The Call

Sunday, January 22, 2023
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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Rev. Jeff Kellam, UPC’s Parish Associate, steps into the pulpit this 3rd Sunday in the Epiphany season.

Join us for worship this morning in our beautiful sanctuary or here, online, if you are at home or on the road. You are invited! We will follow the burgeoning ministry of Jesus together.

The Call

Psalm 27:1, 4-9; Matthew 4:12-23

3rd Sunday After Epiphany

January 22, 2023

Union Presbyterian Church 

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow 

Liturgist: Cathie Makowka Preacher: Rev. Jeff Kellam  

Prelude Chris Bartlette 

“Go Forth for God,” Robert Powell

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE,

Welcome Rev. Jeff Kellam

Call to Worship Cathie Makowka

The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?

We gather in the presence of God.

Let us open our hearts and minds in worship.

* Hymn #347 W & R “Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore”

by Cesáreo Gabaraín

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE,

Lord, you have come to the lakeshore

Looking neither for wealthy nor wise ones;

You only asked me to follow humbly.

O Lord, with your eyes you have searched me,

And while smiling have spoken my name;

Now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;

By your side I will seek other seas.

You know so well my possessions;

My boat carries no gold and no weapons;

You will find there my nets and labor.

O Lord, with your eyes you have searched me,

And while smiling have spoken my name;

Now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;

By your side I will seek other seas.

You need my hands, full of caring,

Through my labors to give others rest,

And constant love that keeps on loving.

O Lord, with your eyes you have searched me,

And while smiling have spoken my name;

Now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;

By your side I will seek other seas.

You, who have fished other oceans,

Ever longed for by souls who are waiting,

My loving friend, so now you call me.

O Lord, with your eyes you have searched me,

And while smiling have spoken my name;

Now my boat’s left on the shoreline behind me;

By your side I will seek other seas.

* Call to New Life

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace (unison)

Gracious God, when despair and suffering overwhelm us, we cry out for you and feel abandoned. We doubt your presence and your promises. We believe you have turned away from us in anger. We ask why you have forsaken us. In these moments, strengthen us in faith and fill our hearts with courage. We believe, God. Help our unbelief. Amen.

* Words of Assurance

Let our spirits be content,

Let our mouths praise God with joyful lips:

For the love of God is from everlasting to everlasting.

The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love.

We will bless the Lord as long as we live.

We will rest in the knowledge that God loves us,

claims us, and never leaves us.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

Sharing of the Peace

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Scripture Reading Psalm 27:1; 4-9

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing I asked of the Lord;
    this I seek:
to live in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
    and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, do I seek.
    Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,
    you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off; do not forsake me,
    O God of my salvation!

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Jeff Kellam

Music: “Wonderful Words of Life” (Public Domain)

Scripture Reading Matthew 4:12-23

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
    on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles—

 the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
    light has dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishers. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word

Thanks be to God!

Sermon Rev. Jeff Kellam

Affirmation of Faith From “A Brief Statement of Faith,” PCUSA

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.

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 this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal.

Anthem

“The Call,” Suzanne Toolan

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE,

Two fishermen, who lived along

The Sea of Galilee,

Stood by the shore to cast their nets

Into an ageless sea.

Now Jesus watched them from afar

Then called them each by name;

It changed their lives, these simple men;

They’d never be the same.

Leave all things you have

And come and follow me,

And come and follow me.

And as he walked along the shore

‘Twas James and John he’d find,

And these two sons of Zebedee

Would leave their boats behind.

Their work and all they held so dear

They left beside their nets.

Their names they’d heard as Jesus called;

They came without regret.

Leave all things you have

And come and follow me,

And come and follow me.

O Simon Peter, Andrew, James

And John beloved one,

You heard Christ’s call to speak good news

Revealed in God’s own Son.

Susanna, Mary, Magdalene

Who traveled with your Lord,

You ministered to him with joy

For he is God adored.

Leave all things you have

And come and follow me,

And come and follow me.

And you, good Christians, one and all

Who’d follow Jesus’ way,

Come leave behind what keeps you bound

To trappings of our day,

And listen as he calls your name

To come and follow near,

For still he speaks in varied ways

To those his call will hear.

Leave all things you have

And come and follow me,

And come and follow me.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer (Traditional Version)

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; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 

Prayer Response  #475 W & R     

“Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ,” Frank von Christierson  

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.      

Eternal Spirit of the living Christ,  
We know not how to ask or what to say;  
We only know our need, as deep as life,  
And only you can teach us how to pray.  

Call for Offering

Doxology   

“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” Brian Wren   

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;  

Praise God, all creatures high and low.  

Praise God, in Jesus fully known:  

Creator, Word, and Spirit one.  

Prayer of Dedication

* Hymn #350 W & R “The Summons,” John L. Bell

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?

Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?

Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known,

Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?

Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?

Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?

Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?

Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?

Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen,

And admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.

Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.

In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show.

Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

* Benediction From Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals,

by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro

May the peace of Christ go with you: wherever he will send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.

Postlude Chris Bartlette

“Chorale Postlude,” Roger C. Wilson

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE,

Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.     

“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal.    

“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal 

Portions of today’s liturgy were adapted from the Presbyterian Outlook’s weekly resource, Order of Worship, January 22, 2023.