Responsive Call to Worship: Romans 8: 31-39

If God is for us, who is against us?
He who gave us his son,
now gives us the Spirit in power!
The Holy One is in our midst:
equipping us for life in the service of Christ.
In Christ we are more than conquerors,
for nothing in creation can separate us from the love of God!
May the all surpassing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
And the unshakable love of God be with you.
The joyous communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.
And also with you!

~ from Keeping in Step with the Spirit, posted on the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship website. http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/keeping-in-step-with-the-spirit-romans-8-galatians-5/

Intergenerational Prayer: Matthew 13: 31-33

Here’s an intergenerational prayer inspired by Matthew 13: 31-33.  It was written by Richard Fairchild.

Intergenerational Prayer
(inspired by Matthew 13: 31-33)

Dear Lord God  
we thank you for mustard seed
and for the wonders of yeast
and for how these things teach us about your love. 

Lord, plant your seed into our lives,
help us work your yeast into our hearts  
that wonderful things may happen.
We ask it in Jesus'  name. Amen.

~ written by Rev. Richard J. Fairchild, and posted on Kir-shalom. http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/a-or17cs.php

Blessing: May the Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ

Here’s a simple blessing from the Northumbria Community website.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.

~ from the Northumbria Community website. http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/morning-prayer/

For a simple musical setting of this text, click here: http://www.davemerkel.com/music/MayThePeaceoftheLordChristGoWithYou.pdf

Liturgy of Creation

Here’s a responsive liturgy inspired by the creation story in Genesis 1. It comes from the Third Space blog.

Liturgy of Creation
(Based on Genesis 1)

In the beginning, all was darkness and God said, “let there be light,
and because God had said it, there was light.
In the beginning, all was silence and God sang the song of creation,
and because God sang,
all the stars and spheres vibrated to the music of God.


In the beginning, all was still and God laughed,
and because God laughed,
the waters took up the roar and the ripple of it;
and ebbed and flowed and seeped and swirled
and delighted in the ways of its being.
In the beginning, all was dull and God painted,
and because God painted, the sky became blue,
and purple, and pink,
and rainbows hung there.
The grass became green and flowers
and butterflies danced in the drips and settled like jewels on the earth.
In the beginning, all was unconscious and God breathed,
and because God breathed,
men and women woke up from their sleeping,
they breathed of the very life of God
and stood in wonder before the work of God’s hands.
They beheld the glory of God in all that God had made
and they saw that it was very good.

~ posted on the Third Space website. http://third-space.org.uk/blog

Prayer of Confession: Faithful Stewards

Here’s a prayer of confession and commitment from Joanna Harader.  The first line is from 1 Peter 4: 10.

Prayer

Holy One,
We long to be faithful stewards of your abundant grace.
To serve each other in love and humility.
To serve your world with wisdom and energy.


Forgive us when we stumble over pride,
when our words and actions are not guided by love.
Turn our hearts when we act in folly.
Restore our energy when it is gone.


Sometimes, many times, O God, our efforts fail.
But your abundant grace is strong and eternal,
And forgiveness is ours through Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.

~ written by Joanna Harader, and posted on the Spacious Faith blog. http://spaciousfaith.com/

Prayer for the Offering

Here’s an offering prayer from Rev. Quentin Chin.

Prayer for Offering

We give in grateful thanksgiving for all that God has given us.
In the upside down world of the gospel,
we measure our wealth not by what we have,
but what we can give away.
Let us give away generously, in this offering,
To bless your church, your people, your creation.

~ written by Rev. Quentin Chin.  Posted on the United Church of Christ website. http://uccfiles.com/pdf/FeedmySheepEaster3April14.pdf

Prayer for Reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5: 18

Here’s a prayer of reconciliation based on 2 Corinthians 5:18. It was posted on the Reformed Church of America Website.

Prayer for Reconciliation
(Based on 2 Corinthians 5:18)

 

Loving God,
you have reconciled us in Christ Jesus
and have given us the ministry of reconciliation.

We pray for all those from whom we are estranged.
Bring healing to strained or broken relationships.
Forgive us for the times we have wronged others,
whether by ignorance, neglect, or intention.

