Benediction: Philippians 4: 4-9

Here’s a commission and benediction based on Philippians 4:4-9.

Commission & Benediction
(based on Philippians 4: 4-9)

Be glad in the Lord always!
Focus your thoughts on all that is true,
all that is holy, all that is just,
all that is pure, all that is lovely,
and all that is worthy of praise.
And the peace of God—
peace that goes far beyond anything we can comprehend—
that peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus.
So go from here with confidence and joy,
to serve the Lord.

Prayers of the People: Proper 23A

Here is a prayer of intercession for October 9, 2011 from the Church of Scotland’s website.

For another prayer of intercession for October 9, see Prayers of the People: October 9, 2011.

Intercessory Prayer

Dear Lord our God,
we are thankful that you are constantly at work in our lives.
You are…
    a help in times of difficulty
    a strength in times of weakness
    a guide when we feel lost and alone

We know that through Your Son, Jesus Christ,
You have the power…
    to transform lives
    to mend broken relationships
    to bring strength to the weary
    and hope to the broken hearted.

So we bring our worries and our burdens,
our hopes and dreams,
before your throne of grace,
knowing that you are the Lord of our lives and the hope of the world.

Today we pray for world leaders
that they may always seek the peace and security of our world:
                       
We pray for countries laid waste by war and conflict and dictatorship,
    remembering especially, the plight of people in …..

We pray for the police and the emergency services,
as they seek the peace and security of our nation;
and for ordinary people caught up in the events of world politics.
                       
We pray for the world-wide Church,
recognizing our fellowship with Christians in Africa, Asia
    and throughout the developing world.
We ask your blessing upon ministers and missionaries,
    medical workers and Aid Agencies
    whose task it is to feed the hungry,
    heal the sick and support the broken hearted.

Lord we pray for your church here in [own location],
    for those that are thriving and those that have lost a sense of direction.
We give thanks for our own church and its people,
    and gladly acknowledge all the gifts you have given us.
Grant us your help and guidance and support.
We too, have problems and needs and concerns—
   worries about ourselves, our families and those we love.
We remember in our prayers today…
    those who are worried about their health and what the future might hold
    those who feel anxious or depressed or afraid
    those who are in hospital
    those with burdens they find impossible to share
    those who still mourn the loss of someone dear to their heart.

And we pray for ourselves—
    that we might know the gentle authority of Jesus
    in all parts of our lives—
    leading us, guiding us, encouraging and directing us,
now and always. Amen.

— from Starters for Sunday, on the Church of Scotland’s website.  

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.

For other prayers and prayer resources on this blog, see this Prayer index.

 

 

Call to Worship: Psalm 106


Here’s a call to worship based on Psalm 106, written by Hanz Holznagel.

Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 106)

Praise the Lord.
Give thanks for God's goodness.
God's steadfast love endures forever.
Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.
Save us, O Lord,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise.

Come and worship God!

— by Hans Holznagel, adapted from The Abingdon Worship Annual © 2008 Abingdon Press, and posted on the Ministry Matters website. 

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.

For more calls to worship, click on Calls to worship in the list of “Labels” at the lower right, or see this Call to Worship index 

Confession of Sin: Proper 23A

Here’s a prayer of confession based on the suggested scripture texts for October 9, 2011 (Proper 23A, Ordinary 28A). It was written by Bob Gross and posted on the United Church of Christ website.

Confession & Assurance
(based on Exodus 32: 1-14; Philippians 4: 1-9, Matthew 22: 1-14)

God pours blessings upon us, even as we choose to go our own way.
God is present and seeks to bring healing and wholeness to all. 
Therefore,
I invite you to confess all that would separate you from God or one another.
Let us pray.

When we have fashioned idols of our own desire
or worshiped the temples of our own tradition,
Lord, have mercy.

Time for personal reflection and confession.

When have denied your invitation to the banquet of love and justice,
or failed to extend the invitation to others,
Christ, have mercy.

Time for personal reflection and confession.

When we have adorned ourselves with worry rather than joy
or failed to be gentle, knowing you are near,
Lord, have mercy.

Time for personal reflection and confession.

Assurance of Pardon

Praise be to God, our sins are forgiven.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Praise God!

