Bring Light #
Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Ordinary TimeWhen to use: 18 January 2026
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Worship Tools #
Worship Outline #
Additional Scriptures
Psalm 40:1–11; 1 Corinthians 1:1–9; John 1:29–42
Preparation
For the Opportunity for Service element, ahead of time, place several large basins or bowls on tables at the front of the worship space, with washcloths draped over the edges and large towels beside the bowls.
Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
We come to see the Christ, living and serving among us! Let us come and meet Christ, the One who calls us, our Light, our Example, our Savior!
—John 1:29–39a, adapted
Hymn
“Called by Christ to Love Each Other” CCS 577
OR “Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands” CCS 585
Prayer of Adoration
Disciples’ Generous Response
Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
Statement
As we desire to give to fulfill God’s vision of shalom, God’s grace continues to show us how to receive and give. And each act of generosity grows our awareness of our true capacity to give. Our capacity includes both the material and spiritual. Whole-life generosity not only broadens the scope of how and when we can give, it increases our capacity and desire to give.
—Choose Generosity: Discovering Whole-Life Stewardship, Herald House, p.117
Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
Prayer for Peace
Light the peace candle.
Prayer
God our Light, we pause to hear your call to mission, to sense the longing in your heart that all the world might come to know the depth of your peace.
We confess that too often we have chosen apathy in the face of need, inattentiveness to the silent pleas around us, abrasiveness when a gentle hand was sought. Though we stumble and choose courses that cause separation, still you beckon us to seek your ways of peace.
Open our inner eyes to see your dream of peace, to find the solace that stills our hearts and quickens our resolve to see your kingdom come. Restore us to your vision of welcome for all and provision for the least. Strengthen our hands and make sturdy our hearts that we might invest our energies in those things which make for peace in the fabric of your beloved creation community.
Lord, we give you our desire to serve that you might bless our efforts to further the work to which you once again call us, the work of spreading the healing balm of peace in our broken world. Call us to serve in your name of peace, we pray, Amen.
Hymn
“Come and Bring Light” choose stanzas that are relevant to your group CCS 287
OR “Lord, Make Us Instruments” CCS 364
Moment of Confession
Provide moments of silence for participants to offer silent prayers of confession.
Opportunity for Service
Place several large basins or bowls on tables at the front of the worship space, with washcloths draped over the edges and large towels beside the bowls. Explain that participants will have the opportunity to extend care and service to one another by coming forward and washing the hands of the person behind them and drying their hands on the towels provided. Encourage all ages to participate. As the hand washing continues, ask participants to reflect on the gift of service Christ offered and calls us to follow. Provide appropriate special music as background to this activity.
Ministry of Music or Congregational Hymn
“Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love” CCS 367
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
OR “Christ, You Call Us All to Service” CCS 357
The Spoken Word
Based on Isaiah 49:1–7
Hymn of Embodiment
“Let Justice Roll like a River” CCS 288
OR “Let Your Heart Be Broken” CCS 353
OR “Let Justice Flow Down” CCS 286
Prayer of Empowerment for Service
Hymn
“I’m Gonna Live So God Can use Me” CCS 581
OR “Go Now Forth into the World” CCS 646
Sending Forth: Doctrine and Covenants 162:8c
May you go in peace, commissioned to serve in the name of the Risen Christ, Amen.
Postlude
Sacred Space: Small-Group Worship Outline #
Gathering
Welcome
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.
Light the peace candle.
Please join me in today’s prayer and meditation. Quiet your breathing and embrace God’s eternal grace as you become aware of your own responses to the guided prayer.
God, you are the still point of the circle within which all creation is found. I yearn to connect with your spirit of peace and experience the companionship of your presence in this moment. May I abide in the center of creation’s circle with you?
Pause 15 seconds.
Creator of horizons, help us draw the circle wider to include those I know and love, and even those I struggle to understand and accept. Fill this circle with the gifts of forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and peace. Give us the desire to include all whose paths cross ours into a place where acceptance is offered freely. Draw our circle wider.
Pause 15 seconds.
Giver of dreams, let the peace we’ve dreamed of expand to embrace all your children in all nations. Within this circle may we see the other as brother and sister and act as mutual stewards of one another. You call us to live without borders that exclude. Help us to draw the circle wider still.
