Prelude
 
Lighting of Candle
We light this candle to remind us that the love of Christ shines
upon us each and every day.
We worship the God revealed through
Jesus the Christ, in spirit and in truth.
 
Singing VU 593 Jesu, Jesu, Fill us with your Love
 
Call to Worship
Water of Life, present at the creation of the universe.
Water of Life, present at our birth.
Water of Life, present at the baptism of Jesus.
Water of Life, present at our own baptisms.
We remember that at these times, not only was there water, but also the voice of God was experienced and felt speaking to us.
God, Water of Life, we come this morning to be filled with your living water and to listen for your voice. Amen.
 
 Reading from Scripture:
Acts 19: 1-7
Mark 1:4-11
We respond:
In ages past, disciples, prophets, priests and historians wrote down their faith. 
This is a faithful witness of our ancestors. 
Word of God for us today.
Thanks be to God.
 
Sermon:  Who is this who calls us?

Singing: VU 99 Christ, When for Us you were Baptized
 
Giving Our Offerings:
MV #191 (sing twice through)
 
Offering Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
we bring all we have—
our faith, our doubts,
our hopes, our dreams,
our lives in all their untidiness,
and we offer to you some of the gifts that you,
in your generosity, have shared with us.
Bless these gifts, and bless us, we pray,
for the good of your love at work in the world. Amen.
 
Prayer of the People
 
The Lord’s Prayer:  modern spoken
We gather these prayers, and we turn to you as our Mother who loves us and say the prayer Jesus taught us:
 
Singing:   AGCS 64   Simple Gifts
 
Commissioning

Today’s prayers were written or inspired by Fern Gibbard, David Sparks, Deborah Ambridge Fisher, Gord Dunbar, Robin Wardlaw, and are used with permission from Gathering’s Christmas Epiphany, 2020-2021 edition.