Christ Church Online Traditional Worship

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Hallelujah.

together.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

Heat. Heat.

Hallelujah.

Good morning.

>> Welcome to worship at Christ Church.

Good morning to everyone worshiping with

us online. So glad you could join us

this morning. If you're worshiping here

in the sanctuary, I want to encourage

you to please fill out your connect

card. We'd love to know who's worshiping

with us this morning. On that connect

card is also a place for you to fill out

your prayer concerns. So, if you could

do that, you'll have an opportunity to

bring that forward a little bit later on

in the service. If you're worshiping

with us online, you could scan the QR

code and you can register your

attendance and fill out your prayer

concern and give uh that way. It is a

blessing to be able to come together and

worship the Lord together. And I invite

you now to rise physically or

spiritually. Join us for our opening

hymn, hymn number 166 in our blue

himnel. All praise to thee for thou o

king divine. Let us worship together.

Heat. Heat.

Heat

up

here.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Heat

up here.

I invite you to join me for our call to

worship and act of praise. On this

transfiguration Sunday, we gather on the

mountaintop with Jesus, wondering what

we will encounter.

>> Come to God's glory revealed.

>> We witness the revelation of Christ

divinely made plain before us.

We come to witness God's glory.

>> We remember that God's glory is not

about spectacle but truth. Not about

show but about love made real among us.

>> God's glory.

>> We follow Jesus down from the

mountaintop into the valleys. As God g

as God's glory goes before us and behind

us.

Glory to you. Thank be to God. Amen.

Glory

to the Lord.

Heat. Heat.

His

ever shall be

with

amen.

Amen.

>> Please be seated.

Well, good morning again. It's a

pleasure to be with you here at Christ

United Methodist Church on this

Transfiguration Sunday.

I was wondering what Transfiguration

Sunday really meant. And I I had to do a

little homework on it and do a little

research. And what I learned is there's

no good answer. Um what I have learned

is that various Christian denominations

celebrate the transfiguration on

different days. Now, we know what the

transfiguration is all about. It's the

revelation of Jesus' divine glory. So we

we get that. But how do we celebrate it?

Well, the Catholics, the Eastern

Orthodox, and a number of other

denominations celebrated on a fixed day,

on a fixed calendar, which they

celebrated on August 6th. We Methodists

and the the Presbyterians and the

Lutherans, we go a different way, and we

we celebrate the transfiguration on a

movable day, a movable calendar. So we

we define it by the last Sunday of the

the Epiphany, which leads us to the

Sunday immediately preceding uh Ash

Wednesday, which is geared to Easter,

which is based upon the vernal equinox

and the rotation of the sun and the

earth. Uh so there you have it. You

know, sometimes we just have to believe

that the leaders of the church are

telling us the right day and faith is a

good thing, right?

Well, as we prepare to share in a prayer

of confession, remember that following

the prayer, we will take a moment for

silent confession and reflection,

let us also remember that Christ came to

us to show us how to live in peace and

in love.

Now, let us come before him and confess

that which we have done which is

contrary to his peaceful kingdom on this

earth. Please join me in our prayer of

confession.

How patient you are with us, living

creator. How hard we find to put up with

the foolishness of others. In humility,

you become one of us. And we keep

wanting everything to be about us. You

model a life of meekness in service to

others. And we are convinced life is all

about power and success.

All creation sings of your kindness

while we hurl angry words at those we

say we care about. Yet rather than

becoming frustrated with us, you

continue to forgive us. Clothe us with

your love, we pray, so we might be more

compassionate toward others. Touch us

with your grace so we might become more

gentle people. Fill us with that peace

which longs to reside in our hearts even

as we seek to continue our journey with

Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Amen. Now hear and believe and accept

these words of assurance.

In these moments, let God's peace dwell

in your hearts. For God gives us hope,

gives us peace, and gives us new life in

the forgiveness of God's grace. Thanks

be to God.

God has renewed and restored us,

offering us forgiveness and love. Share

that forgiveness and love with everyone

as we take a moment in this time of

worship to share the peace of Christ.

