BAPTISM OF THE LORD
January 11, 2026 | 8:30 and 11:00am
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
Prelude
Bunessan
arr. Alan Bullard (b. 1947)
Welcome
Rev. Clover Reuter Beal
Co-Pastor
*Call to Worship
Leader: Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
People: We come to witness the revelation of Christ,
our light, and our life.
Leader: The light of Epiphany continues to shine,
revealing the face of God in Jesus Christ.
All: We come to worship the one who calls us out
of darkness into marvelous light.
Gathering Hymn 33 Praise the Lord! God’s Glories Show, Vs 2 (Llanfair)
*Corporate Confession (Unison)
God of light, you call us to arise and shine,
but we grow comfortable in the shadows.
You baptize us into new life,
yet we cling to old patterns and fears.
We fall short of the ways of grace, love and peace.
Forgive us for dimming what you meant to shine through us.
Baptize us again in your mercy and raise us to
reflect your radiant grace.
Through Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
*Assurance of God’s Love
*Response Gloria
*Passing of the Peace
*Hymn
475 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Nettleton)
LISTENING FOR GOD’S WORD
Word to the Children
When the music begins, children are invited to gather on the chancel steps as we sing, “This is where children belong, part of our family, part of our song. Be with us, pray with us, help us grow strong: this is where children belong.” Please note the 11:00am service is livestreamed and your child’s image may appear on the video.
Anthem
How Can I Keep From Singing?
Southern Harmony, comp. Robert Lowry
Text – Hymnal #821
Prayer for Illumination (Unison)
Lord, open our hearts and our minds
by the power of your Holy Spirit,
that as the Scriptures are read
and your Word is proclaimed,
we may hear with joy
what you say to us today. Amen.
Scripture Lesson
Isaiah 60:1-6 (Pew Bible Old Testament Page 649)
Response to Reading
Leader: Listen to the voice of the Spirit speaking to the Church.
People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon
Shining
Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, Theologian-in-Residence
Moment for Reflection
Appreciation for Service (11:00am only)
Service of Ordination and Installation (11:00am only – See text below)
Musical Reflection
Meditation on ‘Morning Song’
American Shape Note Hymn, arr. Adam Waite
RESPONDING TO GOD’S GRACE
Offering Ourselves and Our Gifts Rev. Dr. Jason Hays, Executive Minister
Making a financial gift makes Montview’s programs and ministries possible, including this worship service. You are invited to give generously at www.montview.org/giving or by texting a dollar amount to 720.452.6449. Offering boxes are stationed at the exit for cash and checks. We’re grateful for your support.
All are invited to sign and pass the Friendship Pad and greet each other by name.
*Prayer of Dedication (Unison)
God, you have so greatly loved us, long sought us, and mercifully redeemed us. Give us grace that in everything, we may yield ourselves, our wills and our works, a continual thank offering to you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
*Response
607 Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow (Doxology)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Christ, all people here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore; Praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.
Prayers of the People and The Lord’s Prayer (Unison)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
*Closing Hymn
744 Arise, Your Light Is Come! (Festal Song)
SENDING IN GOD’S LOVE
*Charge and Benediction
*Benediction Response (11:00am)
A Gaelic Blessing
John Rutter (b. 1945)
Postlude
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
arr. David Lasky (b. 1957)
GUEST PREACHER: REV. NADIA BOLZ-WEBER
We are happy to welcome Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber to our pulpit once again! Rev. Bolz-Weber is serving as Theologian-in-Residence at Montview Church, as well as Pastor of Public Witness with the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
UPCOMING EVENTS
In the Beginnings: Creation and Creativity in the Bible
with Dr. Timothy Beal
January 11 & 18 | 9:40am (Miller Chapel)
Did you know that there are several different creation stories in the Bible? In this series, we will explore these fascinating stories as invitations for reflection on creation, creativity, and what it means to be human in a more than human world.
Jan 11: On the Face of the Deep: Ecology, Chaos, and Creativity (Genesis 1)
Jan 18: Humus Beings: Embracing Our Earth Creatureliness (Genesis 2)
Annual Congregational Meeting
January 25 | 9:30am-10:30am (Fellowship Hall)
On January 25, at 9:30am, we’ll hold our Annual Congregational Meeting in Fellowship Hall. During this meeting, we’ll provide church updates and answer questions. The 2026 budget will be reviewed and the Terms of Call for the pastors will be presented and voted on. Light breakfast will be served. This meeting requires a quorum of the congregation. We hope you can join us!
What’s Happening at Montview?
Sign up for our next Inquirers’ Class; attend the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ecumenical Inter-faith Service; read the latest news on our Co-Pastor search and more in our This Week @ Montview email. Click here to access the latest edition.
