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3/30/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, Easter B We have walked
the journey from the protest to the cross, the cries of the crowd turning from "Hosanna!" to "Crucify!" We walk to the tomb, grieving and forlorn. You are the God for whom we have waited, so that you might save us. You are the Lord for whom we have waited. Your people are still living in occupation for none of us are free until we all are free. Liberation is a dream ... your dream for your people and a vision of what is to come. You are the God for whom we have waited, so that you might save us. You are the Lord for whom we have waited. The threat of violence consumes us; the abuse of power terrifies us; the fear of the other influences us, for what we value is out of proportion to the love for your people to which we have been called. You are the God for whom we have waited, so that you might save us. You are the Lord for whom we have waited. Your people cower in the shadows, scorned and ashamed. We have betrayed you. We have betrayed our neighbor. We are a people in need of grace, and standing in the shadow of the cross reminds us: You are the God for whom we have waited, so that you might save us. You are the Lord for whom we have waited. As the stone is rolled from the entrance to the tomb, we stand in stunned surprise. Death no longer has a hold. Oppressors only rule in fear. Shame is covered in grace. Love wins! You are the God for whom we have waited, so that you might save us. You are the Lord for whom we have waited. You are the Lord, the risen Lord, the Son of God, for whom we have waited. Hear our prayers.
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3/28/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, Easter B Call to Confession
Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. God will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when God hears it, God will answer you. (Is. 30:19) Let us confess our sin before God. Prayer of Confession Ignorance and hardness of heart shroud our understanding, alienating us from the life of God. We are ruthless in our judgment, excluding those who do not look like us, who do not think like us, who do not dream like us, who do not fight like us for our kind of justice. We come to the table, but we do not come to share the feast; we come to claim it, to hoard the leftovers. Our celebration is only for those we deem worthy. Forgive us, God, for we are not worthy. Assurance of God's Grace And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Is. 35:10) In the name of the risen Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you. Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter today. 3/27/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, Easter B We, who have been grieving,
are called to gather at Table. The feast is set. Death is swallowed up in victory! We, who have been scorned, are called to places of honor. We are those in whom the Lord delights! We put our hope in God, who does not disappoint! We, who have been exiled, are called to freedom in the name of our God. The celebration has begun! Let us rejoice in the God of our salvation!  Young people marching,
Marching for their lives ... Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. Pipe bombs exploding, Anguish encroaching ... Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. Chaos in Congress, The White House, the world ... Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. Flooding, mud slides, storms, Strong winds, snow, and cold ... Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. Whales on foreign sand, Dying where they lie ... White rhinos threatened As the last male dies ... Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. We cry out! Have no doubt: Hope wanes here; We LIVE fear. Hear our cries! Hear our sighs. Hold our hands. Help us stand. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. In your mercy, Your great mercy, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.  Call to Confession
The gate of the Lord has opened that the righteous might enter through it. Made righteous only by the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, let us confess our sin before him and seek mercy. Prayer of Confession Too soon our joyful praises Turn to shouts of hateful rage And we take off our celebration clothes And quickly turn the page. The jostling just to see you Turns to apathy at best And we leave our gifts behind To be trampled by the rest. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy. When the dust has hardly settled We are oft among the throng That denies we ever knew you, Sometimes the ones who do you wrong. Forgive our faithlessness, O God. Forgive our bold betrayal And restore our hearts to you, O God, Our desire for Life, enable. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy. Assurance of God’s Grace The Lord has answered us and has become our salvation. Thanks be to God! In the name of Jesus Christ we are forgiven! Since we have been forgiven in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you. Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day. 3/27/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, Palm Sunday B We come home praising.
The Lord is good! His steadfast love endures forever! Waving branches along the way, We come home praising. We come home watching. The stone the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone! Look and see what God has done! We come home watching. We come home rejoicing. This is the day the Lord has made Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Throwing our coats on the ground, We come home rejoicing. We come home worshiping. Blessed is he who comes In the name of the Lord! Gathering in community, We come home worshiping. 3/16/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, Lent 5B Grieving communities
mourn the loss of their children and young adults, senseless violence and carelessness taking the lives of innocents in their prime. Empowered teens walk out to remember their peers, to call for reform ... a plea to be heard, to be valued, to be protected. Peurto Ricans walk for miles to carry water and walk back home to darkness, still waiting, six months after a hurricane to be restored. The exiled remember and call upon the name of the Covenant-Maker, the Covenant-Keeper, the Source of Love. Be present with your people, Lord, remember your covenant with them, restore to them the hope of salvation, and bring your exiled people home. 3/14/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, Lent 5B Call to Confession
All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession There are days when we forget that we are where we are because of our faithlessness. Our covenant-breaking has caught up to us and the consequences of our sin is brokenness in the community, brokenness in our spirits, our very selves. We have failed to love as we have been loved, failed to serve as we have been served, failed to remember what has been done for us and therefore, failed to remind those who come after. It is not all about us. We have forgotten that. Covenant-Keeper, forgive us, we pray. Write your name on our hearts, that we might remember and live as the redeemed people we are. Assurance of God's Grace God has promised that when we confess our sin, God who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin and remove it as far as the east is from the west, remembering our sin no more. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you. Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter today. 3/13/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, Lent 5B The exiled ache
for new life in familiar places knowing the familiar is all too unfamiliar now for one cannot go back to what was in the same way one was there before. God understands the plight of those who grieve and promises new life for all people, regardless of their missteps, for God is the God of grace, therefore, let us worship God. 3/9/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, Lent 4B Your people, God, are hungry.
YOUR people, Lord, they thirst. Your people cry in agony, their only hope to be heard. Righteousness is lost in the hallowed halls of law because judgment rules and money fuels an economy that is flawed. But your Body will not rest until hope has stood the test and your people have been blessed because Justice reigns for all. Your people, God, are fearful. YOUR people, Lord, are afraid. Your people cry in terror, their broken hearts dismayed. Righteousness is lost in the hallowed halls of law because judgment rules and the powerful fuel a security that is flawed. But your Body will not rest until hope has stood the test and your people have been blessed because Justice reigns for all. Your people, God, are perishing. YOUR people, Lord, are dead. Your people suffer relentlessly having suffered much in dread. Righteousness is lost in the hallowed halls of law because greed rules and companies fuel a system that is flawed. But your Body will not rest until hope has stood the test and your people have been blessed because Justice reigns for all. Hear our prayers, we pray, O God. Lift up your faithful Word that grace may overflow and your faithful people stirred. |
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