The Makings of a Saint (Ashtabula)

Ashtabula First UMC Worship Plan: The Makings of a Saint (All Saints Sunday, November 2, 2025)

Theme: The Makings of a Saint: Responding to Christ’s Relentless Call

Color: White (All Saints Sunday)

I. The Gathering

Prelude

Welcome & Announcements

Pastor: Good morning, everyone, and a warm welcome to Ashtabula First United Methodist Church. Today is All Saints' Sunday, a day when we are reminded that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We'll be looking at a familiar story that redefines what it means to be a saint: not perfection, but simple response to Christ’s call. Now, let us rise in body or spirit as our prelude begins. I invite our acolyte, Jeff, to bring forth the light of Christ to our altar as we begin our worship service.

Call to Worship

Leader: All Saints, from every time and place, surround us as a great cloud of witnesses.

People: They remind us that the call to follow Christ is for all people.

Leader: Jesus came to seek out and save the lost.

People: He found Zacchaeus in a tree, and he is seeking us out today.

All: Let us worship the God whose relentless grace makes saints of us all.

Litany of Remembrance: Lighting the Saints Candles

Pastor: On this sacred day, we pause to honor the memory and legacy of all the faithful departed—the saints who shaped our lives and laid the foundation of this church, regardless of the year they entered Christ's eternal rest. As we light these candles, we affirm that the light of Christ, which shone through them, still shines in our hearts.

Rev. David Blood

Patty Couhig Bush

Donald DeDomenic

John Ginatos

Tammy Greenawalt

John Hruska

Don Orqvist

June Sherwin

Pastor: (After the final name is read, the Pastor lights one large candle.) We light this final candle for all the saints known to God—the unseen witnesses we carry in our hearts, whose names we hold in the silence of this sacred moment.

Let the light of the faithful dead be a guide to the living. Amen.

Pastor: We stand ready to commit ourselves to carrying on the faith of those who have gone before us. Let us lift our voices and sing a declaration of our faith.

Opening Hymn For all the Saints (UMH 711)

Opening Prayer

God of our forbearers, you turn our world upside down. We confess we often look for saints in places of power, forgetting that your blessings belong to the humble, the seeking, and the repentant. Thank you for the example of the saints we remember today. Make us worthy of the high calling to which you have called us, fulfilling every good resolve and work of faith. Amen.

II. The Word and Message

Scripture Reading 1: Luke 19:1–10

Luke 19:1–10 NIV

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Hymn of Response Are Ye Able (UMH 530)

Scripture Reading 2: Ephesians 1:11–23

Ephesians 1:11–23 NIV

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Sermon: The Makings of a Saint

Let us pray. God of all saints, give us eyes to see your grace and hearts ready to respond to your call. Amen.

Good morning. Today is All Saints' Sunday, a day when we honor the great cloud of witnesses. The word "saint" often brings to mind a portrait of perfection: someone flawless, serene, and spiritually remote; someone who is nothing like us.

When we think of the saints, we span millennia of faith: We think of Peter and Paul, founders of the earliest church. We remember the early church fathers like Augustine of Hippo, whose passionate pursuit of God changed the course of Christian thought. We remember the reformers like Martin Luther and our own founder, John Wesley, who dared to change the course of history through conviction. And we remember modern icons like Mother Teresa, known for her relentless service to the poorest, and Billy Graham, whose voice reached millions with the Gospel.

These figures, in all their spiritual grandeur, are great examples of faith to look up to, but often their level of spiritual maturity seems impossible to reach.

But our Gospel reading today gives us a much more hopeful, challenging, and ultimately accessible picture of the process of sanctification. Our story is about Zacchaeus, a man who, by all accounts, was an absolute spiritual zero.

I. The Saint as the Spiritual Zero (Luke 19:1–4)

Before we get started, I have to confess something. In the last few weeks, we’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about tax collectors! Last week it was the Tax Collector in the Temple. Now, here we are with Zacchaeus! I promise I don't have a personal vendetta against the IRS, but I think God is using these challenging figures to teach us something vital about grace.

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in Jericho. He was rich, despised, and a traitor. He collaborated with the Romans and extorted his own neighbors, making him, in the eyes of the crowd, the quintessential sinner. Furthermore, Luke tells us he was "short in stature." This detail isn't just a joke about his height; it's a poignant physical metaphor for his spiritual and social reality. He was short on righteousness, short on reputation, and literally too short to see over the judgmental crowds.

