First Presbyterian Church of Weedsport
February 2, 2025
Rev. Brian Copeland
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Liturgist
PRELUDE
Opening Sentences (Responsive) Liturgist
In you, O Lord, let us take refuge,
so we might never be put to shame.
In your righteousness, O Lord,
let us find deliverance,
so we might experience your saving power.
In your presence, O God, let us place our trust,
so we might find confidence in you alone.
You are our rock and our refuge,
our fortress and shield.
We turn to you again this day. Amen.
HYMN #469 Morning Has Broken
CONFESSION AND PARDON Liturgist
God gathers the insiders and the outsiders;
not one is beyond need of restoration.
Trusting this promise,
we surrender ourselves
in the presence of Christ and one another,
as we pray together.
Generous God, when we set our tables,
we imagine who belongs.
We are satisfied to welcome
those who we call our own.
Our boundaries are drawn
for our own family, our own congregation, our own neighborhood.
We limit the seating to those
who make us comfortable,
and lay out the welcome mat
for those who we choose to welcome.
But your kingdom has no boundary.
Before our birth you have known, loved,
and claimed each and every one.
Soften our hearts to those we rage against.
Restore us to your vision
of who belongs at the table.
Renew us with your abundant mercy and love,
which know no end.
SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION MAY BE OFFERED
WORDS OF FORGIVENESS (Responsive) Liturgist
Jesus Christ satisfies each of our shortcomings.
It is in God we are given the full vision
of love, peace, and justice.
This good news is for you:
God claims you,
Christ welcomes you,
and the Spirit draws up your seat
at the welcome table.
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and restored.
Thanks be to our God now and forever.
SPECIAL MUSIC
CHILDREN’S TIME (Children may leave to go to Sunday School after Children’s Time.)
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (Unison) Liturgist
Saving God, source of our calling,
your Word is full of power and glory.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
so that we may receive your grace
and live as your beloved children;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING: Jeremiah 1:4-10 Liturgist
4Now 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."
6Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 7But 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,
8Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the LORD."
9Then 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.
10See, 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."
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 4:21-30 Rev. Brian Copeland
21Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" 23He 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.'" 24And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown. 25But 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; 26yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." 28When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29They 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. 30But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON Rev. Brian Copeland
HYMN #426 Lord, Speak to Me, That I May Speak
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (Unison) Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.15
God’s sovereign love is a mystery
beyond the reach of the human mind.
Human thought ascribes to God
superlatives of power, wisdom, and goodness.
But God reveals divine love in Jesus Christ
by showing power in the form of a servant,
wisdom in the folly of the cross,
and goodness in receiving
sinful men and women.
The power of God’s love in Christ
to transform the world
discloses that the Redeemer
is the Lord and Creator
who made all things
to serve the purpose of God’s love.
JOYS AND CONCERNS
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
Joining our hearts and minds in prayer,
let us call on the name of the Lord,
saying: O God of grace, bless us with peace.
::sing Lord’s Prayer::
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING (Offering plates are not passed. Offering plates are on the front and back tables.)
PRAYER OF DEDICATION (Unison)
We praise and thank you, Lord God,
for the majesty of your work,
the wisdom of your word,
and the generosity of your grace.
Let the gifts of our lives bear witness
to your goodness and mercy,
your faithfulness and justice,
and your steadfast love for all. Amen.
GREAT THANKSGIVING (Responsive)
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God:
On you, O Lord, we depend from our birth;
you are our hope and trust,
from the days of our youth,
and you will always be our rock and refuge.
Therefore, we praise you, joining the song
of the universal church and the heavenly choir:
A Sanctus (“Holy, holy, holy”) is sung.
HYMN #391 Take My Life
COMMUNION OF THE PEOPLE
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
BLESSING AND CHARGE
POSTLUDE
Reminders:
Feb. 9 – SOUPer Bowl, Session and Committee Meetings following worship
