Little Falls United Methodist Church

 

Sunday Worship Service

 

July 26, 2026 - 10 am

 

 

 

139 Main Street, Little Falls, NJ 07424

Office Phone: (973) 256-0993

Website: www.LittleFallsUMC.org

Email: Info@LittleFallsUMC.org

 

We are “A Welcoming Community of Faith, Hope,

Mission and Outreach Sharing Christ’s Love”

Our Mission is “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World”

 

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,

to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,

which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

 

 

Called to Praise

 

⭻Prepare your heart and body for Worship

 

Greeting & Announcements
 

• We have ‘In-Person’ & ‘Online Worship’ on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at 10am.

 

• You can join our Online Worship via YouTube or Facebook. Type “Little Falls United Methodist Church” in the search window on YouTube or Facebook. Please use the link below to join in Online Worship. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lfumc

 

• Prayer Concerns & Joys – If you would like to share your concerns and joys with the congregation, please email Pastor Jin (jkim@littlefallsumc.org) or complete the online form, www.littlefallsumc.org/prayer.

 

• We have Sunday Worship in the Fellowship Hall during Summer.

 

• We will observe Holy Communion during Sunday Worship on Sunday, August 2, 2026

 

• Altar Flowers – Thank you, Sere Stevens, for providing the Altar Flowers in Memory of her mother, Candance! If you would like to offer the altar flowers, please contact Janet (973) 896-8936 or ladyteddy@aol.com. 

 

• Fellowship Time after Worship – Thank you, Lynn Wielinga, for hosting Coffee Hour! Let us enjoy a good fellowship time every Sunday after Worship. Please help us with hosting the coffee hour. The Sign-up board is on the table in the Narthex. Please contact Cheryle or Kathy F. if you have any questions about the coffee hour.

 

• School Supply Drive – The UMW is collecting School Supplies on behalf of Oasis (a Haven for women and children), and Child Focus (Passaic County CASA). Donation can be made until Sunday, August 2nd, 2026! If you’d like to make a monetary donation, please see Janet D. or Melissa D.

 

• Treasured Memories – The next meeting will be held in the fall. The date will be announced. “Treasured Memories” is a grief group for those who have lost their loved ones. The ongoing meeting gathers every 2nd Wednesday of the month in Lee Lounge at 7 pm. Contact Allison for details (973) 800-4152.

 

• Online Donation – Online donation is available now. Please visit the church website and click ‘Donation.’ The link is https://www.littlefallsumc.org/donation.  Your financial support and generosity are greatly appreciated and essential for our church ministry and mission. Please consider sending your tithes and offerings to Little Falls UMC (139 Main St. Little Falls, NJ 07424). You can send your offerings and tithes to the church every week. Or you can send offerings and tithes for a month with a check. Thanks again for your generosity!

 

• Shoprite Gift Card – To purchase a Shoprite gift card, contact Pete (973) 595-5765 or detroit50@aol.com.

 

• LFUMC FOOD PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED - Many families depend on the Food Pantry on a regular basis. The Pantry needs the following non-perishable items; canned vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, adult/children’s cereal, pasta & sauce, instant potatoes/rice, tuna, chicken, sardines, fruit, apple sauce, juice, and granola bars.

 

• SOCKS FOR SOULS - Do your feet get cold? Please help Unity Circle to provide new or gently used socks to the homeless. There is a constant need. Please drop off your socks in the large white sock in the Narthex. 

 

• Ongoing Collection - UMW collects postmarked stamp and can pull tabs. Items are donated to different charities and organizations.

 

† Passing The Peace

 

†Call to Worship

Leader: Come and worship the God whose Kingdom begins like a tiny mustard seed.

People: Though it begins small, God makes it grow beyond all expectation.

Leader: Come and worship the God whose Kingdom works like yeast in the dough.

People: Though often unseen, God's Spirit is transforming hearts and lives.

Leader: Come and worship the God whose Kingdom is the greatest treasure we could ever find.

People: We rejoice in the gift of God's Kingdom and gladly offer our lives in service to Christ.

Leader: Let us worship the Lord, trusting that God will use our faithful acts of love, justice, and mercy to bring hope to the world.

All: We come with joyful hearts to worship the King of kings and to seek first His Kingdom. Amen

 

†Praise Song                                  Way Maker (by Leeland) 

 

1. You are here, moving in our midst 
I worship You. I worship You 

You are here, working in this place 
I worship You. I worship You 
 

[Chorus] 

You are Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper Light in the darkness 
My God, that is who You are 
 

2. You are here, touching every heart 
I worship You. I worship You. 
You are here, healing every heart 
I worship You. I worship You 
 

3. You are here, turning lives around 
I worship You. I worship You 
You are here, mending every heart 
I worship You. I worship You 

 

[Bridge 1] 

That is who You are 

That is who You are 

That is who You are 
That is who You are 

That is who You are 

 

[Bridge 2] 

Even when I don't see it, You're working 
Even when I don't feel it, You're working 
You never stop, You never stop working 
You never stop, You never stop working 

 

Children’s Time                                                                                      

 

Hymn of Prayer                           Seek Ye First                                             UMH 405  

   

1. Seek ye first the kingdom of God  
And His righteousness;  
And all these things shall be added unto you.  
Hallelu, Hallelujah!  

