Call to Worship: Living in Exile

Here’s a responsive call to worship inspired by Isaiah 40:1-11. It was written by Tim Graves and posted on LiturgyBits.

Call to Worship

(inspired by Isaiah 40:1-11)

We’ve been in exile.
We’ve allowed ourselves to be tempted

by the idols of things and power.

We’ve found it isn’t what we thought. 

Shopping therapy and yearning for a soda pop

does nothing to build up our world.
They are all fizz and sugar,

satiating only temporarily. 

We’re left with the same emptiness.
We’re left without the spirit-words of God.

We’re alone in harshness and brokenness.

Acknowledging our idolatry and mistakes,

we turn back to the living water.

We turn back to the love that flows forward

bringing justice and hope to all of humanity.
The word that comes from God’s mouth

does not return empty.

God’s word does as God intends.

Always.
Always. 

Amen. 

~ written by Tim Graves and posted on LiturgyBits: Little bits for worship. https://liturgybits.wordpress.com/

Litany: 1 Corinthians

Here’s a two-voice litany from April Yamasaki which she wrote to introduce the overall focus and content of the first letter to the church at Corinth.

Litany

(inspired by 1 Corinthians)

For no one can lay any foundation

other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (3:11)

The foundation for blessing and grace.

The foundation for our unity.

I always thank my God for you

because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. (1:3, 4)

The source of wisdom.

The source of our ministry and teaching.

God is the source of your life in Christ Jesus,

who became for us wisdom from God,

and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1:30)

What is God’s wisdom for human sexuality, legal disputes,

marriage, singleness, widowhood, food sacrificed to idols?

What is God’s wisdom for testing and temptation?

Do you not know that your body

is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,

which you have from God,

and that you are not your own?

For you were bought with a price;

therefore glorify God in your body. (6:19-20)

How do we glorify God in what we wear for worship,

how we celebrate the Lord’s Supper?

How do we recognize and release the gifts of the Spirit

 for the common good?

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three,

and the greatest of these is love. (13:13)

Let us receive and proclaim the good news

of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

 Let us give thanks for this life

and for the resurrection of the dead.

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, O death is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting? (15:54-55)

For Jesus Christ is our sure foundation.

For Jesus Christ is our sure foundation.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” (16:23)

~ written by April Yamasaki, and posted on the website of Emmanuel Mennonite Church. http://www.emmanuelmennonite.com/2013/10/11/a-litany-of-1-corinthians/

Prayer: Your Word

Here’s a prayer of thanksgiving and commitment from John Birch’s Faith and Worship website.

Prayer

(inspired by Isaiah 55: 10-13

and other passages)

You call us to love those
whom you would love,
and give us the words to say.

You call us to bring wholeness
to lives that are broken,
and give us the words to say.

You call us to bring comfort
to those who are grieving,
and give us the words to say.

You call us to bring good news
to those who are seeking,
and give us the words to say.

Your word, living water
in desert sands.

Your word, blossoming
in parched earth.

Your word, bearing fruit
wherever it is sown.
Amen

~ written by John Birch, and posted on Faith and Worship. http://www.faithandworship.com/