Order
Sunday, January 16, 2022
- Pre Worship Audio (10:15am) – ‘Calming Acoustic Guitar’
- Music 1 (10:30am)
Just A Closet Walk With Thee
Here I Am To Worship
- Welcome/Mercer Introduction/Prayer (Zoom Gallery View) Petty
- Music 2 Abbie
Wherever He Leads I’ll Go
- Scripture (No slides just reader) Online – Peyton
- Music 3 Abbie
How Deep The Father’s Love For Us
- Message Jamie
- Music 4 Abbie
Special – (No Slides) He Walks With Me
- Benediction Dave
- Community (Zoom Gallery View) Petty
- Closing Peace Petty
- Closing Audio – ‘Calming Acoustic Guitar’
Words & Voices
Music 1 (Abbie)
Just A Closer Walk With Thee
CCLI Song # 1828321
Jack Schrader
Verse 1
I am weak but Thou art strong
Jesus keep me from all wrong
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk let me walk close to Thee
Chorus
Just a closer walk with thee
Grant it Jesus is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be dear Lord let it be
Verse 2
Through this world of toil and snares
If I falter Lord who cares
Who with me my burden shares
None but Thee dear Lord none but Thee
Chorus
Just a closer walk with thee
Grant it Jesus is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be dear Lord let it be
Verse 3
When my feeble life is o’er
Time for me will be no more
Guide me gently safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore to Thy shore
Chorus
Just a closer walk with thee
Grant it Jesus is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be dear Lord let it be
Here I Am To Worship
CCLI Song # 3266032
Tim Hughes
Verse 1
Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes let me see
Beauty that made
This heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You
Chorus
So here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
And You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
Verse 2
King of all days
Oh so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love’s sake became poor
Bridge
And I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
And I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
Chorus
So here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
And You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
Welcome/Prayer (No Slides) (Petty)
- Welcome
- Jaimie Introduction
- Prayer
Eternal God, we bow as empty vessels waiting to be filled but our minds and souls are busy with many things which impede our being filled by you. We become preoccupied with our worries. We worry about our children, our finances. our responsibilities. our health. our world.
Help us to release these cares and troubles, empty us of them so that we may be filled. Filled with a sense of your presence, with the touch of your spirit, with new energy, and with your power. Mostly though, may we be filled with trust and faith.
Empower us as we worship in this place and then enable us as we leave into the midst of those you love. Replace the stagnant waters with your refreshing Spirit. God, may you, through us, give the world your gift of newness, refreshment, and renewal.
Amen
Music 2 (Abbie)
Wherever He Leads I’ll Go
CCLI Song # 25194
B. B. McKinney
Chorus
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Verse 1
Take up thy cross and follow Me
I heard my Master say
I gave My life to ransom thee
Surrender your all today
Chorus
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Verse 2
He drew me closer to His side
I sought His will to know
And in that will I now abide
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Chorus
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Wherever He leads I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Verse 3
My heart my life my all I bring
To Christ who loves me so
He is my Master Lord and King
Wherever He leads I’ll go
Scripture (Online – Peyton)
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus’ mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
Then, Jesus said to the servants, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.”
So the servants took the wine. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew).
The steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:1-11
Music 3 (Abbie)
How Deep The Father’s Love For Us
CCLI Song # 1558110
Stuart Townend
Verse 1
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Verse 2
Behold the Man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
Verse 3
I will not boast in anything
No gifts no pow’r no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Message (Jamie)
Wedding at Cana: “Really, Mom?”
A couple of weeks ago Andrew and I took Albany and Will to Birmingham for the day to eat at our favorite restaurant, hit an antique store, and then shop at our favorite bookstore. It’s a huge store with all kinds of books, games, movies, collectibles, and more. We had all kind of wandered in our own directions. After a little while, I ran into Albany, and she joined me. We were walking and talking for a bit, and we ran into Will. He didn’t just join us quietly, nor was his response, “Oh Mother, it is good to see. Let me join you.” Instead I got, “I was looking for Dad, but you’re better than nothing.” 13 year olds, right?
Moms have a unique job. We have the interesting perspective of seeing the areas in which our kids could grow and encouraging and guiding them. Whether it is correcting their grammar or their posture or their phone skills. We want to guide and make sure they are prepared for life. At the same time, somehow, we can overlook all of those faults or gaps in knowledge and we seem to have the ability to believe in our kids more than anyone else.
Today we are going to look at a passage that you have probably heard many times. It is the first recorded miracle that Jesus performs, but we also want to pay close attention to Mary’s, Jesus’ mother’s, role in this story. I do want to take a quick moment and bring up The Chosen. If you have not watched the series of Bible stories, I highly recommend them. I think you can find most of them on YouTube and some streaming platforms. While most Biblical based TVs and movies are terribly done, this one is truly great. Even my kids enjoyed it. So check out the Chosen, especially the one about the Wedding at Cana.
