Texts: Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Psalm 119:1-8; Hebrews
9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34
Call to Worship
Blessed
are those who pay attention to God’s words.
We will keep them close
to our hearts
and write them on our
souls.
Blessed
are those who seek to walk with God’s Word, Jesus.
We will seek to love
our God completely
and our neighbors as if
they were us.
Blessed
are those keep their eyes on the Spirit.
We will learn the ways
of peace
and practice the art of
hope.
Prayer of the Day
When
we could offer our hearts
to
the highest bidder,
may
we give them to you
without
reservation;
when
we could find love
in
the shadowed streets of temptation,
may
crawl up into your lap,
and
be wrapped in your embrace,
God
who alone is God.
When
we could sprint after
the
wealthy and powerful,
trying
to keep up with them,
may
we serve the vulnerable
in
the neighborhoods everyone ignores;
when
we could lose our souls
seeking
to bargain with prevaricators,
may
we listen to your truth
in
the simple songs of little children,
Brother
of the oppressed.
When
we could easily forget
your
words of grace and hope,
may
we teach them to our kids
before
they head off into the day;
when
we could tell them stories
of
folks who think might makes right,
may
we read them bedtime stories
of
grace that rebuilds families,
of
hope which restores communities,
Spirit
who would draw us close to the kingdom.
When
we could keep trying to do it our way,
may
we walk in your way of love,
God
in Community, Holy in One,
even
as we pray as we are taught,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
The
books, movies, television shows make it seem so easy, so wonderful. Yet love is more difficult than we realize,
whether it is our inability to love those around us, our hollow words of how
much we love God, or the simple truth that we know ourselves too well to think
we our loveable. So let us bring our
lives, our emptiness, our hopes to our God who does, who has, and who will love
us unconditionally. Join me, as we pray
together saying,
Unison Prayer for
Forgiveness
When our neighbors think and act like us,
God of words, it is easy to love them, but harder when they dress and talk in a
different way. It is so simple to love
you in moments of worship, but at work or the gym, in the stores or in school
seems to be more difficult. It is easy
to love ourselves, until someone asks us why we said a certain thing or why we
made that foolish choice.
Yet you continue to love us, God of mercy,
and so may our hearts be changed by your faithfulness; may our souls take
comfort in the realization that you are always with us; may we discover the
wisdom and hope others offer as we listen more closely to them; may we be
strengthened in our discipleship by the One who models weakness and compassion
for others, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Hear
God’s words of forgiveness and hope;
keep
these words in your hearts;
share
them with every person you meet;
for
this is the good news: God loves us.
We will pay attention
to God words, we will cradle them in our souls, we will live them in every
moment we have. Thanks be to God, we are
forgiven! Amen.
Prayer of
Dedication/Offering
By
sharing from the blessings you have given us, Holy God, we can love our neighbors,
especially those who are hungry, those who huddle in shadowed doorways, those
we need medical care, and those who need to know they are loved – by us as well
as by you. Bless our gifts and use them
so all might draw closer to your kingdom.
We pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Great Prayer of
Thanksgiving
May
God’s love surround you!
May God’s love embrace
you!
Let
us love our God with every fiber of our lives.
We open our hearts and
souls to God,
serving God with our
strength and thoughts.
Let
us praise God with loud voices.
Let us keep God’s words
close as we sing in joy.
You
heard the silence of chaos
and
spoke, God of love,
your
Word calling forth all creation
and
your Spirit breathing life into
trees growing tall in forests,
dolphins splashing in seas,
butterflies and bees pollinating flowers.
You
did not do all this for yourself,
but
for those shaped in your image,
that
we might love you completely
and
share this goodness with others,
but we would not tell of this wonder,
preferring the anger and hurt
sin and death poured into us
to offer to those around us.
Walking
in your way,
prophets
came, calling us to pay attention
to
your words of hope and restoration,
but we continued to dwell
in the crumbling hovels of temptation.
Than
you sent your Heart to us,
so
that we would know, once and for all,
of
your great love for us.
With
those who tell of you to their children,
with
those who have tattooed you on their souls,
we
sing our praises to you:
Holy, holy, holy are
you, God of all people.
Creation in its beauty
and wonder sings praises to you.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who
is the bearer of all good things.
Hosanna in the highest!
You
alone are holy, Merciful God,
and
could remain aloof from us,
but
you chose to bear our human frame
in
the One whose birth we draw near.
Jesus
came with words of hope,
so that we could share them with children.
Jesus
came with words of wonder,
so that we could find joy in the midst of
despair.
Jesus
came with words of grace,
so that we could be neighbors to the broken.
Jesus
came with words of life,
so that death could have no power over him,
as he was brought forth from the grave
in resurrection’s power.
As
we prepare to celebrate the feast of grace,
as
we seek to love others as we are loved,
we
proclaim that mystery we call faith:
Jesus died, defeating fear
once and for all.
Jesus was raised,
defeating death once and for all.
Jesus will come,
gathering us to your side once and for all.
Here,
you gather your beloved children at the Table,
pouring
out your Spirit on the gifts prepared
and
on those gathered in these moments.
Though
broken, the bread strengthens us
to welcome all turned away by fear,
to bring healing to those who have no hope,
to feed those who have empty pantries.
Though
ordinary liquid, the cup enables us
to see the broken hearts of others,
to listen to the cries of the forsaken,
to share our souls with the lonely.
And
when we are gathered at the end of time
with
our sisters and brothers from every place,
we
will lift our voices to you,
God
in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Our
hearts filled with God’s love,
we will go to share it
with those around us
who know only rejection
and fear.
Our
souls filled with the grace of Jesus,
we will carry it into
neighborhoods
where hate threatens to
tear people apart.
Our
minds filled with the wisdom of the Spirit,
we will have the
strength to call out bigotry,
to denounce the mongers
of anger.
©
2018 Thom M. Shuman