  

2. Ask, and it shall be given unto you;  
Seek, and you shall find.  
Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  
Hallelu, Hallelujah!  

 

Pausing for Silent Prayer and Confession

 

Prayers of the People (Response: God, in Your Mercy, hear our prayers.)

Gracious and loving God, We thank You for Your love, grace, and faithfulness. Thank You for the gift of Your Kingdom, which grows by Your power even through small acts of love and service. Today we lift before You the joys and concerns of our church family. Rejoice with those who celebrate, comfort those who grieve, heal those who are sick, strengthen those who are weary, and grant peace to all who are facing uncertainty. Fill them with Your hope and presence. Help us to be faithful servants of Your Kingdom. Use our words, our actions, and our ministries to share Your love and bring hope to our neighbors. May we trust that You are working through us in ways greater than we can see. We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

The 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 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.

 

Called to the Word

Prayer for Illumination 

 

Leader: Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. 

All: Amen

 

NT Lessons                                                Romans 8:26-39

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.27 And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?32 He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
   we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

This ends the Old Testament Lesson. 
Let us turn to the Gospel Lesson. Please stand, if able.

 

†Gospel Lesson                                        Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

 

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 

 

This is the word of God for the people of God. 

All: Thanks be to God.

 

Message                               Small Things, Great Kingdom          Rev.  Jin Kook Kim

Good morning, Church Family! I hope you had a blessed week in God’s love and grace last week. Last Sunday, we learned about God’s love for us through the parable of Jesus. There are weeds and wheat that grow together, but the owner doesn’t pull weeds until the harvest time to protect the wheat. Likewise, we live in a world where evil exists, and we don’t see that the evil is not judged immediately. It is because God wants to protect us. God sees and knows everything, so every evil will face justice judgement in God’s time. Let us not be disappointed but focus on God’s love for us more. As one of the applications of this lesson to our daily lives, I encouraged us not to conform to evil and, beyond that, I encouraged us to do good and right things: justice and love, as we are children of God and the children of the Kingdom.

 

While we are called to do justice and goodness because God knows everything and every evil will face justice judgement from the parable of Jesus last Sunday, today, through another parable, Jesus calls us to do justice and goodness because, by doing that, we can transform the world into the kingdom of God.

 

As we considered last Sunday, there is evil in the world all the time. Then, can we transform the world into the kingdom of God by doing justice and goodness? What do you think? Can we do the greatest work in our lives? The goodness that we do as individuals and as a church family in our daily lives looks small compared to evil, which looks huge and rampant. Can our work and our church ministry transform the world into the kingdom of God? Jesus’ answer is “Yes, it is!” Jesus’ answer is very clear.

 

Let’s look at the scripture.

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

 

A mustard seed was well known as the smallest seed in the Middle East in Jesus’ time. It is tiny. It is about the size of a grain of sand. However, when it is grown, it is big. A mature mustard plant could grow three to six feet tall, and in favorable conditions as high as eight to ten feet—about the height of a basketball hoop. It was not a towering oak tree, but a large, bush-like plant, tall enough to stand over a person and provide shelter for birds. Jesus’ point is that the beginning of the kingdom of God is small, but as it grows, it will be huge.

 

Look at Jesus’ ministry. How small it was! He sowed the kingdom of God through his ministry. And his beginning was small. He called 12 disciples and walked to towns. He taught people and healed people. It was a small campaign with 12 people, and the most ministry was done by Jesus.

 

Our good work for others, such as helping people, caring for people, treating people with love and grace, would look too small to transform the world into the kingdom of God. Also, our church ministry, such as our worship service, Walk by Faith, Food pantry, School supply drive, and children’s ministry, seems too small to transform the world into the kingdom of God. Our good work and ministry would look nothing to change the world, especially when we see evil and injustice are rampant in the world and when we see many people who are suffering. However, those are not small works at all. Our good works are growing and impacting the world. Look at the result of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ ministry was small in a small country, but now, there are many Christians and churches who continue his ministry in the world these days. We are working on it in our town, and in our state through our Annual Conference, and in the world through our denomination and ecumenical mission project.

 

How did it work? How did the small one become a big one? Jesus teaches us how it worked through his parable.

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” (Matthew 13:33)

 

Yeast is small, and we cannot see how it works exactly. However, it works inside the flour mixture and makes the mixture leavened. Likewise, Jesus’ ministry works inside people. Through his teaching and healing, Jesus touched people’s hearts and let them experience the kingdom of God. It was freedom. It was peace. It was mercy. It was grace. And it was love, which they never experienced. Likewise, our good works as individuals, and our church ministry work inside people, touching their hearts, making their moment or day, and finding the joy of the kingdom of God. How precious it is that we help others, care for others, make others’ days with our good works and church ministry if we can serve them to experience the joy of the kingdom of God!