— from Standing in the Gap, written by Rev. Dr. Bob Gross, OCC, pastor at Lake Avenue United Church of Christ, Elyria, OH and posted on the United Church of Christ website. 

Welcome, Call to Worship: Isaiah 25: 1,4

 
Here’s a welcome and call to worship based on Isaiah 25:1, 4 – one of the suggested scripture passages for Proper 23A (October 9, 2011).  It was written by Rev. Richard Fairchild.

Call to Worship
(based on Isaiah 25: 1, 4)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name.

In perfect faithfulness you have done marvellous things,
things planned long ago.

You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress.
You are a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.

O Lord, you are my God.
I will exalt you and praise your name forever.

— written by Rev. Richard J. Fairchild, and posted on his Kir-shalom website. Visit that site for more lectionary-based worship resources.

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.

For more calls to worship, click on Calls to worship in the list of “Labels” at the lower right, or see this Call to Worship index



Intergenerational Confession: Forgetful People

Carolyn Brown has written this intergenerational prayer of confession/assurance of pardon for use with the story of the Golden Calf in Exodus 32.

Confession
Lord God of the Universe, we are forgetful people.
We forget that you made this world
and that we are to care for it and protect it.
We forget that you created each of us
with wonderful talents and interests to enjoy
and to use in serving others.
We forget the rules you have given us for good and happy lives.
We forget that we are your people.
People with jobs to do.
Sometimes we "forget on purpose."
At other times, we just are so busy or want something so badly
that we really do forget.
We try to go our own way,
do what we want,
and make our own plans.
Forgive us in Jesus' name. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon
Another thing we forget is that God loves us very much.
God loves us enough to forgive us again and again and again.
God loves us so much that God lived among us, died,
and rose again in Jesus of Nazareth.
So whatever you forget,
 always remember that God loves you and forgives you.
Thanks be to God!

— from Worship for Kids: October 9, 2011, written by Carolyn Brown, and posted on Ministry Matters website. 

Call to Worship: Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23


Here’s a call to worship based on Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23, one of the suggested scripture texts for October 9, 2011 (Proper 23A).  It was written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on her Liturgies Online website. 

Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23)

Let us praise God,
whose goodness and steadfast love are everlasting.
With joy we praise God’s wonderful deeds.
Happy are those who act justly
and whose lives reflect God’s righteousness at all times;
so look on us with favour, O God,
for we rejoice in all your faithful dealings
with those who have gone before us.
Like them, we have sinned;
we fall far short of your goodness.
Like them, we forget you
and replace you with idols of our own making.
Yet, as you heard Moses’ prayer for his people
and delivered them from certain death and destruction,
so you hear Jesus’ prayers for us,
and graciously grant us the gift of salvation.
Let us together praise God,
whose goodness and steadfast love are everlasting.

— written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on her Liturgies Online website. Check out that site for many other great resources for worship. 

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page. 

For more calls to worship, click on Calls to worship in the list of “Labels” at the lower right, or see this Call to Worship index.  



Confession: Exodus 32: 1-14

Here’s an act of confession based on Exodus 32:1-14—the story of when the people of Israel, tired of waiting for Moses, made themselves a golden calf to worship. The prayer was written by Nancy Townley.

Prayer of Confession

Confession is not an easy or a pleasant thing to do.
We would like to think that we have been good and faithful disciples,
following your way.
But we know in our hearts the many ways in which
we have turned our backs on you and rejected your will for us.
Like the people in the wilderness,
we create for ourselves idols and worship them,
only to discover their shallowness and emptiness for our lives.
And we wonder what went wrong.
Stop us in our tracks, O Lord.
Help us to be open to your will for our lives.
We know what you want us to do.
Give us the persistence and the courage to do your will.
Heal us from our wayward actions and attitudes.
Remind us that we must reach out to others in compassion and peace.
Merciful God, come to us this day with your healing power
and help us again to be your disciples,
offering hope and peace to your hurting and wounded world.
In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Words of Assurance

God, who has never strayed from you, is with you.
God will heal your hearts and direct your steps.
Place your life in God’s loving care. Amen.

—Nancy Townley, on the Ministry Matters website.

Prayer of Confession: Proper 23A

Here’s an act of confession based on the lectionary texts for October 9, 2011 (Proper 23A, Ordinary 28A).  It was written by Hans Holznagel.

