions
1. How has the divine presence been revealed to you?
2. When have you participated in creating divisions between people? When have you helped bring about acceptance and unity?
3. Where do you find opportunities in your life and community to create a space of oneness and welcome for all?
Sending
Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give. The offering prayer for Epiphany is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response.
Revealing God, may we always be generous. You have gifted each of us with boundless grace and unending love. May our response to that love and grace be humble service to others, and may generosity be part of our nature. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 446, “Sing of God Made Manifest”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
• Thoughts for Children
Thoughts for Children
Say: On Epiphany we share about the Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem to see Jesus. Today, we are going to try a spiritual practice called “Walking in the Light.” We will use our imagination to walk in God’s light, as the Magi did, and to share that light.
Let’s start by quieting our minds, voices, and bodies. When you feel calm, imagine you are walking on a path of light. Picture yourself in your mind, walking this path of light. Picture the light all around you. Imagine what the light feels like and imagine how it makes you feel. What does it smell like? Can you taste it? Does it have a sound?
Pause fifteen seconds.
Now imagine that light growing to include the people you love, maybe your parents, grandparents, or siblings. Imagine these people enjoying God’s light.
Pause fifteen seconds.
Now imagine this light growing even bigger to surround your friends. Imagine their joy at being embraced by God’s light.
Pause fifteen seconds.
This next one is a little tricky, but is very important. Imagine God’s light growing to include people you don’t get along with. Maybe someone who has made you mad or who has hurt your feelings. Imagine their smiles as they are embraced by God’s light.
Pause fifteen seconds.
Finally, imagine God’s light growing even bigger, surrounding the entire world, all of creation. Imagine this light hugging all people in the world, comforting all animals, and filling all plants. Imagine this light filling everything.
Pause fifteen seconds.
As we close our practice, imagine creating space in your heart where the light of God can always live. May we all keep the light of God within us, and may we share it with everyone we encounter. Amen.
Thank participants for joining you in this practice.
12 January 2025
First Sunday after the Epiphany
Acts 8:14-17
Baptized of Water and Spirit
Additional Scriptures
Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Preparation
For the Focus Moment, prior to today’s worship, inflate several balloons and place them toward the front of your worship space. Alternatively, you can have a deflated balloon nearby and inflate during the activity. Any kind of balloon is acceptable. Be mindful of potential allergens and proper disposing of balloons after the service.
You will need a bell for the Prayer for Peace.
Today’s theme lends itself to the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. Adjust the service accordingly if you will be celebrating sacraments.
We Praise and Sing!
Prelude
Welcome, Announcements, Sharing
Songs of Praise
“God Is Here!” CCS 70
OR “Rejoice, Ye Saints of Latter Days”
CCS 81
OR “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” CCS 92
Call to Worship: Responsive Reading
Leader: The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders!
People: God is good!
Leader: The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty! People: God is good!
Leader: The voice of the Lord breaks cedars and causes the oaks to whirl! People: God is good!
Leader: The voice of God gives strength and peace to all people! People: God is good!
All: Amen!
Psalm 29, adapted
Hymn of Assurance
“Standing on the Promises”
OR “All My Days”
OR “Let My Spirit Always Sing”
Invocation
Response
We Pray Prayer for Peace Light the peace candle.
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 43:1-2, 4-5
Peace Prayer with Meditation Time God of peace that passes understanding, We pause and listen… Ring bell.
CCS 257
CCS 266
CCS 269
We listen for the presence of your Spirit in this moment. We listen for insights on how we might continue to shape our lives and our faith community to respond to share Christ’s peace.
We pause and listen…
Ring bell.
We listen for your forgiveness for the times we fall short in our discipleship. We listen for your encouragement to give us strength as we journey forward together. We pause and listen… Ring bell.
We listen for your voice to drown out the voices of our societies challenging how Christ’s vision of shalom takes form in the places where we live and serve. We pause and listen… Ring bell.
We listen for your continued revelation for our day and time. We listen for continued inspiration on how to pursue peace and realize the hope of Zion. We pause and listen…
Ring bell.
We listen with our heart, mind, and soul.
We listen, O God of unlimited possibilities to the way you speak to us today. In the name of the prince of peace, we pray, Amen.
Ring bell
Scripture Reading: Acts 8:14-17
We Listen
Focus Moment: Seeing a Sacrament See the end of this service
Hymn of Preparation
“See What Love We Have Been Given”
CCS 496 OR “Yo Quiero Ser/I Want to Be” Sing at least twice. CCS 498
Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.