His social position was a crushing, self-imposed isolation. When the text says the crowd was blocking him, it wasn't just a physical barrier; it was a wall of contempt. He was surrounded by people who openly wished him ruin, and every eye was fixed on his status. He carried his wealth like a shield, but it also made him the loneliest man in Jericho.

The very wealth that was meant to be Zacchaeus's fortress had become his prison. The money he extorted bought him a house and fine clothes, but it cost him his name, his dignity, and his community. His life was the ultimate proof that you can be rich in possessions and utterly bankrupt in relationships. He was isolated not by his height, but by his sin, creating a deep spiritual vacuum only Jesus could fill. His pursuit of status had resulted in a loss of self.

This is why his next action is so radical. Zacchaeus was a man of high rank—a wealthy government official. Rich men in that time did not run in public, and they certainly did not climb trees. To scamper ahead of the crowd and hoist himself up into the low branches of a sycamore was a total, public surrender of his dignity and his status. He risked ridicule, he risked losing face, and he risked soiling his fine clothes—all for a fleeting glimpse. He chose curiosity over maintaining his carefully constructed social façade. His desperation and his hunger for something more had finally overcome his pride.

The making of this saint did not begin with a profound prayer, a public repentance, or a heroic act of virtue. It began with an act of curiosity and desperation. He ran ahead of the judgmental crowd and climbed a sycamore tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Zacchaeus was not seeking to be saved; he was seeking to see. He thought he was merely an observer, hidden in the low branches.

The first profound truth of sainthood is this: The making of a saint begins not with your own effort, but with Jesus’s initiative.

II. The Initiative: Called by Name (Luke 19:5–6)

Jesus, the ultimate seeker, stops right under the branches that were hiding the sinner. And he performs a miracle of grace: He calls Zacchaeus by name.

Imagine the shift in that moment. The crowd saw Zacchaeus as a problem; Jesus saw him as a person. The crowd condemned him as "sinner"; Jesus invited himself over: "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today."

The transformation of Zacchaeus began not with him climbing down, but with Jesus looking up. Sainthood is not achieved by being good enough to get Jesus' attention; sainthood is the result of Christ’s relentless, loving gaze finding us right where we are.

The Scandal of the Invitation: This was a shocking and deliberate act that exposed the spiritual bankruptcy of the entire community. For a rabbi to invite himself to the home of a tax collector was an act of public scandal. It was a visible declaration that Jesus valued the lonely soul in the tree more than the collective approval of the judgmental crowd. Jesus was saying to Zacchaeus, and to everyone watching: "I see your shame, and I choose to sit at your table." This single act of radical grace completely dismantled the wall of contempt that had imprisoned Zacchaeus's life.

The cost of this encounter was immediate and high for both men. For Zacchaeus, the cost was the public humiliation of accepting a scandalized hospitality. For Jesus, the cost was ritual impurity and the immediate backlash from the religious leaders. Jesus consciously chose scandal over safety, reputation over relationship. He risked his own standing to dismantle the spiritual prison Zacchaeus was in.

Zacchaeus’s response was immediate and extravagant: "So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him." He joyfully accepted the ultimate breach of social and religious etiquette—the Messiah was eating with a notorious sinner! This "hurried down and welcomed him joyfully" is the key human response to grace. It is the spontaneous, wholehearted surrender of pride that says, "My need for Christ is greater than my need for my status." His joy wasn't about the food; it was about the validation and acceptance he had never received from his own people. He had finally been seen, and that encounter initiated his complete spiritual liberation.

III. The Mark of the Saint: Joyful Response (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

The crowd grumbled, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." But the making of the saint was already underway. The encounter with grace prompts the only necessary human response: radical transformation.

Before Jesus even asks, Zacchaeus stands and declares his new identity: "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."

This is the outward mark of a true saint. His transformation wasn't just talk; it was joyful, ethical, and financially radical. He gives away half his fortune and commits to repaying fourfold (far more than the Law required). His generosity wasn't a punishment for his sin, but a celebration of his salvation. It was a tangible way of saying, "My love for Christ is greater than my love for my ledger." He moved from being a hoarder to a restorer.

This is precisely what Paul prays for in 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12: that God would make the believers "worthy of his calling" and fulfill "every good resolve and work of faith." Zacchaeus embodies this! He was called, and he responded with a resolve to give away his wealth—the very thing that defined his old life.

The grace of Christ made Zacchaeus worthy of his calling. His good deeds didn't earn his salvation; they were the overflowing result of the salvation he had already received in that sycamore tree.