Prayer of Confession
(based on Exodus 32:1-14, Matthew 22:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9)

God of mercy,
in our impatience for answers,
we sometimes turn to idols of our own making
and forget our covenant with you.
Passionate for what is right,
we wrong those with whom we differ.
Pleased at the invitation to your banquet,
we fail to arrive with humility and thanksgiving.
Forgive us when our faith is weak
and our zeal too strong.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Words of Assurance
(based on Philippians 4:1-9, Psalm 106)

Do not worry; the Lord is near.
God hears our prayers with compassion
and with abundant, steadfast love.
Rejoice, for in the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

— by Hans Holznagel, adapted from The Abingdon Worship Annual © 2008 Abingdon Press, and posted on the Ministry Matters website.  

Contemporary Call to Worship: Matthew 22: 1-14


Here’s a contemporary call to worship based on Matthew 22:1-14, one of the suggested scripture texts for Proper 23A (October 9, 2011).  It was written by Katherine Hawker.

Call to Worship
(based on Matthew 22: 1-14)
 
There is a space in the pew beside us.
There is an empty seat at our table at home.
There is room in our car, on our couch, in our lives.
Whom then shall we invite?
 
The doctor the lawyer the banker?
The mother the neighbor the friend?
The homeless the outcast the poor?
Whom then shall we invite?
 
Maybe we are planning an event.
Maybe we prefer to dine alone.
Maybe,
just maybe,
we are ready to encounter the kingdom of God.
Whom then shall we invite?

— Copyright © 2002 Katherine Hawker, posted on her Outside the Box website.  Visit that site for other great resources for worship. 

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page. For more calls to worship, click on Calls to worship in the list of “Labels” at the lower right, or see this Call to Worship index.  

Prayer: The Amazing Invitation

Here’s a beautiful prayer written by John van de Laar and posted on his Sacredise.com website. It’s based on Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus’s parable of the wedding feast, one of the suggested texts for October 9, 2011 (Proper 23A).

The Amazing Invitation
(based on Matthew 22: 1-14)

No special qualifications needed;
No particular connections or exclusive memberships required;
No secret passwords or unique attributes expected;
No campaigning or canvassing,
no examinations or reference checks;

Just an amazing invitation to a feast;
to find our place at Your table,
alongside these other unworthy ones,
these other beloved ones;
these others humble enough to accept the invitation
without asking who else will be there.

Well, Jesus, Lord of the Feast,
with thankful and open hearts,
we accept Your amazing invitation.

— written by John van de Laar, and posted on his website, Sacredise.com Visit that site for many other excellent prayers and resources for worship.

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page. 

For other prayers and prayer resources on this blog, see this Prayer index.

 

 

Benediction: Proper 23A

Here’s a closing benediction based on two of the suggested scripture readings for October 9, 2011.  It was written by Bob Gross.

Benediction
(based on Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14)

Go forth,
strengthened to do the work of Christ,
standing in the gap,
extending the invitation to the eternal banquet,
rejoicing in God.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone
and don’t worry about anything.
The God who created you,
the Christ who redeems you
and the Spirit who empowers you
is with you today and ever more.
Amen.

— from Standing in the Gap, written by Rev. Dr. Bob Gross, OCC, pastor at Lake Avenue United Church of Christ, Elyria, OH and posted on the United Church of Christ website. 

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.

For other benedictions, click on Benedictions in the list of “Labels” at the right, or see this Benediction index. 


Confession: October 9, 2011

Here is a prayer of confession based on Exodus 32:1-14 and Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23, two of the lectionary texts for October 9, 2011 (Proper 23A).  It was written by Joan Stott.

Prayers of Confession
(based on Exodus 32:1-14 and Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23)

God of the ages, and God of all generations,
we come before you—
rather ashamed of our actions, our hopes,
and plans for the future in the frenzied pace of our life.
We have not given space or time for the wonder of worshipping you—
we are just like our ancestors who have gone before us!
We have not placed you at the centre of our life,
or at the centre of our heart and mind.
We have not learned from either our ancestors’ mistakes,
or our own mistakes.
Merciful God, heal us, forgive us and renew us.

