Called and Carried (Ashtabula)

Welcome & Announcements

Opening Statement

Good morning, and welcome to Ashtabula First United Methodist Church. It is a joy to see each of you here as we gather for worship. Whether you are a longtime member or a guest with us today, please know that you are welcome in this place. We begin our service by bringing in the Light of Christ. This single flame represents the light of Jesus, the light that shines in the darkness and cannot be overcome. It reminds us that no matter what we bring into this space today, Christ's presence is here with us. I now invite you to please rise as you are able, as our acolyte, Jeff, comes forward to light our candles.

Prelude

Call to Worship

Leader: Before we were born, God knew us and called us by name.

People: From our first breath, God has been our strength.

Leader: The One who calls us is with us in our fear.

People: The One who carries us is our rock and our refuge.

Leader: Let us worship the God who calls us on our journey.

People: Let us praise the God who carries us all the way home.

Opening Hymn ”Here I am, Lord” UMH 593

Opening Prayer (In Unison)

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for gathering us together as your people. We enter this time of worship from a week filled with noise, busyness, and distraction. We confess that we have often listened to other voices more than yours and have sought our own comfort above your will. Forgive us, we pray. Quiet the clamor in our minds and soften our hearts. Meet us in our singing, our praying, and our listening, that this hour might be a sanctuary for our souls and a testament to your glory. Amen.

Reading from The Psalms: Psalm 71:1-6

Psalm 71:1–6 NIV

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.

Hymn Sing

#380 “There’s within my Heart a Melody”

#557 “Blest Be The Tie That Binds”

#558 “We are the Church”

Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4–10 NIV

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Sermon "Called and Carried”

Let us pray. Holy Spirit, quiet our hearts and minds. Open your Word to us, and open us to your Word, that we might hear the good news you have for us today. Amen.

I want you to picture a scene that has happened in countless hospitals. A new parent—a mother or a father—is sitting in a quiet room. The nurse comes in, holding a tiny, swaddled bundle, and gently places the newborn baby into their arms for the very first time.

In that moment, there is a wave of love so profound it takes their breath away. But right behind that wave, for so many, comes another feeling: sheer, absolute terror. The new parent looks down at this fragile, perfect, tiny human being who is now completely dependent on them, and a voice in their head starts screaming, "What if I mess this up? I haven't read enough books. I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready for this." It is a call to the most important job in the world, and it arrives with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.

That feeling of being called to a task that feels sacred and immense, a task for which we feel utterly unprepared, is a deeply human experience. It’s the call to step up, to serve, to speak, to care. And so often, our first reaction is that new parent's panic: "Not me. I can't. I'm not ready. I'm not good enough."

If you have ever felt that way, then you are in good company. Because that is exactly where we find the prophet Jeremiah in our reading this morning.

The word of the Lord comes to a young man named Jeremiah. And it’s not a small ask. God says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

This is the job interview of a lifetime! Prophet to the nations! And what is Jeremiah’s response? Does he say, "Great! Sign me up!"? No. He does exactly what most of us would do. He looks for the nearest exit. He says, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."

"I'm too young." "I'm too inexperienced." "I'm not a good speaker." It’s the holy version of "I don't have the right qualifications." And friends, let's be honest, we have our own versions, don't we?

"Oh, I couldn't lead that committee, I'm too new here."

"I couldn't visit the homebound, I wouldn't know what to say."

"I can't give much to the offering this year, my budget is too tight."

"God can't use me, not with my past, not with my doubts, not with my weaknesses."

We, like Jeremiah, see the size of the call, and then we see the size of our own perceived inadequacies. And we conclude that God must have the wrong person for the job.

But it goes deeper than just inadequacy, doesn't it? We also resist because God’s call often asks us to leave our place of comfort. Look at the job description God gives Jeremiah: "to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." That sounds like hard, disruptive work. It means changing things. It means challenging the status quo. It means getting our hands dirty. We resist not just because we feel we can't, but because we're not sure we want to. We like our routines. We like our comfort. And God’s call is often a call to an uncomfortable, holy adventure.

But God’s story is never defined by our limitations. Listen to God's response to Jeremiah. He doesn't say, "Don't worry, Jeremiah, you're better than you think!" He doesn't give him a pep talk. Instead, God makes a series of promises.

He says: "Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’... for you shall go to all to whom I send you." In other words, I set the destination. He says: "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you." In other words, I will be your protection. And then this beautiful, powerful moment: "Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.’" In other words, I will provide the very equipment you need to do the job.

This is not just a figure of speech. This is an act of ordination. It's a physical, tangible sign that the power for this call comes from God, not from Jeremiah. Throughout scripture, God’s touch brings transformation. Isaiah’s lips are touched with a burning coal to purify his speech. Jesus reaches out his hand to touch and heal the leper. The touch of God makes the unqualified, qualified. It makes the unclean, clean. It makes the timid, bold. When God calls you, He reaches into your life and provides that same transformative touch.

This is the heart of the gospel, isn't it? In our Wesleyan tradition, we call this grace. It’s the beautiful truth that God does not call the equipped; God equips the called. God's call on your life is not a test of your pre-existing skills. It is an invitation to depend on His power. The moment God calls you to do something—whether it's to speak a word of kindness, to lead a Sunday School class, or to forgive someone who has hurt you—that call comes with a holy promise: "I will be with you. I will give you what you need."

