The Spirit of God be with you all. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to God. Give thanks to our God! All our thanks, all our praise!

Holy God, Holy One, Holy Three! Before all that is, You were God. Outside all we know, You are God. After all is finished, You will be God. Archangels sound the trumpets, Angels teach us their song, Saints pull us into your presence. And this is our song:

Holy, holy, holy God. Our life, our mercy, our might. Gloria in excelsis Deo! Blessed is the one who comes in your name.

You beyond the galaxies, you in the company of angels. You in distant fields, you in the company of shepherds. You in a manger, you in the company of lowly animals. Your words through Micah and Isaiah, Your hand with wise men and a star, Your smile on Mary and Joseph. You lived as Jesus among us; Healing, teaching, dying, rising. Inviting us all to your feast. In the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; He broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying: “Take, eat; this is my body given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” Again, after supper he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.” Holy God, we remember your son, His life with the humble, His death among the wretched, His resurrection for us all: Your wisdom for our guide, Your justice for our strength, Your grace our path to rebirth. And so we cry, Mercy: Mercy! And so we cry, Glory: Glory! And so we cry, Blessing: Blessing! Holy God, we call for your Presence: Enliven this bread, Awaken this body, Pour us out for each other. Transfigure our minds, Ignite your church, Nourish the life of the earth. Make us, while many, united. Make us though broken, whole. Make us, despite death, alive. And so we cry, Come, Holy Spirit: Come, Holy Spirit! And all the earth cries, Come, Emmanuel: O come, O come, Emmanuel! You, Holy God, Holy One, Holy Three: Our Life; our Mercy; our Might; Our Table; our Food; our Server. Our Rainbow; our Ark; our Dove. Our Sovereign; our Water; our Wine. Our Light; our Treasure; our Tree. Our way; our Truth; our Life. You, Holy God, Holy One, Holy Three! Praise now, praise tomorrow, praise forever. And so we cry, Amen: Amen! And now, with the confidence of children of God, let us pray: Our Father....

Adoration of the Magi

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

(1655 - 1660)

Toledo Museum of Art, OH

Instead of concentrating on the

splendor of the kings, Murillo

instead emphasizes their reaction

to the Christ Child, convincingly

expressing their joy, solemn

contemplation, and humble

devotion as the young Virgin Mary

tenderly presents the child to them.

Seen from the back, the kneeling

king makes a particularly effective

emotional impact and helps to

draw the viewer into the scene.

The Magi came to represent the

kings of the world acknowledging

the sovereignty of Christ, their

depiction in art related to the idea

of the universal nature of

Christianity. Here Murillo follows

the tradition of representing the

Magi as the three ages of man

(youth, maturity, and old age) and

the three known continents of

Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Epiphany Sunday/ New Year’s Day

Combined 10:30 AM Service

Worship

Celebration of

* Congregation, please stand as you are able. Auburn United Methodist Church

PRELUDE “We Three Kings”………………..……………………arr. Sandra Stone Watwood Sandra Watwood, organ WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS……………………………..……………..…...Chris Kelsey

CHIMING OF THE HOUR

CALL TO WORSHIP A new day has dawned, a new year begun

O Lord, call us so we may hear Your voice

We look to the light that shines in the darkness

O Lord, keep us in Your ways and on Your path

As we enter a New Year, let us be God’s light to the world

O Lord, remind us to follow Your will

For God is now amongst us

Let us worship the newborn King!

*PROCESSIONAL HYMN # 254 “We Three Kings”………………..….….….KINGS OF ORIENT

*INVITATION TO CELEBRATE HOLY COMMUNION…………....…..Rev. Nancy Watson

(Hymnal Page 12)

*CONFESSION AND PARDON

*CONGREGATIONAL GREETING

CARING CONCERNS………………………………………………………………….………Rev. John Fox

MORNING/OFFERTORY PRAYER…………………………………………………….…..Nathan Cox

OFFERTORY "The Shepherds Sing"…………………………………..Ralph Vaughan Williams

Mark Helms, solo

There will be no Worship in Training (WIT) or Wonder of Worship (WOW) today.

