Texts: Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 15; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21
Call to Worship
We come to this place of worship,
to encounter the One who has called us here.
This Holy One - our God: is with us in every moment.
God is in our celebrations and joys,
God is in our darkest nights of loneliness.
This Holy God - our God: blesses us and calls us by name.
As night fades before the coming Light,
we meet the One who saves us - even from ourselves.
This God - our Holy God: touches us with the Spirit of hope.
Prayer of the Day
In the darkest moments
of our lives, Intriguing God,
we have struggled with you,
believing that if we were to defeat you,
you would have to give us whatever we want,
not realizing you have already blessed us
with everything we need in life.
When our hunger for hope
overwhelms us, Gentle Jesus,
you fill us with your presence;
when our need for more and more
would pull us further and further away from you,
you heal us of our desires;
when we look away from those in need,
your tears of compassion cleanse our hearts.
We would leave our pain behind us,
and run through your streams of
living waters, Spirit of God,
that we might embrace
our sblings in peace,
knowing that our broken relationships
have been made whole.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayers to you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
(The Lord's Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
We pick on our siblings; we argue with our partners; we fight with friends and neighbors - we all live broken lives. We even end up struggling with God, seeking to make God do our bidding. But it is God who can heal our brokenness, God who can reconcile our differences, God who can make us families once again. Let us confess our brokenness together, seeking God's promised blessing for each of us, as we pray, saying,
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
Here at the river's edge, Healing God, we are hesitant to cross over. For on the other side are all the people we have hurt. On that far shore is everyone we have ridiculed, scorned, ignored. Across the water stand the poor, the homeless, the lost - all those we have looked down on, believing they are beneath us. On the other bank stands the cross we must carry if we are to follow Jesus. Before we can cross, Most Holy One, we must struggle with you. We cannot meet the others, if we have not encountered you.
Forgive us and reconcile us, not only to them, but to yourself. Bless us, that we would be a blessing to them. Rename us and carry us across the river as faithful disciples of the One we are blessed to call our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Here, face to face, God meets us. Here, face to face, we can speak every longing in our heart. Here, face to face, God forgives us.
Here, face to face, we meet the One who has great compassion for us, and who forgives us of every foolish choice, word, action of our lives. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Dedication/Offering
For those living in the shadows, may our gifts be light. For who hunger, may our gifts bring nourishment. For all in broken relationships, may our gifts start the healing. As we stand on the edge of life, wondering if we should step into the fray, may you push us and our gifts to cross over to all the places where you are waiting.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The God of crossings and healings be with you.
And also with you.
People of God, lift your hearts to the One
who travels every journey with you.
We lift them to the God who gives us rest when we are weary.
People of God, offer your praise and thanks
to the God who feeds the hungry.
It is our greatest joy to sing to the One
who fills our emptiness with grace and joy.
Standing at the edge of chaos,
you took all the goodness in your heart,
and shaped it into the glory of creation,
God of Imagination.
Looking up, you placed
the moons, stars, and planets
into the cradle of the sky.
You took the dust of the earth,
blessing it, and forming us
into your image of hope and grace.
We were filled with the
abundance of your constant love,
but we longed for the empty
promises of sin and death,
breaking your heart as
we followed after them.
Prophets came to tell the truth
of your everlasting covenant,
but we turned our backs on them.
So, to put an end to your great sorrow,
you sent Jesus to us,
bringing us all the gifts
you had stored up for us.
So, with those who stand at the edge of grace,
and with those who have crossed over to your peace,
we join our voices with all who forever sing to your glory:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God who listens to our prayers.
All creation beholds your face in righteousness.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who feeds us with grace and wonder.
Hosanna in the highest!
You are Holy, Redeemer of the lost,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
is your true blessing and hope for us.
When he could have deserted us,
as we continued to stumble through sin,
he was filled with compassion,
and came to be with us in our pain.
When he could have kept silent
in response to our fears and doubts,
he told stories of your love and grace.
When he could have detoured
around our violence and anger,
he walked straight into death,
so we might be saved.
As we remember all the gifts he shared with us,
as we tell of his healings and feedings for all,
we speak of that faith which is often a mystery:
Christ died, compassion for us in his heart;
Christ was raised, blessing God forever;
Christ will come, so that we are never sent away.
As we gather at the edge of your kingdom,
coming once again to the Table,
we pray you would pour out
your Spirit of reconciliation upon us,
and on the gifts of the bread and the cup.
You feed us with this meal,
not that we might become gluttons,
but so we might become servants
in your kingdom of holiness.
Where we see only crumbs on the Table,
you see enough leftovers for us
to take to feed a hungry world.
Where we see only
the last few drops in the cup,
you see enough grace for us
to fill the empty hearts of your children
forgotten and alone in the world.
And when we come to the edge of eternity,
all of our struggles over, all our pain left behind,
we will gather around your Table of grace,
joining with all who will forever sing of your love,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Here at the border where worship meets the world,
God sends us out to be caregivers to all.
Here, as turn our gaze from glory
to see the brokenness of our lives and those around us,
Jesus call us to follow into all
the broken places and people to bring hope.
Here, as we hesitate to cross over
to where we must meet those we have hurt,
the Spirit takes hold of our hands
so we know we are not alone on this journey.
