Texts: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; ! Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
Call to
Worship
In the laughter of children,
we hear the voice of the Gate
of the Way,
and find our way home.
In the lap of a parent,
God's compassion cradles us
in the still waters of love.
The
Shepherd of our lives
leads us through that door
into life with
him forever.
We are baptized with living waters
which refresh us,
restoring us
to follow Jesus all our days.
The Holy Spirit,
Keeper of truth,
is the Light which guides us
through every
shadowed moment.
The Breath of life stills our worries
and fears,
as we are lead to that
peaceful place of God's heart.
Prayer of
the Day
Buoyed by your living waters,
we are at peace in seas
of stress
and success;
detoured onto those walkways
leading to your joy,
we find
our way out of mazes
of meetings and deadlines;
nourished at your
picnic
in that garden of grace,
our shredded souls
are anointed by your
healing;
you slow us down just enough,
as we try to escape
the very
lives we think we want,
so goodness and mercy
can catch up with us
and
carry us into your heart.
God in Community, Holy in One,
may you
always be with us on our journey,
as we pray as Jesus teaches us,
saying,
(The Lord's Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
Day by day, God
would lead us to the places of hope and healing, while moment by
moment, we continue to follow sin down all the wrong paths. Let us confess
our lives, as we draw near to the One who would restore us to wholeness.
Join me as we pray together, saying,
Unison Prayer for
Forgiveness
The wrong paths to foolish lives and repeated mistakes?
We know all to well where they are, Gate of our lives. Stirring up the
waters with trouble comes all too easy to us, we confess. And locking the
doors of our hearts so we don't have to love others is second nature to
us.
Forgive us, our Goodness and Mercy. May our hearts overflow with
hope for others, as you anoint us with healing oil. May we share from our
abundance with all who hunger for life. May we follow Jesus Christ, our
Lord and Savior, to the places of service and life with you forever.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Our Comforter
leads us to that place where God's Table is spread with forgiveness and
overflowing with grace. Here, we are called to life and love.
We will
live as God's people: forgiven to serve, blessed to share, loved so we might
care. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May
the God of gates be with you!
And also with you!
God calls us to
open our hearts to others,
for they are filled to overflowing with
grace.
Every day, let us rejoice in the Restorer of our lives.
We sing glad songs to the One who leads us.
You watched over
creation,
God of patience,
as it emerged out of nothingness:
meadows where sheep could rest,
still pools of water teeming with
tadpoles,
paths worn smooth by mountain goats.
You shaped us in your
divine likeness,
anointing us with Spirit's breath of life,
so we could
wander the garden by your side.
But that thief, sin, and that bandit,
death,
climbed into Eden by another way,
and we followed these
strangers' voices.
Day by day, you sent prophets to us,
who challenged us
to lead God-centered lives,
but we devoted ourselves to that
life
which is empty and bitter.
So then you sent Jesus,
shaped in
human likeness, to us,
so we would know you are with us.
With those
who walk your paths,
with those who long to find their way,
we offer glad
and generous hearts to you:
Holy, holy, holy are you, Guardian of our
souls.
All creation praises you day after day after day.
Hosanna
in the highest!
Blessed is the One who trusted in you alone.
Hosanna in the highest!
You alone are holy, Gate of the Way,
and Jesus
Christ, your Child, is Shepherd of life.
He kept to the path of
righteousness,
so we might learn how
to walk in his
footsteps.
Knowing our voices, he followed us
to the gate of
death,
where the keeper let him in,
locking the gate behind
him.
But you came another way
and, knowing your voice,
Jesus
followed you
out of the tomb,
receiving life, abundantly,
for
all your children.
As we gather in prayer and worship,
as we seek to
devote ourselves to following Jesus,
we sing of that mystery known as
faith:
Christ bore our sins in his body on the cross;
Christ
was raised by you out of death;
Christ will come, so we might live for
righteousness.
You lead us to this Table
where we want for
nothing,
for your Spirit transforms
everyday foods into a sacred
feast.
Your bread and cup comfort us,
nourishing us so we might be
together
in everything with our sisters and brothers.
The broken bread
strengthens us
to provide clean, still waters to all;
to build
shelter for those who sleep rough;
to feed those who are hungry.
Your
grace overflows into us so we may offer
companionship to those
who
wander shadowed valleys;
an open gate to
those
longing for a community;
voices of
compassion
and hope to the oppressed.
When we follow
goodness and mercy
to the end of time, we will find you
coming out of the
kitchen,
setting dish upon dish of peace and hope
on that great table
prepared for all your children,
and we will join our hearts and hands
as
we sing praise and wonder to you,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.
Sending
Day by day, God will lead us:
to those pools
of peace where we can
gather with our friends and strangers.
Day
by day, Jesus will call us:
to give ourselves in service,
to
anoint others with hope.
Day by day, the Spirit shows us:
the
people we might be,
the community we might become.
© 2014 Thom M.
Shuman