Worship Elements — When Pride Blocks the Path

Philippians 2:1-13 (CEB) · Fresh Start: When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn · Native American Ministries 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

Pride has a way of keeping us stuck, clinging to plans that aren’t working and positions we’re afraid to release. Today’s scripture shows us a God who chose a radically different path.

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.

8:30 addition: I invite you to join in our responsive call to worship as you see the words on display.

Call to Worship

Leader: We gather before a God who did not cling to power.
People: We worship the One who chose to serve.
Leader: Christ emptied himself and took the form of a servant.
People: We open our hands and release our pride.
Leader: God honors humility and lifts up those who kneel.
People: We bring our stubborn hearts to this place.
Leader: Come, worship the God who meets us on our knees.
People: We praise the One whose love transforms us from the ground up.

Welcome Your Neighbor

Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves.” That kind of seeing, really noticing one another, is what witness looks like. We practice it every time we step outside ourselves to be present to someone else.

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.

Opening Prayer

God of humility and grace, we come carrying our pride and our plans. Open our clenched fists. Teach us to empty ourselves as Christ did. Shape us into servants who cross every boundary for love. Amen.

Invitation to Prayer and 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 membership promises, 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 the towel and the basin, God who kneels, we come to you this morning carrying more pride than we’d like to admit.

(Brief pause to center)

We praise you because you did not cling to power. You emptied yourself, entered our world, and served. You chose a cross over a throne, and in that impossible reversal you showed us what love actually looks like.

We confess that we are slow to follow your example. We cling to being right. We protect our comfort. We look away from injustice when confronting it might cost us something. On this Native American Ministries Sunday, we confess the ways our pride has caused harm: the times we have chosen cultural superiority over genuine partnership, control over collaboration, our voice over listening.

(Moment of silent reflection)

We pray for our community, for those who serve quietly and never receive credit, for families navigating unexpected turns, for anyone carrying burdens too heavy for one person. We pray for Native American communities and ministries across our connection, for justice, for partnership, and for the healing that comes when we finally listen. We pray for this congregation, that we would have the courage to empty ourselves for the sake of our neighbors.

Thank you for meeting us in our weakness and for the Spirit who enables us both to want and to live out your good purposes.

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 Native American Ministries Sunday Offering

We’ve just heard Paul describe a Christ who didn’t cling to status but emptied himself across every boundary, and that call to cross boundaries is exactly what Native American Ministries Sunday is about. Today’s special offering supports Native American communities across our United Methodist connection through scholarships for Native American seminary students, leadership development, and congregational ministries that honor indigenous traditions and voices.

For too long, the church approached Native communities with the arrogance of empire rather than the humility of Christ. This offering is one way we practice the kenosis Paul describes, releasing control and resourcing ministries led by Native people themselves. Your generosity today makes that partnership real.

Invitation to Give and Check-In

That same spirit of generosity extends to all our giving this morning. Paul tells the Philippians to watch out for what is better for others, not just their own good. Every act of generosity is a small emptying of ourselves for someone else’s sake. That’s what practicing gifts looks like.

Thank you to those who give faithfully week after week. Your generosity sustains this ministry and makes everything we do possible. Whether you’re giving to the Native American Ministries offering, to the ongoing work of this congregation, or both, 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.

As the offering is received, 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, 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.

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?

Generous God, thank you for these gifts and for the hands that offered them. As Christ emptied himself for us, send us out to empty ourselves for our neighbors, across every boundary of culture, status, and comfort. Amen.

Will you please stand as we sing together?

Benediction

Go now with open hands and humble hearts. Love boldly. Serve joyfully. Lead courageously. And may the God who empties, the Christ who kneels, and the Spirit who empowers go with you always. Amen.