OUR SAVIOUR’S
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

August 16, 2026

In the Name and Fellowship of Jesus Christ, you are welcomed to our faith community.

We are so glad that you chose to join us this morning to worship with us. Whatever your circumstances: married, single, single again, with or without children, looking for a home church or “just browsing,” you are welcome at Our Saviour’s. Please record your visit with us. Sign the attendance pad and pass it to the other end of the pew. You can also fill out a Connect Card and place it in the offering plate or the office, we'd like to know how we can serve you or minister to you. We’d love to stay in touch with you, and provide you with information about our church ministries and programs, you can also check out our website at www.osumc.org. You are invited to join us for coffee hour where we can get to know you better. Again, thanks for joining us today! We hope to see you again very soon. God bless you.

Words in red type to be read by the congregation.
An asterisk(*) indicates to please stand in body or in spirit, as you are able.

Order of Worship

Announcements

Brian English

Prelude

O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
Percy Smith

arr. by Michael Cox

Ricardo Pedroza

Welcome and Prayer

Pastor Heewon Kim

*Hymn

He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought

United Methodist Hymnal 128

verses 1 and 4

Passing of the Peace

Children's Time

Call to Worship & Gathering
Leader: Summer is transitioning, and a new season of learning and community begins.

Congregation: God is with us in every ending and every new beginning.

Leader: For new classrooms, unfamiliar hallways, early mornings, and shared bus rides—

Congregation: God is with us in the excitement, the wonder, and the unknown.

Leader: We bring these backpacks, bags, and tools—symbols of the work, hopes, and anxieties of the year ahead.
Congregation: We surround our students, educators, drivers, and workers with our love and God's peace.

Litany of Blessing
1. For the Students

Leader: We lift up every child, youth, and young adult embarking on a new year of learning. May these backpacks carry not only books and pencils, but curiosity, courage, and kindness. When lessons are challenging, give them perseverance. When they feel alone or left out, remind them that they are deeply loved.

Congregation: Lord, grant them joy in learning, strength in growing, and peace in your presence.

2. For Teachers and Educators
Leader: We pray for all teachers, professors, instructional aides, and tutors. Bless them with wisdom, infinite patience, and creative energy as they guide young minds. When they feel overwhelmed or underappreciated, renew their strength and passion for their calling.

Congregation: Lord, inspire their teaching, sustain their spirits, and bless the labor of their hands.

3. For Bus Drivers & Transportation Workers
Leader: We lift up our school bus drivers, crossing guards, and route coordinators who keep our children safe on early morning highways and busy streets. Grant them sharp focus, clear visibility, patient hearts, and safe transit on every turn.

Congregation: Lord, guide their wheels, guard their journeys, and keep them safe on every road.

4. For Administrators, Cafeteria, Custodial, and Support Staff
Leader: We give thanks for school nurses, counselors, administrators, secretaries, cafeteria teams, and custodians. They nourish, clean, heal, organize, and protect behind the scenes so learning can flourish.

Congregation: Lord, bless their care, honor their service, and make our schools places of safety and belonging.

The Commissioning Prayer & Congregational Response
Leader: Let us join together in prayer over these bags, these tools, and these faithful servants.

All: Gracious God, bless these backpacks and all who carry or support the work of learning. May these tags remind our students and staff that they do not walk into any classroom or onto any bus alone. As a church family, we promise to support you, pray for you, and encourage you throughout this entire year. Go in confidence, knowing you are wrapped in God’s grace and held in our prayers. Amen.

Prayers of the People/Lord's Prayer

Barry Maurizio

Offertory

If You Will Trust in God to Guide You

Georg Neumark, arr. by Barbara Boertje

Ricardo Pedroza

*Hymn

What Gift Can We Bring

United Methodist Hymnal 87

verse 4

*Prayer of Dedication

Faithful God, we give you thanks that we can trust you wholeheartedly in every season of life. Thank you for the gift of prayer, drawing us back to your grace and wisdom at all times and in all places. Receive these gifts we offer today, and multiply them to advance your kin-dom. May our offerings flow outward in compassion and service, so that our life together reflects your endless love. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Gift of Music

Wings of your Love

Patti Drennan

Pam Alexander, Linda DeMore

Colette Reid

Scripture

Juianna Litchfield

1 Kings 19:1-9a

Elijah runs to Mount Horeb

19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, how he had killed all Baal’s prophets with the sword. 2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this message: “May the gods do whatever they want to me if by this time tomorrow I haven’t made your life like the life of one of them.”

3 Elijah was terrified. He got up and ran for his life. He arrived at Beer-sheba in Judah and left his assistant there. 4 He himself went farther on into the desert a day’s journey. He finally sat down under a solitary broom bush. He longed for his own death: “It’s more than enough, Lord! Take my life because I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 He lay down and slept under the solitary broom bush.

Then suddenly a messenger tapped him and said to him, “Get up! Eat something!” 6 Elijah opened his eyes and saw flatbread baked on glowing coals and a jar of water right by his head. He ate and drank, and then went back to sleep. 7 The Lord’s messenger returned a second time and tapped him. “Get up!” the messenger said. “Eat something, because you have a difficult road ahead of you.” 8 Elijah got up, ate and drank, and went refreshed by that food for forty days and nights until he arrived at Horeb, God’s mountain. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

Leader: This is the word of God for the People of God
People: Thanks be to God Amen

Message

When God's People Pray Week 3: Elijah's Prayer "Fully Present

Pastor Heewon Kim

*Hymn

Close to Thee

United Methodist Hymnal 407

*Blessing

*Hymn

God of Grace, God of Glory

United Methodist Hymnal 577

verse 1

Postlude

God of Grace and Glory

John Hughes; quoting Things of Thee Are Spoken

arr. by Eugene Butler

Ricardo Pedroza