Grant us the courage and the grace to seek their forgiveness
and opportunity to make amends.
Where others have wronged us,
grant us a gracious spirit,
that we might forgive
even as we have been forgiven in Jesus Christ. Amen.

~ from Prayers for Peace and Justice, posted on the Reformed Church in America website.
https://www.rca.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=1871

Confession: You Know Our Faults

Here’s a prayer of confession from Rev Ian Elston.  It was posted on the Starters for Sunday website.   

Prayer of Confession

Lord, You know our faults,
our failings, the waywardness of our affections,
the times when we fail to practise what we know,

Yet you love us still
You forgive us
Are there to comfort us
Cherish us
Guide us
Love us
We thank you for your undying eternal love

Give us grace to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
that in all the changes and chances of this world,
our hearts may be surely fixed
where true contentment, true life is to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ adapted from a longer prayer written by Rev Ian Elston, Kirkcaldy, Torbain.  Posted on the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website. http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/worship/starters_for_sunday/

Prayer of Saint Boniface

Eternal God, the refuge and help of all your children,
we praise you for all you have given us,
for all you have done for us,
for all that you are to us.
In our weakness, you are strength,
in our darkness, you are light,
in our sorrow, you are comfort and peace.
We cannot number your blessings,
we cannot declare your love:
For all your blessings we bless you.
May we live as in your presence,
and love the things that you love,
and serve you in our daily lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

~ written by St. Boniface (ca. 672-754) 

Prayers of the People: For Our Land

Our gracious God,
we thank you today for the land in which we live.
We thank you for the freedoms which are ours,
for the multitude of opportunities presented to each of us,
for a land of abundance.

Forgive us for our lack of creativity
in sharing the nation’s bounties inequitably,
for tarnishing our political process with greed,
for failing the needy.

Save us from that litany of destructive behaviours
which St. Paul outlined:
  enmities, strife, jealousy, anger,
  quarrels, dissension, factions, envy,
  and all that would undo us.

Lead us instead to strive for the fruits of the spirit.
  Help us to develop loving behaviours
    which demonstrate care and compassion for others.
  Help us in an over-serious and gloomy world to know real joy
    because you help us overcome the world.
  Help us to work for peace in a world which seems to prefer violence.
  Help us, in our hurry up world, to develop patience
    and to learn that all does not have to be completed in our hurry up time.
  Help us to demonstrate kindness to all
    and especially to those with whom we find it especially difficult to be kind.
  Help us to learn generosity with our resources
    but help us especially to learn how to be generous
    in our attitudes and behaviours toward people.
  And help us to be faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.

O God, raise our national vision.
Give us tolerance and understanding for all peoples.
May we hold dear for all people the freedoms we cherish. Amen.

~ written by Richard Einerson, and posted on Richard Einerson: Prayers of the People. http://www.richardeinerson.com/einerson_007.htm

Prayer of Petition: Parable of the Soils

Here’s a prayer of petition inspired by Jesus’ parable of the soils.  It comes from the Arthur Rank Centre website.

Prayer of Petition
(inspired by Mathew 13:3-23; Mark 4:3-25; Luke 8:5-18)

And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest
you have given me from the ground. Deuteronomy 26:10

O Lord, save us from hardness of heart,
where your word cannot take root.
O Lord, save us from shallowness of mind,
where your word withers away.
O Lord, save us from the deceitfulness of riches,
where your word is choked by everyday cares.
But Lord, grant that our hearts may be fertile soil,
where your word flourishes and yields a harvest,
bringing salvation to ourselves and those about us.
Amen.

~ written by the Staffordshire Seven, in Seasonal Worship from the Countryside.  Posted on the Arthur Rank Centre website. http://www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk/ 

Prayer for Others: Healing and Comfort

Here is a prayer of intercession for those who are in need of comfort and healing. It was written by Michael Saward, and posted on The Jubilate Group website.

Prayer for Healing and Comfort

Eternal God, to whom all may come through your Son,
lay your healing hand upon all those who are sick.
Make your loving presence known to those who are lonely.
Give your strengthening power to those who are weak.
May those who lack be filled,
those who mourn be comforted,
those who worry be calmed
and those who seek forgiveness find it in Jesus Christ;
through whom we pray. Amen.

