Texts: Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28
Call to Worship
Gathered as God's people,
we come to worship together:
singing praises to the One who loves us,
opening our hearts to the One who calls us.
Called to be followers of Jesus,
we come to share our lives together:
to celebrate the joys of our hearts,
to mingle our tears with God's.
Challenged to become partners with the Spirit,
we will seek peace and hope:
offering our food to our enemies,
giving a drink of water to those
who have drained our souls.
Prayer of the Day
When we would rush
to get all our to-dos done,
you call to us to turn
and notice your compassion
burning (but not reduced to ashes)
for those living in misery.
When we hesitate,
you ask us to remove
all we think protects us from
the fire of your justice,
so we can draw closer
to your heart's warmth.
YOU ARE the One we search for,
God of all held in bondage.
When we become
stumbling blocks to you,
you polish our stony resistance
so we can become smooth pebbles
on the path to your kingdom.
When we would tell you
how we think you should
bring about your hopes and dreams,
you show us your heart,
broken for the lost and the last,
so we will look to their needs
rather than thinking about our own.
YOU ARE the One
who leads us to freedom,
Servant of the poor.
When we believe we cannot speak
about your peace and hopes,
you give us words
which spill out of our hearts.
When we put our palms
over our eyes, afraid to look
at the suffering around us,
you fill our hands with grace,
sending us to serve your children.
YOU ARE the One who
teaches us new ways,
Impassioned Spirit.
God in Community, Holy in One,
YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE,
and we lift our prayer to you, saying,
Our Father . . .
Call to Reconciliation
In stories and in stores, in sandy deserts and on rocky roads, at school events and Sunday worship, we encounter God. We meet the One who fills every moment with the sacred. We confess our sins, in trust that we can turn aside and notice God welcoming us with forgiveness and hope.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
God of Moses and Mary,
we could live at peace with others,
but we choose to do wrong to them;
we could welcome those we do not know,
but choose to close our hearts;
we could make outsiders our best friends,
but choose the safety of our cliques.
Forgive us, Genuine Love, for our foolish choices.
Hold on to our shaky lives,
until we learn to clasp your goodness to our hearts,
so we can give it away to those around us.
Whisper your grace and hopes to us,
until we can stop cursing our enemies,
and bless them as our friends.
Smooth the rough edges of our arrogance,
until we become polished enough
to win the gold in being honorable.
Then, we would put aside our stumbling blocks to discipleship, so we can follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, as he leads us to your way of denial and life. Amen.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
In our love for others, we discover God's love for us. In our forgiving of others, we learn once more how deeply God has forgiven us. Friends, this is the good news offered to us!
We are God's children, called to be different, called to act differently, called to live as new people. Thanks be to God. We are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
Tempted to turn away, remind us that we stand on holy ground when we walk with the lonely, work beside those seeking justice, bring hope to the forgotten, and share from our abundance with those who have nothing. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the God of burning bushes be with you!
And also with you!
People of God, offer your hearts to God,
who calls to you from the mystery of grace.
We turn aside from our worries to open ourselves
to the One who calls us to new life.
Children of God, remember all the joy and wonder
which has been done for you.
We will lift our voices in praise to the One who is
beyond all imagining.
In a moment, creation began,
and from that time on, God of Freedom,
you began to pour out
your goodness and genuine love.
Earth laughed with flowers
and rejoiced with sunrises.
You shaped us in your image
and began to show us all
you wanted to give us.
But chasing after the temptations
and seductions of the world,
we tripped over the stumbling blocks
of sin and death, falling flat
on our fears and doubts.
Observing our misery in such living,
you sent the prophets
to call us back to you,
but we did not hear their cries.
Knowing we would continue
to suffer and lose our way,
you sent Jesus to come
and deliver us from our slavery.
Joining our voices with those
who have faithfully followed,
and with those who stumbled along the way,
we call on your name, singing praises to you:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God of Wonder.
Watching our struggles,
your heart breaks;
hearing our cries,
you whisper our names;
knowing our loneliness,
you came to deliver us.
Blessed is Jesus Christ, who comes in your name!
Hosanna in the highest!
Holy are you, Listener of cries in the night,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Child.
Hearing the pain of your heart,
he came to speak of your hopes;
seeing the brokenness of our relationships,
he came to make us whole;
knowing our fear of death,
he came to defeat its power;
aware of what it would cost him,
he journeyed to Jerusalem
to embrace suffering and heartache;
hating evil so much
he was willing to let it believe
it had won the battle,
until he burst from the grave
bringing life for all
even as you raised him from the dead.
Remembering his wonderful works,
recalling his miracles, his words, his life,
we speak of that mystery we know as faith:
Christ rejoices with us,
Christ weeps with us,
Christ died for us,
Christ was raised for us.
As we prepare to gather around
your Table, God of Love,
pour out your Spirit upon us,
and on the gifts of the bread and cup.
Feed us on the rich food
of your forgiveness and grace,
so we might go forth
to feed all those we only know
by the name 'enemy.'
Quench our thirst for power
with the sweet wine of your servanthood,
so we might choose
honor over fame,
humility over pride,
forgiveness over vengeance,
and in so doing,
lose ourselves in your life
of denial and service,
giving ourselves to others,
thus returning your love for us.
And when all moments come to an end,
and the time has come to gather around
that great feast in heaven,
there will be no enemy, no them, no us -
just our siblings from every time and place joining
hearts and voices in singing your praise,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Just as we have gathered, now
we will scatter as God's people,
to find the holy ground where God
will use us to bring love to those forgotten.
Just as we have been called
to be Jesus's siblings of hope,
we will go to join our voices with those
standing on the ground where justice is needed.
Just as we have been challenged
to become partners with the Spirit,
we will go to confront those
whose power and wealth keeps them
from offering peace and compassion to all.
(c) Thom M. Shuman
