Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
Just As I Am, Without One Plea
Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters

Call to Confession

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." (1 Corinthians 3:18-20) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's infinite mercy:

Prayer of Confession

Forgive us, God.
In your name we have taken captives,
have enslaved them,
have decided their futures,
and claimed our right to do so.
In your name we have committed atrocities
against the other,
against the marginalized,
against the voiceless
on the basis of a faulty interpretation
of what it means to be free.
Forgive us, God,
though we clearly do not deserve it.
Forgive us, we beg you!
Open our ears to the surprising prophets
in our midst.
Heal our brokenness,
and transform our hearts
and our lives
and our understanding of community
through the obedience 
that leads to true freedom.
In the name of all that is truly holy, 
may it be so. Amen.

Assurance of God's Grace

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. John 13:20. Hear the Good News: in the name of Jesus Christ, you 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 week. 

​Come, you who are suffering
and you with healing properties.
Come, you oppressed
and you oppressors.
Come, you who are strong and mighty
and you who have lost your voice
if you ever had it at all.
Come and hear the Word of the Lord.
Come and be transformed at the Lord's Table.
Come and find healing
in the grace that flows freely
from the throne of God.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
The Glory of These Forty Days
We Have Come at Christ's Own Bidding

As the Lord lives,
and as we ourselves live,
our God will not leave us.
Then let us stand before our God
and seek God's Spirit.
Let us watch with wonder
at the works of our Lord,
and let us worship with thanksgiving
and with praise!

*So, I might have inadvertantly switched the Call to Worship and the Prayer of Confession this week. OOPS! What day is it again? ;) 

​Call to Confession

The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession, P3C

Here we are, God,
walking alongside your prophets,
holding on to their coat tails,
trying to keep them from going
where you call them to go.
Some of us are standing at a distance,
not daring to go the extra mile,
afraid of what is coming,
uncertain about what it means.
Our words say we want to follow
where you lead,
but our actions say something different.
Do we have the clarity to ask for what we need?
Do we have the courage to pick up the mantle?
Lord, forgive our hesitancy
to lead your people.
Forgive our insecurities.
Empower us, we pray,
by your Holy Spirit,
and lead us ever forward
into life-giving ministry in your name.

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.

God of mercy and compassion,
be present with your tormented children
struggling with mental variances,
bound by anguish,
imprisoned by pain,
driven to hopelessness, anxiety, and despair.
Be present, also, with the community
that struggles to understand,
to show compassion,
while also walking alongside.
Teach us how to love those we find
difficult to love,
who hurt us in their quest to separate themselves
or lash out in response to the ways in which
we isolate them 
from the very community 
they need most.
Remind us to call them by their given names
instead of the names whispered behind their backs --
names that are behaviorally descriptive
rather than names that reflect 
the children of God they are.
Help us to celebrate your presence 
with your marginalized children,
and to recognize your healing work in them,
however incremental that healing happens ...
however isolated those moments are among the moments
of pain and imprisonment.
Open our eyes to see with clarity 
the ways in which you welcome your children 
in unconditional love.
Open our hearts to do the same.
Grant us wisdom to know how to protect
your most vulnerable children 
from harming themselves
and others
in their prisons of pain.
Send us out to create spaces that offer hope
to the hopeless
and help
to the helpless
according to the example of Jesus, Son of the Most High God.

*This prayer is based on Luke 8:26-39. This Sunday is Fathers' Day. As you pray for men who have served as fathers and for those who have either lost their fathers or never had them or been hurt by that relationship, please remember to be cautious in your use of the name "Father" for God and add to this prayer according to your particular context. 

Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
To God be the Glory
Silence! Frenzied, Unclean Spirit
Kyrie

Our God welcomes those who are struggling with all kinds of demons:
            Addiction, mental health issues, illness, and fear.
We come, stripped of the false bravado we use to disguise our pain.
Our God creates holy moments where healing and hope intersect
            And changes the course of human lives.
We come seeking transformation and wholeness.
Our God invites us to tell the stories of God’s activity in the world
            To all who will listen.
We go out sharing the Good News of the Gospel,
            Knowing this God is the God of the universe,
            The hope of creation.
Let us worship God.