~ written by Michael Saward.  Posted on The Jubilate Group website. http://www.jubilate.co.uk/liturgy/

Scripture Litany: Psalm 104

Here’s a responsive litany from Psalm 104.

Scripture Litany
(inspired by Psalm 104:1, 5-15, 24, 27-28, 31)

Praise the Lord!
O Lord my God, how great you are!
You placed the world on its foundation
so it would never be moved.
You clothed the earth with floods of water—
water that covered even the mountains.
At your command, the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed.
Then you set a firm boundary for the seas,
so they would never again cover the earth.
You make springs pour water into the ravines,
so streams gush down from the mountains.
They provide water for all the animals—,
even the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds nest beside the streams
and sing among the branches of the trees.
You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
and bread to give them strength.

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
They all depend on you to give them food as they need it.
When you supply it, they gather it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they are richly satisfied.

May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
May the Lord take pleasure in all he has made!

A Parting Blessing

Here’s a parting blessing from the Third Space website. It was originally published by Methodist Publishing in 2009.
A Parting Blessing

God’s blessing be upon us
as we leave and return changed to our homes.
May we strengthen and encourage one another
in our shared vision.

And may the blessing of our adventurous Creator God go with us.

And may the blessing of the Son,
who showed us how to live,
re-shape us.

And may the blessing of the dancing Spirit
joyfully enable us in our renewed living.  Amen.

~ from Hope in God’s Future: Christian Discipleship in the Context of Climate Change Report & Study Guide, Methodist Publishing 2009.  Posted on the Third Space website. http://third-space.org.uk/blog

Prayer: Open Our Eyes

Here is a prayer of petition and invocation from the WSCF Europe website.

Prayer of Recognition

Outcast God,
born into poverty in an occupied land,
driven from your land as your family fled violence,
living alongside the marginalized and the oppressed.
dying between criminals to the jeers of the crowd,

Open our eyes,
that we who seek to follow you may recognize your face
in the faces of those who are enslaved.

Open our ears,
that we who seek to hear your word may recognize your love
in the stories which are often drowned out.

Open our hearts,
that we who seek your way of life may be bold in witnessing
to your longing for justice and peace.  Amen

~ from Laying Down Our Stones, a liturgy adapted from a 2010 Lenten study compiled by the World Council of Churches, the World YMCA, and WSCF.  Posted on the WSCF Europe website.  http://wscf-europe.org/mozaik-issues/mozaik-26-stop-being-silent/ecumenical-liturgy-laying-down-our-stones/

Call to Worship: Revelation 1: 3

Here’s a call to worship based on Revelation 1:3. It was posted on the Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website.

Call to Worship
(based on Revelation 1:3)

Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophesy,
and blessed are those who hear it
and take to heart what is written in it,
because the time is near.

Blessed are we; blessed is this church.
Look, O people, and see.
Listen, O people, and hear.
Our God is calling,
let us answer Him with praise.

~ Posted on the Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website. http://www.mcsask.ca/Worship%20Time.pdf

Benediction: Lift Up Your Hearts

Here’s a simple benediction written by John A. Nelson.

Benediction

Lift up your hearts:
We lift them high!
Lift up your hopes:
We lift them high!
Lift up your dreams!
We lift them high!

God bless you and watch over you
and carry you all the way home.
In Jesus’ name: go in peace.       
Amen.

~ from The World is Our Home, written by John A. Nelson. Posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways Archive. http://www.ucc.org/worship/worship-ways/

A Prayer for Weary Worship Leaders: Matthew 11

Here’s a prayer of confession and petition for tired pastors and worship leaders inspired by Matthew 11: 28-29. It was written by Dorcas.

Prayer for Tired Worship Leaders
(based on Matthew 11:28-29)

Come to me...
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.
For I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11: 28-29

God, we have become proficient in religious planning and performance.
We can say all the correct words,
but sometimes we leave our hearts far behind.
Have we practiced our worship to make it predictable and safe,
becoming as bored as we are proud? 
Where you find it, break through false religious pride.
Surprise us with Your supremacy.
Stun us with how dangerous You are! 