John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”
Often times when I have read this passage or heard it preached, the focus is often on Jesus performing his first miracle. This is important and definitely a significant moment, but I think if we step back and look at it from the perspective of Mary, we can also learn a lot.
There is something comforting and familiar about Mary in this story. She kind of portrays the typical mother, doesn’t she?
For those of you who do not know, my husband is a meteorologist. He works at MSU and does a lot of statistics and artificial intelligence stuff that uses weather data. When we used to live here in Oklahoma, he was a forecaster for a private company while he was working on his masters and doctorate, though he doesn’t really forecast any more. Often in the Spring and some other times during the year, we get frantic calls from Andrew’s mom. Now Andrew’s parents live in DFW and have some fairly prominent TV meteorologists who are often tracking the storms down to what intersection they are crossing. However, Andrew’s mom will call across the country and get a forecast from her son, sometimes I think to measure it up against the TV meteorologist.
But truly, Andrew’s mom’s reaction is typical for many moms. They have spent so much of their time praying for, loving on, guiding and cheering their children on, that when they see them excel at something, they believe in their children in a way few people in life will ever believe in us.
And I think we see this from Mary in this moment. We are told from the passage that Mary has noticed that they are running out of wine at the wedding. We don’t know how Mary knew the bride and groom, but we can imagine that they were close since she chose to act. So she goes to Jesus, her son, and tells him that they are out of wine.
Now also we don’t know to what extent Mary is aware of what Jesus can do. The Bible is pretty silent about his formative years. But we can see that Mary believes Jesus can do something to fix the problem.
You are probably familiar with the modern Christmas song, “Mary, did you know?” It’s one of my dad’s favorite Christmas songs. I think a lot of people like it because it addresses questions that many of us never really pondered having not been in that situation. This past Christmas I noticed that the song was becoming a meme, especially among Christian women on Facebook, declaring, “of course Mary knew!”
While I don’t know that she could grasp the magnitude that her son would have on the world, I believe there is truth in the memes. We don’t know what signs Mary saw in young Jesus’ life. We don’t know if there were miraculous things that happened. But even when Jesus was an infant, Mary knew that he was special. When they took Jesus to the temple as an infant to dedicate him to God, Simeon told Mary, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” She is told from the beginning how important His life will be for the world, and how badly she will grieve Him at the end. Then Anna referred to Jesus as the “child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”
And let’s not forget that instead of taking a pregnancy test, Mary was visited by angel who told her she was carrying a child who would be called “Son of the Most High God”. So I can’t help thinking that she knew. Besides the conception being miraculous, she had several people who told her what was to come and that He was the Messiah. The Bible tells us Mary pondered and treasured these things in her heart.
So when we see her bring the lack of wine to Jesus’ attention at the wedding, we see that she believes he can do something. Now we don’t know if she planned for him to run to the store or what, but we see her resolute belief that Jesus will take care of the problem. Which makes Jesus’ response so baffling, unless you’re a mother.
“Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
Now isn’t this reminiscent of Jesus’ 12 year old response when they found Him at the temple? Remember they were traveling for Passover and realized Jesus was no longer with them and when they finally find him at the temple, he seems unfazed that his parents have been worried about him. Luke 2:48 we see another very typical Mother moment from Mary. She said, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
And Jesus replies in the most perfect pre-teen nonchalance that can drive a mom crazy.
49 “Why were y’ou searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?
And I love verse 50, because this is where I seem to live.
50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
As a mom of 3 teens, I don’t think anything sums it up quite like that. I think that is why I find it so interesting that Mary is in this moment where she has seen a need and she brings it to her son.
Jesus protests and tells her He isn’t ready, but Mary will not be dissuaded. She doesn’t plead. She doesn’t badger Him. Instead she says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
It is at her intercession that Jesus begins his public ministry. While the only people who knew what he had done were the servants and his disciples, it served as a moment that set his public ministry into motion. It is in seeing this that strengthens the disciples belief in Jesus that will cause them to follow Him all the way to the cross.
What we learn from Mary is how to be an intercessor. The lack of wine at the reception would not have looked poorly upon Mary. It probably would not have even affected her directly. But we see her tender heart noticing the lack of wine and knowing that the family they were there to celebrate would be brought to shame. She brought her concern to Jesus.
What this should remind us is that God invites us to participate in His work. He invites to intercede for those around us. In a society that prides itself in looking out for #1 and sometimes having a me first attitude, this is pretty countercultural. But we cannot reconcile the words of Jesus with our actions if we don’t.