Whether you're worshiping here in this

lovely sanctuary or worshiping at home

or elsewhere online, wherever you're

worshiping, lift up your neighbors in

prayer with the words, "The peace of the

Lord be with you." Knowing that as we

worship together, we are indeed and in

fact united in Christ. Please stand and

share the peace of Christ with each

other.

Good morning.

Please be seated.

Invite you to draw your attention to the

entrance to the sanctuary. You could

either turn around or take a look at the

screen. We are blessed to be able to

celebrate a baptism this morning.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through

the sacrament of baptism, we are

initiated into Christ's holy church. We

are incorporated into God's mighty acts

of salvation and given new birth through

water and the spirit. All this is God's

gift offered to us without price. To

today I present Spencer Elizabeth Tomsh

for baptism.

On behalf of the whole church I ask you,

do you renounce the spiritual forces of

wickedness, reject the evil of this

world, and repent of your sin? If so,

please respond. We do.

>> We do. Do you accept the freedom and

power God gives you to resist evil,

injustice, and oppression in whatever

forms they present themselves? If so,

please respond, "We do. We do."

>> Do you confess Jesus Christ as your

savior? Put your whole trust in his

grace and promise to serve him as your

Lord in union with the church, which

Christ has opened to people of all ages,

nations, and races. If so, please

respond, "We do.

>> We do." And will you nurture this child

in Christ's holy church that by your

teaching and example she may be guided

to accept God's grace for herself to

profess her faith faith openly and to

lead a Christian life? If so, please

respond. We will.

>> We will.

>> And you as Christ's body, the church,

reaffirm both your rejection of sin and

your commitment to Christ. If so, please

respond. We do.

>> I invite you to join me as we pray a

prayer of thanksgiving over the water.

Eternal God, when nothing existed but

chaos, you swept across the dark waters

and brought forth light. In the days of

Noah, you saved those on the ark through

water. After the flood, you said in the

clouds a rainbow. When you saw your

people as slaves in Egypt, you led them

to freedom through the sea. Their

children you brought through the Jordan

to the land which you promised. In the

fullness of time, you n you you you sent

Jesus, nurtured in the water of a womb.

He was baptized by John and anointed by

your spirit. He called his disciples to

share in the baptism of his death and

resurrection and to make disciples of

all nations. Pour out your holy spirit

and bless this gift of water and she who

receives it to wash away her sin and

clothe her in righteousness throughout

her life that dying and being raised

with Christ, she may share in his final

victory. Amen.

What name is given to this child?

>> Spencer Elizabeth Thompson. Come here,

sweetie. How are you? Hi,

Spencer Elizabeth Tomshet. I baptize you

in the name of the Father,

in the name of the Son,

and in the name of the Holy Spirit.

May the Holy Spirit work within you that

being baptized by water and spirit, you

may be a faithful disciple of Jesus

Christ. Amen.

Want to go meet everybody?

You all have a part to play in this as

well. Will you nurture one another in

the Christian faith and life and include

Spencer Elizabeth now before you in your

care? If so, please respond. With God's

help, we proclaim the good news and live

according to the example of Christ. We

will surround Spencer Elizabeth with a

community of love and forgiveness that

she may grow in her trust of God and be

found faithful in her service to others.

We will pray for her that she may be a

true disciple who will walk in a way

that leads to life. Amen. Would you help

me welcome Spencer into our church

family.

We have a group of ladies that made this

for her and prayed over it for her.

Congratulations.

>> Thank you so much.

>> Thanks for letting me be a part of it.

Today's scripture reading is from the

New Testament. It actually comes from

two different books of the New

Testament. We'll be reading passages

from Philippians and from Colossians.

Both of those books are part of the the

grouping of books that the theologians

frequently call the prison epistles.

They were thought to be written by Paul

while likely imprisoned in Rome uh

between 60 and 62 AD or common era CE if

you so choose. In any event, we'll be

reading Philippians uh 2:es 1-1 and

Colossians 3:es 12-14.

Hear now these words from the New

Testament.

