Who IS WISE

Who IS WISE

Live stream Sunday Service with Pastor Sue
Accompanied by a worship assistant
Accompanist Andrea Llafet

Scripture:
James 3:13-4:3,7-8a

Music:
Nearer My God To Thee
Immortal Invisible
Everlasting God

To Make an Offering: https://millplainumc.org/giving/

Order Of Worship

Prelude

Greeting

Call to Worship (Worship Assistant)

Worship Assistant: Draw near to God, beloved, and God will draw near to you.

People: We come in our despair, longing for hope.

Worship Assistant: Draw near to God, beloved, and God will draw near to you.

People: We come with our doubts, longing for faith.

Worship Assistant: Draw near to God, beloved, and God will draw near to you.

Opening Prayer (Worship Assistant)

Most Gracious God, we confess this day that we look at those around us and long for their gifts. We scrabble to the top of the heap by climbing on other people’ s backs. Truly we are filled with bitter envy and selfish ambition. Forgive us and teach us to be content with the gifts we already have. Grant us purity of heart and gentleness of disposition. Draw us ever nearer to you that we may know your love and then spread that love to others. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Young Disciples

Blessing of Teachers

Pastor: Let us recognize those who have accepted the call to teach and lead in our education program. They need our loyal support and prayers.

People: Eternal God, you have entrusted us with the message of your power, grace, justice, and love. Provide for us your guidance, that we may be teachers and learners together.

Believing that you are in our midst, we set apart those who would serve in our church school. May they serve you in nurturing the spiritual growth of all who are entrusted in their care.  Bless each one gathered before us, enabling them to be channels of your grace. We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pastor to teachers:

You have recognized God’s call in your lives. Will you endeavor to develop your gifts for teaching so as to continue to pass on the Christian faith? Will you be faithful to the task, taking seriously the commitments of time and talent? Will you take seriously your role as learner, studying diligently the Scriptures and traditions of the faith?

Teachers: We have heard God’s call to teach and have responded to that call. We teach, trusting in God’s promises to support, sustain, and encourage us through gifts sufficient for the task. We teach, relying on prayer and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We teach, inviting others to recognize and respond to Gods call in their lives. We teach, depending on this congregation to uphold us in this task.

People: We pledge ourselves to pray for you and for the educational ministry of this congregation. We pledge ourselves to enable, encourage, and love you in this ministry.

Reprinted from The United Methodist Book of Worship, copyright 1992, by permission of The United Methodist Publishing House

Song  Nearer, My God to Thee     UMH #472

Silent Prayer           

Pastoral Prayer      

The Lord’s Prayer

Presentation of Our Offerings

Doxology

Reading from the New Testament

James 3:13-4:3,7-8a

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Hymn             Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise           UMH #103

The Message           Who is Wise? 

Prayer After Message

God Only Wise, you bless our lives with those who show us mercy and good fruits. May their examples grow in us that we too may produce a harvest of righteousness. Amen.

Closing Song          Everlasting God       UMH #557

Benediction

Go in peace to serve God and your neighbor in all that you do. And the blessings of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.

Postlude