Pause 15 seconds.
God of all living things, your world longs to be whole and in harmony. The dream of shalom includes caregiving for the water, earth, air, and all that has life in one great family. You created us with interdependencies. Give us mutual respect and tender care for all. Let this be our song: Nothing on your created Earth stands alone, but lives in shalom with all other living things. Draw the circle wide open.
Pause 15 seconds.
Architect of life and peace, may we be blessed by your vision of shalom this day. May our minds, hearts, and spirits be wide enough for all to find a home. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God’s shalom. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Walking in the Light
During Epiphany and the season after Epiphany our spiritual practice will be “Walking in the Light.” Take a few moments to quiet yourself. When you feel calm, begin by imagining you are walking on a path of light. As we pray, visualize the light surrounding you. As the prayer continues, offer the gift of light to those close to you, to friends and acquaintances, to those you dislike or with whom you are in conflict, and to your community at-large.
Invite the group members to enter silence, close their eyes, release into a sense of calm, and imagine walking on a path of light.
As you hear each sentence, offer the gift of light to those mentioned.
May my loved ones be embraced in God’s light.
Pause 15 seconds.
May my family walk in the light of Christ.
Pause 15 seconds.
May my friends receive the gift of love and light.
Pause 15 seconds.
May my acquaintances sense the presence of light through our interactions.
Pause 15 seconds.
May the one with whom I am in conflict be surrounded by the light of Christ.
Pause 15 seconds.
May my community be blessed by the eternal light of God’s love and grace.
Pause 15 seconds.
Amen.
After the prayer invite people to share, as comfortable, any thoughts, emotions, or images they experienced during the practice of “Walking in the Light.”
Sharing Around the Table
Isaiah 49:1–7 NRSVue
Listen to me, O coastlands;
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born;
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord
and my reward with my God.”
And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
“Kings shall see and stand up;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
The servant knows God called him before he was born. God prepared him while still in his mother’s womb. Not because of a display of superior strength or intellect and not because of wealth or status. It has nothing to do with what he can accomplish on his own. Rather, it is all the work of God’s mercy and grace.
The servant is aware of his inability to accomplish on his own that to which he has been called. Yet, he also acknowledges that, in spite of everything, he remains steadfast in his commitment to serve the Lord. Rather than lowering the expectations for the servant, God raises the bar, sending him not only to the people of Israel, but to all the people of the world.
We, too, are called as children of God because of who God created us to be, rather than because of any merit we have earned or task we have achieved. God’s grace and trust in us reach beyond our failures and inadequacies, calling us to even deeper discipleship. God who created us does not let us wallow in our self-doubt, but gives us hope and encouragement to move forward in mission and to make manifest the light of God’s glory.
Questions
- How are you sensing God’s call in your life?
- How have you felt inadequate in your efforts to live your calling and giftedness?
- How have you experienced God’s hope and encouragement, even in your doubt?
Note: If you are using “Thoughts for Children,” make time here for the children to share their lists of how God loves them.
Sending
Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
—Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing small-group ministries as part of your generous response.
The offering prayer for Epiphany is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:
Revealing God, May we always be generous. You have given each of us boundless grace and unending love. May our response to that love and grace be humble service to others, and may generosity be part of our nature. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn
CCS 267, “We Wait in Hope for the Lord”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
Communion Scripture
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
—1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSVue
Communion Statement
All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.
Let us celebrate the revelation of Christ in the world as we share Communion, and receive it as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community.
In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings 520, “God Extends an Invitation.”
Blessing and serving bread and wine.
Thoughts for Children
Materials: paper, pencils
Ask: How did you get your name? (Allow time for the children to tell how they were named.)
How important is a name? (It is how people call you, speak to you, know you.)
What about God? What name do we use for God? (God, Lord, Creator, Source of life, etc.)
In the Bible we discover that people have many, many names for God. Some names describe what people think about God; some are names about what God has done. Listen to some of the names people use to talk to God:
Holy One
Healing Presence
Source of joy
Ancient One
Awesome God
Compassionate One
Gracious Creator
Great Spirit
Great “I Am”
Beloved Friend
Giver of Life
Gentle Shepherd
Mother-Father God
Creator of beauty
We can use many names to describe our love for God. Now let’s use our names to describe God’s love for us.
