"Here! See! Look! Find!"

WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HOMEWOOD
MISSION STATEMENT

Through the grace of God, faith in Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we prayerfully seek to discern God’s will for this congregation and to reach beyond ourselves to feed the hungry, body and soul. Adopted by Session 7/31/17

PRAYER FOR PEACE ||| Peace Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

PRELUDE

*CALL TO CONTINUING WORSHIP
We are the church:
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.
 
We are the church:
together with those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and our Lord Jesus Christ!

*HYMN 39 ||| Great Is Thy Faithfulness ||| Faithfulness

CALL TO CONFESSION
Like the early disciples, we are curious about this Jesus, this Son of God. We may be tempted to stay away, for we know we are not worthy of him. But Jesus does not care about worth, wealth and power. Jesus seeks those who would follow honestly, willing to face their failures in order to grow closer to God. In that spirit, let us turn to Christ.

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of the ages, We do not always wait with patience. We do not always sing your praises. We do not always recognize your work in our lives. We would rather take the credit for ourselves. We would rather take the easy way out. We would rather step on others if it means more for ourselves. Forgive us for all the ways we forget you. Help us to delight to do your will. Help us to trust in you and return us to the path of righteousness.
(silent prayer)
Amen.

*DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world. The Lamb of God takes away the sins of each and every one of us.
Christ has mercy on us, forgiving our sins. Alleluia!

*THE GLORIA 581

MOMENT WITH OUR CHILDREN ||| Rev. Matt Lang
WELCOME AND CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS

WE HEAR GOD’S WORD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

FIRST SCRIPTURE READING ||| Isaiah 49:1-7
1Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. 2He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. 3And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 4But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the LORD, and my reward with my God.” 5And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength —6he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, “Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
 
SPECIAL MUSIC

SECOND SCRIPTURE READING ||| John 1:29-42
29The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” 35The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God! 
SERMON ||| "Here! See! Look! Find!" ||| Rev. Matt Lang

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

*HYMN 688 ||| Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart ||| Morecambe

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH ||| The Brief Statement of Faith 1983
In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
…Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS

INVITATION TO OFFERING
There is only one Lord and God, from whom all things come and for whom we live. Let us offer our lives to the Lord.

OFFERTORY

*DOXOLOGY 606 ||| Old Hundredth
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

 
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
For the blessings of this and all our days, we thank you, gracious God. Accept, we pray, not just this money but also our lives freely offered in gratitude for all you have done for us. Use them both, in this place and wherever you might take us. Amen.

WE GO IN GOD’S NAME

*HYMN 726 ||| Will You Come and Follow Me ||| Kelvingrove ||| (The Summons)

BLESSING & CHARGE
Beloved children of God, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the blessing of the Lord forever.
Alleluia!

As Jesus called the first disciples, so he calls to us this day: Follow me.
Amen.

POSTLUDE

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Thanks be to God!

Rev. Matt Lang, Pastor
Mrs. Mary Ann Wenzelman, Interim Organist/Pianist

Worship Liturgist: Lee Hilario
Usher: Laura Dillman
Web Technicians: Shirley Armistead, Nancy Boersma, Phil Dillman, Kathie Hazlett 

2022 ANNUAL REPORTS ARE DUE! – If you are a church leader, your report is due into the office by Fri., February 3rd. Debra would appreciate reports e-mailed in Word format (14 point, Times New Roman, one inch margins) if you are able to do so. E-mail your annual report to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 SCRIPTURES IN WORSHIP – Next Sunday we will be reading Isaiah 9:1-4 and Matthew 4:12-23.

 PRAYER CHAIN – If you want prayer requests included on the prayer chain, contact Shirley Armistead at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..