Texts: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15
Call to Worship
L: God, who created the fields of Eden,
takes delight in all things, including us!
P: God of glory, God of grace,
your name is exalted in all the earth!
L: Christ, who walked the streets of our world,
gives hope to all people, including us!
P: God of glory, God of grace,
your Son is Savior of all creation!
L: God's Spirit, who stays in our hearts,
bears truth and peace to us!
P: God of glory, God of grace,
your love surrounds our every moment.
Prayer of the Day
Holy God, Creation's Artist:
tiny infants
babble your praises,
as you reach out
and heal us with
the touch of your fingertips.
We worship you.
Jesus Christ, Gateway to grace:
you make right
what we have messed up;
you build your kingdom
on the foundation of our faltering faith;
you stand with us
in the midst of our suffering.
We adore you.
Holy Spirit, Playmate of justice:
you splash through
the sea-puddles
in Eden's backyard,
tracking the mud
into Kingdom's kitchen,
leading us to the Table.
We open our hearts to you.
God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
Created as stewards of all creation, we know how often we have sunk to depths of faithless living. We lack the stamina to follow Christ through the Kingdom, and ignore the Spirit's calls to justice. Yet, God looks into our souls and sees the delight of God's heart. Let us join in prayer to the One who does not disappoint us.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
God of glory, grace and Wisdom, you call to us, but we do not listen. We trust in the emptiness of the world, but are reluctant to hope in your Word. We boast in our successes, but ignore the sufferings of others. Justice is what we demand for lawbreakers, instead of it becoming a lifestyle for ourselves.
Compassionate Mother:
have mercy on us;
Beloved Child:
have mercy on us;
Life-Giving Womb:
have mercy on us.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
L: Poured into our hearts, God's love gives us new life and hope. Touched by the fingers of God, we are restored to new life.
P: This is good news! God loves us, God forgives us, God calls us to service! Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
As we offer our gifts to you, Gracious God, remind us that we are called to serve in all the places where we will find you – at the entrances to broken neighborhoods, on the heights of despair, in the valleys of injustice, at the crossroads of poverty and hunger. In all those places, may we offer not only our treasures, but our lives as well. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you!
P: May the Triune God be with you!
L: People of God, lift up your hearts to the One
who creates all things, redeems all things, sustains all things.
P: We offer our hearts to God our Rock, Christ our Cornerstone,
the Spirit which is our Temple.
L: People of God, give thanks to the One who loves us
in every moment of our lives.
P: We praise the One who is, who was, and who is to come.
Joy is the song we offer to you,
Speaker of life and wonder
into the silence of chaos in that first moment.
Mountains became the citadels of your grace,
valleys rang with the glad shouts of peace.
Dipping your hands into the puddles of paradise,
your fingers gently shaped us in your image.
Though we rebelled against you time and again,
you would gently correct our mistakes,
longing to cradle us in your arms once again.
When we no longer could find our way back to you,
Jesus came to stand with us in our suffering
and to lead us home to you.
So, with our sisters and brothers of every time,
with those who sing to you in this place,
we tell of your glory forever and ever:
P: Holy, holy, holy, God of majesty and beauty.
All creation praises your name in all creation.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who came that we might have peace with you.
Hosanna in the highest!
Word of grace, Lexicon of love,
Christ came to live with us,
experiencing our suffering for himself,
learning the depths of our longing,
enduring our pain and grief.
Faithful to your will for him,
as well as your dreams for us,
he willingly bore the sins of the world,
destroying death and leaving it empty,
bringing life to all who had lost hope.
As we remember your good works in Christ,
we take the cup and the bread,
setting them aside for their sacred use,
even as we declare that mystery we call faith:
P: Christ died, emptying himself for us;
Christ is risen, filling us with life;
Christ will come again, gifting us with eternal joy.
Breath of peace, Flowing River of life,
move upon the gift of creation offered to us,
that the bread may heal all brokenness,
that the cup might fill us with grace.
Then, when you stand at the crossroad
where injustice and oppression meet,
may we join your compassionate voice
in calling for life and hope for all of God's children;
may we join you at the gates of hopelessness,
bringing our sisters and brothers
out of the depths of despair,
to be God's daily delight and joy
in the kingdom breaking forth in our midst.
And when the mountains have crumbled into dust,
we will gather together with those of every time and place,
who are seated at the feast in heaven,
delighting in the One who has loved us from the beginning,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
L: Let us go now, as children of God, who is mindful of all people.
P: We will go to speak as simply as little children,
to share songs of joy we learned as infants.
L: Let us go now, as siblings of Jesus, brother to the poor.
P: We will go to stand at the intersection of oppression and despair,
to cry out for all those whose hopes have been silenced.
L: Let us go now, as heirs of the peace of the Spirit.
P: We will go to share delight with everyone we meet,
to offer grace to those who have suffered most.
(c) Thom M. Shuman
