Worship Elements — When Power Kneels
John 13:1-17 (CEB) · Witnesses: Encountering Jesus When It Matters Most
These worship elements are designed for the Sunday service on March 1, 2026 at McPherson First United Methodist Church. Pastors and worship leaders are welcome to adapt them for your own context.
Welcome
We all have moments when someone we respect does something completely unexpected—something that reorients everything we thought we knew about power and position. Today’s scripture gives us one of those moments.
Welcome to worship at McPherson First United Methodist Church! I’m [NAME], and I’m delighted you’re here this morning.
At McPherson First, we aim to 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.
Today we’ll share Holy Communion together—all are welcome at Christ’s table, and if you’re worshiping online, you may want to have bread and juice ready.
We grow as followers of Jesus through five practices: 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
Leader: Jesus, our Lord and Teacher, knelt before his disciples.
People: We gather to learn what true greatness looks like.
Leader: He took a towel and a basin and began to wash their feet.
People: We come with our assumptions about power turned upside down.
Leader: “Do you understand what I have done for you?” Jesus asked.
People: We open ourselves to see what we have missed.
Leader: “As I have done for you, you also must do.”
People: We worship the One who calls us to kneel and serve.
Opening Prayer
God of basin and towel, you kneel before us when we expect to kneel before you. Wash away our pride that we might see clearly. Soften our hearts that we might serve freely. Open our hands that we might receive your love and give it away. Amen.
Welcome Your Neighbor
In the Upper Room, Jesus didn’t just serve—he looked into each disciple’s eyes as he knelt before them. This is what witness looks like—seeing each other and being seen. We practice being known by Jesus every time we risk being known by one another.
As you greet one another, think about who isn’t here today—a friend, a neighbor, a coworker—who might need what we experience together in this place. Who might you invite next week?
Please stand, welcome your neighbor, and then remain standing as we join together in song.
Pastoral Prayer
We’re about to enter a time of prayer together. Whether you’re here in person or joining us online, know that God hears every prayer—whether spoken aloud or kept quiet in your heart. During our prayer, there will be a couple of moments of silence. Use these pauses however feels right to you—perhaps to listen for God’s voice, to offer your own prayers, or simply to rest in God’s presence.
Prayers is one of the five practices of discipleship, and you’re never alone in your prayer journey. You can submit prayer requests anytime by texting PRAY to 620-241-3626. If you’d like to join our prayer team and receive prayer prompts throughout the week, text PRAYERTEAM to that same number.
Will you pray with me?
God of surprising humility, we pause to center our hearts in your presence.
[Brief pause]
We praise you for demonstrating your power not by demanding service but by offering it. In a world obsessed with climbing higher, you knelt lower. You took up basin and towel when everyone expected a crown and throne. Your greatness shows itself in service, your authority in love.
We confess that we often chase the wrong kind of greatness. We measure success by titles and recognition rather than faithfulness and service. We want to be served more than we want to serve. Forgive us, and reshape our understanding of what it means to follow you.
[Moment of silent reflection]
We bring to you those who feel unseen—people whose service goes unnoticed, caregivers worn thin by constant giving, workers treated as invisible. Remind them that you see them. Help us see them too.
We pray for leaders in every sphere—in government, in business, in families, in this church. Transform our understanding of leadership. We lift up those wrestling with what you’re calling them to do—people sensing an invitation to serve in new ways but unsure if they’re ready. Give them courage to say yes.
We pray for peace in the Middle East. For those in harm’s way this morning—military personnel, civilians, children caught in violence they did not choose. For the people of Iran. For the people of Israel. For communities across the region awakened by explosions. For leaders making decisions with life-and-death consequences—grant them wisdom we cannot see from here. For our own hearts, that we would not be ruled by fear or hatred or the illusion that more violence will finally bring peace. Teach us your way, which looks like a basin and a towel.
We hold before you those who are grieving, those who are ill, and those carrying burdens too heavy to name aloud. And we give thanks for every act of humble service this week—meals prepared, hands held, floors cleaned, children taught, neighbors helped. Bless the holy, ordinary work of your people.
We pray in the name of the One who took up the towel and showed us who you really are. Amen.
Invitation to Give and Check-In
Jesus said, “I have given you an example.” His gift wasn’t just clean feet—it was a new way of understanding what it means to follow him. We respond to God’s generosity by practicing giving ourselves.
