January 19, 2025 Order of Worship

I Want Jesus to Walk with Me (setting by Lynn L. Petersen) – Geoffrey Liu

Welcome – Terry Bolender

Lift Every Voice and Sing – UMH #519

Opening Prayer – Kristine Wallace

Leader: When we find it hard to believe in you, God,

People: Speak tenderly to the part of us that used to hope that you were there.

Leader: When we are overwhelmed and think that you don’t understand us, God,

People: Free us from the burden of thinking we have to have it all under control.

Leader: When we just don’t care, God,

People: Pour out your love until we can’t help but want to share it with others.

Leader: When we don’t know how to pray, God,

People: Give us the courage to ask for your help knowing you just want to talk.

Leader: For every time we have difficulty seeing you and hearing your voice, God,

People: Show yourself clearly.

Leader: Soften our hearts.

People: Whisper your name, now, to our souls.

All: In your holy name and for your church’s purpose we pray. Amen!

Time with Young Disciples – Stephanie McIlwain Miller

The Family We Find Along the Way (Mark Burrows) – Sanctuary Choir

Scripture Reading – Kristine Wallace

Introduction to the Scripture

If you want to know who God is and what God cares about, you’ve got to go to the source. That’s what Moses is doing in our scripture reading today when he asks God to teach him. Starting in Exodus 33, God tells us the divine name and gives us a very specific self-disclosure. Notice how Moses wants to meet God face to face and listen to how God speaks about who the Holy One is…

Exodus 33:18 – Exodus 34:10

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name which is, ‘The Lord,’ and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” God said, “you cannot see my face, for no one shall see me and live.” And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke…” So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Holy name, saying,

“The Lord.” And God passed before Moses saying,

“The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
yet by no means clearing the guilty,
but visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
and the children’s children
to the third and the fourth generation.”

And Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped God saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, my Lord, I pray that you would go with us and stay with us always. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

God was pleased with this and said, “I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth or in any nation, and all living people shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.”

Message – What You Believe About God Shapes You – Pastor Jim

Forever – W&S #3023

Pastoral Prayer and The Lord’s Prayer

Offering Our Gifts to God – There Is a Balm in Gilead (setting by Adolphus Hailstork) – Geoffrey Liu

Doxology – Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow UMH #94

Prayer of Dedication

Pastor: All that we have, we have from you, Creator and Preserver of all.

People: Accept these gifts which we now offer.  Help us to make the whole of life an offering and every thought a prayer.

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise – UMH #103

Blessing – Pastor Jim

Festival March from The Balboa Park Organ Suite (by Michael Burkhardt) – Geoffrey Liu

Resources for Worship

Opening Prayer is by Jim Head-Corliss for worship at Kent UMC, January 19, 2025 with images from “A Liturgy for Those Who Don’t Pray,” by Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore in Liturgies for Hope (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Publishing Group, 2022).

Time With Young Disciples: Evans, R. H., & Turner, M. P. (2021). What is God like? Convergent Books.