Therefore, if you have any encouragement

from being united with Christ, if any

comfort from his love, if any common

sharing in the spirit, if any tenderness

and compassion, then make my joy

complete by being like-minded, having

the same love, being one in spirit and

of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish

ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in

humility, value all others above

yourselves, not looking to your own

interests, but each of you to the

interests of the others. In your

relationships with one another, have the

same mindset as Christ Jesus, who being

in very nature God, did not consider

equality with God something to be used

to his own advantage. Rather, he made

himself nothing by taking the very

nature of a servant, being made in human

likeness. And being found in appearance

as a man, he humbled himself by becoming

obedient to death, even death on a

cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the

highest place and gave him the name that

is above every name. that at the name of

Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven

and on earth and under the earth, and

every tongue acknowledge that Jesus

Christ is Lord to the glory of God the

Father. Therefore, as God's chosen

people, holy and dearly loved, clothe

yourselves with compassion, kindness,

humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear

with each other and forgive one another.

If any of you has a grievance against

someone, forgive as the Lord forgave

you. And over all these virtues, put on

love which binds them all together in

perfect unity. Hear what the spirit is

saying to the church.

>> Thanks be to God.

>> So before I jump into this week's

sermon, I just want to say a big thank

you to our scouts that have helped us

pass out bulletins and greet all of you.

You've came in this morning as part of

Scout Sunday. So when you head out, if

you see them, make sure you thank them

for their willingness to serve and help

us uh in worship this morning. Well,

over the past several weeks, we have

been talking about real relationships

and from all walks of life, from

marriage to parent child uh to

friendships to work relationships to

relationships inside the church. And

we've learned that real relationships

are not always ideal. They're not just

the kind of relationships that work when

everyone is calm and rested and and

getting, you know, their own way. Uh

that they take work. Real relationships

take work. And we've talked about some

of those things that happen inside real

relationships that people tend not to

talk about. Things like tension and

misunderstanding and disappointment and

moments where love feels more like a uh

more costly than it does convenient. And

we've talked about how we are built for

connection and we're looking for a love

that lasts. And we've learned how to

fight right. And on this Valentine's Day

weekend as we close our real

relationship series, we ask one final

question. Not just how do relationships

work, but what are they meant to

reflect? Because relationships are never

neutral. Relationships are always

forming us into something. And it and

the Christian vision of real

relationships is our relationships are

meant to reflect Christ. Not perfectly,

but visibly, not flawlessly, but

faithfully. Because if Christ is in us,

it changes how we relate to others.

Amen. I mean, that's what it's all

about. Paul opens Philippians 2 with a

series of statements that sound almost

conditional, but they're not actually

conditional. are actually assumptions

that Paul has. Paul isn't wondering if

these things are true of the church.

Paul is assuming they are true of the

church. He says, "If you have any

encouragement from being united with

Christ, if any comfort from his love, if

any common sharing of the spirit, if any

tenderness or compassion, this is Paul's

way of saying if Christ really lives in

us, if the spirit of God is actually

shaping us, if the love of God has truly

reached our heart, then something has

got to look different in the way we

relate to other people." You see,

Christian meant Christian love and faith

was never meant to be just a private

belief or an internal uh uh comfort that

we have. It was never meant to be just

about what we think in our mind or feel

in our heart. From the very beginning,

faith in Christ is meant to be poured

out in our tone, in our posture, in our

patience, in how we treat one another,

especially when relationships get

strained. Now, Paul's logic is simple,

but it's very piercing. He says, "We

can't claim to have a life of Christ

living in us and leave our relationships

unchanged." Paul continues by saying,

"Then make my joy complete by being

like-minded, having the same love, being

one in spirit, and of one mind." Now,

that line can sound pretty intimidating

if we misunderstand it.

Excuse

me. Sorry.

Paul is not calling for uniformity here.

He's not demanding that everyone thinks

the same way, votes the same way, views

the same issue from the same angle all

the time. And he's certainly not asking

us as a church to avoid conflict or to

suppress any kind of disagreement. What

Paul is calling for here is something

actually deeper than agreement. He's

calling for alignment. It's not about

sness. It's not about agreeing on every

issue. It's not about pretending that

tension doesn't exist. It is about a

shared direction. Paul is saying if

Christ truly lives in us, then even when

we see things differently, we keep

moving towards the center. And that

center is not comfort. It's not control.