Give each child a paper and pencil (young children can have a parent help).
Say: Write your name down one side of the paper. Ex:
J
A
M
E
S
Then think of something God loves about you, starting with each letter of your name. Ex:
J—Joyful
A—Animal lover
M—Makes funny noises
E—Energetic
S—Says prayers at bedtime
You will have time to share your lists after today’s lesson. Thank the children for participating and invite them to return to their seats.
Allow time for children to share what God loves about them at the end of “Sharing Around the Table.”
Sermon Helps #
Exploring the Scripture
Last week, we explored the first Servant Song, Isaiah 42:1–4. This week we celebrate God’s presence among us with the second Servant Song, which takes the form of a conversation between God and God’s servant. The song begins in Isaiah 49:1 as the remnants of the servant nation Israel (the Jews) call to all the other nations: “Listen to me…The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.” There are layers of meaning in that simple statement. To better understand, it is helpful to learn about Jacob, one of the patriarchs of old.
Jacob and Esau were twins. Genesis 25:26 tells us that as they were born, Jacob grasped Esau’s heel. He was therefore named Jacob, or “one who grasps by the heel, or supplants.” Genesis 32:28 tells us that after Jacob wrestled with the angel, God changed his name to Israel, “one who strives with God.” Jacob/Israel is considered the father of the 12 patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. The people take the name of their nation from that ancestor.
Just as Jacob was named from the womb, so the nation and people were called by God “from their mother’s womb” (or from their beginning) to be God’s covenant people. The beginning of Israel was the act of God in creation long before it was a recognizable nation. Naming the baby Jacob occurred because of an action caused by the human baby—grasping his brother’s heel. But with the servant nation Israel, God launches the call. God formed Israel with a “mouth like a sharp sword” to speak the truth of God’s word (Isaiah 49:2). God created this nation to be a prophetic people, speaking for God. Then God hid Israel away until a time—an epiphany—when God could be revealed in glory. Note that it is not the people who will be glorified, but God.
The response of the servant reflects Israel’s history of striving with God. “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity…” (v. 4). Because the servant is faithful and obedient, however, the response doesn’t end there. The passage continues, “…yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” Human efforts have failed, but faith affirms the continuing relationship of trust and grace with God.
It is this trust of the servant that prompts God to lay an added burden on God’s servant Israel. The servant’s former purpose was to bring back to God Israelites who have strayed, to expand and restore the nation, and gather the people once again. The purpose was self-centered. No, God says, that purpose is too small and limiting. God has a greater mission for the servant: to be a “light to the nations,” that all the world’s peoples shall be saved (v. 6). All the nations will know the Redeemer of Israel and the Holy One of Israel. The nations will respond by bowing before the Lord.
Today, Christians interpret the servant as a model for the coming Christ. The mission to the nations is the universal call to grace and salvation. We are the prophetic people, given the task of spreading the good news of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. God calls us to the work of restoration: go into all nations, free the captives, and be a light to the world for the glory of God.
Central Ideas
- God knows us from birth and calls us to be a covenant people fulfilling God’s purposes.
- We struggle with God, wanting our way. But God is faithful and grants grace and purpose.
- We respond to bring glory to God, not to us.
- God calls us today to spread the good news of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ.
Questions for the Speaker
- When has God called you to respond with trust and faith?
- When have you struggled with God? How did God’s grace enfold you during that struggle?
- What can you do today to bring glory to God? What can you do in the coming week? Be specific.
- How would you summarize the good news of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ?
Lessons #
Adult Lesson #
Focus Scripture Passage
Isaiah 49:1–7
Lesson Focus
God names and calls the Servant from the womb to bring light to all nations.
Objectives
The learners will…
- remember the origins of one’s name.
- explore the Second Servant Song including God’s naming and calling from the womb.
- discern how Doctrine and Covenants 163:1–3 calls Community of Christ to mission.
- identify specific actions for personal restoration of healthy or righteous relationships.