OR “O Lord, We Come as Children All”
Morning Message
Based on Acts 8:14-17
Hymn of Reflection
“Rain Down”
OR “This Is My Song”
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
CCS 510
CCS 260
CCS 389
If applicable, insert the Celebration of Sacraments, which might include charges to the candidates, candidates articulating their desire to follow Jesus, and the sacraments.
We Share
Disciples’ Generous Response
Statement
God’s grace and generosity are like the waters of a pool or riverbed flowing all around us. Just like jumping into the water, when we welcome God into our lives, we are flooded by God’s grace and generosity. As we welcome God into our life, we awaken to God’s gifts in the mundane. All the small things, even life’s simplest moments, are more than we realize when received as divine gifts.
Testimony
Ask someone to share a testimony about their baptism and/or confirmation and how they have experienced God’s generosity since that day; OR how they’ve experienced the generosity of others in your community.
When we share generously, we help God’s love and compassion grow endlessly.
If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).
Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
We Are Sent
Hymn of Commitment
“Go Now Forth into the World”
CCS 646 OR “Sent Forth by God’s Blessing”
CCS 648 OR “I Wish God’s Love to Be with You”
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
Benediction
CCS 663
Sending Forth
Go out into the world as visible signs of God’s unconditional love! Filled with the Holy Spirit, you are poised to do more than you imagine. Lift those around you and proclaim unconditional love.
Be the peace that inspires a new world! Go in peace.
Postlude
Focus Moment: Seeing a Sacrament
Leader: Who can tell me what this is?
Hold a balloon so all can see inflated or deflated. Allow time for responses.
Leader: That’s right! It’s a balloon! Where have you seen balloons before? Allow time for responses.
Leader: We might see balloons at parades and hot air balloons in the sky, too! What about birthdays? Or when a baby is born? They are often used to celebrate special occasions, right? Allow time for responses.
Leader: But how does the balloon stay afloat?! I can see the balloon, but what holds it in the air?
Allow time for responses. Inflate balloon if you have not done so already.
Leader: The air! Exactly! You can’t see the air, but you know it’s there. You can feel it when I push into the balloon, and if you’re real quiet, sometimes you can hear the air release. Just like in today’s scripture, we can see the baptismal water, but the Spirit is something we can feel and hear if we listen closely!
Baptism and confirmation are sacraments special moments where we encounter God through simple things like bread, water, and even our hands, but God’s Spirit fills us up! Just like the balloon! Although we can’t see the Spirit, it continues to speak to us and we can feel it in our hearts!
Sacraments are wonderful occasions to celebrate!
Postlude
Wisdom Knowledge Faith Healing
Powerful Deeds Prophecy Discernment Tongues
Year C Letters
First Sunday after the Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord (Ordinary Time)
Acts 8:14–17
Exploring the Scripture
Although today’s lection is short, it opens the door to many considerations about the gospel and mission of Jesus Christ. We will discuss two of those.
The first grows from an exploration of this passage’s setting. It tells how Peter and John came from Jerusalem to Samaria because the people “accepted the word of God” (v. 14). This event is significant because Jews and Samaritans hated each other. But when Christian leaders in Jerusalem, who were Jews, heard this news, they sent Peter and John to support the efforts in Samaria.
Philip, who fled from Jerusalem to escape persecution, went to Samaria, and began sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the people there. In Acts 8:5–12, we learn that Philip baptized many Samaritans.
The story importantly shows how the message and mission of Jesus are intended for everyone, not just certain groups. One of Jesus’s stories, now commonly known as the Good Samaritan, is just one example of this message. Jesus used this parable to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Philip understood Jesus’s message and went to Samaria to reach out to people there
Theologian Lee C. Barrett expressed it this way:
This episode (of Philip, Peter and John) functions as one more step on the journey of the inclusion of both Jews and non-Jews in the people of God. A primary characteristic of the Holy Spirit is its power to forge unity amid cultural, ethnic, and ideological difference and tension. The Holy Spirit is an inclusive Spirit that fosters fellowship and communication across human boundaries.
Community of Christ expresses this message in some Enduring Principles, such as Worth of All Persons, All Are Called, and Unity in Diversity. It also is expressed beautifully in two hymns in Community of Christ Sings: “For Everyone Born” (285), and “All Are Welcome” (276). We also can find this idea in many passages of the Doctrine and Covenants, such as 161:3a:
Open your hearts and feel the yearnings of your brothers and sisters who are lonely, despised, fearful, neglected, unloved. Reach out in understanding, clasp their hands, and invite all to share in the blessings of community created in the name of the One who suffered on behalf of all.
