Texts: Lamentations 1:1-6; Psalm 137; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke
17:5-10
Call to Worship
We gather, as God's people, bringing our
fears and pain,
knowing that when our spirits have grown cold,
God rekindles the gift of faith in us.
We gather, as God's people,
hanging our broken hearts
on the branches of the tree of life,
knowing that while friends may turn against us,
God transforms enemies
into sisters and brothers.
We gather, as God's people, hungering for
healing and hope,
knowing that even when life is no picnic,
God
prepares a feast for us.
Prayer of the Day
Singer of Songs:
when we
have lost
the melody of your hope,
you reshape the notes of our
hearts;
when we can find
no resting place,
you are the
lap
that cradles us;
when we are held captive
by our
complaints,
you free us for praise.
Seed Planter,
you only
did
what you ought to have done:
traveling the empty roads
of our
world;
listening to
our midnight cries;
overtaking
us
to shoulder our burdens.
Spirit of Love,
as you enter
our hearts
to ease our loneliness:
may we not forget
who
our protector is;
may we remember the faith
which has been
gifted to us;
may we be stewards
of the good treasure that
is ours.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayers as Jesus
taught us,
Our Father . . .
Call to Reconciliation
Our faith has
been placed in our hands by our parents and grandparents. But we know we
have not always done what we ought to have done. Let us lift our prayers to
the One who is always ready to place forgiveness in our hearts.
Unison
Prayer of Confession
We stand before you in this moment, Listening God,
and state what you already know. Our cheeks are carved with the tears of the
pain we have caused. Our hearts are so empty we cannot comfort others. Our
desires have taken us to places where we cannot sing your praises.
Heart-seeking God, forgive us. Plant a tiny seed of hope that it might grow
into a bouquet for others. Increase our faith until it spills over in
thanksgiving to you. Fill us with the love that overwhelms all our
complaints and rekindles our desire to follow faithfully Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
While are failures and frailty are fresh, God's grace has been ours before
time began. This is great news - we are forgiven.
God plants the seed of
faith deep within us, growing a harvest of grace and hope. Thanks be to god,
who has given us the promise of life in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May God be with you.
And
also with you.
People of God, lift up your hearts.
We lift them to
the One who cradles our hearts in loving hands.
People of God, let us
give thanks to the God who sets a Table for us.
We praise the Lord our
God who welcomes us with open arms.
It is our greatest joy
to sing our
songs of praise to you,
Gardener of Creation.
You planted the seeds of
faith
in our ancestors
who sought to pass it on to us.
But your gifts
of love and self-discipline
found no resting place in our souls.
Your
tears washed
the streets of the kingdom
when we abandoned
them
to walk the world's lonely paths.
We do not remember who
protects us,
and we rely on those false gods
who would lead us
into despair's captivity.
But you will not forget us,
or leave us
orphaned.
Hearing us crying in the night,
you sent our Hope, Jesus
Christ.
Therefore, we lift our voices,
singing our praise with
those
in every time, and in every place,
who have been brought out of
death's exile
and who forever sing your joy:
Sung: (tune: Bunessan
5.5.5.4D)
God of Creation, Lord of all beauty,
All creatures join in
singing your love;
Holy Compassion, Joy of our mornings,
Fill us with
grace which comes from above.
Holy are you, Speaker of our hearts,
and
blessed is Jesus Christ, Promise of Life.
When we had hung our souls
on
the branches of loss,
he handed them back to us,
teaching
us the ageless
harmonies of grace.
When the world left us
by
the side of the road
like rusty automobiles,
he came to restore us to
newness.
Splashing in sin's puddles,
he washed our feet
and
dried them with his love,
leading us into the kingdom.
Daughters
of despair, sons of sadness,
orphans of woe -
he gathers us all
up
in his arms of mercy
wiping out death,
and sits
us down
at the family Table.
As we remember his grace and
love,
as we dare not forget his sacrifice for us,
we sing of that mystery
we call faith:
Sung: Christ of the outcast, Comfort of
mourners,
Neighbor to strangers, Love without end;
Bearer of burdens,
Grace ever with us,
Blessing our children, Brother and Friend.
Holy
Spirit,
as we offer the gifts
of the bread and the cup
for your
blessing,
so we present ourselves:
our accomplishments, our
failings,
our hopes, our realities.
Make us weak,
so we might
rely
on your strength.
As we have heard the Word,
may we
listen
to the cries of the poor.
As we are family
with those
sitting beside us today,
may we love our sisters and
brothers
in every corner of creation.
As you hold out
the
bread and the cup to us,
may we reach out to enemies
to
clasp hands as friends.
God in Community, Holy in One,
all honor and
glory are yours,
as we sing our praises through all eternity:
Sung:
Spirit of kindness, Breath of forgiveness,
Faithful Companion, just as Christ
said;
God's little children gathered together,
Drink of salvation, feast
on your Bread.
© Thom M. Shuman