Welcome to the Red Lodge Community Church Worship With Us February 02, 2024 Sunday School Worship Leader: Rev. Teressa L. Clark If you are joining us in person, the service is at 10 AM
Participating in Today's Worship Worship Leader – Rev. Teressa L. Clark Liturgist -Lori Floyd Pianist – Dr Lynell Kruckeberg Choir- Marty Clague, Director, Martha Brown, Julia Childs, Jo Ann Eder, Lori Floyd, Libby Gardner, Steve Hanson, Sharyn McKenzie, Mark Sechler, Karen Simmons, Lanny Hilderman, Kathy Munson Homebrewed Harmony- Marty Clague, Steve Hanson, Jim Howe, Mark Sechler, Don Redfoot
Serving today: Deacons...................................................................... Lori Floyd Technology......................................................................................................................... Jay West Sunday School Director.................................................................................................Zina General Sunday School Help......................................................................................................... N/A Nursery Attendant......................................................................................................... Patty Schuessler
Red Lodge Community Church, United Church of Christ PO Box 786, 308 South Broadway Avenue Red Lodge, MT. 59068 406-446-1444 www.redlodgecommunitychurch.com
Our Transitional Pastor, Teressa Clark, is available for pastoral care emergencies and is glad to make pastoral care visits to those who are hospitalized or homebound. Please contact her directly by calling or texting 406-717-9745 or by emailing [email protected]. Office Hours: M-Thurs 8am-3PM, Fri 9-1pm Dr. Lynell Kruckeberg, Music [email protected] Marty Clague, Director Choir [email protected]
For information on joining Red Lodge Community Church, please talk with any of our deacons, or contact Mark Sechler at 573-415-7722 or [email protected]. Sundays our worship service is recorded with video and audio. If you wish to restrict the use of photos and videos that include you, please complete the Photo/Video Opt-out form and deliver it to the church office.
Jay West records our Sunday Worship Services. If you wish to restrict the use of photos and videos that include you, please complete the Photo/Video Opt-out form and deliver it to the church office.
Words and/or Music reprinted under OneLicense.net License #A-725904 or CCLI #294875.
Red Lodge Community Church United Church of Christ PO Box 786, 308 S. Broadway Ave. Red Lodge, MT 59068 www.redlodgecommunitychurch.com 406-446-1444
Red Lodge Community Church, United Church of Christ PO Box 786, 308 S. Broadway Ave., Red Lodge, MT 59068 www.redlodgecommunitychurch.com 406-446-1444
GATHERING MUSIC Dr. Lynell Kruckeberg WELCOME Rev. Teressa L. Clark RINGING OF THE BELL PRELUDE *CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive) Lori Floyd One: God calls you to speak God’s word Many: But what shall we say? One: God will put God’s words in our mouths. Many: We will speak in love and truth.
*OPENING PRAYER (unison) Welcoming God, you extend your unfathomable grace to all people, even and especially those we might not believe worthy. Make us to truly see our neighbors, and love and serve them as you would have us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
*HYMN “Come, Share the Spirit” NCH # 62 / Songsheet
*PRAYER OF OUR SAVIOR (unison) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
*PASSING THE PEACE
TIME WITH THE CHILDREN There’s a lot going on today: we are going to have a baptism now and later in the service we will celebrate the Lord’s supper. In between we will have a Bible story. One of the stories is about a young person named Jeremiah. He was probably older than all of you and probably younger than most everybody else here today. And he heard God say: I knew you before you were born. And I love you. I want you to tell all the people about me. Jeremiah said, “who? Me? I’m too young to speak!” God said, “No you’re not.” We don’t know exactly what else God said but I think it was something like: You are old enough to know about my love. You know about how to be kind. You know how to help others. I want you to do those things. And if someone is not being loving or kind or helping, I hope you will help them learn how to be loving, how to be kind, and how to help.
What do think? How might you be loving and kind and help others?
BAPTISMS AND RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBER Hillary N. Leavitt Odin Hugh Kotar, child of Hillary Leavitt & Doug Kotar Ava Corrine Kotar, child of Hillary Leavitt & Doug Kotar WELCOME Members and friends in Christ, we gather now to celebrate the gift of grace in the sacrament of baptism. There is one body and on Spirit. There is one hope in God’s call to us. There is one Lord, on faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of us all.
We remember that when the people were bringing little children to Jeus that he might touch them, the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant, and said, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” And Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them.
ADDRESS The sacrament of baptism is an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. Baptism with water and the Holy Spirit is a mark of acceptance into the care of Christ’s church, a sign and seal of participation in God’s forgiveness, and a milestone marking the beginning of growth into full Christian faith and discipleship. In baptism, we are named and claimed by God who knows us and loves us through every day of our lives.
QUESTIONS Hillary, do you desire to baptized into the faith and family of Jesus Christ? I do. Do you profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? I do. Do you promise, by the grace of God, to be Christ’s disciple, to follow in the way of our Savior, to resist oppression and evil, to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus as best you are able? I promise, with help of God. Do you promise, according to the grace given you, to grow in the Christian faith and to be a faithful member of the church of Jesus Christ, celebrating Christ’s presence and furthering Christ’s mission of love and inclusion in all the world? I promise, with help of God.
Do you desire to have your children baptized into the faith and family of Jesus Christ? I do. Do you promise, according to the grace given you, to help your children grow in the Christian faith by exploring the stories of Jesus and by offering them the nurture of the Christian church so that they may one day affirm their baptism? I do, with the help of God.
