Epiphany Season | 2nd Sunday 14 Jan 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ
is the light of the world: Grant that your people,
illumined by your Word and Sacraments,
may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory,
that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed
to the ends of the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Nathanael said to Jesus,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God!
You are the king of Israel!”
(John 1:49)
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Forever YHWH (Live From The Loft) | feat. Tiffany Hudson | Elevation Worship
Adonai
Elohim
Great I Am
Lives in me
El Shaddai
Prince of Peace
Emmanuel
Here with me
Your Name is great
And greatly to be praised
Worthy You were
Worthy You are
Worthy You will be forever Yahweh
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From the Old Testament: 1 Samuel 3:1-20 (GW)
The Lord Calls Samuel
3:1 The boy Samuel was serving the Lord under Eli. In those days a prophecy from the Lord was rare; visions were infrequent. One night Eli was lying down in his room. His eyesight had begun to fail so that he couldn’t see well. The lamp in God’s temple hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was kept.
Then the Lord called Samuel. “Here I am,” Samuel responded. He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
“I didn’t call ⌞you⌟,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back and lay down.
The Lord called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
“I didn’t call ⌞you⌟, son,” he responded. “Go back to bed.” Samuel had no experience with the Lord, because the Lord’s word had not yet been revealed to him.
The Lord called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. “Go, lie down,” Eli told Samuel. “When he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I’m listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his room.
The Lord came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.”
Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am going to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. On that day I am going to do to Eli and his family everything I said from beginning to end. I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons’ sin—that they were cursing God —but he didn’t try to stop them. That is why I have taken an oath concerning Eli’s family line: No offering or sacrifice will ever ⌞be able to⌟ make peace for the sins that Eli’s family committed.”
Samuel remained in bed until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
Then Eli called Samuel. “Samuel, my son!” he said.
“Here I am,” he responded.
“What did the Lord tell you?” he asked. “Please don’t hide anything from me. May God strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me.”
So Samuel told Eli everything.
Eli replied, “He is the Lord. May he do what he thinks is right.”
Samuel grew up. The Lord was with him and didn’t let any of his words go unfulfilled. All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew Samuel was the Lord’s appointed prophet.
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From the Psalms: Psalm 139:1-18 – “You Have Searched Me and Known Me” (Esther Mui)
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From the Epistles: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (GW)
Stay Away from Sexual Sins
6:12 Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but I won’t allow anything to gain control over my life. Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will put an end to both of them. However, the body is not for sexual sin but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. God brought the Lord back to life, and by his power God will also bring us back to life.
Don’t you realize that your bodies are parts of Christ’s body? Should I take the parts of Christ’s body and make them parts of a prostitute’s body? That’s unthinkable! Don’t you realize that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her? God says, “The two will be one.” However, the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.
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Before the Throne of God Above (Hymn 187) – Hymnology (Official Video)
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Gospel Reading: John 1:43-51 (GW)
1:43 The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me!” (Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.)
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man whom Moses wrote about in his teachings and whom the prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, son of Joseph, from the city of Nazareth.”
Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip told him, “Come and see!”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and remarked, “Here is a true Israelite who is sincere.”
Nathanael asked Jesus, “How do you know anything about me?”
Jesus answered him, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Nathanael said to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!”
Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” Jesus said to Nathanael, “I can guarantee this truth: You will see the sky open and God’s angels going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”
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This I Believe (The Creed) Lyric Video / Hillsong Kiev, 2014
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+ Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed: Kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all people the true love of peace, and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, especially in the Middle East; that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Bring home the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically and especially, to those who will restore Israel spiritually through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May Christ, who sends us to the nations,
give us the power of his Spirit.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 