January 4, 2026

CHIMING OF THE HOUR

WELCOME

PRAYER
Eternal Word, you loved us into being,
and your love sustains us still.
Shepherd us toward your abundant life;
teach us to tend to the earth until it blooms.
And, when time has reached its fullness,
gather us into yourself so that, with you,
we may nestle close to the heart of Parent God. Amen.

PRELUDE “Kings of Orient” John Stallsmith

CALL TO WORSHIP
From distant lands and faraway shores, God calls us together.
Like a shepherd tending his flock, God gathers us in.
Along straight paths and cleared byways, God guides our journey.
Like a mother taking her firstborn’s hand, God leads us home.
Praise the Lord, O people! Shout for joy!
Let us sing aloud with gladness. Let us worship the Lord!

*HYMN No. 156 “Sing of God Made Manifest”
1 Sing of God made manifest
in a child robust and blest,
to whose home in Bethlehem
where a star had guided them,
magi came and gifts unbound,
signs mysterious and profound:
myrrh and frankincense and gold
grave and God and king foretold.

2 Sing of God made manifest
when at Jordan John confessed,
“I should be baptized by you,
but your bidding I will do.”
Then from heaven a double sign—
dove-like Spirit, voice divine—
hailed the true Anointed One:
“This is my beloved Son.”

3 Sing of God made manifest
when Christ came as wedding guest
and at Cana gave a sign,
turning water into wine;
further still was love revealed
as he taught, forgave, and healed,
bringing light and life to all
who would listen to God’s call.

4 Sing of God made manifest
on the cloud-capped mountain’s crest,
where the law and prophets waned
so that Christ alone remained:
glimpse of glory, pledge of grace,
given as Jesus set his face
towards the waiting cross and grave,
sign of hope that God would save.

*CALL TO CONFESSION
Who is worthy to stand before God? None but Christ alone. The Son of God came in the flesh of a human body to live among us. It is Christ who redeems us, gathering our tears and our fears, redeeming each and every one. With this confidence let us confess
our sin before God and one another.

*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION
Almighty and merciful God, We confess that we have sinned against you and one another in both our actions and our inactions. We recognize that in Jesus our light has come, Yet often we choose to walk in the shadows and ignore the light. Gracious God, forgive our sins and remove from us the veil of darkness which shrouds our lives. Illumine us by your Word so we may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory. Amen.

*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
The light of all life and the breath of all creation claims you, calling you “good” from the very beginning, very good. Believe the good news: in Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

*RESPONSE No. 151 “We Three Kings of Orient Are” refrain only
O star of wonder, star of night,
star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light!

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST
Since we are reconciled to God in Christ, let us share the sign of peace with one another:
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
And also with you.

Worshippers are invited to briefly “pass the peace” of Christ to those directly seated around them thus keeping our worship time “decent and in order” with a focus upon being part of God’s community.

ANTHEM

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Our Lord and our God, Now as we hear your Word, Fill us with your spirit.  Soften our hearts that we may discern your ways. Fill us with your light. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

SCRIPTURE John 1:1-18
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
15(John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”)16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Pause…

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!!

