Drawn In: Living a Creative Life with God

January 15, 2023
Drawn In: Living the Creative Life with God ~ Dream        
Rev. David Petty
 
Prelude           
Stephanie Shorden
 
Introit
We Three Kings
Jubilee Bells
 
Greeting         
Rev. David Petty

Threshold Song        
Let Us Be Drawn In

*Call to Worship        
CLM Twinkle Gordon
 
Leader: All creation began with the dream of God, the will and intention for life to exist in the void. All of our actions are born out of desire, out of a dream and vision for the future.
People: This is our birthright: to imagine and to create. We ask ourselves - What brings us life?
Leader: What truly moves your soul in the deepest way?
People: What we create out of that answer is your greatest gift to the world and the way in which you are part of God’s unfolding and ongoing creative dream!
Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made.
People: We shall rejoice and be glad in it!
 
*Gathering Song       
God Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens            
v. 1, 2, 4 UMH #150
WORDS: Catherine Cameron, 1967
© 1967 Hope Publishing Co.
 
1. God, who stretched the spangled heavens, infinite in time and place, flung the suns in burning radiance, through the silent fields of space, we your children, in your likeness, share inventive powers with you. Great Creator, still creating, show us what we yet may do.
 
2. Proudly rise our modern cities, stately buildings, row on row; yet their windows, blank, unfeeling, stare on canyoned streets below, where the lonely drift unnoticed in the city’s
ebb and flow, lost to purpose and to meaning, scarcely caring where they go.
4. As each far horizon beckons, may it challenge us anew, children of creative purpose, serving others, honoring you. May our dreams prove rich with promise, each endeavor
well begun. Great Creator, give us guidance till our goals and yours are one.
 
Mystery Box               
 
Invitation to Prayer               
Rev. David Petty
Anyone wishing to come forward to the Communion Railing to pray or light a prayer candle may do so.
 
Prayer Song    
Loving Spirit 
v. 1 TFWS #2123
WORDS: Shirley Erena Murray
MUSIC: V. Earle Copes
© 1987 The Hymn Society, admin. by Hope Publishing Co.
 
1. Loving Spirit, loving Spirit, you have chosen me to be you have drawn me to your wonder, you have set your sign on me. 
 
Pastoral Prayer, Silent Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer          
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
 
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 to trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory forever.
 
Prayer Response        
Loving Spirit 
v. 3 TFWS #2123
WORDS: Shirley Erena Murray
MUSIC: V. Earle Copes
© 1987 The Hymn Society, admin. by Hope Publishing Co.
 
3. Like a father you protect me, teach me the discerning eye, hoist me up upon your shoulder, let me see the world from high. 
 
Invitation to Offering                       
CLM Twinkle Gordon
Offertory  
                 
Prayer of Thanks & Dedication                  
Rev. David Petty

*Doxology    
Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow            
UMH #94
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below: Alleluia! Alleluia!  Praise God, the source of all our gifts! Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts! Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
           
 Scripture Reading    
Luke 4:13-21   
CLM Twinkle Gordon

“Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath, he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners, and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. He began to explain to them, ‘Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.’”
 
Anthem          
Let Us Ne Your Light 
by Joseph M. Martin   
Sanctuary Choir
 
Prayer for Illumination
 
Leader: May the words of my mouth,
People: and the meditations of all of our hearts
All: be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

Message        
Drawn In: Living the Creative Life with God ~ Dream        
Rev. David Petty

*Affirmation of Faith          
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
An Affirmation of Faith based on the Apostles Creed:
We believe in God,
The creator of all things and the first
mover of everything in motion.
 
We believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived and created by the Holy Spirit,
Knitted together in the womb,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
Died, and was buried;
On the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God
Until he returns again,
 
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
 
We are the people of God,
We are St. Paul’s United Methodist Church,
Celebrating the Love of God,
Living and creating through the power of the Holy Spirit,
And following the teachings of Christ.
 
Together we will work as disciples of Jesus Christ toward the goal of the transformation of the world.
 
Amen.

*Sending Hymn      
The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve  
v. 1, 3, 4 TFWS #2241
WORDS: Delores Dufner, OSB
MUSIC: USA folk melody
© 1993 Delores Dufner, admin. by OCP Publications
 
1. The Spirit sends us forth to serve; we go in Jesus’ name to bring glad tidings to the poor,
God’s favor to proclaim.
 
3. We go to be the hands of Christ, to scatter joy like seed and, all our days, to cherish life,
to do the loving deed.
 
4. Then let us go to serve in peace, the gospel to proclaim. God’s Spirit has empowered us;
we go in Jesus’ name.
 
Announcements        
 
Benediction               
Rev. David Petty

Postlude                    
Stephanie Shorden

The mission of St. Paul's for January is to support the Marian House Kitchen, a non-profit agency in downtown Colorado Springs that has been serving hot, nutritious meals to those in need since 1985. The meals are nutritionally balanced and are offered 365 days a year, free of charge, to anyone who is hungry.  The Kitchen’s guests include struggling families, seniors, the working poor, veterans, people with disabilities, and the homeless. The kitchen also operates a food pantry, called the Marian House Marketplace, which opened on February 1, 2021, to address food insecurity gaps caused by the closure of other providers. The organization's mission is to use food as a tool for addressing broader issues such as work, family stability, health, and love.
Monetary donations can be made at stpaulscs.org/giving. You may also write a check to St. Paul’s UMC and add Marian House Kitchen to the memo line.
Thank you for your generosity.