Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: In the quiet questions of our hearts, Christ turns toward us and asks, “What are you looking for?”
People: We are searching for meaning, for hope, for life.
Leader: Before we know the answers, Jesus offers an invitation.
People: “Come and see.”
Leader: Come, not because you have it all figured out, but because Christ is already near.
People: We come to worship, to listen, and to follow. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, we confess that we often want answers before we are willing to follow. We hesitate when faith feels uncertain, and we resist when trust requires movement. We look for you in places of comfort and control, while you call us into relationship and risk.
Forgive us for the times we have closed ourselves off from the invitation of your grace. Hear now the silent confessions of our hearts…
(silence)
Amen
Words of Assurance
Leader: Friends, hear the good news: Jesus does not turn away those who seek.
Christ meets us in our questions and invites us deeper into grace.
People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, welcomed, and invited to new life. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Passing of the Peace
First Reading:
John 1:35-51
Sermon:
Come and See for Yourself by Pastor Kevin Rutledge
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory Response
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow UMH 95
Offertory Prayer
God of abundance and grace,
you invite us not only to believe,
but to participate in the life you are bringing into the world.
As we offer our gifts today,
we do so in response to your invitation,
trusting that what we place in your hands
can be used to draw others toward hope, healing, and new life.
Bless these gifts and all who give,
that all we offer may serve your purposes
and point others to Christ.
Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord's Prayer
Announcements
Benediction
Said Each Week as A Communal Prayer:
Send to us all the people who feel unwanted and unloved in other places, and if they can't come to us, send us to them.
Postlude