Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: Before we knew how to speak, God called our name.
People: Before we learned to listen, God’s word was already near.
Leader: In the night and in the day, in silence and in sound—God calls.
People: We come to listen, to learn, and to follow.
All: Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening.
Opening Hymn
Breathe on Me, Breath of God UMH 420
Why This Song:
Invites God’s Spirit to renew and attune us to divine presence.
Prayer of Confession
God of mercy and truth, You speak, but we do not always recognize your voice. We listen instead to the voices that flatter and please, that tell us what we want to hear. We chase after comfort, control, and approval, and miss the calling that leads to life.
Forgive us for our selective hearing and for the times we’ve said, “Here I am,” only when it suited our plans.Open our ears, our minds, and our hearts until your word becomes the rhythm of our living.
(Silent confession)
Amen.
Words of Assurance
Leader: God’s mercy is not bound by our ability to listen. God’s grace comes to open our ears, soften our hearts, and restore our hope. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven and made whole.
People: Thanks be to God. Amen.
Passing of the Peace
First Reading:
1 Samuel 3:1-21
Sermon:
Hearing God in the Noise by Pastor Kevin Rutledge
Hymn of Response
Lord Speak to Me UMH 463
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory Response
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow UMH 95
Offertory Prayer
God who calls us by name, you speak into our lives with words of purpose and peace. We bring our gifts today not out of obligation, but out of gratitude for your unending call. Take these offerings, and shape them—and us—into instruments of your will and love. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord's Prayer
Announcements
Closing Hymn
O Jesus, I Have Promised UMH 396
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