This understanding leads to the second idea from this brief passage. It suggests that Peter and John prayed for the Samaritans who had accepted the word of God “that they might receive the Holy Spirit” (v. 17). Philip had baptized these people of water, but “as yet, the Spirit had not come upon any of them” (v. 16). Peter and John wanted to ensure the Samaritans received all the blessings of life as disciples.
We remember Jesus’ experience in which “he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting upon him” (Matthew 3:16) after being baptized by John. That experience helps give background for being baptized of water and Spirit the same that Peter and John came to offer the Samaritans.
Community of Christ offers this same ministry through baptism and confirmation sacraments. Of Water and Spirit, Community of Christ’s baptismand confirmation-preparation book, says:
Baptism of water is a personal expression of faith in Jesus Christ. This is how we first express our commitment to lifelong discipleship…. Confirmation (baptism of the Spirit) invites disciples into the life and mission of Community of Christ.
The team of Philip, Peter, and John showed what can happen when disciples reach out and become effective ministers of the sacraments. Community of Christ has been counseled to offer such ministry to:
Lovingly invite others to experience the good news of new life in community with Christ.
Opportunities abound in your daily lives if you choose to see them
Doctrine and Covenants 165:1c
Central Ideas
1. The good news of Jesus Christ is intended for all people.
2. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is important to becoming and being lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.
Questions for the Speaker
1. What can you remember about your baptism of the Holy Spirit (confirmation) that still speaks to you?
2. Read Doctrine and Covenants 164:3a–c. How does this passage speak to you about your commitment today? How might you encourage others to reflect on their commitment in the ways suggested by today’s passage?
3. Baptism of the Spirit is an important sacrament. When have you experienced the Holy Spirit at other times and in other ways that signal the Spirit is ever present?
SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR
Year C Letters
First Sunday after the Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord (Ordinary Time)
Acts 8:14–17
Gathering Welcome
The season after Epiphany includes the weeks between Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday. This first Sunday after Epiphany is the Sunday when the Baptism of the Lord is observed.
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.
Light the peace candle
God of liberation, we come before you thankful, so very grateful for the birth and baptism of Jesus. Just as you called Jesus by name into the waters of baptism, you call each of us, too. From north, south, east, and west, all around the world you call your beloved.
In being called, we are freed to live fully into your divine vision of peace for the world. The task is great, and our community is, too. Together we ache for peace in every corner of our world. Empower us to go and act, knowing that you will be with us as we strive for peace in our schools, neighborhoods, and communities. May we be bold, demanding peace in places we previously have thought impossible because you already are in those places, waiting for us to show up. We pray for peace, and now we work for peace.
In the name of Jesus, our example of peace Amen
Spiritual Practice
Dwelling in the Word
I will read a scripture aloud. As you hear it, allow the words, images, or phrases to come to mind. Try not to focus on them. Let them rest with you. After a moment of silence, I will read the scripture a second time. As you hear it again, pick a character in the scripture and see the scripture through that lens.
Read Luke 3:21–22 NRSVue:
Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Pause Read the scripture a second time Invite group members to respond to these questions:
• What images and thoughts came to your mind during the second reading, when you listened through the lens of a particular character in the text?
• Seeing this scripture through a different lens, how did it change your perceptions and understandings of the passage?
• How do you sense the Holy Spirit speaking within you?
Sharing Around the Table
Acts 8:14–17 NRSVue
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus).
Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
In the eighth chapter of Acts, we find Philip in Samaria, having fled Jerusalem to escape persecution. Philip preached the gospel of Christ to the Samarians, and many accepted. It should be remembered that the Samarians were considered second-class citizens by the Jewish people. This passage tells us that Peter and John came to Samaria because the people accepted God’s word. Peter and John’s willingness to travel to Samaria shows the inclusiveness of the message of Jesus. The story importantly shows us how the message and mission of Jesus are intended for everyone, not just certain groups. One of Jesus’s parables, commonly known as the Good Samaritan, asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Philip understood that message and took the gospel to Samaria.
