Lent 3-C

Call to Worship
When our pockets are empty,
God allows us to purchase what we need,
charging it to grace's account.
God thinks differently than we do.
When our souls are parched,
God hands us a glass of living water.
God's ways are different from ours.
When we grow weary of searching,
God takes our hand and leads us home.
God's love is different from ours.

Prayer of the Day
God of Grace:
we would max out every credit card
and empty our bank accounts
if we thought we could buy
that peace, that hope,
that mercy, that joy
which always seem to elude us.
Yet you wrap them up
and hand them to us,
with no price tag attached.
We hold our empty lives
out to the world,
begging to be filled to the brim
with all that will only disappoint us.
Yet you would grace us with living waters,
which never run dry.
We lie awake at night
from the insomnia of our stress,
whispering of our fears.
Yet you would lullaby us
with your love which never ends.

We would lift our hearts to you,
God in Community, Holy in One,
trusting that you will listen to us,
even as we pray as Jesus has taught us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Gifted beyond measure, we grumble that we don't have enough. Seeking to get our own way, we do not see the ways God wants to forgive us and restore us to new life. In this season of reflection and repentance, let us turn to the One who waits for us with hope.

Unison Prayer of Confession
We continue to be tempted, Faithful God. We are blessed with gifts to use for others, but we want to keep them for ourselves. We easily notice the mistakes of those around us, but do not want to look in the mirror at our lives. We turn our desires into idols, so we do not have to recognize how they can damage us.

Forgive us, Steadfast God. Fill the poverty of our spirits with the richness of your grace; feed our selfish hunger with the bread of compassion for the world; pour the living waters of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, into our hearts until they overflow with love.

Silence is kept.

Assurance of Pardon
God is faithful. God's love is an eternal bargain
which will not be broken, God's grace is the gift
which will not be taken back.
Such abundant mercy, such extravagant grace!
Thanks be to God, we are forgiven. Amen.

(c) 2007 Thom M. Shuman