The Way of Water

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

God of heaven and earth, we gather in the name of Jesus to hear your holy Word and to be immersed in your Spirit. Speak to us with grace and truth and pour out your love upon us so that this temple may resound with joyful shouts of glory, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray to the Lord, saying,

Give strength, O Lord, and bless us with peace. All-glorious God, maker of heaven and earth, hear us as we pray:

Give strength, O Lord, and bless us with peace.

We pray for the world you have made.... Move again over these

troubled waters, steeped in chemicals and stained with blood. Where

carelessness and violence bring chaos restore order, goodness, and

life.

Give strength, O Lord, and bless us with peace.

We pray for the church you have redeemed.... Renew in us the gifts

of your Spirit and the call to Christian discipleship. Where history and

heresy have divided us, make us one in the baptism we share.

Give strength, O Lord, and bless us with peace.

We pray for the peoples you have created.... Give to the leaders of

all nations the wisdom to know what is good. Where people are poor

and hungry provide justice and daily bread.

Give strength, O Lord, and bless us with peace.

We pray for the loved ones you have given us.... Bless our families,

friends, and neighbors; keep them safe from trouble and danger.

Where there is sorrow, sickness, or suffering send your Spirit of

comfort and healing.

Give strength, O Lord, and bless us with peace.

All this we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, whose voice is our

strength and salvation, whose breath is the Spirit of peace. Amen.

Send down your Holy Spirit, O God — tear open the veil of heaven and speak to us as beloved children so that we may hear and believe the good news of your Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mark 1:4-11 4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸ I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Questions for Reflection: Rev. Jonan Dodge

Water carves and smooths the rocks and landscape around us just

as the Spirit carves and smooths our rough and hard hearts. Where

have you experienced the Spirit carving in your life? Where do you

know there are rough or hard spots the Spirit may need to work on?

afraid of spilling red grape juice, a limited number of cups with white

grape juice are provided.

Invitation to Communion (Pastor Johan Dodge)

Here at Community Church we celebrate “Open Communion”.

Anyone who wishes to commune may come to our Lord’s Table. You

do not have to be sinless; God forgives you. You do not have to be

perfect; but God is encouraging you to grow. You need not belong to

this or any church; God Invites all people to this meal. It is enough to

love the Lord and follow Him with all your heart. This is what God asks us to do. Come to our Lord’s Table in faith this day. Go from

this place to live, and never be the same again. Let us commune as

brothers and sisters in Christ.

Hear the good news of the gospel: As a voice from heaven said to

Jesus, so God says to each of us: You are my beloved child, and with

you I am well pleased. In Jesus, our relationship with God is forever

changed from God’s people to God’s children. In Jesus we become

the resurrected body of Christ in the world today.

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Lift up your hearts.

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

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. Before the mountains were brought forth, or you had

formed the earth, from everlasting to everlasting, you alone are God.

You created light out of darkness and brought forth life on the earth.

You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life.

When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained

steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our

sovereign God, and spoke to us through your prophets. And so, with

your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your

name and join their unending hymn:

People: (Sung Response) People: (Sung Response)

Repeat after Cantor:

=

Christ has died, Christ i ri — sen, Christ will come a — gain.

Pastor: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these

gifts of bread and fruit of the vine. 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.

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. Through your Son Jesus Christ, with

the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours,

almighty God, now and for ever. Amen.

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we

all partake of the one loaf.

The bread which we have eaten is a sharing in the bread of Christ.

The cup over which we give thanks is the sharing in the cup of Christ.

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. INVITATION TO THE OFFERING — Jeanette Williams The earth belongs to God, our creator; every good thing is a gift from the Lord. Let us glorify God through the gifts of our lives.

We give you thanks, O God, for every blessing and spiritual gift you have poured out upon us. Let the gifts of our lives be a source of blessing in your world, all to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Beloved children of God all the blessings of heaven are ours! Go forth in the light and love of God, giving glory to God in all that you do.

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

May the rain fall soft upon your fields,

And until we meet again, may God hold you in his hand.

May God hold you in the palm of her hand.

Hold you in the palm of their hand.

Blessed Be the Tie that Binds

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The

fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.