Ephesians 2:10 “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Jesus told the disciples that the whole law could be summed up in Love God and Love People. Then He gives us some pointers telling us to take care of the widow, the orphan and the oppressed. He tells us that when we feed the hungry and clothe the needy that it is like we are feeding and clothing Him. By being His hands and feet, we are interceding the needs of those around us and sharing Christ’s love with a broken world.
We can also intercede for those around us who are hurting by praying for them.
Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
We need a faith like Mary’s. We need to be aware enough when we look around this world that we can see the broken pieces and then intercede. If we can be His ambassador and His hands and feet and address the situations, we should do so, as if we were working for the Lord. But if it is something out of our hands, then we are called to pray and to have faith like Mary’s. Sometimes it is about taking our request to God in prayer and then walking away with faith that God is in control. We have to believe that he will take care of the situation even if it isn’t the way we would choose. And that is tough, but truly it is what we are called to as Christians.
I have been debating on whether or not to share this last story with you all week. I struggle telling it because I can’t explain. While I believe God moves in mighty ways, I often feel a little uncomfortable and cynical with signs and miracles and stuff. But every time I tried to end my message, I would think about this story.
When Albany was almost 5 years old, she had been in her room playing and came in the living room and told me she needed to pray for baby Myles. Myles was the son of our friends Jay and Crystal and was still an infant. I asked Albany what we were praying for Myles for and she said, “He has fire on his head.” I smiled and held back a giggle while she bowed her head and prayed. So I bowed my head and after we said “amen” she skipped off and went back to playing. Thinking the situation was cute, I texted Jay & Crystal and told them about it. I got a phone call about a minute later and it was Jay and his voice was shaky. He told me they had just loaded Myles in his car seat to take him to the hospital. He had been running a fever all day and it had just reached 104. They got my text as they had put him in the car. They ran in and got the thermometer and checked his temperature and it was normal.
I think sometimes we become so cynical and skeptical as adults that we forget how big and powerful our God is. I don’t share this story often because in my adult mind, it doesn’t make sense. But children have such a simple faith. And when we are interceding for those around us, we need to come with that same child-like innocence and faith.
So as I close today, I encourage you to see where you can intercede. And I don’t mean fixing everyone else’s problems. I’m going to reread our verse from earlier, Ephesians 2:10 “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We aren’t responsible for solving the entire world’s problems. Instead, our lives are our ministries. Your job, your family, your neighborhood, that is your ministry. Ask God to show you areas you can intercede and be His hands and feet. And take the burdens and the trials that those in your life are going through to God in prayer and know He is already at work and drawing near to the brokenhearted.
I want to close with one of my favorite quotes by Stephen Grellet.
“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
Let’s Pray
Music 4 (No Slides) (Abbie)
He Walks With Me (1 Peter)
CCLI Song # 7068848
Sandra McCracken | Seth Philpott
Verse 1
Though now we have trials
We wait for salvation
Though tested by fire
We suffer with joy
Verse 2
By His great mercy
Our hope has been born again
Faithful as the morning
We’re raised up with Christ
Chorus
And I cannot see Him
But oh how I love Him
I cannot see Him
But I believe I know He walks with me
I believe that He walks with me
Verse 3
Raised up with the priesthood
To witness His wondrous works
Called out from the darkness
To shimmering light
Chorus
And I cannot see Him
But oh how I love Him
I cannot see Him
But I believe I know He walks with me
I believe that He walks with me
Benediction (Dave)
Reader: As we go out there, we are aware that we can be a frustrating people.
Response: As we go from here, we recognize that we can be a trying people.
Reader: We have doubts and we want all the answers.
Response: We seek answers but we fail to listen for truth.
Reader: We taste water that has been turned to wine.
Response: We don’t like taste so spit it out in revolt.
Reader: God promises us his presence, a promise that we are not alone.
Response: God tells to look for huge miracles in insignificant moments.
Reader: God shows us how to live.
Response: To live out compassion and mercy through our lives.
Reader: God show us how to love.
Response: To see the value of all.
Reader: God shows us how to forgive.
Response: To not live in guilt, or condemn others to shame.
Reader: May we recognize that God is our light.
Response: Truth that lights our path.
Reader: May we not try to keep the light to ourselve.
Response: The light is for all.
Reader: May we start here, where we are.
Response: May we step out to wherever God leads.
Community (No Slides) (Petty)
- Covid
- Beware of Scams on Bank Accounts
- Winter Bible Studies in February
- Next Sunday – ‘The End Of The World As We Know It’, Jeremiah 29:1-7
Peace (Petty)
Reader: As you go from here may the peace of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Reader: Go in peace. Have a great week and be safe for yourself and for others.
Order, Words, & Voices 