Worship Elements: You Are Invited
Exodus 19:1-6; 20:1-2 (CEB) · The Good Life · Week One · Series Launch, UM Student Day
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
Welcome to worship at McPherson First United Methodist Church. Today we begin a new series called The Good Life, and we begin it the way God begins everything, with an invitation. Wherever you find yourself on the journey of faith, there is a place for you here. We are a church learning to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.
This is also a month when we honor educators, and we give thanks for the teachers and staff stepping into a new school year. One of the five promises we make here is presence, simply showing up and being part of the body. If this is your first time with us, we would love to know you. Stop by the Welcome Center or visit mcphersonfirst.org/next.
(8:30 only, transition to the Call to Worship) I invite you to join in our responsive call to worship as you see the words on display.
Call to Worship (8:30 only)
Leader: God spoke to a people freed from slavery and said, I brought you to myself.
People: We come because God first carried us here.
Leader: You will be my treasured people, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.
People: We come not because we qualified, but because we are invited.
Leader: The door is open and the covenant is offered.
People: We worship the God who brought us out and brought us in. Amen.
Welcome Your Neighbor
One of the five promises we make here is witness, living our faith out loud and inviting others in. Showing up for one another, and making room for someone new, is what witness looks like.
The best invitations are personal ones. As you greet the people around you, picture one person you could invite to worship during this series.
If you’re worshiping online, the distance changes the view and nothing else. Please stand, welcome your neighbor, and then remain standing as we join together in song.
Opening Prayer
As the music settles, pray with me using the words on the screen.
All: Faithful God, you brought us out and you brought us here. Before we offer anything, you have already offered everything. Open our hands, open our hearts, and open us to your voice this morning, so that we receive what you long to give. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Scripture Reading: Exodus 19:1-6; 20:1-2 (CEB)
(Read by a lay reader, seated.)
Leader: This is the word of God for the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God!
Pastoral and Lord’s Prayer
Will you pray with me.
Gracious and faithful God, we bring you the people and the worries we carry this morning. We pray for those who are sick, those who grieve, and those who feel alone even in a full room.
(pause)
This week our community heads back to school. We lift up the students starting classes, the teachers and staff returning to their classrooms, the bus drivers and cooks and counselors, and every family adjusting to a new rhythm. Go with our children. Steady the anxious, encourage the weary, and surround each school with your peace. Make us a people who notice our neighbors and hold the door open for them.
Hear now the prayers we offer to you in silence.
(pause)
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, joining our voices in the prayer he gave us:
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.
All: Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
All: 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
This morning our giving carries a special invitation. Today is UM Student Day, one of the special offerings of our denomination. Your gift helps open doors for the next generation through United Methodist scholarships and the Student Loan Fund. It fits this morning so well: a God who opens doors, and a people who open them for others. You can give to UM Student Day with the special envelopes in the pew or by choosing UM Student Day in the Church Center app.
Alongside that, we continue the regular giving that sustains the ministry of this church week by week. Through our gifts we say yes to what God is doing here. To those of you who give faithfully month after month, thank you, and to anyone giving for the first time today, welcome. You can give in the offering plate, online at mcphersonfirst.org/give, or through the Church Center app.
Giving is also one of the ways we practice presence, so as the plate passes, please sign and pass the attendance pad next to the center aisle. You can also check in through the Church Center app or at mcphersonfirst.org/next.
Ushers, please come forward to receive this morning’s offering.
Doxology (8:30 only)
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow, UMH #94 in E-flat, chorus.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Generous God, thank you for every gift offered this morning, and for the people whose faithfulness makes ministry possible. Take what we have given and multiply it for the sake of your kingdom. Send us out to practice service, carrying your welcome into our homes, our schools, and our neighborhoods this week. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Will you please stand as we sing together?
Benediction
You came through an open door this morning, carried here by a God who brought you out and brought you near. Now go, and hold that door open for someone else. Love boldly, serve joyfully, lead courageously.
The God who set you free goes before you. The Christ who calls you treasured walks beside you. The Spirit who has made a home in you will never leave. Go in peace. And all God’s people said, Amen.