After Philip baptized the Samarians, it was not until Peter and John traveled to Samaria and prayed for the people that they received the Holy Spirit. In Community of Christ this is the sacrament of confirmation. Of Water and Spirit, Community of Christ’s baptism and confirmation-preparation book, says:
Baptism of water is a personal expression of faith in Jesus Christ. This is how we first express our commitment to lifelong discipleship...Confirmation (baptism of the Spirit) invites disciples into the life and mission of Community of Christ.
Questions
1. Who is your neighbor? Who needs to hear the message of Jesus?
2. What can you remember about your baptism of the Holy Spirit (confirmation) that still speaks to you?
3. Baptism of the Spirit is an important sacrament. When have you experienced the Holy Spirit at other times and in other ways that signal the Spirit is ever present?
(from Worship & Sermon Helps, and Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 1)
Sending Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give.
The offering prayer for Epiphany is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response.
Revealing God, may we always be generous. You have gifted each of us with boundless grace and unending love. May our response to that love and grace be humble service to others, and may generosity be part of our nature. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn
Community of Christ Sings 442, “When Jesus Came to Jordan”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
• Thoughts for Children
Thoughts for Children
Materials:
• crayons
• dove coloring pages
Lesson: What Is Baptism?
Encourage children to listen carefully to this story from the Bible:
Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water. Heaven opened, and he saw the Holy Spirit coming down to Jesus like a dove. And a voice spoke from heaven. The voice said, “This is my Son and I love him. I am very pleased with him.”
Matthew 3:16–17 ICB
Ask:
• Who was baptized?
• What did God say?
When people are old enough (eight years old), they can be baptized just like Jesus was baptized. Baptism is making a promise or covenant to follow Jesus. When we follow Jesus, we are called disciples.
When Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit came down like a _______?
The dove is a symbol that God’s Spirit is always with us.
Hand out the dove coloring pages and crayons.
Thank the children for participating.
19 January 2025
Second Sunday after the Epiphany Ordinary Time
Racial Justice Day
Corinthians 12:1-11
Many Gifts, One Spirit
Additional Scriptures
Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; John 2:1-11; Doctrine and Covenants 147:5a; 163:2
Preparation
Give a copy of the Gifts of the Spirit template found at the end of the service to each participant, along with writing utensils. Consider setting up a table with crayons, markers, stickers, and other supplies for those who want to decorate their sheet during the service.
Prelude
Share and Care
Welcome
Call to Worship: Psalm 36:5-10
Hymn of Praise
“Praise with Joy the World’s Creator”
OR “God, We Gather as Your People”
OR “Summoned by the God Who Made Us”
Invocation
Response
Prayer for Peace
Light the peace candle.
Hymn of Peace
“Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands”Stanza 1
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 54:10
Hymn of Peace
CCS 57
CCS 274
CCS 330
CCS 309
“Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands”Stanza 2 CCS 309
Scripture Reading: John 14:27
Hymn of Peace
“Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands”Stanza 3
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:14, 17
Hymn of Peace
“Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands”Stanza 4
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52:7
Hymn of Peace
“Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands”Stanza 5
Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 163:2
Peace Prayer
O holy One,
CCS 309
CCS 309
CCS 309
Grant us a strong testimony of Jesus, the peaceful One. Empower us to share generously and compassionately our witness, ministry, sacraments, and community life. Be with us in moments of reconciliation and restoration so that we can dwell in right relationships with you, ourselves, others, and creation. May we proclaim and demonstrate the gospel of peace. In Christ’s name. Amen.
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Focus Moment: Our Gifted Community
Distribute copies of the paper with gifts of the Spirit and writing utensils to each participant. See the end of the service for the template. For those who appreciate creating colorful pieces, provide crayons, markers, stickers, and so on that can be used to decorate the sheet throughout the service.
Let us consider our community. On the sheet, find a gift of the Spirit from today’s scripture placed on each page, along with some blank pages. As you consider those in this community write the names of people on the page that represent a gift the person has. There might be more than one person written on a page. Add gifts of the Spirit you identify to the blank areas. Allow time to complete the sheet.
Questions to Discuss
In pairs, small groups, or all participants. Print or project the questions for all to see.
• Are there names on every page? Why do you think that is?
• What do your pages have to say about this community? Is the community very gifted in certain areas and not so much in others?
• What is the importance of communities having diverse gifts?