SERMON
“to be filled with light, and to shine”
Sunset Beach -Bird Island -Kindred Spirit
The past several years on our vacation to the Shores of North Carolina, we get up at 5:00am in the pitch black and walk from Sunset Beach to Bird Island. This journey is a three mile walk to our destination – the Kindred Spirit Mailbox. As we carefully, walk in complete darkness towards the mailbox, we can look over our shoulder and see the sky becoming lighter and pink. About thirty minutes into the walk, we can turn off our phone flashlights. We turn around and the hue of the sky is becoming orange and yellow.
It was the light. It was the light that made the difference in being able to identify what was what. Just like light does in so many other parts of the world, not just on an early morning beach walk! In my house, we have light fixtures everywhere. And it makes a huge difference. I have noticed recently that I need to pull out my phone and turn on my flashlight to read menus at certain restaurants. There are so many expressions of light—sayings or idioms—that help us to understand one another, expressions such as
“light up a life,”
“traffic light,”
“Can I get a light?”
“Light at the end of the tunnel,”
“shed light on,”
“this little light of mine,”
“light the fire,”
“information coming to light,”
“spotlight,”
“headlight,”
“star-light, star-bright,”
“candlelight,” and countless more.
Light is not just about seeing better; it also has life-giving properties to it, too. I remember when I was in grade school, we had a science project where we raised eggs into chicks and used lights to nurture and warm the eggs into life. It’s the light—the light makes all the difference.
Our text today begins with the beginning: “In the beginning was the Word.” If you read along while I read, did you note the capital letter? The word Word is capitalized here so we can recognize that this isn’t talking about a word, as in an item in a sentence or the things we use to speak to articulate feelings, emotions, or thoughts. The “Word” describes that which was promised by God, the very being of God, the presence of God, the very one through whom all things came into being in.
The Gospel of John articulates that what has come into being in him—in Jesus that is—in the world was life. And the life was the light of all people, the true light, which enlightens all. The psalmist encourages us to praise and recognize God, the one who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in it, who executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry; the one who sets the prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind; the one who watches over the stranger and upholds the orphans and widows. This Word, this light that shines in these ways, was in the beginning, and our understanding of this Word, as being with God and being God, came into being in Jesus, our light. And this light makes all the difference.
Poet, Mary Oliver, has written a poem entitled “When I Am among the Trees.” In it, she says this of living light:
When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.” The light flows from their branches.
And they call again. “It’s simple,” they say, “and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”
That’s the thing about the light. God came into being, and the life was the light, and light makes all the difference. This light broke into the darkness like a single candle burning in a windowless room, like a shining star on a bleak midwinter night, like a brilliant smile that fills the very core of your being. And it fills us. It fills us, and we shine too. In the midst of a recession, in the midst of a war, in the midst of heartache and illness, we shine. We have the power to shine as brightly as the sun shining through the snowflakes on the top of the mountain, as clearly as the track lighting in my kitchen, as warmly as the nurturing lamps used to raise baby chicks.
Like it does with the tree branches in the poem, light flows through us—in our being, in our walking along the streets, in loving one another, in our everyday doings of the day at work, at school, at play. The light—the light that makes all the difference—fills us and shines through us. It is not something that is simply seen; it is something more alive than that. Alive like the snow blowing across the ground, like the flame dancing on a candlestick, like a spotlight exposing fear and belittling it, like the energy of an embracing and warm hug. The life of Jesus came into this world to shine the light of God among us. It is in and through this life, in and through our lives, that that light continues to shine. And so, we bring food to the hungry, we care for one another and the widows and the orphans, and we seek justice and a peace that brings reconciliation.
Like the trees say in the poem, “It’s simple, and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light and to shine.”
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
A portion of “The Brief Statement of Faith”
We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. Amen.

*HYMN No. 151 “We Three Kings of Orient Are”
1 We three kings of Orient are;
bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain,
following yonder star.

Refrain:
O star of wonder, star of night,
star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light!

2 Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain,
gold I bring to crown him again,
King forever, ceasing never
over us all to reign. (Refrain)

3 Frankincense to offer have I;
incense owns a deity nigh;
prayer and praising gladly raising,
worshiping God Most High. (Refrain)

4 Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume
breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
sealed in the stone-cold tomb. (Refrain)

5 Glorious now behold him arise,
King and God and Sacrifice:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
sounds through the earth and skies. (Refrain)

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

Invitation to the Table
Voice 1: Arise and Shine! God’s love is here!
Voice 2: Arise and Shine! God’s love is born again, for you and for me, for me and for you!
Voice 3: That little baby born that night, even then God wanted the world to know that this was something different. This was something special.
Voice 1: So a star was placed in the sky, to announce the Good News of the Lord’s love born into this world.
Voice 2: So a star was placed in the sky to shine and let the people know.
Voice 3: So a star was place in the sky to shine so that the people might follow.
Voice 1: And they did.
Voice 2: People followed that star. The one in the sky and the one born that night, who grew to be quite a light to follow, indeed.
Voice 3: And all these years later, God has set some sort of star on each of our paths, calling us here, to be together, and to be with God.
Voice 1: So, arise! Follow! Come close! Look around! And Shine. Your light is come!

The Great Thanksgiving
Voice 2: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Voice 2: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Voice 2: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Voice 2: We give you thanks and praise, O God because we know your story of love. We cling to these tales of our ancestors, of how you showed up in the hard times and how you rejoiced in the great times. How you moved the waters, quieted the storms, turned the hearts, mended the brokens, toppled the unjust, loved the angry, fed the hungry and forgave the wrongs. We give thanks for that moment when you sent yourself here to be with us in the life of Jesus. We give thanks that even all these years later, you keep showing up, born into our hearts and into our world in bold new ways every day. Still. We know that through the Spirit you are at work in us still- still hoping, still healing, still leading the way, and loving us always. We give thanks for the mystery of this thing we call faith, for the tradition we call church, and for the gift we call ministry in your name.
And so we lift our hearts in joyful praise and join our voices with believers from every time and place in singing to your glory…

SANCTUS No. 556
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the Lord’s name.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the Lord’s name.
Hosanna in the highest.