It is not winning the argument. That

center is Christ. So to be like-minded

doesn't mean that we all think the same

way. It means that we let the mind of

Christ shape how we think about one

another. It means before we speak,

before we react, before we withdraw,

before we defend ourselves, we got to

ask a deeper question. What does

faithfulness to Christ look like in this

situation? That is why Paul put

likeminded with having the same love.

Not the same opinion, not the same

preferences, but the same love. Love

that is patient when it would be easier

for us to be short. Love that stays

engaged when it would be simpler for us

to just pull away. Love that listens

before it labels. Love that seeks

understanding instead of leverage. And

then Paul says, "And being one in spirit

and of one mind." You see, that doesn't

erase differences. It actually redeems

the differences. We might not always

agree, but we are committed to the same

spirit, the same Lord, and the same

story that God is writing for every

single one of us. Which means there are

some lines that we just refuse to cross.

Like we won't weaponize our words. We

don't reduce people to positions.

We don't treat disagreement as betrayal

and we don't let frustration give us

permission to stop loving well. Because

if Christ is truly the center, the goal

is no longer being right. The goal is

being faithful. And faithfulness often

looks like staying at the table a lot

longer than we would want to. It looks

like listening instead of defending.

choosing humility where where pride

feels justified. You see, Paul is Paul's

inviting the church into a shared

commitment with each other. Even when

things get hard, even when we

misunderstand each other, even when our

emotions are high, Christ is still the

center. Not our comfort, not our ego,

not our need to win. Christ. And when

Christ is the center, relationships stop

being places where we need to prove

ourselves and they start being places

where Christ is being revealed. Because

if Christ is in us, it does not just

change what we believe. It changes how

we relate to others. We experience a

relational shift from self to others.

Listen to what Paul says. Do nothing out

of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Rather, in humility, value others above

yourselves.

You know, that sentence confronts almost

everything our culture teaches us about

relationships. I mean, we are trained

often times without even realizing it to

protect ourselves, to keep score, to win

arguments, to make sure we're not giving

more than we're receiving. But Paul

doesn't deny our needs, but he refuses

to let our self-interest be the

organizing principle of our

relationships. He says, "Not looking to

your own interest, but each of you to

the interest of others." Now, this is

not about becoming a doormat. This is

not about letting people just walk all

over you and cause you harm. But it is

about becoming Christshaped.

Humility is not thinking less of

yourself. It is thinking of yourself

less. And when humility enters a

relationship, everything changes. How we

listen, how we speak, how we disagree,

even how we forgive. And the model we're

given to follow is Jesus.

Because Paul knows that that kind of

love sounds idealistic and oftentimes

unrealistic, especially when we are in

relationships that feel strained or

trust has been wounded. So he doesn't

just give the church a theory. He gives

us a person to actually look at. He says

in your relationships with one another,

have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Now that sentence is doing a whole lot

of work. Paul doesn't say try harder to

be nice. He doesn't say avoid conflict

at all cost. He doesn't even tell us

that we should love people in a in a

more general way. He says think the way

Jesus thinks when you're with each

other. So if we want to know what

relationships shaped by Christ actually

look like. We don't start with

techniques or rules. We start by looking

at Jesus. And then Paul pulls back the

curtain of what Jesus actually believes

and stands for. He says, "Who being in

very nature God, did not consider

equality with God as something to be

used for his own advantage." You see,

Jesus had power, but he didn't cling to

it. He had authority, but he did not

leverage it to protect himself. He had

status, but he refused to use it as a

shield or a weapon. Jesus never asked,

"What can I get away with?" or "How do I

maintain control here?" or "How do I

make sure I come out on top?" Instead,

Paul says, "Rather, he made himself

nothing, taking the very nature of a

servant." Now, that phrase does not mean

that Jesus became weak or insignificant.

It means he chose downward mobility. He

willingly stepped out of privilege in

heaven and into proximity by coming here

to earth. He moved towards people rather

than standing above people. Jesus didn't

enter a relationship saying, "What am I

owed? What do I deserve for everything

I've done? Who needs to acknowledge my

authority? Instead, he said, "How can I

love? How can I serve?

