Texts: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39
Call to Worship
There is no hope like you, O God!
Hope for those who cry out from the deserts of their lives.
There is no grace like you, O God!
Grace for those rejected, ignored, and cast aside by the world.
There is no love like you, O God!
Love for those who have known days of trouble
and nights of loneliness.
There is no one like you, O God!
No one! No one! No one!
Prayer of the Day
When we are filled
with loss and despair,
you gladden our hearts
with your hope.
When everyone around us
turns a deaf ear,
you lean over and put
your hand to your ear,
to hear our cries.
There is no love like you,
Compassionate God.
When we long
to continue in sin,
you call us
to live with you
in the kingdom of God.
When we have fallen,
our souls parched by death,
you lift us up,
holding us tight to your heart,
carrying us to drink at
the deep well of living water.
There is no grace like you,
Brother of the hopeless.
When the world would stuff
our pockets with fears,
you turn them inside out,
and fill them with the
smooth stones of hope.
When we see nothing
on the horizon of life,
you hold up the sign
which reads 'follow Jesus!'
When we are weakened
by our foolish choices,
you strengthen us with
joy overflowing from your heart.
There is no peace like you,
Spirit of wisdom.
God in Community, Holy in One,
there is no one like you in our lives.
This we know, as we pray together,
(The Lord's Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
When we would keep our faults and failings in the shadows, you call us to bring them into the light of your grace and forgiveness. With such a promise, with such a hope, how can we not confess to the One who loves us so much? Join me as we pray together, saying,
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
It is never easy to confess our lives to you, Listener to our words. When we have a chance to speak up for the outsider, we too often join in sending them away into the wilderness of hopelessness. When we could shout good news to a needy world, our voices drop to a whisper. When we could abound in grace, we continue to wallow in wrongdoing.
Forgive us, Hearer of our hearts, and have mercy on us. You lean over to listen to our words, and then to cast them into your sea of forgetfulness. You show us your signs of hope, that we might point others to you. You help us when we are weakest and, in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, you save us when we cannot save ourselves. Amen.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Do not be afraid. God cherishes us, God treasures you, beyond all else in creation. You are graced, you are forgiven, you are healed.
We will not keep this good news to ourselves. We will shout our hope from the rooftops of our hearts. Thanks be to God, we are forgiven! Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
For those thrown out by families, for those enduring the heat of hate, for those longing for connection with communities of love and hope, we offer our gifts, Loving God. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the God of Abraham and Sarah be with you.
And also with you.
There is no one like the God of Hagar and Ishmael.
And so we lift our hearts to God.
God will gladden the souls of all people.
We sing to the One who is always gracious.
There is none like you,
Everlasting Grace,
shaper of goodness and beauty
out of the shadows of chaos.
You gladdened the soul
of all creation
with stunning sunsets,
clear-streamed valleys,
mountains towering into the sky.
These gifts, as well as your
hopes and dreams, were for us,
but we sent them away into
the wilderness of forgetfulness,
choosing to live in
the long days of rebellion.
The God of forgiveness,
your words calling us back
overflowed from the mouths
of the prophets,
but we continued to sin.
Seeking to unite us
with you once more,
you sent Jesus,
to baptize us with your life,
even as he was baptized
into death for us.
Therefore, we join with those in this place,
as well as our siblings
throughout all creation
in singing your praises:
Holy, holy, holy, God of every time and people.
All creation kneels, glorifying your name.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who lost his life for our sake.
Hosanna in the highest!
Holy are you, Steadfast Love,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, our Savior.
He could have remained
the Child of your heart,
but came to be with
his siblings in life and death.
Seeking to glorify your name,
he was called a blasphemer,
accused of usurping your power.
Longing to lead us out
of despair's deep desert,
he willingly went to the grave,
that we might be raised
to life with you forever,
walking the streets of the kingdom.
As we remember his baptism at the Jordan,
as we recall his baptism into death,
as we celebrate his resurrection to life,
we sing of that mystery called faith:
Christ gave his life, for the sake of all;
Christ rose, for death lost its power over him;
Christ will come, for we have been baptized into his death.
As we come to your
Table of peace and hope,
pour out your Spirit upon
the gifts of the bread and the cup,
and upon your children
gathered in your name.
As we are nurtured
by the Bread of Life,
may we have no fear,
but boldly go to serve
those cast out by our world.
As we are nourished
with the wine of wonder,
may we not keep
your love and grace a secret,
but shout the good news
of your salvation for all.
And when we have been
baptized into death like Christ,
and raised into life with you,
we will join our voices
with our sisters and brothers
singing your glory forever,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Let us go to carry God's hope,
for those living in food deserts,
to all who face housing insecurity.
Let us go to share the love of Jesus,
to all whose lives are troubled,
for all the lonely searching for community.
Let us go to offer the Spirit's grace,
with all forgotten by the world,
with those whose voices are never heard.
(c) Thom M. Shuman