The Testimony That Confirms

Now, it’s one thing to hear a promise at the beginning of a long journey. It's another thing entirely to look back after a lifetime of walking and see how that promise held true. That’s where our Psalm for today comes in.

Listen to the voice of the psalmist—a voice that sounds seasoned, tested, and full of wisdom. This isn't a youth at the beginning of their call; this is a saint nearing the end of their race. And what is their testimony?

"In you, O LORD, I take refuge... You are my rock and my fortress... For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from my birth; from my mother’s womb you have been my strength."

Do you hear that? The psalmist isn't saying, "I've been so strong my whole life." They're saying, "God has been my strength my whole life." The psalmist uses this wonderfully physical language. In other parts of the Psalm, it's as if God physically "snatched" him from trouble, "pulled" him from his mother's womb. This isn't a distant God; this is a God who gets His hands on us, who holds us, who props us up when we're about to fall. This is the God who carries us.

And what does that carrying look like in real life? It looks like the church. It looks like the casserole that shows up on your doorstep after a surgery. It looks like the friend who sits with you in the hospital waiting room. It looks like a hand on your shoulder during a difficult hymn, a prayer offered over the phone, a note of encouragement in the mail. God carries us, and so often, He uses the hands and feet and voices of His people to do the carrying. We are the arms of God for one another.

I want to speak for a moment to those of you here who have been walking with the Lord for sixty, seventy, eighty years or more. You are the living proof of this Psalm. You have seen seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow. You have faced challenges and celebrated triumphs. And through it all, the one constant has been the faithfulness of God. Your very presence here this morning is a sermon. It's a testimony to everyone who feels like Jeremiah that the God who calls you is faithful to carry you.

Conclusion

So here we have these two beautiful truths, side-by-side. We have Jeremiah, at the beginning, feeling small and afraid, but receiving a divine call that comes with a promise. And we have the psalmist, looking back over a lifetime, giving testimony to a divine carrying that was faithful through it all.

They are two sides of the same coin. They are the story of our life with God.

So what does this mean for us today, right here in Amboy and Ashtabula?

For those of you who feel like Jeremiah, who feel God nudging you toward something that feels too big, too scary... hear the promise again today. God is with you. He will give you the words. He will be your strength.

And for those of you who know the psalmist's testimony in your bones, who can look back and see the hand of God carrying you... your story is a precious gift. Who can you share that story with this week? Who needs to hear that God is faithful?

Maybe that means being brave enough to say "yes" the next time the nominating committee calls, trusting that God will equip you. Maybe it means sharing a word of encouragement with a young person in this church who is full of doubts. Maybe it means writing a note to someone who is grieving, not with easy answers, but with the simple, powerful testimony: "God is faithful. He has carried me, and He is carrying you, too."

Because we serve a God who doesn’t just start things. He finishes them. The God who calls you is the God who will carry you. Through every fear, every challenge, every joy, all the way home.

Amen.

The God who calls us and carries us is a God of abundant grace. He equips us, provides for us, and sustains us on our journey. Our offering is one way we respond to this incredible generosity. It is an act of trust, a tangible way of saying 'thank you' for all the ways God has carried us and provided for us. It is how we participate in the work of this church, becoming the hands and feet God uses to carry others. Let us now present our tithes and offerings to God. Will the ushers please come forward?

Offertory

Doxology (UMH #95)

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

Let us pray. Gracious and providing God, we return to you a portion of the gifts you have first given us. As you have carried us through our lives, accept these offerings as a sign of our gratitude and trust. Bless them and use them to equip our church to answer your call in this community and in the world. May these gifts become a means of grace, carrying your love to those in need. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Morning Prayer

(Transition and Invitation to Prayer) Please be seated.

As we prepare our hearts for our time of morning prayer, let us first turn our thoughts inward. The God who calls and carries us blesses each of our lives in ways both great and small. Let us first take a moment in silence to give thanks for a specific blessing, a moment of joy, or a sign of God's presence in your life this past week...

(Pause for silent reflection)

Now, let us bring before God our concerns—for our world, for our community, for our loved ones, and for ourselves. Let us lift up the names and needs that weigh on our hearts, holding them in the light of God's loving care. Let us enter this time of silent prayer together...

(Pause for silent prayer)

Loving and Gracious God, you hear the prayers of our hearts, both those spoken aloud and those known only to you. You know the joys that have brought smiles to our faces this week, and we give you thanks for every good gift. You know the burdens that weigh on our spirits, and we trust them now to your loving care.

For those who feel called but are afraid, grant them courage. For those who feel weak and need to be carried, be their strength. We pray for those who are sick, for those who are grieving, and for those who are lonely. We pray for our church, for our community, and for peace in our troubled world. Gather all our prayers, the silent and the spoken, into your heart. Trusting in your grace to hear us, let us pray with confidence the words our Lord has given us...

The Lord’s Prayer (In 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

We have brought our prayers to God, trusting that the One who has carried us this far will continue to be our strength. Let us now rise together and declare this truth with one voice. Our closing hymn affirms that the God who is our help today is the same God who has been our hope for generations, and who will be our eternal home. Let us stand and sing.

Closing Hymn “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” UMH 117

Benediction

Go now, confident in the God who calls you by name and carries you with everlasting love. Go to be the hands and feet that carry others. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forevermore. Amen.

Postlude