Texts: Ezekiel 33:7-11; Psalm 119:33-40; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew
18:15-20
Call to Worship
L: We gather here, where God would teach
us:
P: so we may learn to be more compassionate,
so we may be taught
how to be more loving.
L: We gather here, where Jesus would teach us
P:
the wisdom to choose forgiveness over holding a grudge,
the language of
hope so we may speak to all.
L: We gather here, where the Spirit imparts
wisdom,
P: so we might know how to share grace,
so we would learn to
welcome all to this Table.
Prayer of the Day
Liberating God:
you
set us free from our loneliness
by the touch of another's hand;
you
deliver us from our selfishness,
so we may be of service to others;
you
break the chains of our pride,
so we might walk with you in
humility.
Christ of love,
when we would cling to our anger,
you
send forgiveness to take us by the hand;
when we would snack on our
bitterness,
you share the Bread of heaven;
when we would drink from sin's
fountain,
you pour out the Cup of salvation.
Spirit of new
life:
you gather us together in God's school
to teach us how
to
live together,
to love together,
to serve together,
so that
those around us might know
that you are in their midst.
God in
Community, Holy in One,
fill us with your wisdom as we pray, saying,
(The
Lord's Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
In worship and at work, in life
and in loss, now
and in every moment, Christ is among us: loving
us,
teaching us, and hoping to lead us. But we
focus on those needs, on those
desires that keep
us from recognizing him. Let us confess all that
we
have done against God and others, as we pray,
Unison Prayer for
Forgiveness
All you ask of us is to love one another, God of
our
lives, and you are more than willing to teach us
how. Yet we find this
simple request so hard to carry
out, this easy lesson so difficult to learn.
Someone
cuts us off in traffic, and we curse them. Another buys
something
we want but cannot afford, and we overflow
with jealousy. A friend gets the
acclaim we wanted, and
we whisper about them behind their backs.
Forgive us, Merciful God, and unclasp our hands from
our grudges. With
Christ in our midst, we can become the
people your dream about: loving,
merciful, gentle, and
compassionate people of God.
Silence is
kept
Assurance of Pardon
L: 2, 3, 30, 300 - we have gathered as
God's people:
broken, we are made whole;
alone, we are
welcomed into a family;
forgiven, we are sent to serve.
P: Fed,
forgiven, restored, loved. This Table is our constant
reminder of God's
presence in our lives, of God's grace which
makes us new in every moment.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
Offertory/Prayer of Dedication
May our gifts
go forth into our world, so that where people
hunger, they may be fed; where
there is war, peace might be
welcomed; where families are broken, they made
be made whole.
Then others will be as blessed as we have been by your love,
grace,
and compassion. In Jesus' name, we offer our gifts and this
prayer
of gratitude. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L: May
God our Teacher be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: Now is the moment
to offer your hearts to God.
P: Now, we turn our hearts to your
grace.
L: Join in songs of thanks and praise to our God.
P: We join with
all who are here and throughout the world in praise.
We praise you, Holy
God:
Shaper of the Bread of life,
Pourer of the Cup of
salvation.
Face-to-face with chaos,
you spoke that Word that
taught
elephants to blow water out their trunks,
monkeys to
swing from trees,
leaves to swirl gently to the ground,
gases to
form into planets.
All that was light and wonder and hope
was offered to
those crafted in your image,
but we wandered through the shadows of
sin,
following the teachings of death.
You sought to bring us back to
you
by sending prophets with your gracious words,
but we could not
hear you
above sin's siren songs.
Taking on human form
yourself,
you came to live among us,
so we might see your
face-to-face
and know your forgiveness firsthand.
With our sisters and
brothers at our side,
with those before us and those behind us,
we sing
the songs of the gathered faithful:
P: Holy, holy, holy are you, Teacher
of your children.
All creation sings the praises learned from
you:
creatures roaming the earth,
dolphins splashing
in the sea,
eagles soaring through the sky.
Glory to
you forever and ever,
Hosanna in the highest!
God, our
righteousness,
you take pleasure in your people and so
in love, you
became human;
in hope, you came to us;
in joy, you gave yourself
to us
through your Child, Jesus our Brother.
Clothed in light,
he
came to lead us out of the shadows.
Filled with your wisdom,
he came
to teach us your ways.
One with you forever,
he came to gather us
into your family.
Humble enough to take on our death,
he carries us
into your kingdom.
As we come to this Table
which you have prepared
for us,
we remember the faith which was his:
P: Christ died, facing
death one-on-one.
Christ was raised, bringing new life for all.
Christ will come, when the time is right.
Move over these gifts of the
Table,
Breath of God,
and on those gathered for this meal.
As the bread
of hope heals our brokenness,
may we go forth to be reconciled
to those we
have harmed.
As the cup of grace quenches our thirst for hope,
may we
reach out to those
whom the world has forgotten.
As your peace fills our
empty souls,
may we bring that peace to our world.
And when that day
comes when
all brokenness is made whole,
all barriers are torn
down,
all people live at peace with one another,
we will gather at your
holy feast,
singing our praises forever,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.
Sending
L: Go now to the people who are overwhelmed by
despair.
P: We will take the hope which has been given to us
and
share it with all.
L: Go now to those who are at odds with neighbors.
P:
We will offer the peace and reconciliation which God
has poured into our
lives.
L: Go now to those who are the most vulnerable in our world.
P:
We will bring the healing, the grace, the love of our God.
© 2014 Thom M.
Shuman