Supplies
- Bible
- Community of Christ Sings (CCS)
Notes to Teacher
In preparation for this lesson, read “Exploring the Scripture” for Isaiah 49:1–7 in Sermon & Class Helps, Year A: Old Testament, pp. 36–37, available through Herald House.
Gather
Activates background knowledge, prepares, and motivates for lesson (15% of total lesson time)
Greet class members. Ask participants to share briefly in groups of two or three how each one was named.
Engage
Invites exploration and interaction (35% of lesson time)
Share this background with the class as a basis for further discussions:
Today’s scripture is a Second Servant Song (first Servant Song: Isaiah 42:1–4; others 50:4–11 and 52:13–53:12). In this dialogue God and God’s Servant are talking. The song begins in Isaiah 49:1 with the servant nation Israel calling to other nations to hear a message. “Listen to me… The Lord called me before I was born; while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.” A brief history of naming may help.
Genesis 25:26 tells that the twins Jacob and Esau were born with Jacob grasping Esau’s heel. Jacob’s name means one who supplants or grasps by the heel. In Genesis 32:28 we learn of Jacob wrestling all night. After this encounter his name is changed to “Israel, for you have striven with God ….” Jacob, now Israel, becomes the father of the twelve patriarchs of the twelve Tribes of Israel. The people of the tribes take their names from these patriarch ancestors.
Jacob is named from the womb. The nation of Israel is also named from its beginning or “from the womb” as God’s covenant people. The calling of Israel’s people began in history by God’s action long before the nation of Israel was established and recognized. In today’s scripture passage, God proclaims: “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (v. 3).
It is not always easy to serve faithfully. The Servant reflects “I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity” (v. 4). Yet, with faithful and obedient response “… I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength“ (v. 5).
In small groups (as your class size allows) consider Doctrine and Covenants 163:1 and discuss the questions below:
“Community of Christ,” your name, given as a divine blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only discover your future, you will become a blessing to the whole creation. Do not be afraid to go where it beckons you to go.
Discuss:
- What is the “divine blessing” in and of our name Community of Christ?
- How does our name declare our identity? Our calling? Our future?
Respond
Takes the learners from hearing to doing (35% of lesson time)
The original Servant’s purpose was to find and return Israelites who strayed. In addition, the Servant was to restore the nation and gather people together. But God’s greater purpose for the Servant was to bring “light to the nations, that my [God’s] salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (v. 6).
Jesus came as a servant to bring God’s light and message of peace to the world. As followers of Jesus we carry that same mission priority.
In small groups (as your class size allows) consider Doctrine and Covenants 163:2–3 and discuss the questions that follow.
2 a. Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom, invites all people to come and receive divine peace in the midst of the difficult questions and struggles of life. Follow Christ in the way that leads to God’s peace and discover the blessings of all of the dimensions of salvation.
3a. You are called to create pathways in the world for peace in Christ to be relationally and culturally incarnate. The hope of Zion is realized when the vision of Christ is embodied in communities of generosity, justice, and peacefulness.
b. Above all else, strive to be faithful to Christ’s vision of the peaceable Kingdom of God on earth. Courageously challenge cultural, political, and religious trends that are contrary to the reconciling and restoring purposes of God. Pursue peace.
Discuss:
- What do peace pathways that are relationally and culturally incarnate look like?
- Describe a community that embodies generosity, justice, and peacefulness. How do we create such a community in our congregation?
Send
Explores how the lesson might be lived (10% of lesson time)
Read Doctrine and Covenants 163:2b.
Generously share the invitation, ministries, and sacraments through which people can encounter the Living Christ who heals and reconciles through redemptive relationships in sacred community. The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith.
Identify one or two specific actions you will take this week to restore healthy or righteous relationship(s) with yourself, God, another, or the Earth.
Bless
Time of prayer, praise, blessing, and hope (5% of lesson time)
Close by singing “I Have Called You by Your Name” CCS 636.
Youth Lesson #
Focus Scripture Passage
Isaiah 49:1–7
Lesson Focus
The Servant’s Mission
Objectives
The learners will…
- identify connections between the Second Servant Song and Civil Rights leaders in the United States.
- examine the role of servant.
