Texts: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John
14:1-14
Call to Worship
L: We are God's household,
crafted by the Architect of creation:
P: our hearts a shelter for the
outcast;
our hands open to the stranger.
L: We are God's
people,
created in the divine image:
P: to tell others of God's
love,
to offer mercy as freely as we have
received
it.
L: We are God's children,
called to give of
ourselves:
P: chosen to serve the lost and lonely,
gifted to
minister to a hurting world.
Prayer of the Day
Our Way:
you call
us
to celebrate your peace
in a world which worships war;
to celebrate your freedom
in the face of oppression;
to celebrate
the seed of faith
planted in the doubts of our hearts.
Our
Life:
you would have us
celebrate the safe ground of hope
emerging from the flood of our tears;
celebrate those who love us
in the midst of hurt and hatred;
celebrate our salvation
as we
struggle with sin.
Our Truth:
you teach us
to celebrate our new
life
in the gift of the Risen Lord;
to celebrate the grace of
your heart
which melts our fears;
to celebrate that all our
moments
are cradled in your hands.
Our Way, our Truth, our
Life,
we lift our prayers to you as we pray, saying,
(The Lord's
Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
Considered to rough for their smooth
plans, the
builders cast out the Stone they needed. But
God builds
salvation on the One who is the
foundation of all hope. Let us confess our
sins
to God and one another, trusting we will not
be put to
shame,
Responsive Prayer for Forgiveness
Hear the brokenness of
our lives, Precious God.
We cover our ears so we cannot hear the cries
of
those in need, or you urging us to respond. We
rush together to defend
every issue that matters
to us, but quickly disperse when you would call
us
to be your holy people. We shout as loud as we can
to cheer on our
sports teams, but can manage only
whispers when it comes to sharing the good
news.
Forgive us, our Eternal Guide, and do not hold
our sins against
us. We lay the garments of our
foolishness at your feet, so you might clothe
us
in grace and hope. We would feed on the spiritual
food which flows
from your heart so we might be
strong enough to follow Jesus as he leads us
in the
Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Silence is kept
Assurance
of Pardon
L: You are no longer alone - you are God's Beloved.
You
are not of this world, but residents of God's
Kingdom. You, who once
had no hope, have
been filled with forgiveness.
P: Each one of
us, all of us, have received God's
mercy in Christ. Forgiven,
redeemed, made
whole - we are a people made one in faith.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
We offer our gifts so that others may not feel alone, eat alone, live alone, be alone, but that they may be surrounded by your grace and love through us and the lives we offer to the. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L: May the God
of every way be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: Lift your hearts to
the One who is the Truth
for God's own people.
P: We offer them
to the One who warms them with love.
L: Sing praises to God, who is our
Life.
P: Glad songs are offered to the One
who provides shelter for
us.
You made a way through chaos,
Constructing God,
the Word
echoing on mountaintops
and whispering in valleys;
the Spirit teaching
songs to the stars,
and breathing life into those created
in your image as
your precious children.
You longed to cradle us in your lap,
breastfeeding
us with grace and hope,
but we slipped out of your grasp,
covering our ears as you called us
to come back home to you.
Prophets
came to remind us that
you would not put us to shame,
psalmists sang to us
of your longing
to cut the net of sin and death and set us free,
but
, together, we rushed
into the open arms of temptation.
Then you sent
Jesus, so that
in knowing and believing in him,
we would know and believe
in you.
With those who have nothing
and with those who give everything
away,
we lift our voices to you:
P: Holy, holy, holy are you, God who
pulls us to safety.
All creation kneels down to worship you.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who shows us the
Truth.
Hosanna in the highest!
You shape a safe place for us,
Imaginative God,
and send your Child, Jesus, to show us the Way.
Born a
tiny baby as we are,
he shows us how to grow into your people.
The
cornerstone of your kingdom,
he uses us to build a spiritual home for
all.
Committing his spirit to you,
he entered the emptiness of
death,
so we might stand on the solid ground
of the
resurrected life.
Even as we celebrate the Life which was his,
as we
claim the Truth that all are one with you,
we take refuge in that mystery
called faith:
P: Christ died, trusting in God's promises;
God
raised him from the dead, promising the same for us;
Christ will come,
fulfilling all the promises of God.
Once, we were nobodies, alone and
hopeless,
but by your mercy, Living God,
we are now a family,
gathered
in your love around this Table,
where the Spirit sanctifies the bread and
cup.
You lean over to serve us the bread,
enveloping us in your
grace
so we might go to be your people.
You offer to us the cup of
hope,
which can heal our troubled hearts
and strengthen us to serve our
world.
And when the Way leads us home to you,
when your Life gathers
us with our sisters and brothers
around the Table which is prepared by your
Truth,
we will sing glad songs of praise to you forever,
God in Community,
Holy in One. Amen.
Sending:
L: May the blessings of the One who
is the Way
be with you in the days to come.
P: May God guide our
feet wherever we go.
L: May the blessings of Jesus who is our Life
be with you in the days to come.
P: May he lead us by the hand to those who
are
our sisters and brothers in need.
L: May the blessings of the
Spirit of Truth
be with you in the days to come.
P: May we journey
with the Spirit to that
way which is everlasting.
© 2014 Thom M.
Shuman