IV. All Saints: Seekers and Servants

Jesus seals the deal with the final, ultimate declaration: "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

The making of a saint is a simple process: Christ pursues us relentlessly, calling our name. We respond, like Zacchaeus, by hurrying down and joyfully welcoming Christ into our life. We transform by allowing Christ’s presence to change our priorities, moving us from hoarding our wealth to radically sharing our life.

The saints we remember on this day, and the saints we are called to be, are not spiritual giants who achieved perfection. They are simply people—like Zacchaeus, and the saints who built this church—who were sought out by Jesus and have responded with honest, joyful faith, allowing His grace to transform their lives from the inside out.

The great cloud of witnesses—the saints of this church—did not achieve perfection. They were simply people, like us, who were called by name and responded with a good resolve. They gave their time, their service, and their commitment. They were the ones who saw Christ's initiative and responded by releasing their own resources for the sake of the Kingdom. Every act of generous service in the history of this church is the visible result of Christ looking up and calling a sinner down.

This means that sainthood is not a destination; it is the process of sanctification—the daily, joyful decision to live out the transformation Christ began when He looked up into our tree and called us by name. It is the persistent faith to use our gifts, our time, and our resources to restore what is broken in the world, just as Zacchaeus restored what he had taken.

The life of a saint is a life of constant seeking and radical service. Our service is not fueled by guilt over what we haven't done, but by the overwhelming joy of having been found and accepted by Christ. That joy fuels us to seek out the lost and serve the marginalized, carrying on the mission Jesus started.

On this All Saints' Day, let us remember the saints who have gone before us—not as unreachable icons, but as evidence of God's relentless grace. Let us leave this place with the same joyful resolve as Zacchaeus, ready to use our whole, transformed lives for Christ.

Amen.

Anthem Be Still and Know

III. Response, Intercession, and Offering (The Preparation)

Zacchaeus’s encounter with Christ prompted an immediate, joyful act of restitution. Our offerings are our opportunity to live that same joy. Will the ushers please come forward to receive these gifts, which are a visible sign of our transformed hearts?

Offertory

Doxology

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.

Dedication

Let us pray. Holy God, accept these gifts as a visible sign of our generous response to the salvation that has come to our house. Use them to fulfill every good resolve and work of faith in our ministry. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer (UMH 895)

Please be seated. Having offered our gifts, we now lift up the needs of the world in prayer. I invite you now to a time of silent intercession, lifting the burdens of our community and the global church. (A period of silent intercession is observed.)

Pastor: Gracious God, you are the ultimate Seeker who pursues us relentlessly. We thank you for the saints we remember, and for the grace that transformed Zacchaeus.

We pray for the needs of your world, O God, recognizing that your grace calls us to global justice and peace. For all nations experiencing war, political turmoil, or the anguish of poverty, we ask for wisdom for leaders and mercy for the suffering. Empower your church across the earth to be agents of reconciliation and hope.

We pray for our local community in Ashtabula. Bless our schools, our local government, our first responders, and all who work to maintain our common welfare. Strengthen this congregation, that we may be generous in spirit, seeking out the lonely and marginalized at our own gates, just as Christ sought Zacchaeus.

We lift up the members of this church family—the sick, the grieving, and the weary. Transform our hearts from hoarders into generous servants, that we may reflect the radical love we have received. Strengthen us to fulfill every good resolve and work of faith you have placed in our hearts, making us worthy of the high calling to which you have called us. Gathering all our prayers together, we now pray in the strong name of Christ, who taught us to pray:

All: 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.

IV. The Sacrament of Holy Communion

Invitation to the Table

Pastor: Now, we gather at the Lord’s Table, the place where all saints, living and departed, are united in Christ. This Table is not for the perfect, but for the repentant. Like Zacchaeus, we are sought out, welcomed, and forgiven here. We come not because we are worthy, but because Christ has made us worthy of his calling. Now, let us prepare our hearts by joining together in the ancient prayer of The Great Thanksgiving. (The Great Thanksgiving and sharing of the elements follows, using the UMH liturgy.)

The Great Thanksgiving (UMH pg. 13)

V. Sending Forth

Closing Hymn

Having been fed by the Bread of Life, we are equipped to live as saints in the world. Let us stand now, as we are able, and declare our final promise of faith. I Sing a Song of the Saints of God number 712 in the hymnal

Benediction

Pastor: Go now, and live as saints—as sought-out, found, and forgiven people. May the Lord make you worthy of his calling and fill you with joy, resolve, and generous love. And may the blessing of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.

Postlude(The acolyte will carry the Light of Christ out during the Postlude)