- construct a timeline of the Civil Rights movement in the United States (or your home country).
- evaluate the actions of a servant as described in Section 165.
Supplies
- Bible
- Flip chart and markers
- Civil Rights timeline resources
- Community of Christ Sings (CCS)
Notes to teacher
In preparation for this lesson, read “Exploring the Scripture” for Isaiah 49:1–7 in Sermon & Class Helps, Year B: Old Testament, pp. 36–37, available through Herald House.
Gather
Activates background knowledge, prepares, and motivates for lesson (15% of total lesson time)
Invite the class to sing, read, or watch a video of “The Servant Song” or “We are Pilgrims on a Journey” CCS 550.
- How would you describe this servant?
- Compare and contrast this servant with other images of servants.
- In “The Servant Song,” do you agree with the servant’s actions?
Engage
Invites exploration and interaction (35% of lesson time)
This week we are exploring the “Second Servant Song” in Isaiah. This is a dialogue between God and God’s servant, the nation of Israel. There are many layers of meaning in this text, but to better understand we need to go back in history to the Patriarch Jacob.
Jacob and Esau were twins. Genesis 25:26 tells us that as they were born, Jacob grasped Esau’s heel. He was therefore named “Jacob,” meaning “one who grasps by the heel or supplants.” Jacob was an important leader from birth, who, in Genesis 32, after wrestling with an angel, God changed his name to Israel, meaning “one who strives with God.” Jacob/Israel is considered the father of ancient Israel.
God calls the nation Israel to speak truth for God. The servant strives with God. When human efforts have failed, the servant continues to affirm the relationship of trust and grace, “Surely my cause is with the Lord and my reward with my God.”
Ask the class to read the text from The Message and identify images and meanings as they read.
Isaiah 49:1–7 The Message (MSG)
Listen, far-flung islands,
pay attention, faraway people:
God put me to work from the day I was born.
The moment I entered the world he named me.
He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate.
He kept his hand on me to protect me.
He made me his straight arrow
and hid me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You’re my dear servant,
Israel, through whom I’ll shine.”
But I said, “I’ve worked for nothing.
I’ve nothing to show for a life of hard work.
Nevertheless, I’ll let God have the last word.
I’ll let him pronounce his verdict.”
“And now,” God says,
this God who took me in hand
from the moment of birth to be his servant,
To bring Jacob back home to him,
to set a reunion for Israel—
What an honor for me in God’s eyes!
That God should be my strength!
He says, “But that’s not a big enough job for my servant—
just to recover the tribes of Jacob,
merely to round up the strays of Israel.
I’m setting you up as a light for the nations
so that my salvation becomes global!”
God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel,
says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations,
slave labor to the ruling class:
“Kings will see, get to their feet—the princes, too—
and then fall on their faces in homage
Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word,
The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you.”
God trusts the Servant and expands the servant’s mission to be a light to the nations that all will know the Redeemer of Israel. Today, Christians see this servant as a model for the coming of Christ. God calls us to the work of restoration, to free the captives, expand the mission, and be a light to the world for the glory of God.
Respond
Takes the learners from hearing to doing (35% of lesson time)
The task of releasing the captives, recovering sight for the blind, and setting the oppressed free takes many forms as we work to fulfill Christ’s mission (Isaiah 4:18–19). The Servant Song in today’s text speaks of “working for nothing…to show.” The servant nevertheless persists in serving God, who in turn also trusts the servant, expanding the mission to the world.
On Racial Justice Day, we remember the work of many people who dedicated their lives and efforts for Christ’s mission. Like the servant, the work was not always easy. It did not always feel rewarding. In fact they were often “kicked around by the nations” as well.
In 1959, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote:
My call to the ministry was neither dramatic nor spectacular. It came neither by some miraculous vision nor by some blinding light experience on the road of life. Moreover, it did not come as a sudden realization. Rather, it was a response to an inner urge that gradually came upon me. This urge expressed itself in a desire to serve God and humanity, and the feeling that my talent and my commitment could best be expressed through the ministry… During my senior year in college I finally decided to accept the challenge to enter the ministry. I came to see that God had placed a responsibility upon my shoulders and the more I tried to escape it the more frustrated I would become.
