CCLI Number: 2880734
January 11, 2026
Words of Welcome Rev. John Hill
Centering Music
Call to Worship Emily Harper
A voice cried out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord.
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low.
The uneven ground shall become level.
Just as God called from heaven to declare that Jesus is beloved,
We too are beloved of God.
Just as the waters of baptism called Jesus to begin his ministry,
May we hear and follow that same voice calling to us.
Opening Hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (UMH #400)
Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
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 mine 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.
O 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, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
Opening Prayer (Book of Worship #301) Emily Harper
Living God,
when the Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism in Jordan’s water
you revealed him as your own beloved Son.
You anointed him with the Holy Spirit.
Grant that all who are baptized into his name
may keep the covenant they have made,
and boldly confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
now and forever. Amen.
Children’s Moment Rev. John Hill
Mission Moment Shannon Alpert and Room in the Inn
Prayer of Confession Emily Harper
Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Silent Confession
Words of Assurance Rev. John Hill
Hear the Good News: Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. That proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Glory to God. Amen.
Passing the Peace
Second Hymn “Spirit of the Living God” (UMH #393)
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me,
fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me,
fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Prayer for Illumination Emily Harper
Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.
Scripture Reading Mark 1:9-11
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Response to the Scripture Reading Emily Harper
For the Word of God we hear in scripture,
for the Word of God we encounter among us,
and for the Word of God at work within us,
Thanks be to God.
Sermon “Voices: The Voice of Baptism” Rev. John Hill
Musical Reflection
Pastoral Prayer Rev. John Hill
The Lord’s Prayer
Invitation to Offer Tithes and Gifts
https://onrealm.org/CrievewoodUMC/Give
Offertory
Doxology (UMH #95)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God, above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Invitation to Discipleship
Congregational Reaffirmation of Baptism
INTRODUCTION
Brothers and sisters in Christ: Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are initiated into Christ’s holy church. We are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.
Through the reaffirmation of our faith, we renew the covenant declared at our baptism, acknowledge what God is doing for us, and affirm our commitment to Christ’s holy church.
RENUNCIATION OF SIN AND PROFESSION OF FAITH
On behalf of the whole church, I ask you:
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of the world, and repent of your sin?
I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?
I do.
According to the grace given to you, will you remain faithful members of Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world?
I will.
Let us now rise in body or spirit and join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and encapsulated in the Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
THANKSGIVING OVER THE WATER
This Is the Water © The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld, Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, adapted by Marcia McFee.
This is the water on which God breathed and the Spirit brooded when God began creating us… all creeping things, all races and genders.
This is the water that drove up the trunk of the tree whose branches bore the fruit we weren’t to taste.
This water covered the earth deeper than the Himalayas when God wanted to start over.
This is the foot of the rainbow that’s meant to tell us God won’t destroy the creation again.
This is the water of the River Jabbock where Jacob still wrestles with God.
This is the well where Joseph was left for dead by his jealous brothers.
This is the water that opened at Moses’ command when God led God’s people out of slavery. This is the water by which Miriam and the women danced the rhythms of liberation.
This water sprung from rocks in the desert when the people started whining to go back to the way things used to be.
These are the salty tears King David shed when Nathan accused him of the worst sin. These are the tears he shed when he pleaded God for forgiveness and got it.
These are the waters of Babylon by which our ancestors sat down and wept, their harps and tongues silent for homesickness.
And this is the water that broke in a barn in Bethlehem.
Out of this water John pulled a stunned Jesus in the River Jordan, the day they saw the dove and heard from deep within the Voice that said, “YOU ARE MY BELOVED. IN YOU MY HEART SINGS FOR JOY!”
This is where those men heaved and hauled nets, until love came to town and called them to even harder work for even less pay.
This is the water that became wine at a wedding in Cana.
Peter sauntered on this water, and then sank, and then was rescued, setting the pattern of a disciple’s life.
This is the well in Samaria where Jesus chatted, unchaperoned, with a so-called disreputable woman. This is the living water that quenched her thirst forever and restored her dignity.
This is the spittle that came from his mouth when he restored hearing to those who could not hear, when he restored sight to those who could not see.
This is the water he used to cut the wine at his last meal.
These are the tears that fell that last night in the garden.
This is the sink that Pilate used to wash his hands when he passed the death sentence.
These are the wet faces of the women whose grief at the cross could not be quenched.
This is what Jesus thirsted for at the hour of his death.
This is the tomb from which Christ blasted… This is the opening; this is the way.
This is the water that binds us to him when shame and sin and death are destroyed…
This is the water that reminds us who we are, and whose we are.
CONGREGATIONAL REMEMBRANCE OF BAPTISM
THANKSGIVING
Let us rejoice in the faithfulness of our covenant God.
We give thanks for all that God has already given us.
As members of the body of Christ
and in this congregation of The United Methodist Church,
we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the church
by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness,
that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
The God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory in Christ, establish and strengthen you by the power of the Holy Spirit, that you may live in grace and peace.
Closing Hymn “Shall We Gather at the River” (UMH #723)
Shall we gather at the river,
where bright angel feet have trod,
with its crystal tide forever
flowing by the throne of God?
Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
the beautiful, the beautiful river;
gather with the saints at the river
that flows by the throne of God.
On the margin of the river,
washing up its silver spray,
we will walk and worship ever,
all the happy golden day.
Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
the beautiful, the beautiful river;
gather with the saints at the river
that flows by the throne of God.
Ere we reach the shining river,
lay we every burden down;
grace our spirits will deliver,
and provide a robe and crown.
Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
the beautiful, the beautiful river;
gather with the saints at the river
that flows by the throne of God.
Soon we’ll reach the shining river,
soon our pilgrimage will cease;
soon our happy hearts will quiver
with the melody of peace.
Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
the beautiful, the beautiful river;
gather with the saints at the river
that flows by the throne of God.
Benediction Rev. John Hill
Benediction Song “Forth in Thy Name” (UMH #438, verse 1)
Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go,
my daily labor to pursue;
thee, only thee, resolved to know
in all I think or speak or do.