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5/30/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, OT9 Call to Confession, OT9
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 The light of your Word burns brightly, yet still we stumble, choosing not to see what is in front of us. We are permissive: playing favorites even as we pass judgment on the other, allowing violence to reign in our city streets and in our homes and in our schools, defending the perpetrator and blaming the victim. Our ears are open, but our hearts are closed. We do not want to hear a different perspective because it might mean we have to change our own. In your mercy, Lord, forgive us. Renew in us a spirit of compassion. Transform our ways of being in this world and heal our division. 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, removing it as far as the east is from the west and remembering it 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 this day.
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5/29/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, OT9 In the dark and in the day,
God calls to each of us by name: patiently, tenderly, urgently, unceasingly calling. From our darkness and our light we come ... to listen, to respond, and to worship.  Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer,
we are mystified by your existence, by the way you work in us and through us and around us, and by the ways in which you respond to our cries for mercy. We look, O God, but far too often, we do not see you. Our hearts are wrenched by terminal illnesses and terrible injuries and tragedies we cannot fathom, the moments of our ordinary days shattered by life-altering diagnoses and unforeseen incidents. Show yourself to us, we pray. Make your presence so tangible we can reach out and touch you. Your people need to know that you are with us in the depths of our grief, in the day to day struggles to function. Heal our hearts, we pray, and reconcile our spirits with yours and with one another that we may live each day to the fullest, rejoicing in your love. Creator God, we celebrate your revelation to us in all of your majestic order. We give thanks for all that is and for the way it displays your vast imagination for it gives us hope that there is space for creative reimagination to find measures that will heal all that is. Christ, our Redeemer, we give thanks for that through you, every moment of our lives can be redeemed, every sin forgiven, every weapon turned to plow share, every desperate cry turned to hope. Holy Spirit, ignite in us a passion to live life anew in the mystery that is the Triune God that the lives we live in your name may be a legacy for those who come after.  Call to Confession
God said, "I am (the one) who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember you sins." (Isaiah 43:25) God's promises are for all God's people throughout all time. Let us confess our sin and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession We hide our faces from you, O God. We are unworthy even to stand in your presence. Your glory is beyond our comprehension. You call to us, and we make excuses, our unclean lips spouting judgment against ourselves and all around us. We long to be the people you call us to be, to go where you call us to go, to do what you call us to do, but that, O Lord, would require that we give up our tightly held prejudices and accept that even in our sinful states we are no better than our neighbor. Forgive our transgressions, we pray, and free us to answer your call. Assurance of God's Grace "he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon his was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) 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 those whom you encounter this day. 5/22/2018 2 Comments Call to Worship, Trinity Sunday B The glory of God calls to us
from the early morning sunrise, from the vast ocean, teeming with life, from the forest canopy chattering and singing, from the highest, snow-covered,mountain peaks to the deepest, greenest valleys, lush with vegetation. The glory of God calls to us from the cry of an infant , from the inquisitive questions of a child, and the heart-pounding music of a teenager, from the wonder of a new parent, and the wistfulness of the elderly. The glory of God calls to us calling us to gather at the throne of God, reminding us to wonder about God's holiness, inviting us to worship. 5/18/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, Pentecost B God Almighty!
What on earth are we to do? Our bones lie in heaps of dry desperation; we are grieved beyond our capacity to function. Again, O Lord! It has happened again! And one of our children has spoken and said she was not surprised because it is happening everywhere ... why wouldn't a gunman open fire in her school as well? If we have no hope for a better tomorrow, how can we possibly stand under the weight of our despair? We no longer even have the strength to shout, "ENOUGH!" Parents are grieving the loss of their children. Children are grieving the loss of their siblings. Communities are grieving the loss of their innocence. Great Physician, we are beyond angry ... we are numb. Terminal illness steals precious time from those who long to embrace it, to stop it, to cherish it, before it is gone too soon. Your children have lost their faith in miracles; they no longer call on your name, because they cannot reconcile a loving God with their circumstances. Spirit, breathe new life into your people! Raise up a people whose passion cannot be suffocated, whose spirits cannot be broken. Enliven your people, O God, that hope may be restored. Your kingdom come ... your will be done ... on earth as it is in Heaven. In the name of all that is holy, God, hear our prayers! 5/16/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, Pentecost B Call to Confession
The Psalmist laments to God, "When you hide your face , they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust." (Psalm 104:29) Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's merciful, life-giving spirit to recreate us and renew the earth. Prayer of Confession, Pentecost B Our bones are dry, Lord. Our structures are lifeless, our frameworks do not inspire movement. We lie empty and despairing -- moaning and lamenting our fate. Our hope is gone. Yet, we do not try to change what we are doing. We cannot begin to fathom the new thing you might do in our midst. Prophesy is a thing of the past. Isn't it? Surely there are no prophets among us, no new voices -- at least not ones we are willing to hear. Is it any wonder we lie dying in the dust? Forgive us, God. Raise up prophets among us who will speak words of encouragement and hope, who will open our eyes and transform our thinking. Breathe new life into these dry bones, and lead us forward with praise! Assurance of God's Grace The prophet Isaiah shares the promise of God, saying, "Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead." (Isaiah 26:19) By the power of the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, we are renewed in God's mercy. 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 this day. 5/15/2018 0 Comments Call to Worship, Pentecost B Can these bones live?
We wonder, as we drag our weary bones into wearying meetings and through life-draining routines. Can these bones live? We demand to know, as we fight for our last breath in valleys of hopelessness and despair. Can these bones live? We cry out from isolated places, cut off from community even in the midst of it. Can these bones live? The Lord knows. Dry bones, come, and hear the Word of the Lord! 5/11/2018 0 Comments Prayers of the People, E7B God, our Wisdom and Guide,
be present with those who are actively seeking discernment; speak through the voices of the community in words that can be heard, replacing anxiety with assurance and chaos with calm. God, our Rock and our Redeemer, be present with those who answer the call to serve in every time and place; encourage them in their endeavor and strengthen them for the challenges they encounter along the way; teach them humility that who they are and what they do may bring glory to your name. God of Compassion and Mercy, be present with those whose voices are silenced, whose witness is not given merit, whose experience is not valued; draw them into the circle of leadership that their understanding may light the way forward for all who have not walked their path. God of Comfort and Healing, be present with those whose hearts are broken and spirits crushed by the failures of the world to listen, to discern, to answer, to lead, according to the law of love in Jesus Christ our Lord; Surround them with your love, we pray. Touch them with your mercy, and fill them with a peace that passes all understanding, as only you can do. 5/9/2018 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, E7B Call to Confession
The Lord tests the mind and searches the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. (Jeremiah 17:10). Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession Forgive us, Lord. In seeking leadership for our communities, for our nations, for our world, we fail to explore all the possibilities, choosing to leave the marginalized in the margins, excluding their voices from the meeting table, opting, instead, for those who represent our own sense of security. If we remember to seek your guidance, Lord, we don't often recognize your voice when we hear it, usually because we have not made time to nurture a relationship with you; we do not listen with a discerning ear, but with a self-serving one; we defer to the loudest and most obnoxious voices; we insist on our own way. Forgive us, we pray. Move your Spirit among and within us. Open our eyes to the call that is in front of us. Open our ears to hear the truth. Open our hearts to the law of love which you have commanded us to follow first and foremost, and teach us to be the leaders you have called us to be for the sake of a turbulent world. Assurance of God's Grace And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:27) 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 this day ... |
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