How can I bring life to this

relationship?" And then Paul takes it

all the way to the cross. He says, "He

humbled himself by becoming obedient to

death, even death on a cross."

That is not symbolic humility. That is

costly obedience.

That is the kind of love that absorbs

pain instead of passing pain along. You

see, the cross is the clearest picture

of what love looks like when Jesus is at

the center. Not dominance, not control,

not emotional withdrawal, not quiet uh

resentment, but self-giving love,

choosing faithfulness even if it cost us

deeply. And remember, we never look at a

person who Jesus didn't die for. And

that is what it means to love like

Jesus. The question is, do we love like

that? Because if that is the mindset of

Christ,

then relationships shaped by Christ will

feel a lot more like surrender than they

feel like victory. They will involve us

letting go of the need to win, of us

requiring to lay down our right to be

understood first.

They will ask us to trust God when

outcomes are beyond our control. But the

cross also reminds us that surrendering

Christ was never wasted. Because the

same Jesus that humbled himself was also

the one that God raised up. Because a

love that looks like Jesus may feel

costly right in the moment, but it's the

same love that God used to bring

resurrection and healing and new life.

And that is the model that we are called

to follow.

So why is it so difficult? Well, let's

be honest. Even though that love is

beautiful, it's also hard because our

patience wears thin. Our kindness runs

out, forgiveness feels unfair, and

humility feels risky. Which is why Paul

doesn't just give us a vision. He gives

us some daily practices to follow.

Practices that will help us have a

Christlike character. In Paul, in

Colossians 3, Paul shifts the language.

He says, "Therefore, as God's chosen

people, holy and dearly loved." You see,

that phrase is really important. We

often read over that portion of that

passage. But that phrase is important

because it shows us before we receive

any instruction about what we are

supposed to do, God gives us an

identity. You see, we don't love Jesus

in order to earn God's love. We love

like Jesus because God already loves us.

And then Paul says, "Clothe yourselves

with compassion and kindness and

humility and gentleness and patience."

That word clothe means these are not

feelings we wait for. These are choices

that we make. How many of you would

agree that sometimes it's easy to show

compassion to somebody, right? How many

of you would also agree that sometimes

compassion feels like putting on a stiff

jacket that we don't want to put on, but

we put it on anyway because we know we

need to. Paul then says, "Bear with each

other and forgive one another if any of

you has a grievance against someone." To

bear with someone means staying present.

It means refusing to reduce that person

to their worst moment. Choosing

faithfulness over frustration.

And then the standard that we all strive

for, forgive as the Lord forgave you,

not because the other person deserves

it, but because we've already received

it. So that's what we should show

others. And then Paul says, "On top of

all of these virtues, put on love, which

binds them all together in perfect

unity." You see, love's the glue. Love's

the coat over everything else. Because

without love, patience really just

becomes tolerance. Without love,

humility becomes indifference.

Without love, forgiveness becomes

avoidance. But with love, relationships

begin to reflect Jesus. So what does

that look like for us in real life?

Because this kind of love is not meant

to just live in theory. It shouldn't

just only stay in sermons or Bible

studies or in our thought process. It

needs to show up in our ordinary

moments, in conversations that catch us

off guard, in disagreements that hit a

nerve, in relationships where old

patterns are easy and new patterns we

don't want to do because it's often

costly.

It looks like listening. When everything

inside us wants to interrupt, not

because we don't have a point, but

because the other person matters more

than us proving our point. It looks like

staying curious instead of defensive,

asking, "Help me understand why you're

thinking this way or what you're feeling

instead of immediately explaining while

why they are wrong and we are right." It

looks like telling the truth without

trying to wound. speaking honestly

without using our words as weapons.

It looks like choosing repair over being

right. Letting go of the satisfaction of

winning the argument in order to protect

the relationship. Recognizing that being

right can still cost us something we

were never meant to lose.

And it looks like absorbing pain instead

of passing pain on. interrupting that

cycle where hurt

creates more hurt. Deciding that the

pain stops with us, even if that feels

unfair.

And in all of those moments, it really

comes down to us asking ourselves one

quiet, spiritually led question in real

time as we're trying to navigate our

relationships.

How can I reflect Jesus here?

