Texts: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51
Call to Worship
Watch what God does:
mostly God loves us.
We would learn a life of such love
so we might do as God does.
Watch how Christ loves us:
not with caution, but with extravagance.
We would practice such lavish love,
not noticing what it costs us.
Watch how the Spirit loves us:
moving in us, breathing love into us.
We would live such love for others,
keeping company with God.
Prayer of the Day
We gather in this place,
with these people,
in these moments, Gentle God,
because we hope our self-righteous anger
might become passionate justice for others.
We gather in this place,
with these people,
in these moments, Christ our Bread,
because we hope our complacency with half-lies
might become a hunger for your truth.
We gather in this place,
with these people,
in these moments, Gifting Spirit,
because we hope our fumbling, faltering words
might be transfigured into good news to others.
We gather in this place, with these people,
in these moments, God, Christ, and Spirit,
praying as we have been taught,
(The Lord's Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
It's this simple - God loves us. But our inactions grieve God, our sins break God's heart. In Christ, God forgives us through and through. Let us confess our failures and our faithlessness, trusting in God's promise to make us new.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
We break your heart, God of all the world, by the respectable lives we lead. Blessed by you with every gift, we practice thrift towards others. Seeking to be good and proper Christians, we overlook you in the company of the poor, the oppressed, those without a voice. We choose to spread gossip about our friends and neighbors, when we could speak gently to them.
Forgive us for the pain we cause you and other people, Grieving God. Help us to make a clean break with those habits which keep us from wholeness. Open us to the movement of your Spirit within us. Feed us with the Bread of Life, so we might have the love and passion to feed the world. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
It is really that simple - God loves us. Through the Holy Spirit, God works in us, transfiguring our old ways, breathing life and love into us.
We receive God's grace, so we can offer it to others. We are caressed in God's gentleness, so we can hold the broken. We will be quick to forgive, even as God has forgiven us. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
May we imitate your generosity, Gracious God, as we offer these gifts to you. May we model your justice, as we seek to bring hope to the broken all around us. May we share the gift of your love with all who are alone and hurting, and simply looking for grace in their lives. This we pray in the name of our Bread, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the Bread of life be with you.
And also with you.
Come to the One who waits for you at this Table.
We bring our hearts to the One with whom
there is grace and wonder.
Children of God, hope in the Lord!
We will sing glad songs to the One
who listens to our hearts and lives.
Such slight words -
light, water, earth, sky -
when written on a list,
but in your voice,
echoing in the Spirit,
creation bursts the logjam of chaos,
rushing forth to fill the void
with life, hope peace, grace,
all the gifts you shaped for us.
Our denial of you broke your heart,
as we made room for sin and death,
but you did not forget us,
sending the prophets to remind us
that there is forgiveness with you.
When we continued to watch
more for temptation than for you,
you sent Jesus into our midst,
to speak the truth of your love for us.
So, as we gather with our friends and neighbors,
as we are members of the one Body
in every time and place,
we lift our voices singing of your love:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God of steadfast love.
All creation waits for you.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who is the living bread.
Hosanna in the highest!
Steadfast love is who you are, God of Compassion,
and this love is made flesh in Jesus, your Child.
Though we struggle to follow,
he is the Guide to your heart;
though we rarely seek him,
he is the Bread which can feed
our deep-down-in-the-belly longings;
though we resist drinking from the fountain,
he is the living water which can quench our thirsts;
though we are convinced we can do it ourselves,
he is the one who gives himself up to sin and death,
defeating forever their power over us.
As we remember this fragrant offering for our sakes,
as we come to the Table of joy and peace,
we tell of that mystery we call faith:
In Christ's death, we hope;
in Christ's resurrection, we live;
for Christ's return, we wait.
Here at this Table of bread and cup,
graced by your Spirit of hope and peace,
we discover the extravagant love you have for us.
As we feast on the Bread of life,
may its lavish grace fill our hearts,
so that we may go out to serve others,
never minding the cost.
As we drink from the cup,
may we be transformed by its peace,
that we might go out to embrace
all who have been forgotten by the world.
And when we no longer need to watch
but awaken in that eternal morning,
when we no longer need to wait,
but will find ourselves seated around the Lamb's Table,
we will join our voices with all your beloved children,
singing to you forever and ever,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Go, with the God of gentleness, into the world.
We will go to offer passionate justice for all
Go with the Bread of life into the world.
We will share compassion with the needy in our communities.
Go with the Spirit of holiness into the world.
We will speak the good news, even with our fumbling words.
(c) Thom M. Shuman