We have sometimes kept ourselves busy.
But for many, self-sufficiency has left exhaustion in its wake,
and we are left anxious and bereft.
We give up trying to get our act together!
We come to you now, as you have summoned us.
Show us your heart and train us in humility. 
We ask for insight to see and to seize opportunities for rest. 
Thank you, gentle Savior. 
Amen

~ written by Dorcas, and posted on RevGalBlogPals. http://revgalprayerpals.blogspot.ca/

Call to Worship: Matthew 11

Here’s a responsive call to worship from Matthew 11: 28-30.  It was written by Rev. Mindi, and posted on Rev-o-lution.

Call to Worship
(based on Matthew 11:28-30)

Come, all that are weary, all that are carrying burdens so heavy
Jesus will give us rest
Come, take what Jesus has to offer: love, forgiveness, and grace
Christ will give us peace
Come, find rest, and learn from Jesus
For our Savior will give us rest in our souls
Come, let us worship our God
Let us follow our Savior, who leads us into life.

~ written by Rev. Mindi, and posted on Rev-o-lution.  http://rev-o-lution.org/

Gathering Words: You are Welcome

Here are words to begin worship from Cheryl Lawrie’s [hold this space] website.

The Gathering

Why are you here?
Maybe you are here because you recognize in your own story
a greater story
one spoken since the beginning of time
by prophets, preachers and peacemakers
a story where god calls the world
into liberation and wholeness.

Maybe you are here because you have glimpsed
a moment of love that is beyond human reach
the grace that lies just beyond our finger tips
that transforms the ugly into breathtaking
the impossible into the real

Maybe you are here, not defined by faith
but with a deep conviction
that the ending to everyone’s story is yet to be written
and can be shaped into life by justice and compassion.

Maybe you are here, no longer sure whether you belong
or how any of this makes a difference
struggling to remember the vision that inspired you
or the call that now eludes you.

You are welcome…

~ written by Cheryl Lawrie, and posted on [hold this space].  http://holdthisspace.org.au/

Confession: Singing Our Own Songs

Here’s a confession based based on a musical metaphor. It was written by Rev. Dr. Bertrice Wood.

Prayer of Confession

This is a moment given by God to confess our sins
against each other, all that God has created, and God. 
Let us take this moment to account
for the ways in which we have not embodied
what it means to be created in the image of God.

Holy God, we confess that too often we have not been open
to the rhythms of life you offer to us.
We let ourselves be put off your pace
and allow ourselves to wander off into our own songs.
Too often the melodies of the world confuse us. 
We have led ourselves and others to paths
that are not according to your loving pace and direction. 

Help us pay attention with all of our senses. 
Make our dancing faithful;
help us take the risks that are part of letting you lead. 
Pull us back into your rhythms.
Clean our hearts, purify our hands and steady our feet
that we might know and share your blessings. 

The God of Hosts assures us that if we trust God’s Word,
we will be led back to the songs that God would have us sing. 
God is eager to show us the path home. 
Accept the offer of the new song we have been given through Jesus the Christ. 

~ written by the Rev. Dr. Bertrice Wood. From God Inspired Joy: Service Prayers for Pentecost Seven. Posted on the United Church of Christ Worship Ways website. http://www.ucc.org/worship/worship-ways/

Prayer: Genesis 1

Here’s a prayer inspired by Genesis 1. It was posted on the Third Space blog.

Prayer
(Based on Genesis 1)

In the beginning God created all things,
and God saw that they were good.

At our beginning, God created us
unique and irreplaceable, loved and wanted by God,
known and treasured by God even before He created us.

In all our new beginnings, God creates something new
so we will seek God in the freshness of this morning,
in the laughter of friends,
in the colors of creation,
and in this beautiful place.

Lord God, King of Creation,
open our eyes to see your presence,
our souls to sense your presence,
and our hearts to love your presence,
ever here in your creation,
and ever beyond it in eternity.
Amen.

~ Adapted from Liturgy of Creation (http://www.wellsprings.org.uk/liturgies/creation.htm).  Posted on Third Space blog. http://third-space.org.uk/blog

Litany: Call Us, Lead Us, Guide Us

Here’s a call to worship (or, with the last line removed, a closing prayer) from Rev. Mindi’s Rev-o-lution blog.

Litany of Call

The buzz of the world interrupts our lives and fills our ears
Call us into Your way of life, O God

The complaints of others settle in our mind and cloud our vision
Lead us into Your vision of life, O God

The cries of the poor, the oppressed and the outcast pierce our hearts
Guide us in Your example of living for others, O God

Fill our hearts, fill our eyes, fill our ears with Your love, O God
Let us be Your hands and feet in the world, O God.
Let us worship You together.