Not how do I protect myself, not how do

I make them understand, not how do I

come out looking good, but how do I

remain faithful in this moment? Because

following Jesus does not mean we avoid

tension. It means we face tension

differently. It means we show up slower

and softer and more intentional. We

choose humility when pride feels

justified. We choose grace when distance

feels easier.

And unfortunately, most of the time when

we do this, no one's going to applaud

it. There's not going to be some big

dramatic moment. And it's not usually

going to provide instant resolution, but

over time, that kind of love does

something pretty powerful. It builds

trust. It creates safety. And it keeps

relationships open where they could so

easily close. That is what it looks like

to not just believe in Christ, but to

live it out in our daily relationships.

You see, at Christ Church, our mission

is building inclusive community sharing

Christ transforming love. That mission

does not rise and fall on our programs.

That mission does not rise and fall on

our branding. That mission does not rise

and fall on our schedule.

That mission rises and falls on our

relationships

because the clearest picture that most

people will ever have of who Jesus is is

how we as Christians treat one another,

especially when life gets hard. So, as

we close this series, here's the

challenge.

Who is God inviting us to see in a new

way? Not as a problem to fix, but as a

person to love. Where is the spirit

asking us to put on compassion and

kindness and patience and humility even

if it feels unnatural or unfair?

And what would it look like to release

control? Let go of the need to win and

trust God with the outcome. Because real

relationships that reflect Jesus,

they're not built by perfect people.

They're built by people that keep

choosing love again and again and again

and again. Let's pray. Lord, we're so

grateful that you love us

just because. Not because of what we do

or don't do, not because of what we say

or don't say, not because we're perfect.

Not because we make mistakes, but

because

you choose to love us.

Help us to accept that love

because it will change our life. And

then help us to show that love in the

relationships that we are in and in the

relationships that you will continue to

give us an opportunity to start. Because

without that kind of love, our

relationships are doomed to fail. But

with that kind of love,

you can do things that we can't even

imagine. Thank you for loving us and

thank you for giving us what we need to

love others. We ask all this in your

son's name. And everyone said, "Amen."

>> Oh, Mark's really tall.

Here we go. down to regular sized

people. Good morning. I'm Pastor Pat.

I'm always happy to be here with my

church family. As we enter into this

prayer time, I remind you of your

connection card that's inside your

program today. Take time to fill those

out. We are a praying church. We have

pastors and staff that pray. We have a

intercessory prayer team. We take prayer

very seriously. If you're at home, you

can go to christumc.net

and enter your prayer that way. or if

you're digital, which I'm not, you can

uh scan the QR code and enter it that

way. But we do take it very seriously

here at Christ Church. During the prayer

hymn, the prayer rails will be open. If

you want to, you can come up and kneel

here. You can bring the prayer cards up

and put them in the basket.

At this time, I would ask that you

stand. And our prayer hymn is number

168. At the name of Jesus, please stand

in body or spirit.

every knee shall bow.

Every tongue confessing

your glory

is the father's pleasure.

We should call him Lord

who from the beginning was a mighty

word

for a season

to receive our name

from the saf.

The leading glory

to the

glory and victorious

death

of tries.

to join

with the glory of the perfect

in your voice and

you

all that is the Lord.

All that is our true

int.

Please be seated.

As we enter into prayer, one of the

things that struck me in Chris's message

today was he willingly stepped out of

privilege in heaven. Think about that as

we go into prayer.

Lord Jesus, I thank you for your

presence right here in this room. I

thank you for giving us a safe space

that we can come in and worship you.

Lord, I thank you for knowing each one

of us by name. Knowing each one of us

were going to be here today to hear your

message.

Lord, I thank you for creating us to be

the people that you wanted us to be.

Lord, we seek that real relationship

that our relationship with you would

reflect uh to so many others. Let that

love of a God spill from us to those

that you put in our path.

Lord, I lift up all of the prayer

requests and the joys that we have on

our lips, on our hearts. I lift those up

to you now. Lord,

fill us with that love like Jesus. Lord,

I ask that you fill us with patience,

fill us with kindness,

fill us with humility,

and Lord, fill us with forgiveness.