*DOXOLOGY Hymn # 95

*SCRIPTURE Revelation 21:1-6a Read by Ford Laumer

COMMUNION MEDITATION Beginning with the End in Mind Rev. Watson

GREAT THANKSGIVING (See back page)

BREAKING OF THE BREAD

CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST *Gluten-Free Wafers are available. Please indicate to the minister if that is your preference. *Please raise your hand if you would like to receive Communion in your pew. *Money left on the altar this week goes to the Discretionary Fund (a fund used by the ministers for people in immediate/critical need)

MUSIC FOR COMMUNION

“Sheep May Safely Graze”………………………………………………...………….....J.S. Bach

Sandra Watwood, organ “Angel Carol”…………………………………………………………………………..arr. Anna Page Mark Helms & Chris Kelsey, duet

Hymn # 580 “Lead On, O King Eternal”

Hymn # 397 “I Need Thee Every Hour”

Hymn # 381 “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”

*CLOSING HYMN # 127 “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”……...…….CWM RHONDDA

*BENEDICTION………………………………………………………………………………….…..Rev. Watson

*BENEDICTION RESPONSE # 666 “Shalom to You” ……………….……..………….…..SHALOM

POSTLUDE “Alleluia from Cantata “For Us a Child Is Born”…………………..….…..J.S. Bach

Sandra Watwood, organ

Acolytes: Kinsley Hunter & Samantha Perry

Flowers: “To the Glory of God and in loving memory of our parents, Mary Beth and Ellis Prather, on their anniversary in January by their children, Ed Prather and Marsha Prather”

Epiphany

The word 'Epiphany' comes from

the Greek for 'manifestation' and is

observed on January 6th. It originated

in the Eastern Church and is an older

celebration than Christmas, being first

mentioned in 200 AD. By the 4th

century, it was one of the three great

festivals of the church year, along with

Easter and Pentecost.

In the Eastern Church it is still a

celebration of the baptism of

Jesus. In the Western Church, the

commemoration became the manifes-

tation of Christ to the gentiles, as

represented in the story of the Magi.

From the few sentences of the

Gospel of Matthew, a whole legend

developed in the Middle Ages. The

Magi became three in number, were

promoted to kings and acquired the

names of Melchior, Caspar and

Balthazar. In 1158, three bodies were

found in a church near Milan, and were

presumed to be that of the Magi. They

were exhumed and reburied in

Cologne Cathedral and became a

famous place of pilgrimage. These

stories are not Biblical and little is

actually known about the Magi. It is

more likely they were men from Persia

who were skilled in philosophy,

medicine and natural science, including

astrology.

Epiphany was once popularly known

as the Twelfth Day, being twelve days

after Christmas, is a time for

celebration as the conclusion of the

Christmas season. Some churches now

refer to it as the period until the

beginning of Lent.

Magi Gifts

Their gifts have been seen as

symbolic of the three roles that Jesus

was born to play: gold was the gift of

kings, frankincense was offered by the

priest with certain sacrifices, and

myrrh was used in preparing the dead

for burial.

Jesus was born to be both king and

priest, and he would one day give his

life for the world.

Carol – We Three Kings

"We Three Kings,” also known as

"The Quest of the Magi” is a carol

written by Rev. John Hopkins, Jr.,

who wrote both the lyrics and the

music as part of a children’s

Christmas pageant in 1857.

Hopkins, aware that little was

known of the Magi, combined the

short Biblical record with the

legends which were past down. The

cadence of the melody captures the

sway of a camel’s gait.

The words refer to the gifts

presented to the Christ Child and

their symbolism.

Robert Webber, Professor of

Theology at Wheaton College

wrote; “I enjoy singing ‘We Three

Kings’ because this hymn expresses

the discovery of Christ by the

Gentile world of which I am a part.”

Rev. Nancy Watson Rev. Watson is our Conference Director of Connectional Ministries. She had served Thomasville UMC since 2014. Her previous appointments include Trinity UMC (Ft. Walton Beach) and St. Mark UMC (Pensacola). Watson was ordained as an elder in the Alabama-West Florida Conference in 2010. She is a graduate of Indiana University and Florida A & M University and received her seminary degree from Asbury Theological Seminary.