Ministry of Music
“Holy Presence, Holy Teacher”
CCS 601 OR “Holy Spirit, Come, Confirm Us”
Message
Based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
CCS 505
Hymn of Reflection
“According to the Gifts”
OR “If by Your Grace I Choose to Be”
Disciples’ Generous Response
Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 147:5a
Statement
CCS 591
CCS 587
All that we are and all that we have are gifts from God. We seek to share generously what we have received as an act of faith and thanksgiving for all that God has provided. With Jesus Christ as our model, we are called to use all our gifts time, talent, treasure, and testimony in service to God and others.
God’s generous compassion is limitless. As we open our hearts to courageously and generously share by placing money in the offering plates or through eTithing, we join the movement of God’s compassion in the world. God shares abundantly, we share faithfully, others share generously, and God’s love and compassion grow endlessly.
If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).
Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
Hymn of Spirit’s Gifts
“Though the Spirit’s Gifts Are Many”
CCS 334 OR “With Gifts That Differ by Your Grace”
Responsive Closing Prayer
Leader: Many gifts, one Spirit,
All: Many songs, one voice.
Leader: Many reasons, one promise,
All: Many questions, one choice.
Leader: O God, we pray for unity, All: give guidance from above.
Leader: In our differences unite us
All: in the circle of your love.
Leader: O God, remind us
All: we are not alone.
Leader: Help us learn to love one another,
All: show us ways to understand.
Leader: We are members of one family, ALL: growing strong by joining hands.
Leader: Take our many ways of working,
CCS 328
ALL: blend the colors of each soul Leader: into the beauty of a rainbow.
The beginning of the passage reads like Paul is a frustrated leader. He is writing to the Christian community in Corinth, which is having a hard time being a community. About twenty years have passed since the crucifixion of Jesus, and the churches in Corinth are “in a mess.” The people are meeting in homes, allowing the opportunity for different messages and beliefs, all under the banner of being Christian.
Paul is writing to his community as an apostle to unite the people, recognizing Jesus as Lord. He needs the people to hear that everything we do, as Christians, is aligned with Jesus as Lord. He does this by insisting there is Unity in Diversity. There are various gifts, various ways to serve, and various ways to worship.
Paul’s message is for us now as a global church. In 2004, members at an International Leaders Meeting created the document, “We are One, We Are Many.” It was read during the World Conference. It says:
We are Community of Christ and we are walking the path together. We sing “joy” in thousands of congregations. We say “hope” in scores of languages. We proclaim peace in almost 60 nations. We are one and we are many. We are diverse, yet we are community, for we belong to Christ.
Sharing in Community of Christ, 4th edition, Herald House, pp. 68–75
We recognize and celebrate the many ways to proclaim Jesus is Lord. Paul’s message is as relevant today as it was for the Corinthians. We more easily can communicate with others, yet we continue to find ways to separate ourselves from others. 1 Corinthians 12:1–11 calls us back into relationship with those from whom we may be separated.
Central Ideas
1. In our diversity, all belong to Christ.
2. We value each person’s faith journey and find strength in our differences.
3. We are one; we are many.
Questions for the Speaker
1. How can we celebrate diversity?
2. How can understanding our differences bring us together as Community of Christ?
3. How has your relationship with Christ grown by listening to and hearing another person’s story?
Year C—Letters
Second Sunday after the Epiphany (Ordinary Time)
1
Corinthians 12:1–11
Gathering
Welcome
The season after Epiphany includes the weeks between Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday.
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.
Light the peace candle
Author of shalom, we do not feel ready, though we yearn for peace here and now. It may not seem like it is our time, yet we know you provide. You have revealed your greatness to us, and now it is time for us to be mirrors of your peace in the world, reflecting hope in the desolate places, shining peace in lonely corners.
There are so many divisions in our world; divisions that make peace seem like a dream. We remember today that you love each and every person: the young and old, wealthy and poor, free and captive, kind-hearted and cruel, and every person between. And just as you love us all, you also have hopes for peace for us all. You can make this dream a reality.
You, who can turn water into wine; You, who can turn the forsaken into the delighted; You, who are peace; You are with us. May we be mirrors of your peace. In the name of Jesus, the Worker of miracles. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Dwelling in the Word
I will read a scripture aloud. As you hear it, allow the words, images, or phrases to come to mind. Try not to focus on them. Let them rest with you. After a moment of silence, I will read the scripture a second time. As you hear it again, pick a character in the scripture and see the scripture through that lens.
Read John 2:1–11 NRSVue:
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.”
And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the person in charge of the banquet.” So they took it. When the person in charge tasted the water that had become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the person called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Pause. Read the scripture again. Invite group members to respond to these questions:
• What images and thoughts came to your mind while listening to this scripture?