WORSHIP PARTICIPANTS
Guest Preacher: Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber
Liturgists: Rev. Clover Reuter Beal and Rev. Dr. Jason Hays
Piano/Conductor: Adam Waite
Organ: Benjamin Corwyn
Violin: Leena Waite (11:00am)
Reader: Aimee Sanders (8:30am)
Reader: Katherine Williams (11:00am)
Sound: Cate Thieme
Video: John Goerner
Chorus: Westminster Choir (11:00am)
PARISH NEWS
Prayer Tree
Jolene Cranston; Cindi Graves; Mark Haynes; Joe Hickman; Mary Holleman; The Kramer Family (mourning the death of Pat Kramer); Sherwood Lingenfelter (brother of Paul Lingenfelter); Susan Long (relative of Peggy Gonder); Sam Mateo; Eden Murphy; Jim Polsfut; The Scherer Family (mourning the death of James Scherer, son of Betty); Jan Tazelaar; Constanza Hege de Tobasia (friend of Lisa Padilla); Kathryn Walton (daughter of MaryGrace Wake)
Deaths
December 20 | Pat Kramer
Pastoral Care Concerns
Please reach out to the church with pastoral care concerns such as illnesses, hospitalizations, deaths, births, or any other change of personal circumstances or condition. Contact: caring@montview.org or (303) 355-1651 (general mailbox voicemail). For pastoral care emergencies, please call (303) 355-1651 and press 4.
TODAY AT MONTVIEW
8:00am-12:30pm
Childcare – Ages Birth-7
Location: Preschool Floor
Enter via the Commons past Heritage Center to the Education wing.
8:30am
Worship Service
Location: Sanctuary
8:45am
Youth Bells (Grades 3-8)
Location: Room 206B
9:30am
Bel Canto Choir (Grades K-5)
Location: Room 205
Assembly: Choir Alternative Fellowship (Grades K-5)
Location: Room 204B
Sunday School (Preschool)
Location: Room 112
JAM in the AM (Grades 6-8)
Location: Cellar
MOB in the Morning (Grades 9-12)
Location: Confirmation Room
9:40am
In the Beginnings: Creation and Creativity in the Bible
Dr. Timothy Beal
Location: Miller Chapel
10:00am
Sunday School (Grades K-5)
Location: Second Floor
11:00am
Worship Service
Location: Sanctuary
12:00pm
Jubilate Singers (Grades 6-12)
Location: Sanctuary
12:15pm
Grief Education Series
Location: McCollum Room
ABOUT THIS SERVICE
Assistive listening devices are available in the sound booth in the back of the sanctuary.
Restrooms are available in the Commons. An all-gender restroom is available on the lower level across from Youth Cellar.
A room for families with children who are not enjoying the service is below the sanctuary with livestream.
Childcare is available for ages Birth-7 on the Preschool floor.
Please note that the 11:00am worship service will be livestreamed to several social media platforms and your image may appear on the livestream video.
SERVICE OF ORDINATION AND INSTALLATION
Pastor: There are different gifts.
People: But it is the same Spirit who gives them.
Pastor: There are different ways of serving God.
People: But it is the same Lord who is served.
Pastor: God works through different people in different ways.
People: But it is the same God who achieves God’s purpose through them all.
Pastor: Each gift is given by the Spirit.
People: To use for the common good.
Pastor: Together we are the body of Christ,
People: And individually members of the body.
Pastor: Though we have different gifts, together we are a ministry of reconciliation led by the risen Christ. Within our common ministry, some members are chosen for particular work as teaching elders, ruling elders or deacons. In ordination, we recognize these special ministries, remembering that our Lord Jesus said, “Whoever among you wants to be great must become the servant of all, and if that one wants to be first among you, that person must be the servant of all.”
People: Just as the Son of God came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life to set others free.
Pastor: The following persons have been elected as elders and deacons by the voice of the congregation. Please come forward and join us as we call your name.
Elders (Class of 2028)
Deacons (Class of 2028)
To Elders & Deacons
Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?
Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our Church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?
Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?
Will you be governed by our Church’s polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?
Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?
Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the Church?
Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination and love?
To Elders
Will you be a faithful elder, watching over the people, providing for their worship, nurture, and service?
Will you share in government and discipline, serving in governing bodies of the Church, and in your ministry, will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?
To Deacons
Will you be a faithful deacon, teaching charity, urging concern, and directing the people’s help to the friendless and those in need? In your ministry, will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?
To the Congregation (Please rise in body or spirit.)
Elder: Do we the members of the church accept these persons who have been ordained and/or installed as elders and deacons, chosen by God through the voice of this congregation to lead us in the way of Jesus Christ?
People: We do.
Elder: Do we agree to encourage them, to respect their decisions, and to follow as they guide us, serving Jesus Christ who alone is the head of the Church?
People: We do.
Pastor: We invite Ministers of Word & Sacrament and Ordained Elders of the church to come forward and participate in the laying on of hands during the prayer of ordination.
Pastor: Almighty God, in every age you have chosen servants to speak your word and lead your loyal people. We thank you for these women and men whom you have called to serve you. Set them apart, these servants, for the work to which you have called them. Give them wisdom, faith, and courage for the leadership tasks for which you have inspired them. May they lead this congregation to faithful service. May they be filled with the Holy Spirit and be faithful disciples as long as they live through Jesus Christ. Amen.
People: God of Grace, who called us to a common ministry as ambassadors of Christ, trusting us with the message of reconciliation; give us courage and discipline to follow where your servants rightly lead us; that together we may declare your wonderful deeds and show your love to the world, through Jesus Christ the Lord of all. Amen.
Pastor: You are now elders and deacons in the church of Jesus Christ, and for this congregation. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him. Amen.
MONTVIEW BOULEVARD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
1980 Dahlia Street, Denver, CO 80220
303.355.1651 | www.montview.org