Texts: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 16:1-9; James 3:1-12;
Mark 8:27-38
Call to Worship
On
this morning, as every morning,
we are surrounded by
God’s grace.
In
these moments, as every moment,
we are to costly
discipleship by Jesus.
Throughout
this day, as every day,
we are taught peace and
hope by the Spirit.
Prayer of the Day
Open
our ears,
Teacher
of souls,
so
that we might hear
the
cries of the hungry
and feed them,
the
loneliness of the unloved
and embrace them,
the
songs of little children
and learn them.
Give
us the words we need,
Teacher
of justice,
so
that we might challenge
the powerful and callous,
so
that we work to bring together
families separated by fear,
so
that we might speak out
when everyone else is silent.
Strengthen
our hearts,
Teacher
of hope,
so
that we might sustain
the weary, not just with words,
but with our friendship;
so
that we might not hide
but face down cruelty
with kindness and mercy.
Morning
by morning, day by day,
continue
to teach us your ways,
God
in Community, Holy in One,
as
we pray as we are taught,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
What
are folks saying about us? Do they
mention our kindness, or how hard we are on others; do they speak of our love,
or about our selfishness? God invites us
to follow Jesus and reflect him in our lives.
Join me, as we confess how we have not done son, as we pray together,
saying,
Unison Prayer for
Forgiveness
All we need to do is open our mouths,
Teacher of hearts, to show that we give our tongues free rein. We claim we love others, but speak bitter
words to them. We think we are good and
gracious people, but hurl epithets at those we do not like, or those we
fear. We are quicker to speak of
judgment for others, rather than being voices for justice.
But with your gracious mercy, Tender-hearted
God, you can put out the wildfires of bitterness sparked by our words. You can stop the words on the tips of our
tongues and transform them into whispers of peace and love. You can open our ears so that we can hear all
that your Teacher of grace and hope, Jesus the Messiah, has to share with us,
in these moments and all those to come.
Amen.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Can
we handle it – the good news; the fact that God’s grace can transform us; that
God can teach us new songs; that God can fill us with hope and joy?
It is hard to believe,
which may be why it is hard to accept it.
But God loves us, God has mercy on us, God is with us. Thanks be to God, we are forgiven! Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
Open
our ears to the struggles around us;
open
our voices to speak out for justice;
open
our hearts to welcome the forgotten;
open
our treasures so they may be used to care for all your children.
This
we pray in the name of Jesus the Messiah.
Amen.
Great Prayer of
Thanksgiving
May
God of the mornings be with you;
and with you as well.
Children
of God, lift up your hearts to God.
We lift them to the One
who surrounds them with hope
and fills them with
wonder.
Let
us lift our voices in song to our God.
We lift our voices
teaches us glad praises of joy and hope
Morning
by morning, you were at work,
God
of wonders,
transforming
chaos into creation:
teaching birds to fly and fish to swim;
carving channels for rivers through
mountains;
giving humps to camels and long necks to
giraffes.
We
were formed in your image,
placed
in that garden of wonders
hedged
by hope, peace, grace, and love,
but we snuck through them
so that we could play in death’s puddles
with our playmates temptation and rebellion.
You
refused to give up on us,
continually
sending prophets to call us
back
to your healing heart,
yet we continued to listen to the whispers
of other gods who promised wealth and
success.
So,
no matter what we said about you,
you
chose to send your Child to us,
to
teach us of your love and hopes.
With
those who know who you are,
and
with those who don’t know what to say,
we
lift our songs of praise to you:
Holy, holy, holy are
you, God who is our shelter.
All creation teaches us
of your grace.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who
sustains the weary.
Hosanna in the highest.
Jesus was born, God of holiness,
so that day by day, we might learn
of your gracious love and compassion.
He could have been a mighty warrior,
but
had a heart filled with peace;
he could have been an eloquent prophet,
but
was given the tongue of a storyteller;
he could have been played it safe,
but
was willing to risk all for us;
he could have left his cross on the ground,
but
picked it up, carrying it to fear’s hilltop,
where
he defeated once and for all
the
powers of sin and death.
As we celebrate his life and ministry to all,
as we struggle with the crosses offered to us,
we proclaim that mystery we call faith:
Jesus
died, losing his life so ours might be gained.
Jesus was
raised, a spring of grace washing off death’s dust.
Jesus
will come, so we might bless you.
Holy meal by holy meal, you bless us,
pouring the Spirit out on the gifts
of the bread and the cup
as well as on those who gather.
With the broken bread, you feed us
so that we can sustain the weary
with
hope and grace;
so that we can open our ears
to the
needs around us.
With the cup of salvation, you fill us
so that we can empty ourselves
into
those who hunger for peace;
so that we can be a blessing
to all
the world curses.
And when we are gathered
with our sisters and brothers
after all time has ended,
we will join in singing your praises
morning by morning,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
God
sends us into the world with words of hope.
Morning by morning, we
will speak these words
and live them out for
others.
Jesus
calls us into the world with words of justice.
Moment by moment, we
will listen to the oppressed
and challenge the
unjust powers around us.
The
Spirit fills us with words of grace and peace.
Day by day, we will
sing these words,
so all may hear of God’s
presence in their lives.
©
2018 Thom M. Shuman
