Worship Elements — When Everything Changes
Acts 2:1-8, 14-21; Philippians 4:4-7 (CEB) · Fresh Start: When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn · Pentecost Sunday · Heritage 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
When the Spirit moves through a community, everything changes, and today we celebrate that transformative power.
Welcome to McPherson First United Methodist Church! I’m [NAME], and I’m delighted you’re here this morning.
We’re forming disciples of Jesus Christ who love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously. Whether you’ve been part of this congregation for decades or this is your very first Sunday, you belong here.
Five membership promises shape how we grow in our faith and how we support one another on the journey: prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. You’ll hear each of these named as we worship together today.
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 our responsive call to worship as you see the words on display.
Leader: The wind of God’s Spirit moves through this place.
People: We gather, ready to be transformed.
Leader: Flames of faith rest upon each one of us.
People: We open our hearts to what God wants to do.
Leader: God pours out the Spirit on all people, young and old, longtime and newcomer.
People: We belong here. We belong to God.
Welcome Your Neighbor
The earliest church grew because people felt known and invited into community. When we experience God’s transforming love, we can’t help but share it with others. That’s the promise of witness, living in such a way that others see Christ’s love through us. As we stand and greet one another this morning, look around and ask yourself: who might you invite to experience this community of faith?
Please stand, welcome your neighbor, and then remain standing as we join together in song.
Opening Prayer
God of wind and fire, Spirit of Pentecost: fill our hearts with courage as we gather this morning. Give us ears to hear your voice speaking in new ways. Draw us closer to one another and to you. Amen.
Heritage Sunday Recognition
This Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate 152 years of faithfulness at McPherson First. The same Spirit that filled that upper room in Jerusalem has been moving through this congregation since 1874, through different buildings, different eras, and generation after generation of people who showed up and said yes.
Today we recognize you, not just for how long you’ve been here, but for the changes you’ve navigated together.
If you started attending McPherson First in 1976 or earlier (50 years ago or more), please stand. You were here when this congregation worshiped for the first time in this building on January 7, 1968. You lived through the union that made us United Methodist. You laid the foundation this church still stands on. Thank you. [Congregation responds with applause or spoken affirmation]
If you started attending between 1977 and 2001, please stand, and stay standing, 50-year folks. You were here when this church asked a bold question: “If we are true to our mission, what will be different in our church and our community in three years?” That question led to partnerships with HeadStart, to Steps to End Poverty, ministries that have changed the fabric of McPherson County. You turned faith into action. Thank you. [Congregation responds]
If you started attending between 2002 and 2016, please stand, everyone else stay standing. You invested in this building’s future, raising over a million dollars to renovate the education wing, install an elevator, update the kitchen, and create spaces where the next generation could grow. You saw what needed to change and you made it happen. Thank you. [Congregation responds]
And if you started attending in 2017 or later, please stand, so that we’re all standing together. You chose this church during some of the hardest years any congregation has faced. You walked through a global pandemic, through a denomination in transition, and you said, “This is my church.” You celebrated 150 years with us and now you’re part of Tomorrow First, writing the next chapter. Thank you. [Congregation responds]
Look around. This is 152 years of faithfulness, standing together in one room. The Spirit who shook that upper room at Pentecost has been at work in every generation represented here, and that same Spirit is at work right now, making all things new.
You may be seated.
Invitation to Prayer and Pastoral Prayer
One of our five membership promises is prayers, building a real relationship with God through honest conversation. Right now, we bring our hearts before God together. If you’d like our prayer team to pray for you by name this week, text PRAY to 620-241-3626 or submit a request through the Church Center app.
Will you pray with me?
God of Pentecost, breathe your Spirit upon us this day.
(Brief pause)
We praise you for your faithfulness to this congregation across generations. You have guided McPherson First through seasons of change and seasons of stability. You have raised up leaders and faithful disciples whose lives testify to your enduring grace.
We confess that we sometimes forget the power of your Spirit. We grow anxious about changes around us. We hesitate to speak your truth. We hold tight to what we know rather than opening ourselves to what you want to do in us and through us.
(Moment of silent reflection)
We pray for those gathering here for the first time and for those who have walked through these doors for decades. We lift up all who face unexpected change, in health, in family, in work, in faith. We hold before you the longtime members of this congregation whose faithful presence grounds us in your story. We pray for our community of McPherson, for those who lead and those who struggle unseen. Send your Spirit to empower every Grace Group, every act of service, every quiet prayer offered in your name.
We give thanks for the gift of community, for the power of your Spirit working in ordinary lives, and for the privilege of following Jesus Christ.
We pray in Jesus’ name, 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.
Invitation to Give and Check-In
The early church witnessed transformation and immediately responded with generosity, sharing everything so that no one lacked. We have that same opportunity. When we give our gifts back to God, we participate in God’s mission to transform lives and communities.
Whether you’re a longtime giver or giving for the first time, your generosity matters. 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.
We also invite you to practice presence by checking in this morning. Use the Church Center app, visit mcphersonfirst.org/next, or sign the attendance pad in your pew and pass it along.
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?
God of every generation, thank you for the gifts we’ve shared today and for the faithful members whose decades of service have shaped this congregation. Use our offerings to carry your Spirit’s work forward, into McPherson and beyond. Amen.
Will you please stand as we sing together?
Benediction
You have been filled with God’s Spirit. Go and set the world ablaze. Love boldly. Serve joyfully. Lead courageously.
God the Creator who sends the wind, Christ who breathes peace, and the Holy Spirit who lights the flame, go with you always. Amen.