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Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany

Worship
Deuteronomy 18:15-22
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28
Psalm 111
Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B
Charles And Donna Cammarata
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series IV, Cycle B
Call To Worship
A central theme this week is the power and authority of God's Word.

Leader: Your word, O Lord, is a lamp unto our feet,
People: And a light unto our paths.
Leader: Your word is eternal;
People: Standing firm in your heavens.
Leader: We can depend on it always.
People: We can take our stand on it.
Leader: We can base our lives on it.
People: Your faithfulness continues in every generation.
Leader: Your promises are for each of us.
People: Always.
Leader: So we raise to you our praises.
People: We exult you above all others.
Leader: Come, let us worship God.
People: Amen.

How about one that just praises God?
Leader: Allelu!
People: Praise!
Leader: Yah!
People: God!
Leader: Allelu-yah
People: Praise God!
Leader: Let's do it, for the Lord is good.
People: Alleluia
Leader: The Lord is great!
People: Alleluia
Leader: God is great indeed.
People: Alleluia!

Psalm 111 is a marvelous psalm of praise. Begin a joyful worship by having it read dramatically by several readers.
Reader 1: Praise the Lord!
Reader 2: I will extol the Lord with all my heart.
Reader 3: I will do it in the midst of the people.
Reader 1: Great are the works of the Lord;
Reader 2: They cause wonderment in all who ponder them.
Reader 3: Glorious and majestic are God's deeds, and God's righteousness endures forever,
Reader 1: Along with his gracious compassion.
Reader 2: God provides food for those who fear him;
Reader 3: And remembers his promises forever.
Reader 1: The works of God's hands are faithful and just;
Reader 2: All his precepts are trustworthy.
Reader 3: They are steadfast forever.
Reader 1: Holy and awesome is his name.
Reader 2: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
Reader 3: All who follow his precepts have good understanding.
All 3 Readers: Let us praise God. Amen!


Prayer Of Confession
Confessions on the topic of how we respond to the Word.
Leader: Your Word is true.
People: Ours is skewed.
Leader: Your Word is love.
People: Ours is self-justifying.
Leader: Your Word builds up.
People: Ours tears down.
Leader: Your Word is always the same.
People: Ours is sometimes two-faced.
Leader: Lord, forgive us for using a most precious gift
People: To promote hatred
Leader: And division,
People: Rather than love and healing.
Leader: Help us change.
People: Help us speak as you speak.
Leader: In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.

Another approach to the Word.
Leader: For ignorance of your Word, O Lord,
People: We beg forgiveness.
Leader: For knowing more of the world than of you,
People: We are full of regrets.
Leader: For knowing more of Will and Grace than of Matthew and Mark,
People: We repent.
Leader: Father, forgive us for trying to live in your glorious creation without knowledge of you, the creator,
People: Fill our hearts with an ache
Leader: That can only be relieved by the medicine of your Word.
People: We ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

One last approach deals with the fact that a major reason for ignorance of the Word is busyness.
Leader: A typical "to do" list: People: Finish report for the boss;
Leader: Billy to the doctor;
People: Susie to her soccer game;
Leader: Dance lessons for Dana;
People: Aerobics class for Mom;
Leader: A big meeting at the office;
People: Committee meeting at church;
Leader: Clean the house;
People: Do the shopping;
Leader: Landscape the yard;
People: Scout meeting;
Leader: Dinner with the Smiths;
People: Lots of other stuff ...
Leader: So, the question is, "Who is running our lives?"
People: Gracious God, forgive us
Leader: For allowing the world,
People: And the things of the world
Leader: To rule us.
People: Strengthen us,
Leader: That we might break free of the inner compulsion to keep up with everyone else.
People: So that we might keep up with you instead.
Leader: We ask it in the name of Jesus Christ,
People: Our Lord. Amen.


Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: We seek forgiveness all the time.
People: And God grants it like a rich father who spoils his children.
Leader: God is to be praised for this mercy.
People: Yes, God is greatly to be praised.
Leader: But let us not stop with thanks, let's also change.
People: Yes, let's change,
Leader: To better conform to the image of God in each of us.
People: And let's begin the change
Leader: By better acquainting ourselves with God's Word.
People: Amen.


Prayer For Illumination
You could simply use the reading from Mark today to lead into a prayer of illumination.
Introduction to the prayer:

Mark tells us in Mark 1:21-22: "Jesus and the disciples went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law."

