Worship with us Sundays 10:00 am.
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The Fourth Sunday of Epiphany
Prayer of Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260-340AD)
May I be no one's enemy.
May I be the friend
of that which is eternal and abides.
May I never quarrel with those nearest me,
and if I do, may I be reconciled quickly.
May I love, seek, and attain
only that which is good.
May I wish for all people's happiness and envy none.
May I never rejoice in the ill fortune
of one who has wronged me.
When I have done or said what is wrong,
may I never wait for the rebuke of others,
but always rebuke myself until I make amends.
May I win no victory that harms either
me or my opponent.
May I reconcile friends who are
angry with one another.
May I never fail a friend who is in danger.
When visiting those in grief,
may I be able by gentle and healing words
to soften pain.
May I respect myself.
May I always keep tame
that which rages within me.
Opening of Worship
[Leader:] The Lord be with you
[ALL:] And also with you
[Leader:] From the very beginning, God calls us (Jeremiah 1:4)
[ALL:] God sets us apart with a meaning and a purpose.
[Leader:] When we are afraid, excuses come easy and we are tempted to avoid our calling (Jeremiah 1:6, 8)
[ALL:] But God reassures us in many and various ways through the course of our days.
[Leader:] Even if we are called common, even if we are despised or threatened, or may like Jesus brought to the edge of a cliff (Luke 4:29)
[ALL:] But God is with us and sustains us. In him, hope is never lost.
Let us pray
God of faith and hope and love:
Your love is perfect and eternal, and rejoices in the truth.
Your hope helps us endure all things.
Your faith helps us believe where we can only seek to understand.
We gather to praise you for what we know in part.
We worship you as through a mirror, dimly.
We believe in you, hope in you, love you!
Amen.
The First Testament // The Law & The Prophets
Jeremiah 1:4–10 (NLT)
The LORD gave me this message:
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
“O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said,
“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
Today I appoint you to stand up
against nations and kingdoms.
Some you must uproot and tear down,
destroy and overthrow.
Others you must build up
and plant.”

Generosity & Giving
The tithes and donations you make to DreamHouse Church make a difference to our church, our community, the people of Newport News, and world missions. There are various ways you can donate. We pass a collection plate during services and electronic giving is available for 24/7 donations. “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” (Proverbs 3:9).
Prayer for Tithes and Offerings
We give as an act of faithfulness,
because God is eternally faithful to us.
We give as an act of hope,
because Christ is ever our reason for hope.
Yet even if we give away everything we have,
including life and limb, and have not love, there is nothing to be gained.
Therefore, let us give of ourselves and from our share of God’s resources and do so in the spirit of love.
Prayers of the People
One of the central acts of worship is the intercessory prayer. In the intercessory prayer we address God in a special way as priestly intercessors for each other and for the world at large. We pray not just for our own congregation and for the people we know; we also intercede for those in authority, for those suffering oppression, for those who are poor, hungry, or sick, and so on.
[Begin:] "To God who welcomes all in love,
let us pray for the good of the church
and the concerns of those in need."
(Prayers for and by the people)
[Conclude:] Sisters and brothers,
let us lift our hearts in faith
to the one who hears all prayers
and holds close all those in need.

Prayer of Illumination // For reading and preaching of the Word of God
Holy Spirit,
as the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in his time,
bring this word to us now.
Touch our ears and minds to hear,
move our hearts with your heart,
open our mouths to speak your word and to share it,
shine in our eyes to see as you see,
for our lives our but your life,
and this world is yours and yours alone.
Amen.
The Second Testament // The Epistles
1 Corinthians 13:1–13 (NLT)
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
The Second Testament // The Gospel
Luke 4:21-30 (NLT)
Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

The Lord's Supper // Communion
Jesus said, “Come to me,
all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.”
—from Matthew 11:28-29, NRSV
Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God!
People will come from east and west,
from north and south,
and sit at table in the kingdom of God.
When our risen Lord was at table with his disciples,
he took the bread, and blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
This is the Lord’s table.
Our Savior invites those who trust him
to share the feast that he has prepared.
—based on Luke 13:29; 24:30-31
Hear the words of the institution
of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ:
The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took bread,
and after giving thanks to God,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying,
“Take, eat. This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this in remembrance of me.”
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord until he comes.
With thanksgiving, let us offer God our grateful praise.
—based on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Doxology and Benediction // The Sending & the Blessing
As you leave this place this day,
may God’s love sustain you,
and may you love those who surround you.
May God’s Spirit empower you,
and may you empower all those you meet.
May God’s joy fill your hearts,
and may this joy overflow
to the ends of the earth for God’s glory,
now and forever. Amen