Elements from this morning’s gathering

Call to Worship

We come here today,
not for our own gain,
not to prove our worth,
but to remember the One who gave it all away.

We come,
setting aside our ambitions,
laying down the weight of our own desires.

Jesus—
who had it all,
who was it all,
didn’t hold on,
didn’t grasp,
but emptied Himself,
became like us,
so that we could become like Him.

We come,
to follow the way of surrender,
the way of love that asks nothing in return.

Let us not cling to our own importance,
but look to the needs of our neighbor.

For Christ walked among us,
not as a celebrity,
but as a servant.

Washing feet,
befriending the fringe,
carrying burdens,
giving His very life.

A humble obedience,
even to the point of death.
The ultimate display of love.

So here we stand:
challenged,
humbled,
grateful.

Here we are,
ready to love like our Servant King.
Amen.

Scripture Readings

A Reading from Philippians 2

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, – though he was in very nature God – did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and was born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.

A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 2, 6, & 7

From that time Jesus began to announce, “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!”

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyally devoted to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to wealth.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear… Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s way of living right by others, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In all this, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of the Heavens. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”