January 15, 2021

Come let us worship together

A holy God

A God full of love and compassion

A God full of grace and care

A God who is faithful and just

Come let us worship together

Prayer to center you

Creating God,

In the beginning you breathed your breath over the vastness

And all things came into being.

Throughout time you have reached out to your people,

Caring for your children and showing us a path that leads to you.

The world around us has become uneasy

Pathways before us seem harder than ever to find ways forward

Love and care for others appears to dwindle before our eyes.

Breathe your breath over us once again

Speak to the hearts of your people

And call us to you

And may we answer, Here I am

Psalm 40. Verses 16-17

But all who are hunting for you—
    oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
    make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
    but God, don’t put it off.

1 Samuel 3:1-20

3Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Reflection:

Sometimes God’s callings are hard to decipher, even with the best of intentions.

Sometimes God’s voice is but a faint whisper or a small feeling deep inside or as simple as a deep knowing within.

Sometimes the noise of the world around us is too loud for us to hear, feel or know that God has called us.

Sometimes we do not understand the calling.

Sometimes we do not have faith enough in God or in ourselves to walk forward into what God has called us to.

Sometimes the we don’t feel worthy.

The days that we are surrounded in, however, require us to listen even more intently for God’s calling to us.

These times require that we listen to those gut feelings, those simple urges, those nagging thoughts to move forward towards justice and peace.

It might put us in uncomfortable positions. May feel like we are the one voice of peace in the midst of a storm of hate.

Yet we know without a doubt that God calls us to love our neighbor, to stand with the oppressed, and to work towards His kingdom.

When that voice comes to you with an opportunity to stand with those who are in need, the widow, the orphan, the outcast, let us have the strength to say “Here I am, use me!”

To get you thinking…

*When is a time that you God has used you?

*How did it make you feel? Scared, confident, courageous?

*What is one area that you could step and let God use you this week?

Prayer of Sending

Here I am Lord,

ready and waiting.

This world is difficult, but I want to help make it better—

full of love, compassion, and grace—

use me, O Lord,

and give me the strength to move when you call.

Amen