Let us pray: Jesus, teach now with the same power and authority that smote the hearts of those in Capernaum 2,000 years ago. Smite our hearts. Give us the same sense that we are hearing the deep truths of the cosmos being spoken as the words of scripture are read and preached to us this morning. Amen.

Another creative option might be to use the Amy Grant song "Thy Word" to sing your way into the reading of scripture. The chorus can be found in many hymnals today. It is based on Psalm 119, and the chorus consists of a single line: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Just have someone lead the congregation in singing it five or six times as a prayer.


Pastoral Prayer
Let us pray: Lord, if there were one gift I could give my sisters and brothers in Christ, it would be a love for and respect of your Word. As the Word set fire to the hearts of the disciples walking along the road to Emmaus, I pray that we become so hungry for it that we cannot but read, and that in our reading our hearts be set ablaze as theirs were. A daily dose of your Word not only lights the way but adjusts the attitude; not only provides nuggets of truth but gives proper perspective; not only draws us close to you, but increases the abundance of the spirit out of which we live. May your Word minister to us each this week in the very places in which we find ourselves.

We ask in the name of the one who is the Word of God incarnate, Jesus Christ. Amen.


Benediction
God's Word is life indeed. May we store it up within ourselves, that we will overflow with truth not so much in our speaking, as in our living. Amen.


Hymns

A Glory Guilds The Sacred Page

According To Thy Gracious Word

Bible Stands, The

Break Thou The Bread Of Life

Christ In His Word Draws Near

Come, Divine Interpreter

Faith In The Word Of God

Fed Upon The Finest Of The Wheat

God's Word Is Like A Flaming Sword

His Words Are True

Holy Bible, Book Divine

How Firm A Foundation

Lamp Of Our Feet

Lord, Speak To Me

O Word Of God Incarnate

O How I Love Thy Holy Word

Standing On The Promises

Thy Word

Thy Word Sheds Light Upon My Path

Wonderful Words Of Life



Contemporary Choruses

I Will Call Upon The Lord, Michael O'Shields

More Precious Than Silver, Lynn DeShazo

Potter's Hand, The, Darlene Zschech


Other Music

Take You at Your Word, Avalon
In this song we are challenged to take God at his word.

Thy Word, Amy Grant
You might have someone sing this whole song based on Psalm 119.

UPCOMING WEEKS
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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
Katy Stenta
Nazish Naseem
For February 8, 2026:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Praxis, the pixie whose skin changes colour according to his mood, was bright, bright blue. He was feeling very fed up. All by himself with nobody to play with, he had nothing to do but get into mischief. His mother was annoyed with him for eating all the jelly she had ready for tea, and she had ordered him out of the toadstool.

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
David O. Bales
Contents
"The Way to God" by Peter Andrew Smith
"Looking Up" by David O. Bales


* * * * * * * *


The Way to God
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)

In his story "The Way to God," Peter Andrew Smith tells of a people seeking to know God in their lives who discover the answer is not about what they do but about how they live.

* * *

SermonStudio

James Evans
Stan Purdum
Carlos Wilton
This is a dangerous psalm -- dangerous, because it is so open to misinterpretation.

"Happy are those who fear the Lord...." Well, who could quarrel with that? Yet this psalm goes on to describe, in concrete terms, exactly what form that happiness takes: "Their descendants will be mighty in the land.... Wealth and riches are in their houses" (vv. 2a, 3a).

Power? Wealth? Are these the fruits of a godly life? The psalmist seems to think so.

