January 14, 2024
“Known”
WORDS OF Welcome and Centering
Chris Zepp
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-14 (CEB)
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
WELCOMING STATEMENT
RISE believes that God has open arms, and so should we. Our Creator wants us to love, accept and affirm every human being, including persons of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, religion or creed, and physical or mental ability. We celebrate our diversity and recognize the sacred worth and dignity of all. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us as we seek to follow Jesus with mutual respect, understanding, and love.
*Read more about “Why Pronouns Matter” HERE.
We are excited to welcome Maggie McClary as our new Music and Arts Coordinator today! She is in her Senior year at EMU and studies Music and Peacebuilding.
Learn more about Maggie HERE
OPENING MUSIC
Maggie McClary
“Come Thou Fount”
~Robert Robinson
Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy praise
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount I’m fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love
Here I raise my ebenezer
Hither by thy help I’m come
And I hope, by thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me, when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed his precious blood
Oh to grace, how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let thy goodness, like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord, take it, seal it
Seal it for thy courts above
“Blessed Be Your Name”
~Matt and Beth Redman
Blessed be your name
in the land that is plentiful
Where your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name
Every blessing you pour out I’ll
Turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
Blessed be your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
And the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be your name
Every blessing you pour out I’ll
Turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be your name
(2x)
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
(2x)
Scripture Reading
John 1:43-51 (The Message)
43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, “Come, follow me.” (Philip’s hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)
45-46 Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” Nathanael said, “Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding.”
But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”
47 When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”
48 Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea? You don’t know me.”
Jesus answered, “One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49 Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”
50-51 Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”
THEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION
“known”
Chris Zepp
TABLE AND LIVE CHAT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What sticks out to you in the story of Philip, Nathanael, and Jesus? Do you see other signs of “the way” in this story?
It has been said that Sunday mornings are one of the most “false” times of the week - with church-going folk putting on their “Sunday best,” responding to questions with pre-approved “Sunday School” answers, and generally putting on a show of being nice, good, Christians. Why is it that church is so often one of the places where people feel like they can’t be themselves?
If the gift of being known is freedom, how can we, as followers of Jesus, extend that to ourselves, to one another, and to our neighbors?
COMMUNION
Pastor Amanda Miller Garber
Servers: Eleanor Baker & Amanda Zepp
“Turning Over Tables”
~The Brilliance
Fear runs deep, spreading like a virus
Hate is cheap, from afar it costs you nothing
Sister take my hand, brother we will stand
Open up your hearts and find
Love is turning over tables, breaking off chains
When I see you in a stranger, I’m no longer a slave
Turning over tables, tearing down walls
Building up the bridges between us all
Oh oo oo ooooo o oooooo
Let courage be my willingness to listen
So I can feel the wound inside my heart
Let seeds of peace grow in hearts around us
That trees of hope give shade to all (hu)mankind
Sister take my hand, brother we will stand
Open up our hearts and find
Love is turning over tables, breaking off chains
When I see you in a stranger, I’m no longer a slave
Turning over tables, tearing down walls
Building up the bridges between us all
When will we stand for love?
When will we stand for love?
When will we stand for love?
(repeat)
Love is turning over tables, breaking off chains
When I see you in a stranger, I’m no longer a slave
Turning over tables, tearing down walls
Building up the bridges between us all
Oh oo oo ooooo o oooooo
OFFERING AND NOMOFOMO
Alexis Owens
One of our core values is, "God gives to us, so we give back." We're called to give as a joy-filled response to what we've been given. Your financial gifts make a tremendous difference in the lives of God's beloved in Harrisonburg and beyond. Whether it's helping to make sure children in our community have enough to eat, helping to respond to the mental health crisis in our community, or providing much needed backing for the operating costs of our spaces and staff — your gift is a part of God's dream and we are grateful for everyone who partners with us on this journey!
PLEASE HELP WITH WORSHIP! We are always looking for persons willing to volunteer to assist and support our worship gatherings. If you'd be willing to volunteer to help (read, provide food, set-up, serve communion, clean-up run tech, etc) please sign up on this doc for the role and the date(s) of your choosing:
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CLOSING SONG
“In Your Midst”
~Allie Paige
I come to sit at your feet
To drink from the fountain of life
How it satisfies
No where else do I want to be
The warmth of your heart is enough
It’s enough for me
Oh I’ve come to have
Communion with the king
To sit at the table and dine
With the highest priest
Oh, to know, just what’s on your mind
The secrets of Heaven
I’ll live to search, to find
So hide me deep inside your heart, Lord
Cover me with your wings
Bring me into safety
Bring me into fellowship with who you are, Lord
Father, Son, and Spirit
This is all I long for
I come to sit at Your feet
To drink from the fountain of life
How it satisfies
Nowhere else do I want to be
The warmth of your heart is enough
It’s enough for me
So hide me deep inside your heart, Lord
Cover me with your wings
Bring me into safety
Bring me into fellowship with who you are, Lord
Father, Son, and Spirit
This is all I long for
This my heart’s desire
To know you and be known
To know you and be known
(2x)
This my heart’s desire
To know you and be known
To know you and be known by you Jesus
So hide me deep inside your heart, Lord
Cover me with your wings
Bring me into safety
Bring me into fellowship with who you are, Lord
Father, Son, and Spirit
This is all I long for (repeat)
Parting Blessing
Friends, God knows us
God is acquainted with all our ways
knows us completely inside and out
For it was God who made us,
and from the moment we drew our first breath
we have been fearfully and wonderfully made.
Which means that each and every one of us is a gift
known and loved completely by our creator
May we never forget who we are…
Amen.