• What insights came to you as you looked at the scripture through the lens of your chosen character?
Sharing around the Table
1 Corinthians 12:1–11 NRSVue
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were gentiles you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
Paul sounds frustrated. He is writing to the Christian community in Corinth. About twenty years have passed since the crucifixion of Jesus, and the folks in Corinth are “in a mess.” All kinds of messages and beliefs are being shared, all under the banner of being Christian. Paul is concerned not only about the questionable teachings being passed around Corinth, but about the divisions they are creating in the community.
Paul is writing as an apostle to his community to unite the people around the centrality of Christ. He reminds them that others learn about Christianity by watching the community’s behaviors, listening to what is said, and watching how Christians treat each other. He insists on unity in the body of Christ, respecting the gifts, skills, and contributions of one another.
Paul’s message also speaks to us today, as a global church. In 2004, members at an International Leaders meeting created the document, “We are One, We Are Many.” It contains these words:
We are Community of Christ, and we are walking the path together. We sing “joy” in thousands of congregations. We say “hope” in scores of languages. We proclaim peace in almost 60 nations. We are one, and we are many. We are diverse, yet we are community, for we belong to Christ.
Sharing in Community of Christ, 4th edition, pp 68–75
Paul’s message is as relevant today as it was for the Corinthians. Be reconciled one to another. Treat each other with respect, compassion, and kindness.
Questions
1. How would you feel if your gifts, ministry, ideas, or practices were discounted by some in your own community?
2. When have you discounted or disrespected someone else’s gifts, ideas, ministry, or practices?
3. Describe the differences between tolerating differences, accepting differences, and embracing differences? Where do you fall when encountering different worship, music, prayer, or spiritualformation experiences?
4. How has your spiritual experience deepened by participating in worship, fellowship, or service projects with those from a culture unlike your own?
Sending
Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give The offering prayer for Epiphany is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response.
Revealing God, may we always be generous. You have gifted each of us with boundless grace and unending love. May our response to that love and grace be humble service to others, and may generosity be part of our nature. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 623, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
• Thoughts for Children
Thoughts for Children
Materials:
• Two or three unsliced loaves of bread or rolls different in shape, size, color. Display types of bread. Ask the children to identify the different types of bread.
Say: When making bread, varying ingredients and differing quantities of ingredients create different types of bread. Give examples (like wheat flour, gluten-free flour, or white flour, cinnamon or pumpkin).
The loaves are different textures, sizes, colors, and shapes, but each is wonderful and tasty. They were created with love, and all have nutritious value. One is not better than the other. In the same way, God created people to look different, each with different gifts, but all with equal value.
We are all different, but we’re equal in the sight of God.
We celebrate the differences in how God has created each person just as we celebrate that we are of equal worth to God.
Break the bread in chunks and invite everyone to share in eating the bread (with parental permission).
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; Luke 4:14-21; Doctrine and Covenants 165:2a
Prelude
Announcements, Share and Care
Welcome
Call to Worship
This day is holy to the Lord your God…for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:9-10, adapted
Hymn
“Summoned by the God Who Made Us” CCS 330 OR “Kanisa Litajengwa/Oh, Who Will Build the Church Now?” CCS 338
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
If this is unfamiliar, consider singing along with the vocal recording found on Community of Christ Sings Audio Recordings available from Herald House. OR “All Are Welcome” CCS 276
Dwelling in the Word: Psalm 19:14
First Reading: What captures my attention?
Second Reading: How does this relate to my spiritual life?
Third Reading: Where might God’s Spirit be nudging me?
Prayer for Peace
Light the peace candle.
Sung Peace Prayer
“Friend of the Streetwalker” CCS 289 OR “One Common Prayer” Sing twice CCS 313
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Reader 1: 1 Corinthians 12:12
Reader 2: 1 Corinthians 12:13
Reader 1: 1 Corinthians 12:14-17
Reader 2: 1 Corinthians 12:18-21
Reader 1: 1 Corinthians 12:22-25
Reader 2: 1 Corinthians 12:26
Both: 1 Corinthians 12:27
Focus Moment: “The Hokey Pokey,” Many Parts, One Body www.Sermons4kids.com/sermons/many-parts-one-body
Hymn Exploration: “We Need Each Other’s Voice to Sing,” CCS 324
Teach the refrain to participants. Have each stanza sung by a soloist, duet, or ensemble, followed by everyone singing the refrain. Repeat the refrain an additional time at the end.