~ written by Rev. Mindi, on her Rev-o-lution blog. http://rev-o-lution.org/

Closing Prayer: We Go Into This Day

Here’s a closing prayer from the Third Space website.

Closing Prayer

Creator God,
may your peace go with us,
wherever we will be this day.

May you guide us through the challenges,
protect us when in need
and inspire us with your love

May we acknowledge your presence
in all the human goodness we will see

May you bring us back rejoicing
to our places of rest this night

Creator God we now go into this day
In the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

~ posted on the Third Space website. http://third-space.org.uk/blog

Readers' Theatre: Romans 6: 1-11

Here’s a simple, two-voice setting of Romans 6: 1-11, the suggested Epistle reading for Proper 7 A.

 

Readers’ Theatre:

Romans 6:1-11


What shall we say, then? 
Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 

By no means!
We are those who have died to sin; 
how can we live in it any longer? 

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death? 

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 

For we know that our old self was crucified with him 
so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, 
that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, 
he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 

The death he died, he died to sin once for all; 
but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin 
but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Psalm 86

Here’s a prayer of devotion and commitment inspired by Psalm 86:2.  It was written by Bill & Kristi Gaultiere.

Devoted to You
(Inspired by Psalm 86:2)

Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.  Psalm 86:2

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul:
Guard my life, O Lord, for I am devoted to you;
Guard my heart, O Father, for I love you with all my choices;
Guard my mind, O Jesus, for I fix my thoughts on following you;
Guard my body, O Spirit, for I give it to be your temple;
Guard my relationships, O Trinity, for I center my conversations on you.
Hear my prayer, O Lord.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul:
I offer my eyes to you, O Lord, to behold your beauty;
I offer my lips to you, O Father, to speak your praises;
I offer my ears to you, O Jesus, to listen to your words;
I offer my steps to you, O Spirit, to follow your movements;
I offer my life to you, O Trinity, to honor you alone.
Hear my prayer, O Lord.

~ written by Bill & Kristi Gaultiere, inspired by Psalm 86:2.  Posted on Soul Shepherding. http://www.soulshepherding.org/

N.T. Wright on Trinity Sunday

“In the church’s year, Trinity Sunday is the day when we stand back from the extraordinary sequence of events that we’ve been celebrating for the previous five months—Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost—and when we rub the sleep from our eyes and discover what the word ‘god’ might actually mean.  These events function as a sequence of well-aimed hammer-blows which knock at the clay jars of the gods we want, the gods who reinforce our own pride or prejudice, until they fall away and reveal instead a very different god, a dangerous god, a subversive god, a god who comes to us like a blind beggar with wounds in his hands, a god who comes to us in wind and fire, in bread and wine, in flesh and blood: a god who says to us, ‘You did not choose me; I chose you.’

You see, the doctrine of the Trinity, properly understood, is as much a way of saying ‘we don’t know’ as of saying ‘we do know.’ To say that the true God is Three and One is to recognize that if there is a God then of course we shouldn’t expect him to fit neatly into our little categories.  If he did, he wouldn’t be God at all, merely a god, a god we might perhaps have wanted.  The Trinity is not something that the clever theologian comes up with as a result of hours spent in the theological laboratory, after which he or she can return to announce that they’ve got God worked out now, the analysis is complete, and here is God neatly laid out on a slab.  The only time they laid God out on a slab he rose again three days afterwards. 

On the contrary: the doctrine of the Trinity is, if you like, a signpost pointing ahead into the dark, saying: ‘Trust me; follow me; my love will keep you safe.’ Or, perhaps better, the doctrine of the Trinity is a signpost pointing into a light which gets brighter and brighter until we are dazzled and blinded, but which says: ‘Come, and I will make you children of light.’  The doctrine of the Trinity affirms the rightness, the propriety, of speaking intelligently that the true God must always transcend our grasp of him, even our most intelligent grasp of him.”

~ N.T. Wright, in For All God’s Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), p. 24.  http://www.amazon.com/For-All-Gods-Worth-Worship/dp/0802843190