—Standform Transcript
Dr. King did not set out to create a name for himself as a great civil rights leader. Instead, like the servant in today’s text, the Lord said, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” When Rosa Parks sat down in the “whites-only” section of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, Dr. King was thrust into the leadership of the Civil Rights movement.
As a class create a timeline of the Civil Rights movement in the United States from both the students’ knowledge and resources such as:
What connections can you make between the text of the Second Servant Song and the life experience of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders?
Note: If you live outside the United States, you may adapt this exercise to reflect the evolution of civil rights in your country.
Send
Explores how the lesson might be lived (10% of lesson time)
Doctrine and Covenants 165 contains many insights that can guide us in our journey to be God’s servants and write our own servant song. Let’s look closely at a portion of this text and identify what each one of us can do right now to pursue our role as God’s servants.
Section 165:3
a. More fully embody your oneness and equality in Jesus Christ. Oneness and equality in Christ are realized through the waters of baptism, confirmed by the Holy Spirit, and sustained through the sacrament of Communion. Embrace the full meaning of these sacraments and be spiritually joined in Christ as never before.
b. However, it is not right to profess oneness and equality in Christ through sacramental covenants and then to deny them by word or action. Such behavior wounds Christ’s body and denies what is resolved eternally in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
c. You do not fully understand many interrelated processes of human creation. Through its wonderful complexity, creation produces diversity and order.
d. Be not consumed with concern about variety in human types and characteristics as you see them. Be passionately concerned about forming inclusive communities of love, oneness, and equality that reveal divine nature.
e. Oneness and equality in Christ do not mean uniformity. They mean Unity in Diversity and relating in Christ-like love to the circumstances of others as if they were one’s own. They also mean full opportunity for people to experience human worth and related rights, including expressing God-given giftedness in the church and society.
Ask:
- What relationships can you identify between Section 165:3 and the images of a servant discussed today?
- How would you improve oneness in your congregation, community, and world?
- What actions of God’s servant might draw disagreement from your peers? How would you justify your actions?
Bless
Time of prayer, praise, blessing, and hope (5% of lesson time)
Invite a member of the class to close with a prayer.
Children’s Lesson #
Focus Scripture Passage
Isaiah 49:1–7
Lesson Focus
As humans we often fail, but our diligence and faith helps us to be successful disciples and servants.
Objectives
The learners will…
- explore the evolution of the servant’s understanding in the Isaiah scripture.
- learn about the Mission Initiative: Develop Disciples to Serve.
- hear from other congregation members about their path of discipleship.
- define what it is to be a servant of Jesus.
Supplies
- Candle and lighter or matches
- Copies of the Famous Failures worksheet (end of the lesson)
- Copies of the Interview Questions (end of the lesson)
- Newspaper classified ads
- Markers
- Bible
- Community of Christ Sings (CCS)
Notes to teacher
In preparation for this lesson, read “Exploring the Scripture” for Isaiah 49:1–7 in Sermon & Class Helps, Year A: Old Testament, pp. 36–37, available through Herald House.
Gather
Activates background knowledge, prepares, and motivates for lesson (15% of total lesson time)
Greet each child by name and invite him or her to sit in the classroom. Read this riddle:
A long time ago, a wealthy old man wanted to leave all of his money to one of his three sons. He couldn’t decide which son to choose, so he created a test for them. He gave each of them a few coins and told them each to buy something that would be able to fill their living room. The first man bought a wheelbarrow full of straw, but there was not enough to fill the room. The second bought a wagon full of sticks but they still didn’t fill the room. The third man bought only two small things, but he was able to successfully fill the room. Therefore the third son inherited his father’s fortune. What were the two things that the man bought? (Listen to guesses.)
Turn off the lights in your classroom and light a candle. Show them that just one small flame can light an entire room. To answer the riddle, tell the children that the man bought a candle and matches.
Say: In today’s scripture God promises to make us the people of Israel “a light for all nations.” Of course this does not mean the people had to physically turn on lights or make the darkness bright. But rather a small flame made a big difference in the dark. Similarly we can share God’s love with small actions and deeds. We can be a living billboard for Jesus!
Sing the first verse of “This Little Light of Mine.”
