Lent 5-C

Call to Worship
Whatever God did in the past,
the future is that much better!
(even in Jerusalem)
We will not stop looking
for the newness God has for us!
Whatever we have achieved to this point,
we have not completed our journey.
(even into the unknown)
We will quicken our pace
to follow Jesus wherever he leads.
Whatever obstacles we put in the path,
God will make a way to our hearts.
(even in the desert of death)
We will move onward,
through our doubts and fears.

Prayer of the Day
Holy God,
Water Tamer:
you humble our pride,
so we might open
our hearts
to your healing;
you restrain our fears,
so we might reach
for your joy.

Jesus Christ,
Living Water:
you gather up our tears
and wash away
the dust of our despair;
you sit at our feet
and anoint us
with your costly love;
you wipe away our sin
and make us new.

Holy Spirit,
Impudent Joy:
you grace us
with gifts so abundant
they become a river
bursting its banks
in our lives.

God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayers and our joy
as we pray as Jesus has taught us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Even now, God makes a way for us to be made whole. God wants to bring us out of despair and to fill our hearts with laughter. Please join me as we pray to the One who forgets our past to offer us a new future,

Unison Prayer of Confession
God, whose name is Grace: we confess that all too often we asume we have it made and there is no need to advance in our faith. Because the poor are always with us, we believe we can ignore them. We want Jesus to be with us, but not if it means a lot of struggle and pain.

Forgive us, God of Mercy, and repair our broken lives. You have rearranged the price tags on everything we value, so we might set down all that holds us back, to push ahead in following Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
God comes to us to give living water to
thirsty people; God comes to us to anoint
us with the grace that wipes away our sin;
God comes to fill us with joy.
Our tears are turned into rivers of grace;
our weeping becomes glad cries of praise.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

(c) 2007 Thom M. Shuman