Worship at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston
You Are Invited
"The Boundary-Breaker"
Dear Friends,
I invite you to join us this Sunday, February 1, at 11:00 AM at St. John’s Presbyterian Church as we continue our Epiphany journey.
In a world that often tells us to stay in our lane and keep to our own kind, our worship this week focuses on a God who consistently crosses the lines we draw. Our sermon, "The Boundary-Breaker," explores two powerful stories of unexpected encounters: Ruth’s bold midnight meeting with Boaz and Jesus’ life-changing conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.
We will ask ourselves: Are we brave enough to meet God beyond the walls we have built?
Service Highlights
- A Special Remembrance: We will begin our gathering by singing "For All the Saints" in memory of our dear friend, Sue Benn.
- The Word: We will dive into the courage of Ruth (Ruth 3:1-18) and the transformative "living water" offered in the Gospel of John (John 4:1-26).
- The Lord’s Table: As it is the first Sunday of the month, we will share in the Great Thanksgiving and celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper together.
Whether you are seeking rest, "living water" for a thirsty soul, or the courage to face the hour, there is a place for you here. If you cannot join us in the sanctuary, please tune in via our church website or Facebook Live.
Arise and shine, for your light has come!
Peace,
Pastor Jon The Rev. Dr. Jon Burnham
St. John's Presbyterian Church
5020 West Bellfort Avenue Houston, TX 77035
(713) 723-6262
P.S. The service will be live-streamed
on our church website
and on our St. John's Facebook page.
St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston
Worship Bulletin
February 1, 2026, 4th Sunday after Epiphany
Gathering
Prelude, Alina Klimaszewska, organ
*Hymn 326, Remembering Sue Benn
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
*Call To Worship, The Rev. Dr. Jon Burnham
Leader: Arise, shine, for your light has come!
People: The glory of the Lord rises upon us like dawn breaking over the horizon.
Leader: You meet us where we are, even during our daily tasks.
People: Help us to see you, Jesus, even we are busy in our daily life.
Leader: Sometimes we are called to cross boundaries to follow you.
People: Give us courage, Lord, to do your will. Amen.
Opening Prayer
* Hymn 307 God of Grace and God of Glory, 1, 3 and 4
1 God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy power;
crown thine ancient church's story;
bring its bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.
3 Cure thy children's warring madness;
bend our pride to thy control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss thy kingdom's goal,
lest we miss thy kingdom's goal.
4 Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore.
Let the gift of thy salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving thee whom we adore,
serving thee whom we adore.
Prayer of Confession, Liturgist Bill Ehrenstrom
Holy God, we confess that we cling to the boundaries that keep us safe and separate. We have refused to venture into unfamiliar territory or welcome those we have been taught to avoid. We have drawn lines where you would build bridges. Forgive us, and grant us Ruth's courage and the woman's boldness to meet you beyond the walls we have made. Amen. (Silent Confession)
Assurance of Pardon
*Glory Be to the Father, Hymn 581
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
*Passing the Peace
The Word
Prayer for Illumination
First Scripture Reading, Ruth 3:1-18
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”
So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.” He said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman. But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsman more closely related than I. Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do it. If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning.”
So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, “It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” Then he said, “Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city. She came to her mother-in-law, who said, “How did things go with you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.”
Anthem
Sermon Scripture, John 4:1-26
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” —although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized—he left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Sermon, The Boundary-Breaker
The Rev. Dr. Jon Burnham
*Hymn 722 Lord, Speak to Me That I May Speak, 2, 3, 4 and 5
2 O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
the wandering and the wavering feet.
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
your hungering ones with manna sweet.
3 O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
the precious truths which you impart.
And wing my words that they may reach
the hidden depths of many a heart.
4 O fill me with your fullness, Lord,
until my very heart o'erflow
in kindling thought and glowing word,
your love to tell, your praise to show.
5 O use me, Lord, use even me,
just as you will, and when, and where
until your blessed face I see,
your rest, your joy, your glory share.
The Lord’s Supper
The Great Thanksgiving
Lift up your hearts!
We lift them up to God!
Celebrate God's love!
It is right to give God
our thanks and praise!
As we walk this journey of life,
we remember these gifts
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died, Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer
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.
Breaking of the Bread and Communion of the People
Hymn 501 Feed Us, Lord
Feed us, Lord.
Feed us, Lord.
In the broken bread, be revealed again.
Come and feed our hearts, O Lord.
Quench us, Lord.
Quench us, Lord.
On this thirsty ground, may your love flow down.
Come and quench our hearts, O Lord.
Fill us, Lord.
Fill us, Lord,
with the bread and wine of the risen Christ.
Come and fill our hearts, O Lord.
Lead us, Lord.
Lead us, Lord,
nourished here by Christ, given strength for life.
Come and lead our hearts, O Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Welcome and Announcements
Offering
*Doxology, Hymn 609
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God, all creatures high and low.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise God, in Jesus fully known:
Creator, Word, and Spirit one.
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
*Prayer after the Offering
Sending
*Hymn 182 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
lay down, O weary one, lay down
your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found him in a resting place,
and he has made me glad.
2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one;
stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.
3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me, your morn shall rise,
and all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk
till traveling days are done.
*Benediction and Postlude