Prayers of the Congregation:
Voice 3:
Lord, we praise you and we offer you, our prayers. Knowing that you hear us, Lord, we share that we are afraid and need your comfort. we are unsure and seek your confidence. we are struggling and ask you for strength. we are hurting, Lord, please heal us. we are angry, please help us let go. we are guilty, and beg your forgiveness. We are empty, Lord. Fill us, now.

Holy God, as we come to this table, to this place where you reveal yourself to us again and again, to this place where we are made one with you and one another, we are reminded of all the divisions in your world. Lord, for those things that separate us from you and from each other, we pray.

For those places in the world, in our community, and in our hearts that are full of violence and rage, war and terror, greed and power, hunger and stress, we pray for your peace, your justice and your mercy.

For those places in our hearts that are breaking today. For the things we’ve admitted to you. For the things we haven’t been able to name. Even in our quiet prayers. We share them now with you, O Lord….

Make your presence known in those broken spaces, and fill them with the bright light of your hope.

Lord, we thank you for your presence always. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for all the ways you shine in our hearts and in our lives. Help us always to reflect your goodness and love.

Be with us in this moment of sharing communion with you here in this place. And be with us as we go out from here, full of you, so that we might spread your love with passion and confidence everywhere we go. We pray all this, and the deep and silent prayers of our hearts, using the words Christ taught us to pray, saying…

The Lord’s Prayer
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. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Words of Institution
Voice 2
On a different night, under a different set of stars, that same child, now grown and at the other end of his life, gathered his friends and they shared a meal. On THAT night, Jesus took the bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it and gave it to the disciples saying, “Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Voice 1
In the same way, he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink of it, do this in remembrance of me.”

Voice 3
When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we remember the birth, the life, the ministry, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We join in his story, and boldly follow that star, as a people who await his coming again in glory.

Voice 1
Today we share this meal with one another. Passing the bread and saying to our neighbor- this is Christ’s body broken for you. Passing the cup and saying to our neighbor- this is Christ’s blood shed for the forgiveness of your sins. And as we do this, we do reflect God’s glory. Friends, let us shine, and live in the light of the Lord. Amen.

Sharing the bread and the cup

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT
Voice 2: Let us pray:
Unison: Gracious God, you have shared Jesus with us. By your Spirit, make us now one with Christ, and one with all who share in this feast, who share in this story, who share in your love. And send us out from this place to boldly love in your name. Amen.

PASSING OF FELLOWSHIP PADS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

TITHES & OFFERINGS
As we seek the presence of God in our lives, we will begin to sense how God is calling us to use our gifts to build our church, our community, and our world. It is a privilege to share what we have been given to love and light this this earth.

OFFERTORY ANTHEM *RESPONSE N0. 151 Refrain only
Refrain:
O star of wonder, star of night,
star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light!

*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Divine Lamplighter, in gratitude, we share our treasures, our talents, and our time with this congregation. We humbly ask that you illuminate our minds and hearts as we use all our resources to craft a just world for all. Amen.

*HYMN No. 152
“What Star Is This, with Beams So Bright”
1 What star is this, with beams so bright,
more lovely than the noonday light?
’Tis sent to announce a newborn king,
glad tidings of our God to bring.

2 ’Tis now fulfilled what God decreed,
“From Jacob shall a star proceed”;
and lo! the eastern sages stand
to read in heaven the Lord’s command.

3 While outward signs the star displays,
an inward light the Lord conveys
and urges them, with tender might,
to seek the giver of the light.

4 O Jesus, while the star of grace
impels us on to seek your face,
let not our slothful hearts refuse
the guidance of your light to use.

*A COMMISSIONING FOR THE NEW YEAR
You go into a new year with us, Loving God,
with us as we explore new adventures of faith.
You go into the new year with us, Loving God,
with us as we test the depth of our spirituality.
You go into the new year with us, Loving God,
with us as we are emboldened as disciples of Jesus the Christ.
You go into the new year with us, Loving God,
with us as we dare to confront and overcome injustice,
with us on our personal quest,
with us as we draw strength and go forward as a faith community.
We will suffer setbacks, we will encounter challenges,
we will feel like giving up, we will say, “What’s the use?”
But you, Loving God, will forge us in hope; you will renew our strength.
With us when life is good,
with us when life is tough,
our Never-Failing God. Amen

*POSTLUDE