(Image: “The Tenth Piece of Silver”, Wesley, Frank 1923-2002)
©Order of Worship for Sunday January 25, 2026
Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Welcome Home Worship Series
For the Avent Ferry UMC Worship Video (check your church newsletter)
Scroll to the bottom of the worship bulletin if you need to download the Zoom app.
The worship video will be available live at 11:00 am
Prelude.………………………………………………….Greg D.
Greetings:……………………………………………….Pastor Liz
Announcements:…………………………………………Lorri B.
Opening Prayer:………………………………………Melrose D.
Lord, where shall I find you?
High and hidden is your place.
And where shall I not find You?
The world is full of your glory.
I have sought your nearness,
with all my heart I called you.
And in going out to meet you
I found you coming in to meet me. Amen.
Opening Hymns: “Amazing Grace” #378, UMH v. 1-3
1. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that
saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but
now am found; was blind, but now I see.
2. ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and
grace my fears relieved; how precious did that
grace appear the hour I first believed.
3. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I
have already come; ‘tis grace hath brought me
safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
Passing of the Peace:……………………………………Pastor Liz
Let us offer signs of reconciliation and peace to one another.
Gloria Patri:…….“Glory Be to the Father”…….#71 UMH
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, to
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Psalm 139:1-18………………..…………….Melrose D.
The Inescapable God
O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and night wraps itself around me,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.
Giving of our Tithes and Offerings:……………………Pastor Liz
AFUMC Giving Link: https://aventferryumc.org/give/
The Prayers of the People:……………………………….Pastor Liz
Gospel Lesson:……… Luke 15:1-10………………….Melrose D.
1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3So he told them this parable: 4“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Hymn of Preparation:….“Amazing Grace” #378 UMH V. 4-6
4. The Lord has promised good to me, his
word my hope secures; he will my shield and
portion be, as long as life endures.
5. Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and
mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, with-
in the veil, a life of joy and peace.
6. When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright
shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to
sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.
Message:.. “Welcome Home: Prevenient Grace”…..Pastor Liz
Response to the Word:
Closing Hymn:“Grace Greater than Our Sin” #365 UMH
Words: Julia H. Johnston, 1911 Music: Daniel B. Towner, 1910
1. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord.
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and
cleanse within, grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!
2. Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.
Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and
cleanse within, grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!
3. Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.
Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and
cleanse within, grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!
4. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see his face,
will you this moment his grace receive?
Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and
cleanse within, grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!
Dismissal with Blessing:………………………….Pastor Liz
Postlude:…………………………………………………….Greg D.
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Sunday January 26th Worship Service on ZOOM