Lord, at times that we don't know what's

going to happen, we thank you that what

is happening is right here and right

now, and that we can stand with you.

You also taught us to pray, Lord. In one

voice we offer to you. 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

trespasses

as we forgive those who trespassed

against us. and lead us not into

temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

and the glory forever. Amen.

Well, as the ushers are preparing to

receive our tithes and offerings, I just

want to share a couple of announcements.

If you haven't yet got your pancake

breakfast breakfast tickets uh for the

Bethl Park Upper Stair Rotary breakfast

on March 7th, you can pick those up in

the community square following worship.

Uh all the proceeds go to our prime time

adult daycare uh to do the work that

they continue to do. This Wednesday is

Ash Wednesday in the beginning of Lent.

It's hard to believe that it's here

already, but we will be offering open

communion in ashes from 11:00 in the

morning till 6:00 p.m. here in the

sanctuary. You can come at any time to

receive communion and ashes or you can

wait and come to the service at 7:00 on

Wednesday evening uh and also receive

communion and ashes in that service. We

still will be having our Wednesday night

dinner. It is a waffle bar. So, make

sure you sign up for that. You have to

sign up for the dinner. And if you have

kids, you can sign them up for Christ

kids because they're going to learn all

about Lent while we're in the Ash

Wednesday service. So, we want to

encourage you uh to do that as well. I

also want to encourage you to check up

check out our news page at

christumc.net/news.

It shows everything going on and gives

you an opportunity to sign up for those

things that you need to sign up for

whether it be Wednesday dinner or

helping serve at our fish fries that

start this Friday. You can sign up for

any and all of those things there. So,

please do that. Every week we try to

share a story about how your generosity

makes a difference in the life of this

church. And this week I want to share a

story with you about our Wade in the

Water Capital campaign that we started

in August of last year. The goal with

that campaign was to pay off a line of

credit, pay off a loan that we had with

the bank, and build a contingency fund

to take care of this building as it

continues to age. I wanted to report

back because one of the biggest goals

was to pay off as much as we could on

that loan before the interest rate

changed in February. I'm here to tell

you that since August, you have been

able to pay off $187,000

line of credit and pay off $422,000

of principal towards that loan for a

total of $69,000

before that interest rate changed. That

is awesome. And I want to say thank you

for your generosity because it allows us

to continue to do the work that God has

called us to do with a building and also

in ministry. And I invite you to join me

as we pray for our offering this

morning. Lord, we are so grateful for

all that you have given to us. And now,

as we give back to you a portion of what

has been given to us, we ask that you

would take it and use it and multiply it

for the work that needs to continue in

this world. We ask all of this in your

son's name. And everyone said, "Amen."

Ushers, would you come?

Heat. Heat.

be

Praise.

Praise our name we praise.

Praise.

Praise thy name we praise.

Praise.

Praise thy name we praise. Praise,

praise,

praise. I make praise.

Immortal,

invisible,

God only

in light in accessible

from our eyes.

most blessed, most glorious,

the ancient of days. Alm mighty,

victorious,

thy great name we praise,

unresting,

unhingy

and silent as light.

for walking nor wasting. Thou rulest in

might.

Thy justice

like mountains, thy soaring above, thy

clouds which are mountains of goodness

and love.

To all life,

to the great and small

in All life,

the true life of

wee.

Praise,

praise thy name we praise.

Praise,

praise thy name we praise.

Great father of glory,

your father of light,

thy angels

adore thee, all willing their sight.

Oh, praise thee.

Oh, help us to see it is only the

splender

of white.

Hear my soul. In this

alm mighty

victorious

name

we praise.

We praise.

Praise

the name. We praise.

We praise.

Praise.

Thy name we praise.

Praise

God.

Blessings,

Lord.

Praise the creatures here.

Praise God.

Praise for the son.

I invite you to remain standing as we

share in our sending hymn. Hymn number

73, O Worship the King.

Worship

the king of glory

Heat. Heat.

Hey,

heat.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Oh,

heat,

heat.

As we go from this place, may we receive

that love that God has offered to us.

And then may we show that love to the

people that God puts in front of us.

Amen.

>> Go in God's love.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.