Welcome! ‘Come into this place as you are, share in our friendliness, our laughter and tears, and may you leave Assurance of Pardon spiritually refreshed.’ Minister: Beloved in the Lord, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: “… having been justified by

WE GATHER IN THIS PLACE…. faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1). To all who turn to the Lord ** Stand as you are able then, he says, “your sins are forgiven.” He also says, “Follow me.” * Please remain seated All: Thanks be to God!

Prelude: “I Surrender All” arr. Phillip Keveren The Lord’s Prayer (Spoken Together)

Lighting of the Christ Candle & Fellowship Candles * Song for the Young: “Seek Ye First the Kingdom” VU #: 356

Greetings and Welcome (Children come forward to sit at front of the Sanctuary)

Life & Work of the Church A Time for All Ages (Children leave for Sunday School) …. APPROACHING GOD….

** Call to Worship: (Responsive) (stand as you are able) …. TO HEAR GOD’S WORD…. Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. People: And also, with you. Prayer for Understanding: Minister: Holy God, from age to age you have blessed your people with wisdom. We turn to scripture, seeking Minister: O Lord, open our lips and our mouths shall declare your praise. learning and insight. Send your Holy Spirit to guide us so that we might hear your wisdom in the People: O Lord, open our eyes, so that we may behold your presence with us. words read and proclaimed this day, in Jesus Christ, your Living Word, in whose glorious and Minister: O Lord, open our ears, so that we may hear your call to follow. powerful name we pray, amen.

All: O Lord, open our hearts, so that we may offer you worship in love and in the beauty of holiness. Scripture: (New Revised Standard Version) (Reader: Lynn Kiddle)

** Hymn: (stand as you are able) “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” VU #: 264 Isaiah 49:1–7 (Pew Bible) OT pg. #: 644 John 1:29–42 (Pew Bible) NT pg. #: 87-88 Prayers of Adoration and Invocation: (Together) (Please be seated) Reader: This is the word of the Lord! Most Gracious God, we thank and praise you for your Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, and the abundant and All: Thanks be to God! new life you give us in him. You call us to follow Christ, so that we may bring your light and your hope to Sermon: “I Must Decrease That He Might Increase!" Rev. Nicholas Forrester the world you love. We thank and praise you for your Holy Spirit who brings the light of the Gospel into our lives. Through your generous gift of the Holy Spirit, we lack no spiritual gift. In your Holy Spirit, we find * Hymn of Reflection: “Just as I Am” VU #: 508 strength and courage to face every challenge, until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ arrives. We praise you for all your acts of goodness and pray that as we worship you this day, we might grow in righteousness .… AND RESPOND TO GOD’S CALL…. and love. Grant that we might be a people who bless your name by all that we do, both in this sanctuary and in the world beyond it. In Jesus' name we pray, amen! Prayers of Intercession and Supplication:

Minister: God in whom we live and move and have our being, today we join with Christians everywhere to pray Responsive Psalm: Psalm 40:1–11 VU #: 764 for peace and unity, for justice and mercy in your fragile creation. We remember before you today, Prayer of Confession: (Responsive) people living face to face with war and violence, especially those places where ancient hatreds burn. People: God, speak to us a word of peace. Embrace us with your love. Minister: Merciful God, you sent Jesus Christ to seek and save the lost but we confess that we often choose the next new thing over your gift of new life. Minister: We remember before you today, people living with economic uncertainty, those who have lost their People: We seek love and approval in the wrong places, and so, according to the trends of our culture. jobs, their savings, their homes or businesses. People: God, speak to us a word of reassurance. Embrace us with your love. Minister: We rely on our own strength and wit rather than your goodness, power, and wisdom. All: In your mercy and your grace, wash us in the blood of the Lamb and make us pure and holy in your sight again, and present us faultless before your throne of grace. In Jesus’ we pray, amen! (Silence)

Minister: We remember before you today, people who suffer discrimination and social prejudice, those who are bullied by others, and all those who are made to feel ashamed of who they are. People: God, speak to us a word of dignity. Embrace us with your love. Central Westside United Church 310 10th Street West Minister: We remember before you today, people living with illness and suffering, those struggling with disability, Owen Sound, ON, N4K 3R5 and those who know grief or fear. Tel: 519-376-8319 People: God, speak to us a word of healing. Embrace us with your love. Email: [email protected] Minister: We remember before you today, people of different creeds and faiths, those who seek understanding www.centralwestside.ca and co-operation among different religious traditions, and those who show love to their neighbours, whatever their creed. All: God, speak to us a word of wisdom and hope. Embrace us with your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen!

Invitation to the Offering Minister: God has given us a new song in our hearts, a song of thankfulness and praise. So, we bring our gifts with thanksgiving, with hearts cheered by God’s goodness. Your tithes and offerings will now be received. nd

2 Sunday After Epiphany Offering and Offertory:

Offertory: CWUC Choir “Three Things I Promise” Brian Wren/Daniel Charles Damon

** Offering Our Gifts & Offertory: “We Give Thee But Thine Own” VU #: 543 Sunday, January 19, 2020 1. We give thee but thine own, what e’er the gift may be; all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O God, from thee. 2. May we thy bounties thus as stewards true receive, and gladly, as thou blessest us, to thee our first-fruits give. 10:30 a.m. Worship

Prayer of Dedication: Minister: Gracious God, we offer you our gifts with humble hearts. We give what we can and each gift seems small on its own. So, bless each one and the gifts of all your people, throughout the Church. Through the “I Must Decrease that He Might work of your Holy Spirit, amaze us with all that our gifts can accomplish, blessed in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen. Increase!”

**Closing Hymn: “O Jesus, I Have Promised” VU #: 120

** Benediction for All: (as we go forth) (stand as you are able) Our Faith, Our Focus, Our Future… Minister: Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Go with God, my friends. Amen!

MINISTER: Rev. Nicholas A. Forrester Postlude: “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” arr. Fred Bock Tel: 519-374-9822

Acknowledgements: ORGANIST: Fiona Evison Respectfully adapted from the following resources: The United Church of Canada @ https://www.united-church.ca/worship; The Presbyterian Church in Canada @ https://presbyterian.ca/worship/; United Church of Christ Worship Ways @ https://www.ucc.org/worship_worship-ways; Spirit Networks @ http://www.spirit-net.ca/sermons/year-a-sermons.php; and the United Methodist Church Ministry Matters @ https://www.ministrymatters.com/worship/