Generous God,
we seek your mercy for the times we make excuses for ourselves;
when we conveniently forget that you speak to us
through our hearts, minds, and consciences
to guide us in our decision making.
We seek your gracious blessings,
even though we have been blind
to the reminders of your presence with us;
we have hardened our hearts in our busyness;
and neglected our suffering and despairing neighbours.
Merciful God, heal us, forgive us and renew us.

Comforting God,
we come as individuals with our own sin;
but we also come as a community with our communal sin.
Each of us are burdened with the memories of past sin;
of past shared sinfulness,
when we have turned our eyes away
from the wonder and majesty of our Guiding God,
and our life’s choices are contrary to the ways of God.
We come with heavy hearts
to lay before you our shared and individual sin,
aware that we have failed each other and you.
Merciful God, heal us, forgive us and renew us. Amen.

— written by Joan Stott. If used in shared worship, please provide an acknowledgement as follows:
Copyright © 2011 Joan Stott – "The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year A, used with permission.
Posted on the Geelong City Parish, UCA website. 

Prayer of Praise: Proper 23A

Here’s a prayer of praise based on two of the suggested scripture readings for October 9, 2011 (Proper 23A, Ordinary 28A).  It was written by Moira Laidlaw.

Prayer of Praise and Adoration
(based on Exodus 32: 1-14 and Psalm 106)

We praise you, O God,
with words of thanksgiving in our mouths and in our hearts—
words which can never really do justice 
to the depth of your care for us. 
We rejoice in your blessings,
yet we so often fail to live up to them. 
Like your people of old,
we often desire to fashion you in our image
or in ways that we can control. 
Knowing these failings of ours as you do,
you still invite us to share your life of grace and abundant love
by being united with Jesus Christ through the power of your Spirit. 
We do not deserve such gifts. 
We can only receive them and respond
because Jesus intercedes for us in our weakness.
May this time of worship and our daily living
proclaim our thanksgiving for these undeserved and lavish gifts of grace.
In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.

— written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on her Liturgies Online website. Check out that site for many other great resources for worship. 

Gospel Reflection: Wedding Feast

Here is a reflection on Matthew 22:1-14, the gospel text for October 9, 2011 (Proper 23A, Ordinary 28A) written by Bruce Prewer.

(based on Matthew 22: 1-14)

He is off
the planet again!
This Jesus
who tells folk stories
which upend
normality and our
credulity suspend!

Where on earth
is royalty ignored?
Since
when does the guest
stay away
from the wedding feast
of a prince?

Where’s any king
who would open his table
to the street?
To garbage collectors,
back packers, buskers,
homeless kids
and the dead beat?

One thing’s sure:
Christ’s quirky kingdom
cannot be
of this world’s making.
Here kings swank
and royal halls are crammed
with pomposity.
                                                                                                                                                           
— Copyright © B.D. Prewer 1995, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage.  Visit his site for many other excellent resources for worship. 

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.


Approach & Confession: Matthew 22: 1-14

Here’s a prayer of approach and confession from the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website. 

Prayer of Approach and Confession

Lord Jesus,
we thank you for your invitation to gather round your holy table.
When we look at the bread and the wine
we are reminded of your own body and blood:
Your body that was broken for us and your blood that was shed.
But we know that your death was not the end.
We celebrate the fact that your are no longer nailed to a cross
but present with us now by Your Holy Spirit.
We are glad that you invite us to share in a special banquet
of the richest food and the finest wine—
a celebration banquet that reveals your heavenly Kingdom.

Help us to respond to your invitation and not to despise it.

Help us to put away our old clothes of sin
   and wear the wedding clothes of your Kingdom.

Today we ask for your forgiveness
for living without your presence in our lives:
    for relying on our own achievements;.
    for believing that we are the architects of our own destiny;
    for living as though you have no place in our modern world.

Forgive us, restore us,
renew us and equip us
to do Your will on earth,
until the dawning of your heavenly Kingdom.
Help us to find the riches of your grace,
as we study your word, and meet with you in prayer.

This we ask, as we further pray in the words
    which you taught to your disciples saying,
            Our Father….:

— from Starters for Sunday, on the Church of Scotland’s website.  

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 9, 2011 (the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 23A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.  

For other resources related to confession, click on Confession or words of assurance in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page, or see this Confession & Assurance index.  For other prayers and prayer resources on this blog, see this Prayer index.