PAUSE FOR REFLECTION
“I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
Brené Brown
CALL TO WORSHIP
One: We come this day with all that we are–hopeful and despairing, confident and anxious.
ALL: We are complex creatures reflecting the image of God’s diverse nature.
One: We come as those who are both broken and healed, those who are wonderfully content and those who are eternally seeking.
ALL: We come with our whole selves–body, mind and spirit–ready to worship and taste God’s goodness.
One: Let us worship with our most honest selves.
ALL: Let us worship freely knowing God accepts us as just as we are.
OPENING HYMN “I Need Thee Every Hour”
HEBREW READING Psalm 86: 1-13
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
CHRISTIAN READING John 4: 7-19
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give ‘her’ will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here. The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
SERMON
“Just As I Am”
Rev. Brian Heron
The sermon text and recording will be published on Monday. If you are able please join us live at 10 AM on Zoom.
SHARING THE PEACE Discussion Questions
- If God accepts us “just as we are” then how are you in this very moment? Really, how are you?
- What aspects of your life are you hiding from others? Hiding from yourself? Hiding from God?
- Jesus knew the Samaritan woman’s real story and passed no judgment. What is the real story that God knows and loves about you?
CORPORATE PRAYER
Adapted from the prayer book of the Anglican Church of New Zealand
Eternal Spirit,
Source of all that is and ever shall be,
Loving Parent in whom we discern heaven,
May knowledge of your holiness inspire all peoples,
And may your commonwealth of peace and freedom flourish on earth
Until all of humankind heed your call to justice and compassion.
May we find the bread that we need for today,
And for the hurts we cause one another
May we be forgiven in the same measure that we forgive.
In times of trial and temptation, help us to be strong;
When life seems overwhelming, help us to endure;
And thus from the yoke of sin deliver us.
May you reign in the power of human love,
Now and forever.
Amen.
RESPONSIVE HYMN. “Just as I Am, without One Plea” (442 Glory to God)
Minute for Mission, Offering and Announcements:
As we reflect on all of our blessings, individually and as a community, may we consider how we may give of ourselves so that the work of Christ’s love and peace may continue throughout our world.
(Please contact staff@southmin.org to discover simple ways you may give electronically or via mail. Thank you for supporting the staff and on-going ministries of Southminster Presbyterian Church).
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH CHORUS (DOXOLOGY)
Through all our living, we our fruits must give.
Good works of service are for offering.
When we are giving, or when receiving,
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
We belong to God.
