1/4/2026 Jesus’ Baptism – Year A
PASTORAL PROCLAMATION
Leader: Jesus says, “let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness”
People: Let it be so now!
WELCOME
Leader: Welcome to Epworth United Methodist Church where we follow the example of Christ by:
People: welcoming, nurturing, and serving all people with love.
Leader: Let us prepare our hearts, minds, and spirits for the prelude.
PRELUDE Baptized with Water arr Larson Holly McDonald
OPENING PSALM Psalm 29 NIV
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
OPENING PRAYER
Eternal God, at the baptism of Jesus, you revealed him to be your Son, and anointed him with the Holy Spirit, Keep all who are born of water and the Spirit faithful to their calling as your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Come! Let us follow Jesus to the edge of the Jordan River to be baptized.
People: We come to be cleansed and made whole.
Leader: Come! Let us witness John’s confusion and Jesus’ insistence that John baptize God Incarnate.
People: We come to join Jesus in choosing life in the kingdom of God.
Leader: Come! Let us hear God declare the truth of Jesus’ identity and the truth of our identity as baptized people.
People: We come to remember and embody who we are as beloved children of God.
Leader: Come! Let us worship God who leads us into the baptismal waters and salvation life.
People: We come to worship God who empowers us through divine presence to live together as the family of God.
OPENING HYMN Come Thou Long Expected Jesus UMH 196
SPECIAL MUSIC Down to the River to Pray Epworth Choir
CHILDREN’S MOMENT Ruth Holdren
JOYS and CONCERNS
PASTORAL PRAYER – followed by The Lord’s Prayer
Loving God, we give you thanks and praise for the story of Jesus’s baptism by John in the wilderness, for it reminds us of our own baptisms. Just as you claimed Jesus as your beloved, so also have we been claimed as your own children.
We remember before you all the children and adults who have been baptized in this congregation of your people, and for their parent(s) or sponsors. Help us remember as a congregation the promises we also have made to each of them – to nurture them in their lives of faith. And help us remember our own baptisms daily.
Holy one, our baptisms also remind us that the font is the true center of our cosmos. It is the place where we were called to live in covenant relationship with one another and with your good creation. Help us remember that declaration and promise. Empower us to live out of that love in all that we do, healing divisions, addressing enmity, reaching out to those we perceive as enemies.
God of all nations, we pray for all countries around the globe — for those who have been entrusted to exercise leadership on behalf of the common good. Help them discern the wise use of resources so they may faithfully meet the needs of all people in their care.
We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying, “Our Father…”
HYMN When Jesus Came to Jordan UMH 252
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
On this day when we remember our baptism, let us offer our gifts and our lives in gratitude for the spirit poured upon us.
We do not pass an offering plate in worship, but there is an offering plate just outside of the sanctuary, and we appreciate your gifts as you arrive or leave service. Let us now dedicate our gifts to the Lord.
CONGREGATIONAL OFFERTORY PRAYER
Faithful and Calling God, continue to draw us into community, into covenant, and into new life through waters of grace and acts of justice. Just as Jesus stepped into the river to stand with us and for us, we bring these gifts today to stand with others— to serve, to uplift, and to proclaim your kingdom. Use these offerings to fulfill your righteousness among us. Help us, your baptized people, to be instruments of healing, hope, and holy change in a world longing for good news. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
DOXOLOGY Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow
SCRIPTURE TEXT
Gospel Reading: Matthew 3: 13-17 (NRSV)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him.17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,[a] with whom I am well pleased.”
MESSAGE Holy Silence: The Power of Presence Elizabeth Bridges
PRAYER OF CONFESSION – Congregation
We are incredibly stubborn, O Lord. We have entered the season in which your light has been given to the world, your blessings have been poured out on the world, and yet all we can think about is our own problems, our own needs, our own desires. Help us to desire you, Lord. Help us to yearn for your presence. Pour your baptismal waters over us again, cleansing us from our self-pity and arrogance. Nourish and heal us so that we may joyfully serve you. Wash away our jealousy, greed, and all negative thoughts and behaviors that stand in the way of our truly being
the people you have called us to be. Again, let us receive the blessings offered in creation, in the birth and baptism of Jesus, and in the ministry of the saints of light. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON Pastor
The love of God is always offered to us,
freely, joyfully, for all eternity.
Rejoice, dear friends,
this is the good news of our Lord. Amen.
REMEMBER YOUR BAPTISM AND BE THANKFUL
RESPONSIVE HYMN Take Me to the Water AAHH 675
POSTLUDE Great is Thy Faithfulness arr Bober Holly McDonald
BENEDICTION
Go in peace; love and care for one another in the name of Christ; and may the Spirit of God, which filled John and Jesus, fill your hearts, souls, and minds; may the power of God, which upheld them, strengthen you for each day; and may the love of God, which directed their every action, be your guiding light and your shining star, both now and forevermore. Amen