January 18, 2026
Prelude: O Master Let Me Walk with Thee
Wood
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 40]
Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
O LORD our God, you have multiplied your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you.
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given us an open ear.
May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
Let us worship the LORD!
O Praise the Gracious Power (Hymn 471)
Troeger/Doran
O praise the gracious power that tumbles walls of fear
And gather in one house of faith all strangers far and near:
We praise You, Christ! Your cross has made us one!
O praise persistent truth that opens fisted minds
And eases from their anxious clutch the prejudice that binds.
We praise You, Christ! Your cross has made us one!
O praise inclusive love, encircling every race,
Oblivious to gender, wealth, to social rank or place:
We praise You, Christ! Your cross has made us one!
O praise the word of faith that claims us as God’s own,
A living temple built on Christ, our rock and cornerstone:
We praise You, Christ! Your cross has made us one!
Confession
Eternal God, we confess that we have fallen short of the vision of your Beloved Community. We confess our sins of division: the “us versus them” mentality that builds walls, makes assumptions instead of seeking understanding, and chooses our own comfort over courageous love.
We confess that we turn a blind eye to suffering—sometimes out of exhaustion, and sometimes out of prejudice—forgetting that your grace is not earned, and that you call us to love our neighbors as ourselves, even our enemies.
Forgive us for the ways we have not followed you, but instead have conformed to the patterns of this world. Renew our minds, and help us to see your image in every created person. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who showed us mercy so that we might learn to live like him. Amen.
Silence
O Master Let Me Walk with Thee (Hymn 357)
Gladden/Smith
O Master, let me walk with Thee in lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret; help me bear the strain of toil, the fret of care.
Teach me Thy patience; still with Thee in closer, dearer company,
In work that keeps faith sweet and strong, in trust that triumphs over wrong.
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Doxology
LASST UNS ERFREUEN
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise God, all creatures here below. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, three in one. O praise God, Alleluia!
O praise God, Alleluia! Alleluia!
Prayer for Illumination
Old Testament Reading: Micah 6:6-8
Steve Blewett
Scripture Song: Micah 6:8
Bob Sklar
He has shown thee (He has shown thee)
O man (O man)
What is good and what the Lord requires of thee.
But to do justly (But to do justly)
And to love mercy (And to love mercy)
And to walk humbly with thy God.
(repeat)
New Testament Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17-18
Sermon - Still Learning: Wisdom, Unity, and the Courage to Grow
Rev. Pamela Starbuck
Focus: In a world full of chaos, our call is to see the world through the eyes of Christ alone to find unity as the body of Christ.
Response: What If What They Say Is True?
Pastoral Prayer & The Lord's Prayer
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Call to Stewardship
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
-Genesis 2:15
Sending: Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples of the Lord (Hymn 434)
Carmichael/arr. Williams
Today we all are called to be disciples of the Lord,
To help to set the captive free, make plowshare out of sword,
To feed the hungry, quench their thirst, make love and peace our fast,
To serve the poor and homeless first, our ease and comfort last.
God made the world and at its birth ordained our human race
To live as stewards of the earth, responding to God’s grace.
But we are vain and sadly proud, we sow not peace but strife,
Our discord spreads a deadly cloud that threatens all of life.
Pray justice may come rolling down as in a mighty stream,
With righteousness in field and town to cleanse us and redeem.
For God is longing to restore an earth where conflicts cease,
A world that was created for a harmony of peace.
Charge & Benediction
Postlude: Finale
Correll
Helen will be teaching organ to young piano students through our local AGO’s Organ Academy from February through April. The Postludes for the next few Sundays are from the manual we are using, as Helen works her way through its material.
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