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine,
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine,
This little light of mine,
Yes, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
—Harry Dixon Loes
Engage
Invites exploration and interaction (35% of lesson time)
Ask: Think of a time you were successful; a time when you were really good at something. Would anyone be willing to share? (Listen to responses.) Now think of a time when you were unsuccessful; a time when you messed something up or did something wrong. Would anyone be willing to share? (Listen to responses.) No one is perfect. We all have times of great triumph and we even have times of failure. Even famous, successful people fail.
Pass out copies of the Famous Failure worksheet (end of this lesson). Allow time for the students to match the celebrity to their early experience with defeat. Then review the answers: 1-D; 2-F; 3-B; 4-A; 5- C; 6-E.
Say: Michael Jordan famously said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions, I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” It is not how many times you fail that matters, but how many times you try again. In today’s scripture the author remembers how his attempts to serve God failed. Yet God still believed in him and trusted him to be “a light to the nations.”
Have a child read Isaiah 49:1–3.
Summarize: The servant in this passage is remembering that God had great plans for him. The descriptions related to stories in Genesis, like Jacob who became Israel and had “a mouth like a sharp sword to speak the truth of God’s Word.” (Sermon & Class Helps, p. 36).
Have another child read Isaiah 49:4.
Summarize: The servant realizes that his human efforts to spread God’s message have failed. But with faith he continues to have a “relationship of trust and grace with God.” (Sermon & Class Helps, p. 36).
Have another child read Isaiah 49:5–6.
Summarize: The servant’s original task was to gather back together the Israelites who had strayed from God. This would rebuild and restore the nation. Success in the task meant the Israelites would benefit rather than merely working to glorify God. Instead, God said that assignment was “too small and limiting” and gave the servant a “greater mission…” (Sermon & Class Helps, p. 36).
Have another child read Isaiah 49:7.
Summarize: Instead of merely bringing together the group that was once large but had lost faith, the servant is now a light to the world spreading God’s message. Now when the servant succeeds at his task, God will be glorified. “All the nations will know the Redeemer of Israel and the Holy One of Israel” (Sermon & Class Helps, p. 36)
Respond
Takes the learners from hearing to doing (35% of lesson time)
Say: The servant in the scripture had a mission. What is a mission? (Listen to responses.) Many companies and organizations have mission statements to tell everyone what they plan to do. “Our mission in Community of Christ is…to share the peace of Jesus Christ in all of its personal, interpersonal, community and worldwide dimensions” (Of Water and Spirit: Facilitator Guide, p. 105). Our mission statement mirrors this goal: “We proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.”
Christ’s mission is our mission. Community of Christ takes mission even further by outlining five Mission Initiatives. Everything the church does is working toward one or more of these goals. One of these initiatives is Develop Disciples to Serve. As a church we want everyone to be fully able and equipped to be a “continuing presence of Christ in the world.” This includes training priesthood, missionaries, and pastors, but also helping everyone deepen their understanding of God and be disciples of Jesus. For more information, see CofChrist.org.
Instruct the students to go in pairs to find and interview another person in the congregation about how they have served as a disciple and what they have done to develop their abilities and understandings. Children can use the question prompts at the end of the lesson or they can ask their own questions. Once they are finished with the interviews they can return to the classroom and report a short summary to the rest of the class. Alternatively, you can invite one or two congregants to come to your class as guests.
Send
Explores how the lesson might be lived (10% of lesson time)
After the conversations, ask students what stuck out to them during their interviews. Create a list of observations demonstrating what it takes to be a servant. For example praying for guidance, learning from others, thinking about what Jesus would do, and so on.
Show newspaper classified ads to the class. Point out the help-wanted section and read one or two advertisements. As a class use the list of attributes and practices to create a help-wanted ad for a servant. Write the ad in large print using marker on top of the newspaper classifieds. Be creative! As an example:
Wanted: Willing Servant
Must be diligent in prayer,
able to see people through God’s eyes,
and willing to share generously with others.
Apply in person with Jesus.
Bless
Time of prayer, praise, blessing, and hope (5% of lesson time)
As a closing prayer, sing together “Make Me a Servant” CCS 597.