Thank you to those who give faithfully week after week—your generosity sustains this ministry and makes everything we do possible. And if today is your first time giving, thank you for taking that step. Your gift matters, and we’re grateful you’re part of what God is doing here.
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.
As the offering is received, I also invite you to check in through the Church Center app or the attendance pad in your row. Checking in is how we practice presence—being part of this community, not as spectators, but as people who show up and are counted among the body of Christ.
Ushers, please come forward to receive this morning’s offering.
Holy Communion - Invitation, Confession, and Pardon
Preaching Pastor: We come now to the Lord’s table. If you are worshiping online, please have bread and juice ready. Together we’ll share Christ’s invitation, confess our sins, and receive God’s grace. Join in the words on screen.
Preaching Pastor: On the night before he died, Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist and knelt before his disciples. He served them before he asked anything of them. And now he invites us to this table—not because we’ve earned a place here, but because he makes room for everyone.
Host Pastor: This is God’s table, and all are invited. Whether you feel worthy or unworthy, whether you come with confidence or with questions—you belong here. Let’s prepare our hearts to receive by confessing together.
People: Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Host Pastor: Take a moment for your own silent prayer.
(All pray in silence)
Host Pastor: Hear the good news: Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; that proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
People: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Glory to God.
Holy Communion - The Great Thanksgiving
Preaching Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Preaching Pastor: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Preaching Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Preaching Pastor: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth.
You created us for community and called us into covenant love. When we forgot how to live as your people, you sent prophets to call us back. And when the time was right, you sent your Son—not as a king demanding tribute, but as a servant kneeling with a basin and towel.
In Jesus, you showed us that true power serves rather than dominates, that the greatest among us becomes the servant of all. He entered our world not to be served but to serve, and to give his life for many.
And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
People: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Host Pastor: Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. Through his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your Church, set us free from sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.
On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
When the supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said: “Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Preaching Pastor: And so, remembering all you have done for us in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves to you—our praise, our thanks, our lives. United with Christ, we proclaim the mystery of faith:
People: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Preaching Pastor: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.
Host Pastor: By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
Preaching Pastor: Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever.
Host Pastor: And now, with the confidence of children of God, let us pray:
All: 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.
Holy Communion - Receiving Holy Communion
Preaching Pastor: Though we are many, we are one body because we share one bread. The bread we break connects us to Christ’s body. The cup we share connects us to Christ’s life poured out for us.
Preaching Pastor: Communion servers, please come forward to receive first, then serve our congregation.
(Servers come forward, receive, and take positions)
Host Pastor: Friends, God welcomes you to this table of grace. You don’t have to be a member of this church or even a United Methodist. Come with an open heart to receive God’s love.
I invite you to come forward by the center aisle. There are serving stations on each side of the sanctuary—one for each section of pews. When you arrive, you’ll receive a piece of bread. Hold it carefully and reverently; it represents the body of Christ. Then you’ll be offered a small cup of grape juice. Eat and drink. If you’d like to pray, you’re welcome to kneel at the rail. When you’re ready, return to your seat using the side aisles. Place your empty cup in the holders at either end of the rail.
Gluten-free bread is available at the station on the right side as you face the front of the room. If you need communion brought to you, raise your hand or let an usher know.
Preaching Pastor: If you’re worshiping online, receive the bread and cup now, knowing you are part of this body.
This table is open to all. Come and receive God’s grace as the ushers give you direction.
(Music plays as congregation receives)
Holy Communion - Prayer after Holy Communion
We’ve been fed at Christ’s table. Now we’re sent to practice service—to be God’s hands and feet in our community. Will you pray with me?
Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You have knelt before us in bread and cup, serving us with your own body and blood. Send us into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Will you please stand as we sing together?
Benediction
Preaching Pastor: Go now with basin and towel. Love boldly. Serve joyfully. Lead courageously.
Host Pastor: And may the God who kneels, the Christ who serves, and the Spirit who empowers go with you always. Amen.
Go now with basin and towel. Love boldly. Serve joyfully. Lead courageously. And may the God who kneels, the Christ who serves, and the Spirit who empowers go with you always. Amen.
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These worship elements are part of the Witnesses: Encountering Jesus When It Matters Mostseries at McPherson First United Methodist Church. New worship resources are published every Tuesday.