Sermon
Based on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Reflection: Blessings of Community
Project or print these descriptive phrases from Blessings of Community, an Enduring Principle.
• The gospel of Jesus Christ is expressed best in community life where people become vulnerable to God’s grace and one another.
• True community includes compassion for and solidarity with the poor, marginalized, and oppressed.
• True community upholds the worth of persons while providing a healthy alternative to self-centeredness, isolation, and conformity.
• Sacred community provides nurture and growth opportunities for all people, especially those who cannot fully care for themselves.
Sharing in Community of Christ, fourth edition, Herald House
Spend a few moments considering these principle-based statements about community. Which ones best describe your spiritual community? Which ones would be difficult for your spiritual community? What are some ways that your spiritual community could embody Blessings of Community?
Allow time for individual processing. Have meditation music playing in the background. If desired, ask participants to discuss the Enduring Principle of Blessings of Community in pairs or small groups.
Disciples’ Generous Response
Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 165:2a
Statement
When our lives are touched deeply by God, we want to be more Christlike in our living. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we acknowledge God’s grace and love in our lives. Accepting God’s gifts means offering our whole life to Christ as a faithful disciple. You are invited to a journey of
whole-life stewardship in response to God’s amazing generosity in your life as we seek to build communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.
Sharing in Community of Christ, fourth edition, Herald House
When we share generously, we help God’s love and compassion grow endlessly.
If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through the church’s website at www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).
Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
Hymn of Community
“In Christ There Is No East or West”
CCS 339 OR “Somos el cuerpo de Cristo/We Are the Body of Christ”
Benediction
Response
Postlude
CCS 337
Year C Letters
Third Sunday after Epiphany (Ordinary Time)
1 Corinthians 12:12–31a
Exploring the Scripture
The time between Epiphany and Lent is a season of illumination. It is when we begin to see God’s love for all people revealed to us in new and deeper ways. Paul’s letter clarifies God’s love and concern for the community.
The church in Corinth was struggling to live into oneness in Christ. Conflicts and division occurred as members competed for status and wielded power over others. Members promoted their worth by claiming some expressions of spiritual giftedness to have more value than less-charismatic gifts.
Some of this was understandable. The church in Corinth existed in a multicultural trading center. The city hosted well-known athletic competitions and valued strength and power. And Corinth was known as a hub of unfettered excess and immorality. All this was part of the environment that surrounded this group of disciples. Hierarchical social and political systems governed everyday lives. These ways of defining people by riches, status, and power had found their way into the church community.
In this setting, Paul addresses his letter. He reminds the people they became members of one body when they were baptized in Christ. He reaffirms the need for unity and mutual concern in a Christlike community. Paul makes clear there are no divisions in Christ’s body. Class structures that uplift some while oppressing others have no place in the faith community. He especially lifts those who have been considered weaker or treated as less important than others.
To make his point, he uses a familiar metaphor for the people of Corinth. The idea of one body with many parts often was used to promote social hierarchy and political power. Those with greater status and power would be at the head of the body, and their giftedness would be more important than the gifts or yearnings of others. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul turns that way of thinking upside down by using the same metaphor to describe the body of Christ.
In Christ’s body, the giftedness of all members is valued, and those without status or money are honored. In Christ, all gifts are expressed for God’s purposes, and all members work together for the good of the entire body.
Paul wants the Corinth church members to set aside the cultural remnants of competition and class divisions. He hopes they will embrace oneness in Christ and live as an interdependent body of believers.
Community of Christ seeks this same interdependence as congregations and groups live the Enduring Principle of Unity in Diversity. Christ’s disciples are called to celebrate the diverse giftedness of the body without valuing one ministry or giftedness over another.
Disciples today still struggle with divisions and conflicts in Christian community. It is helpful to look anew at how Paul turns cultural norms upside down. What does his description of the body of Christ say to those swayed by cultural trends that devalue the foreigner, the immigrant, the poor, or the different? Today’s text reminds disciples they are called to embody Christ as a diverse, interdependent community that celebrates the giftedness and Worth of All Persons.
Central Ideas
1. God’s reign cancels social divisions and turns cultural hierarchy upside down. There are no class divisions in the body of Christ.
