Texts: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a; Psalm 51:1-12; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35
Call to Worship
Lead a life worthy of your calling.
We cannot do this alone,
we dare not try this alone,
so we gather as God's people.
Lead a life filled with the gifts of your calling,
we dare not try this alone,
so we gather as God's people.
Lead a life filled with the gifts of your calling,
gifts to be used with service and meekness.
We come to build up Christ's Body,
in humility and gentleness,
with patience and love.
Lead a life which reflects your calling,
in humility and gentleness,
with patience and love.
Lead a life which reflects your calling,
that life of peace grounded in the Spirit.
We rejoice in our oneness in Christ;
we would share the grace offered to us.
Live a life worthy of the calling
we would share the grace offered to us.
Live a life worthy of the calling
to which you have been called.
We gather as God's family
at the Table prepared for us,
at the Table prepared for us,
waiting to be fed by the Bread of life.
Prayer of the Day
Gentle God:
we have traveled through many waters
to reach this place,
but share one baptism;
we arrive from different backgrounds and traditions,
yet share one faith;
we are, each of us, unique and precious to God,
and are members of one Body;
we have different dreams and doubts,
yet our hearts beat with one hope;
we are graced with different gifts,
so we may offer them in service to one Lord.
God in Community, Holy in One,
equip us for the work of ministry,
as we pray together with one voice,
as Jesus has taught us, saying,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
When we try to sugarcoat what we have done, scripture stares us down, reminding us of our faults. When we seek to romanticize why we have failed to live as faithful people, God refuses to go along, waiting for us to confess our sins. Let us join together as God's children, lifting our prayers to the One who is generous in love.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
Compassionate One: like David, it is not easy for us to confront those deeds which do not please you. We are so busy looking for the miracles we desire, we cannot see the gift of your presence in others. We are so intent on indulging our appetites and slaking our thirsts, we cannot taste that Bread which gives life. We spend so much of our lives bemoaning the acts of others, we have no time to look in the mirror and see our secret faces.
Forgive us, Steadfast Love. Grace us with your mercy, so we might be made whole. Touch our inner being and heal us, so we might know joy and gladness. Create new hearts within us, so they might beat as one with each other, and with your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Despite knowing our sin, God chooses to forgive us;
seeing our emptiness, God chooses to feed us;
holding our shattered hearts, God chooses to heal us.
This is the good news: God loves us.
God has graced us with mercy and created new life from our brokenness. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
Use the gifts which we offer to you, Holy God, to restore joy to the despairing, to give food to the hungry, and willing spirits to us, that we might be servants to all your people. Amen.
The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts, people of God.
We lift them to our Lord so they might be filled with a new spirit.
Let us give thanks to God who loves us.
Let us give thanks to God who loves us.
May our willing spirits offer praises to the One who feeds us..
Our greatest joy is to offer you our thanks and praise,
Our greatest joy is to offer you our thanks and praise,
Creator, Grace-giver, Healer of our brokenness.
All that is beautiful was created for our eyes;
all that is wonderful was created for our awe;
all that is majestic was created for our praise;
all that is mystery was created for our silence.
But despite everything you have given us,
we are not satisfied.
Believing life is about our appetites,
we choose the moldy bread of the world;
knowing our only hope is from you,
we continue to rebel;
called to live in unity with one another,
we cling to all which divides us.
Yet you refuse to let go of us,
sending your only Son, Jesus,
to call us to life in you.
We have fallen,
and you lift us up;
we have forsaken you,
and you redeem us;
we are broken,
and you make us whole.
Therefore, we praise you,
joining our voices, here and now,
with the faithful of every time and place,
singing to the glory of your name:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God of every mercy.
All creation praises one God and Father, one Lord, one Spirit.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who gifts all of God’s people!
Hosanna in the highest!
Holy are you, God of grace and tenderness,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Though we look for him for all the wrong reasons,
he holds out the bread of life to us;
though we offer the cross to him,
he graces us with life;
though we thirst for more and more,
he offers us the cup of salvation;
though we gossip and slander one another,
he speaks the truth in love to us;
though we would divide each other
by class, race, or condition,
he calls us to oneness in you.
Recalling your steadfast love in Christ,
and knowing we cannot understand your grace
until that eternal day
when we can know your heart,
we take this bread and this cup,
praising and blessing you
for these gifts of hope and joy.
Great is the mystery of faith.
Christ died, a seeming prisoner of death.
Christ was raised, so all might be freed in resurrection love.
Christ will return, finishing the work of God.
Holy God of Truth,
though we come to your Table as many,
may your Holy Spirit make us one body and one spirit.
As you feed us with the Bread of Life,
may we feed those who know true hunger;
as your justice illumines our hearts' darkness,
may we be a beacon to the oppressed and lost;
as you speak to us the truth in love,
may we be a voice for the powerless and forgotten;
as you restore us to wholeness,
may we bind up our shattered world.
Through Christ who saved us,
all glory and honor are yours,
God, who created us in your own image,
through the Holy Spirit, in our midst making us your people,
now and forever. Amen.
Sending
Let us go into the world with God’s gifts.
We will perform God’s works of mercy and life.
Let us go into the world with the Bread of heaven in our hands.
We will share Christ’s grace which gives life to everyone.
Let us go as the one body of faith and fellowship.
We will to witness to the one Spirit of hope and faith.
(c) Thom M. Shuman