sunday june 7, 2026

​Fruitland United Methodist Church
June 7, 2026

*(Please stand if you are comfortably able.)

Prelude: “El Shaddai” by Michael Card and John Thompson

Welcoming the Light of Christ and inviting the neighborhood to worship.
Welcome and Announcements Holly K. & Jorge R.

Call to Worship
Leader: Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous.
People: It is fitting for God’s people to praise Him.
Leader: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
People: Blessed are the people God has chosen as His own.
Leader: God calls us, gathers us, and blesses us.
People: We come to worship the God who calls us to be a blessing.
*Sharing the Peace of Christ/Compartir la paz de Cristo
We share words of blessing with one another, “The peace of Christ be with you.”

Scripture Reading: Psalm 33 UMH 767 Holly K.

Time With Young Christians: Pastor Jorge
(Please write prayer concerns and celebrations on yellow notepads, to be collected.)

Community Expressions Holly K. & Jorge R.
     Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy/ Santo, Santo, Santo” TFWS 2007
     Thanksgiving and Celebration.
     Prayers for healing and wholeness.
     Prayers for our community and the world.
     Let us Pray

Song: “Give Thanks” TFWS 2036

Invitation to Generosity Pastor Jorge
     Offertory: “Amazing Grace” traditional arranged by Robert Hughes
     *Doxology: Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . . UMH 95

Scripture Reading: Genesis 12:1-9 Pew Bible pg.17 Holly K.

Song: “ You are My Hiding Place” TFWS 2055

Sermon: “Blessed to Be a Blessing” Rev. Jorge Rodriguez
Genesis 12:1–9

There are moments in life when God invites us to leave something behind. Not
always a house. Not always a city. Not always a country. Sometimes it is a
security. Sometimes it is a way of life. Sometimes it is a chapter of our lives that
has come to an end. That is what happened to Abram. God said to him: “Go from
your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show
you.”

And perhaps the hardest part of that invitation is that God did not hand him a
map. He did not give him an address. He did not explain how the story would
end. He simply said, “Go.” And Abram went.

Whenever I read this story, I think about the stories of our families. I think about
those who one day left Honduras, or Mexico, or El Salvador, or Guatemala, or
Nicaragua, or Venezuela, or Colombia, or any other corner of Latin America.

I think about those who packed their bags. I think about those who said goodbye
to parents, brothers, sisters, and friends. I think about those who arrived in this
country carrying dreams, fears, and hopes. I think about those who crossed
borders without knowing exactly what they would find on the other side.

But I also think about many of the families in this congregation. I think about
ancestors who came from Ireland, from England, from Germany, from France,
from Ukraine, and from so many other places around the world.

They too left their homes behind. They too began uncertain journeys. They too
arrived in a land they did not know. They too hoped to build a better future for
their children and grandchildren.

The circumstances were different. The times were different. But the human
experience was much the same. The experience of leaving what is familiar and
walking toward what is unknown.

That is why Abram’s story belongs to all of us. Because in one way or another, all
of us have crossed some kind of desert. All of us have taken steps of faith. All of
us have had to trust God when we could not clearly see the road ahead.

And perhaps that is why this story speaks so deeply to my own life as well. I never
imagined all the roads God would lead me down. I never imagined serving
congregations in different places. I never imagined coming to Idaho. I never
imagined sharing ministry with people born in so many different countries and
cultures.

But looking back, I can see that God did with me what He did with Abram. He did
not reveal the whole journey at once. He simply showed the next step. And then
the next one. And then another.

That is often how God works. He gives us enough light for the next step and
invites us to trust Him with the rest of the journey.

Yet the most important part of this story is not the journey. The most important
part is the promise.

God said to Abram: “I will make you a blessing.” Not only: “I will bless you.” But:
“You shall be a blessing.” And that changes everything. Because God’s blessing
never ends with us. God’s blessing always flows through us. We are blessed to
bless. We are loved to love. We are forgiven to forgive. We are welcomed so that
we may welcome others.

Perhaps that is why the church exists. Not to focus only on itself. Not merely to
worry about its own survival. But to be a blessing to the community, to the
neighbor, to the stranger, to the hungry, to the lonely, and to those who need
hope.

And that brings us to this table, the table of Holy Communion.

Because this table also tells a story of a journey. A story of people who are very
different from one another, yet gathered together by the grace of God.

Here it does not matter where we were born. It does not matter what language
we speak. It does not matter the color of our skin. It does not matter how long
we have lived in this country. Here, everyone is invited. Here, everyone is a child
of God. Here, everyone finds a place in Christ’s family.

The bread reminds us that Christ gave His life for all. The cup reminds us that
His grace reaches all. And the table reminds us that in the Kingdom of God, no
one is a stranger.

Abram set out without knowing exactly where he was going. We too continue our
journey surrounded by questions and uncertainties.

But we know this: God is still calling. God is still leading. God is still building one
family made up of many peoples and many nations. And God is still saying to
His people: “I have blessed you so that you may be a blessing.”

As we come to this table today, may we receive that promise once again. And as
we leave this place, may we become a blessing to our community, our
neighbors, and every person God places in our path. In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
​
Amen.

Service of Holy Communion Invitation to the Table
Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of
their sin and seek to live in peace with one another. Therefore, let us confess
our sin before God and one another.

Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them
up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our
thanks and praise. It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and
everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and
earth.
​And so, With your people on earth and all of company of heaven We praise
your name and join their unending hymn: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of
power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the
highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in
the highest. *(Continue with the United Methodist Great Thanksgiving.)*

The Lord’s Prayer
Sharing the Bread and Cup
While communion is served, we sing: “Let Us Offer to the Father/Te
Ofrecemos Padre Nuestro” TFWS #2262

Prayer After Communion
Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have
given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength
of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen..

*Benediction: The God who called Abram, continues to call each of us.
Go as people blessed by God. Go as people sent to be a blessing. In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

*Song of Blessing: “Go Now in Peace” UMH 665

Postlude: “In Christ Alone” by Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty

                                 Pastor Jorge Rodriguez [email protected]