2. All spiritual and ministerial gifts are important and are to be used for the good of the whole body.
3. Disciples are called to move from personal importance to living as part of a diverse, interdependent community.
4. All spiritual gifts and roles have a place and purpose in Christian community, but love is the greatest gift. As disciples, we are called to develop and live the gifts of love, faith, and hope.
Questions for the Speaker
1. How do I find myself wanting status, power, or control?
2. What does it feel like to move from a perspective of independence to interdependence?
3. What hierarchies need to be taken apart in my community?
4. How am I using my giftedness for the common good?
5. In this season of light, is our congregation showing God’s love for all people?
SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY
Year C Letters
Third Sunday after Epiphany (Ordinary Time)
1
Corinthians 12:12–31a
Gathering
Welcome
The season after Epiphany includes the weeks between Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday.
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.
Today’s scripture shows us the power of reading and interpreting scripture in community. God gives us community to learn with and from. In January 2020, a small community of worshipers wrote a prayer for peace together during a worship service. This prayer is our Prayer for Peace today, and its origin in a gathering reminds us of the power we have in our communities:
Mighty Spirit of love, we come in search of peace, of calmness, of faith in the midst of adventure and misadventure. We live in a world in need of respect, fairness, and equity for all. At times, it seems easy for us to experience your peace, your calm, in nature and with those we love. And it can be easy to simply say, “Peace be with you,” and to cover our homes with doves and peace symbols. It is not easy to work for peace.
Empower us, to act for peace, to create goodwill, to extend an olive branch, to lay to rest the pain in the world, to live into unity through our diversity.
Empower us to be our child-of-God selves, working with you to bring light.
In the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Dwelling in the Word
I will read a scripture aloud. As you hear it, breathe deeply and meditate on feelings that surface. Let them rest with you. After a moment of silence, I will read the scripture a second time. As you hear it, listen again and ponder on the deep emotions that may surface and what that means in your life connected to this scripture.
Read Luke 4:16–21 NRSVue:
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Pause. Read the scripture a second time. Invite group members to respond to these questions:
• What did you feel while listening to this scripture?
• How do you see the scripture “fulfilled” in the world today?
Sharing around the Table
1 Corinthians 12:12–31a NRSVue
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less
respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this.
But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts.
Our text today has one of the most famous metaphors in the history of Christianity. Paul introduces us to his celebrated analogy of the church as a human body. This analogy is not unique to Paul, but the way Paul explains it is. This example had enjoyed a long history in the classical literature of Paul’s day. Paul gave it a revolutionary twist.
The authors before Paul had used it as an example to reinforce hierarchy. The brain and heart were like the leaders, the most important body parts that were supported by the lesser organs and parts of the body, holding up the leaders. Paul shows us how each part is unique and important to the success of the entire body.
Paul inverts the force of the metaphor, as many liberation theologies have emphasized. Paul calls not for hierarchy or subordination; instead, he advances a rationale for diversity and interdependence. “Privileged” congregants instead are bound so intimately to their brothers and sisters in one body that the notion of status is subverted. The eloquent preacher could not be heard if the sound technician does not properly operate the sound system.
In Community of Christ, membership and priesthood are viewed as a linear concept. In our Western culture it is easy for us to look at the structure as hierarchical. But Paul’s metaphor continues to remind us that no one is more or less important than the other. The ministry of presence on Sunday morning is just as meaningful as the sermon. The difference in the gifts that are brought before God never should become the foundation for hurtful comparisons.
Questions
1. What hierarchies within your faith community need to be taken apart?
2. How are you using your giftedness for the common good?
3. How is your congregation showing God’s love for all people?
Sending
Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give. The offering prayer for Epiphany is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response.
Revealing God, may we always be generous. You have gifted each of us with boundless grace and unending love. May our response to that love and grace be humble service to others, and may generosity be part of our nature. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 337, “Somos el cuerpo de Cristo/We Are the Body of Christ”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
• Thoughts for Children
Thoughts for Children
Materials:
• printer paper
• coloring supplies
Name different body parts (four or five) and ask: What is important about that part?
Examples:
What is important about a nose? (We smell with it.)
How about an eye? (We see with it.)
God wants people to be in healthy relationships with God, each other, and Earth. Part of this is recognizing we all are different, but we all are part of the body of Christ part of God’s community. One person is not more important than another, just like one body part is not more important than another.
Draw a picture of your favorite body part and tell us what is important about it.
Wait a bit and return later for kids to share.
How wonderful it is that we all are different, but all are important in the body of Christ God’s community.
