Sunday, January 14, 2024

Theme:

In preparing for Jesus, John calls those around him to repent and be baptized. It’s a commitment John asks from his listeners. That same call and expectation comes to us 2000 years later. The decision is ours to make, and God calls us to jump right in with all that we are. We often are tentative and want to weigh our options, often becoming hesitant to make the commitment. Jump right in; let God transform your life!

Reflections:

Introit: Liturgically, we are celebrating “Baptism of Our Lord” Sunday, and we begin the service with the first verse of “In Christ Called to Baptise” which reminds us both of our call in the Great Commission to baptize others, but also of our own baptism.

Opening Hymn: The text of “Crashing Waters at Creation” recalls significant events in salvation history involving water. The second verse tells of Jesus’ baptism.

Transition Hymn: As Rev. Shealy joins us as our Interim Bridge Pastor, we are beginning to make some slight changes to the Order of Worship. Once thing you will notice immediately is that the announcements will be given at the beginning of the serivce. And so, we are going to begin using a hymn as our signal to transition back to our seats from our time of passing the peace. For the remainder of January, we will be using “I Love You, Lord”.

Special Music: The Chancel Choir will present “Be Still”, text by Herb Fromback (based on Psalm 46:10), music by Mary McDonald.

Responsive Hymn: As our response to the Proclamation of the Word, we will recall the significance of our baptism, using the hymn we typically use at St. Andrews as our response to the Sacrement of Baptism, “Baptized in Water”.

Sending Hymn: Chorus, verse, and chorus of “Down to the River to Pray”; the words can be found in the bulletin.

Benediction: Continuing with the second verse of our selection for January, “God Be With Us Till We Meet Again”.