Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: When we are weary, God provides rest.
People: When we are lost, God whispers our name.
Leader: When the noise of the world overwhelms us,
People: God’s Spirit speaks in the quiet of our hearts.
Leader: Let us come before God with open hearts,
People: To be restored, renewed, and sent once more.
Opening Hymn
It Is Well with My Soul UMH 377
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we confess that we are often drawn to the noise of this world. We fill our days with endless striving, and we mistake motion for meaning. When fear silences our faith, when weariness overshadows our trust, when we forget that You are near—forgive us. Forgive the ways that we rebel against your love and hear our sins as we confess them in silence.
(Silent Confession)
Teach us again to be still and know that You are God. Speak into the quiet places of our hearts, and let Your Spirit renew our strength, that we might rise to follow You once more. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Leader: Even when we feel alone, God is near. In the stillness, God’s mercy speaks our name and restores our soul.
People: In Christ, we are forgiven, renewed, and made whole. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Passing of the Peace
First Reading:
1 Kings 19:1-18
Sermon:
God Shows Up in the Silence by Pastor Kevin Rutledge
Hymn of Response
Goodness of God By Bethel Music
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory Response
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow UMH 95
Offertory Prayer
God of every generation, You have spoken through prophets and poets, through saints and servants, and through the quiet whispers of Your Spirit. As we offer our gifts today, we remember those who gave before us— whose faith built this place of worship, whose generosity made Your love known.
Receive these offerings, O God, as signs of our gratitude and trust. Use them to carry forward the witness of the saints, so that Your still small voice may be heard in this community and beyond. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord's Prayer
The Great Thanksgiving
Communion
Announcements
Closing Hymn
Standing on the Promises UMH 374
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
Special Insert
Intro to the Bell Ringing and Naming of the Saints
God of the Saints
We give you thanks, O God, for every saint who ever worshiped you
Whether in brush arbors or cathedrals,
Weathered wooden churches or crumbling cement meeting houses
Where your name was lifted and adored,
Where your scriptures were studied, your people served.
We give you thanks, O God, for centuries of hands in service:
hands groomed, hands stained with grease or soil,
Young hands, hands marked with age
Holy hands of every shade raised in praise,
Serving hands that cooked, hammered, and held.
We give you thanks, O God, for hardworking saints;
Whether hard-hatted or steel-booted,
Head ragged or aproned,
Blue-collared or three-piece-suited
They ministered on the earth for you, for us, for our children to come.
So, in gratitude for the gifts of these saints we take a moment to name them before you, and the body of Christ, claiming their lives as a gift to the church:
The congregation is welcome to Name saints. After each name, a bell will be rung.
All: Thank you, God, for the sacrifices made by those who have gone before us. May we walk wisely in their examples of faith, dedication, worship, and love. We commit to continue their legacy of walking in The Way. May new generations find us worthy to be called saints in your kingdom. In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.