Worship Elements — Checking the Roots
Psalm 1:1-3 (CEB) · Tending the Soul: Growing in Grace Through Three Questions · Trinity Sunday · Peace with Justice Sunday
These worship elements are an early draft being shared as a preview for the upcoming service. The final version used in worship may be adapted or revised. Pastors and worship leaders are welcome to use and adapt these for your own context.
Welcome
Good morning! I’m [NAME], [CONNECTION to McPherson First]. Welcome, whether you’ve been part of this community for years or today is your first time walking through these doors. We are glad you’re here. You belong in this room.
There’s something about a tree with deep roots. It doesn’t panic when the weather changes, because its source of life runs deeper than the surface. Today we begin a three-week journey called Tending the Soul, and we start where Psalm 1 starts, by checking the roots.
Today is also Trinity Sunday, the church’s annual remembrance that the God we worship is one God in three persons, the Creator who plants us, the Christ who nourishes us, and the Spirit who grows us. And we will receive a Peace with Justice Sunday Special Offering, supporting programs across our United Methodist connection that address the root causes of injustice in our communities and around the world.
As followers of Jesus, we grow in faith through five practices God uses to shape us: prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Today the practice we will sit with most closely is prayers, the daily rhythm of returning to God’s word that keeps the roots watered.
If you’re new or looking for your next step, visit mcphersonfirst.org/next or download the Church Center app. You can check in, request prayer, find ways to serve, or give. You can also text CONNECT to 620-241-3626 to stay in the loop.
Call to Worship
I invite you to join in the responsive call to worship as you see the words on display.
Leader: The psalmist says happy are those who delight in God’s instruction.
People: We come to be nourished by God’s word.
Leader: Like trees planted by streams of water, God gives us roots that go deep.
People: We come to drink from the source of life.
Leader: Day and night, God’s faithfulness sustains us.
People: We open our hearts to receive what God offers.
Leader: Come, worship the God who plants us, nourishes us, and helps us grow.
People: We praise the God who tends our souls.
Welcome Your Neighbor
The psalmist describes a life rooted in God’s instruction, bearing fruit because it’s connected to something deeper. That kind of rootedness doesn’t happen alone. This is what witness looks like, showing up for each other and inviting others into the journey.
As you greet your neighbors, think of someone whose roots feel dry right now, who needs the kind of nourishment only God can give. Could you invite them to drink from the same stream next Sunday?
Please stand, welcome your neighbor, and then remain standing as we join together in song.
Opening Prayer
The psalmist describes a tree planted by streams of water. Join me in praying the words on screen.
God of deep roots and living water, we come with open hearts. Plant your word within us. Nourish us by your Spirit. Grow in us the fruit of faith, hope, and love. Send us out to flourish in your world. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
We enter a time of prayer together. During our prayer, there will be a couple of moments of silence. Use them however feels right. Prayers is one of the five practices through which God works in us. Text PRAY to 620-241-3626 anytime to submit a prayer request. Will you pray with me?
God of deep roots and living water, we pause in your presence.
(pause)
We worship you as the source of all life, the one who plants, who nourishes, who tends creation with patience beyond our understanding. You are the stream that never dries up, the soil that receives every seed, the gardener who works in every season. We praise you for your faithfulness, steady as the water that feeds the roots of an ancient tree.
We confess that we have not always delighted in your instruction. We have rushed past moments of prayer. We have chosen distraction over depth. We have neglected the practices that root us in your love. Forgive us for the times we have tried to flourish on our own, apart from the source of life. We offer our prayers of confession to God in this time of quiet.
(pause)
We give thanks for the ways your word has shaped us, sustained us, and called us forward. For the moments when scripture came alive and spoke directly into our need. For the people in this community who have walked with us through dry seasons. For the gift of your instruction, not burden but delight, not restriction but freedom. Thank you for every root that held when the storm came.
We bring before you the needs of this community and world. We pray for those who are exhausted, whose roots feel dry and shallow. We pray for those facing illness, grief, or uncertainty, who need the nourishment only you can provide. We pray for our neighbors struggling with loneliness, worry, or loss of purpose. We pray for those new to faith, just beginning to put down roots, and for those whose faith feels stale and in need of renewal. God, replant your people by streams of living water.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the true vine in whom we are rooted, joining our voices in the prayer he taught us:
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Peace with Justice Sunday Offering Invitation
Today is Peace with Justice Sunday across The United Methodist Church, one of our six churchwide special Sunday offerings. The Peace with Justice Special Offering supports programs that advocate for peace and address the root causes of injustice in our communities and around the world.
The psalm we heard this morning describes a tree whose roots reach deep enough to bear fruit at just the right time. The work of peace and justice is root work too, slow, mostly invisible, dependent on streams that never run dry. This offering supports United Methodists doing that root work across our connection.
To give to the Peace with Justice Special Offering, designate your gift to “Peace with Justice” through the offering plate, online, or in the Church Center app. This is a gift above and beyond your regular giving, and it makes a real difference.
Invitation to Give and Check-In
The psalmist paints a picture of someone whose life bears fruit, not through striving, but through being rooted in the right place. When we talk about roots going deep, generosity is one of those roots. Every gift we offer is how we practice gifts, planting ourselves in God’s economy and trusting that something will grow from it.
Thank you to those who give faithfully week after week. Your generosity sustains this ministry and makes everything we do possible. If today is your first time giving, thank you for taking that step.
You can give through the offering plate, online at mcphersonfirst.org/give, through the Church Center app, or by texting GIVE to 620-241-3626.
I also invite you to check in through the Church Center app, at mcphersonfirst.org/next, or using the attendance pad in your row. Checking in is how we practice presence, showing up and being counted among the body of Christ.
Ushers, please come forward to receive this morning’s offering.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We’ve given our gifts and offered our prayers. Now we’re sent to practice service, to be God’s hands and feet in our community. Will you pray with me?
Faithful God, thank you for the gifts we’ve shared today. Use them to extend your love throughout McPherson and beyond. Plant seeds of generosity that bear fruit in ways we cannot imagine. Send us out to serve as you have served us. Amen.
Will you please stand as we sing together?
Benediction
Go, rooted in God’s word. Love boldly, serve joyfully, lead courageously.
And may the God who plants, the Christ who nourishes, and the Spirit who grows go with you always. Amen.