CONGREGATIONAL ASSENT Invite congregation to stand in body or spirit. One: Jesus Christ calls us to make disciples of all nations and to offer them the gift of grace in baptism. Do you, who witness and celebrate this sacrament, promise your love, support and care to the ones about to baptized, as they live and grow in Christ? All: We promise our love, support, and care.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH One: Let us unite with the church in all times and places in confessing our faith in the triune God. Do you believe in God? All: I believe in God. One: Do you believe in Jesus Christ? All: I believe in Jesus Christ. One: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? All: I believe in the Holy Spirit. Congregation may be seated. Let us pray. We thank you, God, for the gift of creation. Before the world took shape, your Spirit moved over the waters and out of the waters the earth was brought forth to sustain all life. In the time of Noah, you washed the earth with waters to make all things new. In the time of Moses, you led your people through the waters from slavery to freedom. In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, nurtured in the waters of Mary’s womb. Jesus was baptized in the water of the Jordan and became living water, a sign of new life.
Bless by your Holy Spirit, gracious God, this water. By your Holy Spirit save those who confess the name of Jesus Christ that sin may have no power over them. Create new life in all baptized today that they may rise to new life in Christ. Glory to you, eternal God, the one who was, and is, and shall always be, world without end. Amen.
ACT OF BAPTISM
Hillary N. Leavitt, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Holy Spirit be upon you, Hillary, child of God, disciple of Christ, member of the church. Odin Hugh Kotar, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Holy Spirit be upon you, Odin, child of God, disciple of Christ, member of the church. Ava Corrine Kotar, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Holy Spirit be upon you, Ava, child of God, disciple of Christ, member of the church.
PRAYER FOR THE BAPTIZED We give you thanks, O Holy One, mother and father of all, for these your children and for grace acknowledged here today in water and the Holy Spirit. Embrace us all as sons and daughters in the one household of your love. Grant us grace to receive, nurture, and befriend Hillary, Odin and Ava and all whom they loved.
Give to these newly baptized: strength for life’s journey, courage in time of suffering, the joy of faith, the freedom of love, and the hope of new life; through Jesus Christ, who makes us one. Amen.
QUESTION FOR MEMBERSHIP Hillary, one more question. Do you promise to participate in the life and mission of this family of god’s people, sharing regularly in the worship of God and enlisting in the work of this local church as it serves this community and the world? I promise, with the help of God.
One: In the name of Jesus Christ, and on behalf of Red Lodge Community Church, we extend to you the hand of Christian love, welcoming you into the company of this local church.
Pastor: Thanks be to God. Amen. <hand out certificates>
SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 1:4-10
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Luke 4:21-30 21 Then Jesus began to say to those in the synagogue, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” 24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months and there was a severe famine over all the land, 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many with a skin disease in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
One: The word of God for the people of God. All: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSE “The Holy Way” SERMON “To Pluck and to Plant” ANTHEM “Teach Us to Pray” Words & Music by Pepper Choplin RLCC Choir directed by Marty Clague
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Confident in your grace and truth, we pray for the church, the world, and all of creation. Your word is not always easy to hear, O Lord. Train our ears to hear the words our spirits need for growth, and assure us that your commands are the very essence of compassion. Your call for justice and transformation extends to all of creation. Teach us to be good stewards of the earth, and inspire us to advocate for sustainable practices that benefit creation. Empower your people around the world to work toward a future where all are welcomed and embraced. May dignity and compassion guide our interactions and decisions. We lift up those who are burdened by physical, emotional, and spiritual afflictions (especially…)
Help us create spaces of support and understanding for all who suffer.
The challenges we face can seem insurmountable. Help us turn to you for hope and strength, and help us create a world where all can experience fullness of life.
Thank you for the saints who have paved the way for us to continue their labors of love and justice. Help us to keep striving to better the world for future generations. We lift up all of our prayers, spoken and unspoken to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
CONCERNS OF THE CHURCH
Congregational Meeting next Sunday, after worship
OFFERTORY
*DOXOLOGY NCH # 778, TUNE: OLD HUNDREDTH
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION (unison) All that we have is yours, O God. Accept and use these gifts in ways we cannot begin to imagine, to reach those whom we will never meet, but to whom we are joined by your love for all humanity. For the sake of Jesus. Amen.
SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER This is the supper of our Lord Jesus Christ. All are invited. All are welcome. INVITATION Come, you who are weary or restless. Come, all who hunger and thirst. Jesus calls us all to dine as friends. Come, God’s feast of welcome awaits us.
COMMUNION PRAYER As we partake of this bread and fruit of the vine, we honor Creator and creation. As we bless and share these gifts, we celebrate the table-fellowship of Jesus. All are worthy, all are welcome! As we receive the fruits of the Spirit, we celebrate the communion of all things. Creator, Christ, and Spirit dance as one. So may it always be.
Let us pray: Come, Holy One, come. Bless and proper this meal; Bless and prosper this fellowship; Bless and prosper our lives, That justice and love may be the measure of our common witness. Amen.
SHARING OF THE ELEMENTS Through the broken bread, we participate in the body of Christ. Through the cup of blessing, we participate in the new life Christ gives.
My friends, these are the gifts of God, for the people of God. Come, for all things are ready.
We are serving by Intinction today. As you are able, please move forward as directed by a Deacon, receive the bread, dip one end of the bread in the cup, partake, and return to your seat. If you prefer, we are glad to serve you where you are seated. As we partake, please join in singing the hymn.
HYMN “Like a Tree” Songsheet
*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING(in unison) We give thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us at your table by granting us the presence of Jesus Christ. Strengthen our faith, increase our love for one another, and send us forth into the world in courage and peace, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
*HYMN “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” NCH # 42
*BENEDICTION Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us. So be swift to love, make haste to be kind, And go in peace, praising God in word and deed.[1]
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look upon you with kindness and give you peace.[2]
*SENDING SONG “Come, Share the Spirit” NCH # 62, v. 1