John R. Brokhoff
THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Isaiah 58:1--9a (9b--12) (C); Isaiah 58:7--10 (RC)
John N. Brittain
I had a much-loved professor in seminary who confessed to some of us over coffee one day that he frequently came home from church and was so frustrated he had to go out and dig in the garden, even in the middle of winter. Robert Louis Stevenson once recorded in his diary, as if it were a surprise, "I went to church today and am not depressed." Someone has said, "I feel like unscrewing my head and putting it underneath the pew every time I go to church." Thoughts like these are often expressed by people who have dropped out of church, especially youth and young adults.
Charles L. Aaron, Jr.
Sometimes when we read a passage of scripture, we may need to pay careful attention to who in the text is speaking. Our understanding of the words themselves may change, depending on whose mouth they come from. If we are reading Job, we need to know which character is speaking in the passage. If Job's friends are talking, we know their words cannot be trusted. They are too self-righteous. Sometimes, we are not sure who is speaking. Job 28 is a beautiful poem extolling the virtue of wisdom, but we can't be sure who delivers this elegant piece.
William B. Kincaid, III
Of all the pressing questions of the day, a sign on one person's desk asks, "How much can I sin and still go to heaven?" The question seems amusing until we stop to think about it. Inherent in this question is a bold-faced confession that there is no interest at all in pursuing a life shaped wholly by the spirit of God, but at the same time we do not want to be so recklessly sacrilegious that we forfeit completely the rewards of the hereafter.
Robert A. Beringer
A Japanese legend says a pious Buddhist monk died and went to heaven. He was taken on a sightseeing tour and gazed in wonder at the lovely mansions built of marble and gold and precious stones. It was all so beautiful, exactly as he pictured it, until he came to a large room that looked like a merchant's shop. Lining the walls were shelves on which were piled and labeled what looked like dried mushrooms. On closer examination, he saw they were actually human ears.
John T. Ball
When pastors retire they have a chance to check out some of the Sunday morning religious television before going off to worship, presuming they don't succumb to the Sunday paper. One retired colleague who has the leisure to monitor Sunday morning television says that churchy television fixes mostly on the personal concerns of the viewers. Anxiety, depression, grief - all important and life--threatening matters - make up much of Sunday morning religious television.
Beverly S. Bailey
Hymns
Hail To The Lord's Anointed (LBW87, CBH185, NCH104, UM203)
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (PH100, 101, CBH259, 260, NCH224, UM298, 299, LBW482)
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light (CBH203, NCH140, PH26, UM223)
God Of Grace And God Of Glory (CBH366, NCH436, PH420, UM577)
You Are Salt For The Earth (CBH226, NCH181)
This Little Light Of Mine (CBH401, NCH524, 525, UM585)
Ask Me What Great Thing I Know (NCH49, UM192, PH433)
There's A Spirit In The Air (NCH294, UM192, PH433)

Emphasis Preaching Journal

One of the difficulties that confronts us who drive our vehicles is forgetting to turn off the lights and returning to the car after some hours only to discover a dead battery. I have found that the problem occurs most often when I have been driving during a storm in daytime and had to turn on headlights in order to be seen by other drivers. By the time I get to my destination the rain has often ceased, and the sun is shining brightly. The problem happens, too, when we drive into a brightly lighted parking lot at night.
Wayne Brouwer
Schuyler Rhodes
Some years ago Europa Times carried a story in which Mussa Zoabi of Israel claimed to be the oldest person alive at 160. Guinness Book of World Records would not print his name, however, simply because his age could not be verified. Mr. Zoabi was older than most records-keeping systems. Whatever his true age, Mussa Zoabi believed he knew the secret of longevity. He said, "Every day I drink a cup of melted butter or olive oil."

CSSPlus

Good morning, boys and girls. I brought some salt with me this morning. (Show the salt.) What do we use salt for? (Let them answer.) We use it for flavoring food. How many of you put salt on your popcorn? (Let them answer.) What else do we use salt for? (Let them answer.) We put salt on the sidewalks in winter to keep us from slipping. We put salt in water softeners to soften our water.

In this morning's lesson Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth. What do you think he meant by that? (Let them answer.) In Jesus' time salt was very important. It was used to keep food
Good morning! Once Jesus told a whole crowd of people who
had come to hear him preach that they couldn't get into Heaven
unless they were more "righteous" than all the religious leaders
of that day. Does anyone know what that word means? What does it
mean to be righteous? (Let them answer.) It means to be good, to
be fair, and to be honest. Now, what do you think he meant by
that? Was he telling people that they had to do everything
perfectly in this life in order to get into Heaven? (Let them
answer.)
Good morning! How many of you own your own Bible? (Let them
answer.) When you read the Bible, do you find some things that
are hard to understand? (Let them answer.) Yes, I think there are
some tough things to comprehend in the Bible. After all, the
Bible is God's Word, and it's not always easy to understand God.
He is so much greater than we are and much more complex.

Now, I brought a New Testament with me this morning and I
want someone to read a verse for us. Can I have a volunteer? (Let
Teachers and Parents: The most common false doctrine, even
among some who consider themselves strong Christians, is that we
can earn our way into Heaven by our own works. Our children must
learn the basic Christian truth that Heaven is a gift of God and
that there is no way to be righteous enough to deserve it. We
must rely on the righteousness of Christ for our ticket into
Heaven.

* Make white paper ponchos with the name JESUS written in
large letters on each one. (A large hole for the head in a big

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