 

That experience of the kingdom of God makes people open their eyes to see God’s kingdom and spread the kingdom of God.

 

Look at Jesus’ other parables about the kingdom of God.

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46)

 

As a man sells everything to buy treasure hidden in a field, and a merchant sells everything to buy a pearl of great value, Jesus’ disciples and followers committed themselves to the kingdom of God. Twelve disciples followed Jesus, giving up everything for the ministry of the kingdom. Jesus’ followers, including women, did the same thing. After Jesus’ ascension, they formed the first church and sought the Kingdom of God, although they were persecuted only for their faith in Jesus because they found the treasure, the kingdom of God, as Jesus touched their hearts through his ministry and let them experience the Kingdom of God. They helped people in need through sharing their possessions and giving out food to widows. By doing that, they touched people’s hearts and let them experience the joy of God’s Kingdom. Our faithful ancestors did the same thing, and now we are doing the same thing.

 

We found the treasure, God’s Kingdom, through God’s grace, Jesus’ love, and the Holy Spirit’s guide. So we commit ourselves to God’s Kingdom. This is why we worship God together every Sunday, sharing the good news with others, and caring for people in need through our church ministry. Our good works and church ministry are not small at all. In the Old Testament, such as in the books of Ezekiel and Daniel, a massive tree where birds come to nest symbolizes a great empire gathering all nations under its shade. Jesus uses this exact image to show that the Kingdom of God grows massively to provide life, shelter, and true rest for countless souls—the birds—who have lost their peace in this weary world.

 

Similarly, the three measures of flour from the parable is an enormous amount, weighing about 30 pounds. If baked into bread, it is a feast large enough to feed 100 to 150 people! When we do good works and serve in our church ministries, we might think we are only helping a few individuals. But under God's powerful working, those few lives are changed, and through their transformed lives, countless others will be fed, find rest, and experience the glorious Kingdom of God.

 

We can see a beautiful example of this in the history of Christianity in Korea. When the first Protestant missionaries arrived in the late 1800s, their beginnings were incredibly small, just like a mustard seed. In a society that was strictly divided by class, they didn't just preach words; they sowed the Kingdom through tangible good works. They built the first modern hospitals, treating everyone from royalty to the most marginalized outcasts with equal dignity. They established schools, giving women and commoners the opportunity to be educated for the very first time. Those small acts of medical care and education acted exactly like yeast. They touched hearts, broke down rigid social barriers, and introduced the profound love and equality of Jesus. From those humble beginnings of simply caring for people's practical needs, the church in Korea grew into a massive tree that has blessed millions and now sends missionaries all over the world.

 

Church family, let us keep working for the Kingdom of God. The acts of justice, love, and goodness that we practice in our daily lives, and the ministries we do together as a church, might sometimes seem incredibly small. But remember the promise of Jesus today. Just as the tiniest mustard seed grows into a magnificent plant as tall as a basketball hoop, and just as a small pinch of yeast completely transforms thirty pounds of flour, our small acts of goodness are precious and essential. They are the powerful ways we expand God’s Kingdom in this world.

 

So, what does this look like for us tomorrow morning? It means the Kingdom of God is planted in the small, everyday choices we make right here, in our places. It is the patience and love you pour out while raising your children and managing a busy household. It is the integrity you maintain at your workplace, the encouragement you offer to a tired coworker, or the time you dedicate to our food pantry. Church family, Never underestimate, one prayer, one act of kindness, one invitation, one meal, one visit, one child you teach, one person you forgive. That is how God grows His Kingdom.

 

We have found the ultimate treasure—the Kingdom of Heaven. Let the joy of that discovery fill our hearts. Relying on the strength and grace that God gives us, let us go forth to faithfully carry out our good works and ministries, day by day. We are called to plant the seed. God gives the growth. We are called to mix the yeast. God transforms the dough. We are called to serve faithfully. God builds His Kingdom." Amen.

 

 

Called to Share

Response to Our Generous God 

 

 †Doxology                 Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow                   UMH 95

 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

 

†Prayer of Dedication

All: Generous God, Every good gift comes from You, and we thank You for Your abundant blessings. As we offer these gifts, we also offer our lives to You. Use our offerings and our faithful service to grow Your Kingdom, bringing hope, healing, and love to our community and to the world. May even our smallest acts of generosity bear fruit for Your glory. We dedicate these gifts to You with grateful hearts, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Called to the World

 

†Closing Hymn                             I Have Decided to Follow Jesus       TFWS 2129 

 

1. I have decided to follow Jesus, 
I have decided to follow Jesus, 
I have decided to follow Jesus - 
no turning back, no turning back. 

 

2 The world behind me, the cross before me, 
the world behind me, the cross before me, 
the world behind me, the cross before me - 
no turning back, no turning back. 

 

3 Though none go with me, still I will follow, 
though none go with me, still I will follow, 
though none go with me, still I will follow— 
no turning back, no turning back. 

 

†Benediction                                                                                                         Rev. Jin Kook Kim

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.  Amen.