06/11/2023 Service

Sources of Information for Today's Online Service
This page has links to information used or encountered in preparing this online service.

Topics for Today
Wikipedia is a frequent source
for information in these articles.

Prayer Shawl
Tallit

This wikipedia article is about the Jewish Prayer Shawl
like the one pastor Ralph used in his message today.

Flag Day

What is Flag Day?
The Evolution of the American Flag
All About Flags
The Christian Flag

The Great Commission
Great Commission from wikipedia
What Was the Great Commission?
What is the Great Commission?

What Became of the Apostles?

The following documents,
from a Bethel Sunday School class several years ago,
provide some answers to this question...in two formats:
Format 1... Format 2
...and from that small band, billions profess their faith today.

Bethel Worship Planning Documents
2023 Monthly Worship Calendar
2023 RCL 2 page Summary
Bethel Weekly Worship Planning worksheet
2023 Annual Program Planning worksheet

Guidance from UMC Discipleship Ministries
Weekly Worship Planning Series

This is the First service of a 2 service Worship Series from the Discipleship Ministries.
The graphics at the top of this page list the topics for the services of the Series.
(Click on another graphic to see that session's resource page)

Note: This material from UDM is not the basis for today's message
but is provided here for your personal study and reflection.

Click here for suggestions about how to use this material.

Worship Theme: "The Path of the Disciple"
from umcdiscipleship.org

During this lengthy Ordinary Time of the year, the UDM has chosen an overall theme: The Path of the Disciple for the "season" with several worship series of 2 or more weeks with a separate theme for each series.

A disciple is a follower. That means there must be someone to follow and that someone wants followers. Considering that, in the gospel accounts, Jesus said “follow me” more often than he said, “believe in me,” we can be confident that there is a call to follow laid upon anyone and everyone who seeks to draw closer to Christ. Yet even a cursory reading of the gospels will reveal that Jesus never undersold this call. He never tried to convince us that following was an easy or a simple thing to do.

Worship Series: "The Weight of the Call"
from umcdiscipleship.org

We begin our summer worship contemplation with consideration of the Weight of the Call. Throughout this four-part series, we listen again to the call of the whole people of faith, when God called Abraham to be the beginning – the genesis – of a new nation. Then we lay this ancient call alongside the words and deeds of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew as he confirms and enhances and redirects the call to be the church at work in the world. But here in part one, we are especially mindful of the radical nature of the call to leave everything behind and to live into a new reality, only then to discover the added responsibility of inviting the whole world to come to know the one we follow. Jump in as we consider the weight of the call.

This Service's Theme: "Trusting the Unknown"
Liturgical Resources

This week, we focus on the starting point, hearing and responding to the call. Even when it scares us, or challenges us, or asks a lot of us.

Worship Planning Notes
Preaching Notes

Lectionary Scriptures:
Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13,18-26;

Sources of Music for the following hymns are:

- UMH CD.....UDM - DM Accompaniment..... MM/DD/YY - Recorded Service

Hymns Considered For this week: