Author: katyandtheword

Pastor Katy has enjoyed ministry at New Covenant since 2010, where the church has solidified its community focus. She now works at Capital CFO plus as the Non Profit Director. All opinions expressed on this blog are her own and do not reflect those of Capital CFO plus. Prior to that she studied both Theology and Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She also served as an Assistant Chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and as the Christian Educational Coordinator at Bethany Presbyterian at Bloomfield, NJ. She is an writer and is published in Enfleshed, Sermonsuite, Presbyterian's today and Outlook. She writes prayers, liturgy, poems and public theology and is pursuing her doctorate in ministry in Creative Write and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She enjoys working within and connecting to the community, is known to laugh a lot during service, and tells as many stories as possible. Pastor Katy loves reading Science Fiction and Fantasy, theater, arts and crafts, music, playing with children and sunshine, and continues to try to be as (w)holistically Christian as possible. "Publisher after publisher turned down A Wrinkle in Time," L'Engle wrote, "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was too difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adult's book, anyhow?" The next year it won the prestigious John Newbery Medal. Tolkien states in the foreword to The Lord of the Rings that he disliked allegories and that the story was not one.[66] Instead he preferred what he termed "applicability", the freedom of the reader to interpret the work in the light of his or her own life and times.

Summer Seeds Liturgy: #psalms Week 1

Psalms Summer NL Series https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4073

PSALM 113 First Sunday of Psalms series

This Psalm has pretty good liturgy and exegetical resources at preachingandworship.org, some of which are highlighted below*; see https://preachingandworship.org/search/psalm%20113 to do your own exploring

Themes include God bending down and/or making the barren fruitful (beyond the question of childbearing)

ILLUSTRATIONS

Although this can be credited to Calvin (see https://www.woh.org/devotional/2017/12/24/gods-baby-talk/),  when reading for my dissertation I found the same illustration in Zwingli (who predates Calvin): God talks baby talk to us because this is what we can understand (condescension). Of course now I cannot locate the Zwingli reference…

HYMNS listed in the NL resource above include ones that also include Father’s Day themes, suggesting that the action of God in this psalm could be called fatherly; wish we had a better word for “parenting;” it’s less gendered, but it doesn’t have the same tender overtones…

Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven

  1. 3

Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes

https://www.godtube.com/popular-hymns/praise-my-soul-the-king-of-heaven/

 

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV2zMZ-nZ7k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vmY2ztb5xc

 

Father, I Adore You

https://youtu.be/E640Q6bC64I?list=RDE640Q6bC64I

 

Abba, Father You are the Potter, We are the Clay (more Father’s Day than Psalm 113)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoSVOB6q51A

 

Let Us with a Gladsome Mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikz9FmPfdsw

 

Of the Father’s Love Begotten

From All That Dwell Below the Skies

Ye Servant of God, Your Master Proclaim

The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended

HYMN LISTING for Psalm 113 from Hymnary.org at https://hymnary.org/texts?qu=psalm+113&media=text&page=0

From CCM type sources:

https://worship-songs-resources.worshiptogether.com/music/Psalm%20113

 

HYMNS RELATED to theme of SELF-EMPTYING (* indicates also includes the idea of the name)

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Once in Royal David’s City

O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High

What Wondrous Love Is This

Go to Dark Gethsemane

O Sacred Head Now Wounded

Were You There?

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name*

At the Name of Jesus*

The Head That Once Was Crowned

Rejoice, the Lord is King

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Lift High the Cross

 

BULLETIN COVERS but not sure if/how you can print/save

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=psalm%20113

https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&q=psalm+113+bulletin+cover&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj0qdyhu87iAhULZd8KHfetAmQQsAR6BAgFEAE&biw=1707&bih=821

 

LITURGICAL RESOURCES

Prayer of Approach: Psalm 113 from worshipblogspot*

Here’s an opening prayer inspired by Psalm 113.  It comes from the Christian Aidwebsite.

Opening Prayer

(inspired by Psalm 113)

God of all life,

beyond our imagining, and yet coming so close;

you refuse to leave those in need on the rubbish dump.

You give the poor a place of dignity among the powerful.

You make a home for the homeless,’

and bring joy abounding to families and communities.

 

As we gather to celebrate and give thanks

for your harvest of blessing,

may we live within your reality,

share your vision,

and do your will,

that the whole earth may echo your glory. Amen.

~ from Ideas for Harvest: Worship and Prayer, posted on the Christian Aidwebsite. http://www.christianaid.org.uk/Images/Harvest-2013-prayers_tcm15-69840.pdf

 

Call to Worship: Psalm 113 from worshipblogspot*

Alleluia!

Come and praise, you servants of God!

Praise the name of Yahweh!

May God’s name be blessed

both now and forever.

From east to west, from north to south,

praise the name of Yahweh!

May God’s name be blessed

both now and forever.

Who can compare to our God?

Seated high above the nations of the earth,

God’s glory fills the skies.

May God’s name be blessed

both now and forever.

 

Call to Worship by Barb Hedges-Goettl; please give credit if using/adapting:

[One] From the rising of the sun to where it sets

[Many] Let the name of the Lord be praised, now and forevermore.

The Lord is exalted over all nations. His glory is above the heavens.

Let the name of the Lord be praised, now and forevermore.

No one is like the Lord our God, enthroned on high but reaching down to earth.

Let the name of the Lord be praised, now and forevermore.

God raises up the poor to seat them with his princes.

Let the name of the Lord be praised, now and forevermore.

God overcomes barrenness, giving fruitfulness and joy.

Let the name of the Lord be praised, now and forevermore.

 

Call to Worship Litany: Psalm 113 from worshipblogspot*

Praise the Lord!

Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord!

Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forever.

 

Everywhere—from east to west—
praise the name of the Lord.

For the Lord is high above the nations;
his glory is higher than the heavens.

Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forever.

 

Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down
on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!
He gives the childless woman a family,
making her a happy mother.

Praise the Lord!

Blessed be the name of the Lord                                                                                                      now and forever.

PRAYER*  https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/condescending-godYou are free to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work), and remix (to adapt the work),  under the condition that you must give appropriate credit to The High Calling, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You should not suggest in any way that The High Calling or Theology of Work endorses you or your use of the work.

Gracious Lord, you are, indeed, enthroned above the highest heaven. You are great beyond greatness, glorious beyond glory. All praise be to you for your majesty and power and sovereignty!

Yet, in love and mercy, you look down upon us. And not only look, but reach down to help us. And not only reach, but come down to be with us in Jesus. And not only share life with us, but take our sin and bear it. How wonderful you are!

Thank you, dear Lord, for all the times you have reached down to help me. How good you are, how gracious and kind! May I live in the confidence of your grace today, giving it away to others.

In the name of Jesus, who humbled himself, Amen.

 

CONFESSION OF SIN  by Barb Hedges-Goettl. Please give credit if using/adapting for use.

*Call to Confession

For most of us, there are times when we do think too highly of ourselves. But sometimes we sin on the other side, thinking ourselves too lowly or unfit for God to care for us. But God loves us anyway. Let us confess our need to understand ourselves as created in God’s image.

*Prayer of Confession:

Although you created us and called us “very good,” sometimes we don’t believe it. We know our failings and shortfalls so well. We are afraid that you cannot still love us. But you know us for who we truly are. You know the places and spaces where we fall short. Forgive us for not trusting your love and forgiveness. Remake us so that we are more and more your people. (Silent confession)

Assurance of Pardon (Romans 5:6, 8 The Message)                                                                        Christ arrives right on time to save us. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. God in Christ put his love on the line, giving himself as a sacrifice when we were far too weak and rebellious to even do anything to get ourselves ready. Thanks be to God for this Good News: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven

CONFESSION OF FAITH from PC(USA) Brief Statement of Faith (1983)

We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father.

In sovereign love God created the world good

and makes everyone equally in God’s image,

male and female, of every race and people,

to live as one community.

But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.

Ignoring God’s commandments.

we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,

accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature,

and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.

 

We deserve God’s condemnation.

Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.

In everlasting love,

the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people

to bless all families of the earth.

Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel

from the house of bondage.

 

Loving us still,

God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.

Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,

like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,

God is faithful still.

 

Therefore, with believers in every time and place,

we rejoice that nothing in life or in death

can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

CHILDREN’S SERMON*

http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2013/08/year-c-proper-20-25th-sunday-in.html

Psalm 113

The psalmis praises the high God who leans over to lift the poor. Either point this out verbally by going through the psalm finding all the high, low, and lifting words before reading it.  Or, line out the psalm with hand motions.  The latter is best done with the whole congregation but could be presented by a rehearsed children’s class who have been invited to be worship leaders by acting it out as you read it.

Psalm 113 with Motions

Praise the Lord!

Arms outstretched palms turned up

You servants of the Lord, praise his name!
Arms reaching out to the congregation

May his name be praised now and for ever.
Repeat outstretched arms with palms turned up.

From the east to the west praise the name of the Lord!

Point to the east, then arc arm to the west

The Lord rules over all nations; his glory is above the heavens.

      Bent arms out to the sides in an expression of power

There is no one like the Lord our God.
      Pointing up with one hand as in a teaching position

 

He lives in the heights above,

Look up and reach your arms overhead

but he bends down to see the heavens and the earth.

Lean over to look down moving your arms out to the 
                  side

He raises the poor from the dust;

Still leaning over cup your hands as if scooping up people 
      below.  

he lifts the needy from their misery
raise your cupped hands a little

 

and makes them companions of princes,

raise your cupped hands to shoulder height

the princes of his people.

      Open cupped hands and reach out to your sides as if holding hands

 

He honours the childless wife in her home;

Hold arms down at your sides

he makes her happy by giving her children.

Rock a baby in your arms

 

Praise the Lord!

Raise hands in traditional praise position

SERMON/ORDER OF WORSHP

https://www.crcna.org/resources/church-resources/reading-sermons/god-small-things

Order of Worship

GOD GATHERS US FOR WORSHIP

Welcome and Announcements

Mutual Greeting

Call to Worship:  Psalm 150

Opening Song: “Let All Things Now Living” PsH #453

God’s Greeting:  “Grace, mercy and peace be to us all in the name of the Father,

and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.”

Song of Praise:  “How Great Thou Art” PsH # 483

SERVICE OF RECONCILIATION

Prayer of Confession

Assurance of Pardon:  Psalm 130: 7,8

God’s Law:  Exodus 20:  1-17

Congregational Prayer

Offering

WE HEAR THE WORD

Hymn of Preparation:  “The Heavens Declare Your Glory” PsH # 429

Prayer for Illumination

Scripture Reading:  Psalm 113

Sermon:  “God of Small Things”

Prayer of Application:  “Father God, although we are so small, we praise you for seeing
us, caring for us, and calling each of us by name.   Help our lives to be a never-ending
chorus of praise to you and help that praise to be so contagious, that others will want to
join their voices to our voices and to the voice of all creation in praising you, from
whom all blessings flow!   Amen.”

Hymn of Response: “All Creatures of Our God and King” PsH # 431

WE DEPART TO SERVE

Benediction:  “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, in the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.   Amen.”

Doxology:  “Praise God, from Whom all Blessings Flow”  PsH # 638

 

EXEGETICAL RESOURCES

https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2963 Situates the psalm within the psalter and the Bible itself and briefly addresses the theme of barrenness*

https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/condescending-god God’s condescension as a positive; includes Philippians 2*

https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/how-does-god-lift-poor-and-needy

Reflection on God lowering Godself in Psalm 113 explores how God lifts the poor and needy*

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1765 From the folks at Working Preacher but from the RCL use of the Psalm, this commentary addresses the literary structure and repeated phrases of the psalm, incl. the “name” in Hebrew scripture; Also refers to Ex. 3:7-8: God’s promise of a homeland to Israel and 1 Samuel 2:2,5,8: Hannah’s Song.*

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=673 Also from the RCL side from Working Preacher. Addresses the poetic/dynamic, arts-related nature of the psalms, then this particular psalm as championing those in poverty, need and childlessness and promising them a day of justice. Mentions “prayer without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17).*

http://www.word-sunday.com/Files/Psalms/113.html gives a scholarly view of the historical context of this psalm in Israel’s life. Although the NL proposes Psalm 113 as an example of Brueggemann’s category of “Orientation: When life is stable and the world seems trustworthy,” the context instead may be that of displacement and thus disorientation. One could use this to discuss what it means to be a poor and marginalized church that an identify with the poor and the barren one instead of a rich and mainstream church that is more likely to identify elsewhere.

https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/calvin/cc11/cc11021.htm Calvin’s commentary on Ps. 113

https://www.preceptaustin.org/psalm_113_commentary  Compendium of various commentaries on Psalm 113; includes cross-references, some word study, some hymns.

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tpc/psalms-113.html Access to various resources on the psalm; site itself is on “conservative” side

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-113/   Verse by verse commentary

https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=spur&b=19&c=113 Charles H. Spurgeon’s verse by verse commentary.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/psalms/113.html Matthew Henry’s verse by verse commentary

http://www.env-steward.com/lectionary/lectc/c-ep3-ps.htm A commentary from the perspective of stewardship of creation. Have to admit I didn’t really see/acknowledge this part of the psalm until reading this brief corrective. The short bit on this psalm reads:  “Psalm 113, [is] a “hymn celebrating the Lord as helper of the humble,” as our NRSV note states it. The Psalter was the first great hymnbook of God’s people, and its at-homeness within the creation is known to all. Even here, where the focus is on raising up the poor and lifting the needy, the psalmist thinks of their Lord as being first the Lord of the creation (Lord of time, “from the rising of the sun to its setting,” no less than Lord of the nations with “his glory above the heavens”), the One who uses the creation to “rescue the perishing.” This Psalm, along with Psalm 114, is sung before the Jewish Passover meal. There it stands as reminder of our opportunities and obligations within both Creation and Covenant…. the bond between Creation and Covenant …enables and requires us to care for the needy by attending to our use of the gifts (not “resources” for exploitation) within the creation.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5W1-ELwjyI Audio of Calvin’s commentary on Psalm 113:1-4. Deadly delivery.

https://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/worship-service-psalm-113/Outline & video of worship service based on Psalm 113 from Calvin Worship Institute

Liturgy Seeds: Narrative Lectionary for 6/2

Romans 6:1-11  and Matthew 6:24 or 24-34

image.png

This pericope is in RCL for Proper 7A/Ordinary 12A/Pentecost +3, where it is paired with—and overshadowed by—the story of Hagar and Ishmael. See http://www.textweek.com/pauline/rom6a.htm

NL pairs it with Matthew 6:24 (?)

The theme of newness is also found in 2 Corinthians 5:(14-15), 16-20; Revelation 21:1-5, and in the psalms referring to singing a new song: Psalm 33(:3); 40(:3); 96(:1); 98(:1); 144(:9); 149(:1).

My congregation has communion the first Sunday of each month, so I am thinking about the relationship between baptism (once and done new birth) and communion (ongoing renewal). This also dovetails with emphases on being born-again (think Saul->Paul) and being a lifelong Christian (think Timothy). Both are needed and helpful; it’s more both-and than either/or.

I am thinking of a bulletin cover with tags marked: new/renewed/renewal/revived etc. Also see (many copyrighted): https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&q=romans+6:1-11+bulletin+cover&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjMiPLD97jiAhVOdt8KHWWbAXMQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1707&bih=821

Resources on Baptism/Renewal of Baptism in Worship

https://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/washed-people-romans-6-1-corinthians-6-hcld-26-27/

Opening Prayer from Romans 6

https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/06/opening-prayer-romans-6.html

 

Call to Worship:

God calls his people together before him.
Our new life in Christ is celebrated and nourished
in the fellowship of congregations
where God’s name is praised,
his way taught;
where sins are confessed,
prayers and gifts are offered,
and sacraments are celebrated. (“Our World Belongs to God,” par.39)
Come, let us worship the Lord.
We come with praise and thanks!

To reprint the above Call to Worship for personal use, a ministry setting, or classroom use, include this credit line: © 1987, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids MI. http://www.crcna.org. Reprinted with permission.

CALL TO WORSHIP (from Psalm 98, Good News Version)                          Reader    [One] Sing a new song to the Lord

[Many] he has done wonderful things!
By his own power and holy strength
he has won the victory.
The Lord made his saving power known to the nations.
He kept his promise to his people, with loyalty and constant love for them.
All people everywhere can see the victory of our God.                                                           and so we gather to praise and give thanks.                                                                              [ALL] LET US WORSHIP GOD TOGETHER.                                                                                     by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl (please give credit if using/adapting this resource)

Opening prayer: God of grace, you have brought us from slavery to freedom, from despair to hope, from death to life. May our words and music, our thoughts and our prayers and our very lives bring honor and glory to you. This we pray in the name of Jesus,  whose death and resurrection have brought us new life. Amen.                                    by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl (please give credit if using/adapting this resource)

*Call to Confession (Romans 6:10-11, Good News Version)         

Because Christ died and rose again, death’s power to touch him is finished. He now lives for God forever. In the same way, we have died to the appeal and power of sin. We are alive and responsive to the call of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.                                      by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl (please give credit if using/adapting this resource):

*Prayer of Confession CALL TO WORSHIP (from Psalm 98, Good News Version)

O God, when we hear your call to new life, sometimes we just feel old and tired.  The pains and sorrows of this life weigh us down.                                                              We don’t know how things can ever change.                                                                              We do not see how we can be renewed and revitalized.                                                          We forget that nothing is impossible with you. We find it hard to believe that you can and do grant more than all we can ask or imagine. Forgive us and renew us. (Silent confession)                                                                                                                            by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl (please give credit if using/adapting this resource):

*Assurance of Pardon (Romans 6:10-11 The Message) When Jesus died, he took sin down with him. Now, alive, he brings God down to us. From now on, sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to us. Instead, God speaks our mother tongue, and we hang on every word. We are dead to sin and alive to God. This is the Good News for which we give thanks be to God: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.                                                            by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl (please give credit if using/adapting this resource)

Call to/Prayer of Confession and Assurance of Forgiveness from Romans https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/06/act-of-confession.html

 

COMMENTARIES/SERMONS

Romans was a very important book for the reformers

Calvin’s commentary https://biblehub.com/commentaries/calvin/romans/6.htm

Wesley’s commentary https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/romans-6.html

Luther’s sermon https://oursaviormuscatine.org/sermons/luther-sermon-romans-6-3-11

Sermon about the “hole within” (Romans 6:1-11) Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Waterloo, IA https://1517.org/1517blog/edkillian/sermon-romans-6-1-11

 

Beyond the above resources, this text seems to be a topic mainly addressed from what is sometimes considered the “conservative” side of Christianity; see resources below:

Blue Letter Bible Commentary: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Rom/Rom-6.cfm

Audio of sermon titled “Holiness: The Journey of God’s People” from an Evangelical Presbyterian Church

https://www.2pc.org/resources/audio-library/passage/romans-6:1-18/

Audio of sermon from the Village Church in Texas: “The Good Life Accomplished” https://www.tvcresources.net/resource-library/sermons/the-good-life-accomplished–2

Audio of sermon “A Call to Resurrected Thinking” from Baptist Church in Beach Haven (Long Beach Island), NJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C3Q6J9N4tQ

 

HYMNS

https://www.sermonwriter.com/hymn-list/romans-61-11-hymns/

6/2 hymns Newness/baptism/Lord’s Supper
PCUSA Presbyterian Hymnal 1990 (The .x means the x verse is particularly relevant)
104.3 Christ is Risen! Sing Hosanna!
285.3 God, You Still the Whirling Planets
296 Walk On, O People of God
316 Breathe on Me, Breath of God
317.2 (Author of the New Creation)
353.5 Great God, Your Love Has Called Us Here
376.4 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
442.1 The Church’s One Foundation
492 Baptized in Water
493.2 Dearest Jesus, We Are Here
495.4 We Know That Christ Is Raised
500 Become to Us the Living Bread
507 I Come with Joy
CCM type
https://worship-songs-resources.worshiptogether.com/music/Romans-6
Hope, 1984 Worship and Service Hymnal
201 Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Wretched

Image result for spring resurrection

Liturgy Seeds for 5/26 Romans 5

Romans 3:28-30; 5:1-11

Thelogical Thoughts: How many people want to get healthy before they see a doctor or fix things before they take the next steps in their lives. God, and indeed church, has no prerequisite for perfection before walking in the door.

Call to Worship

Who is our God, the God of the Jews or the God of the Gentiles?

Yes to both. Our God is one, so our faith is one. 

But we do not all believe the same thing, as I look out upon the congregation I know that I do not believe the same thing as my neighbor. so how can we know we belong to God?

But God says, love the neighbor. Faith is the interweaving of many beliefs, have faith and know that God loves you. 

Come let us boast of the Lord who is God.

Let us worship our Lord and God knowing we have received reconciliation. 

Opening Prayer/Collect: Lord, gather our hearts together, honoring the diversity of our beliefs and weaving them into one faith. Teach us your peace by reminding us that God’s love has been poured out to us all. Help us to boast in the hope of the glory of God we pray. Amen.

Prayer of Confession: How can we approach you God? We confess that we are imperfect. How can we become a group of righteous people? We do not always think of you first, or at all. We forget to consider others, we worry about how things look instead of how they really are. We complain and complain about our suffering. Yet you remind us that we are justified not by our perfection, but by faith. Help us to persevere so we might experience hope we pray.

Reconciliation is the work of God’s peace entering into our lives, and God will never give up. Come and know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. 

Exegetical

2744 kauxáomai – properly, living with “head up high,” i.e. boasting from a particular vantage point by having the right base of operation to deal successfully with a matter (see WP at 2 Cor 5:12).

[2744 (kauxáomai) likely comes from the root, auχēn(“neck”), i.e. what holds the head up high (upright); figuratively, it refers to living with God-given confidence.

One definition of God coming to earth is that God “Stooped” to be with us. https://biblehub.com/greek/2744.htm

 

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance

gush forth, pour out, shed, spill.

Or (by variation) ekchuno ek-khoo’-no from ek and cheo (to pour); to pour forth; figuratively, to bestow — gush (pour) o ut, run greedily (out), shed (abroad, forth), spill. https://biblehub.com/greek/1632.htm

Hymns

Amazing Grace

I’ve Got Peace Like a River

Live Into Hope

Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine

Children’s

Deep and Wide

Liturgy Seeds: Narrative Lectionary 5/19/19

https://wordpress.com/post/bjhlog.wordpress.com/186

NL 5/19/19: Romans 1:1-17

 

SUMMARY/THEMES

Verses 1-6 carry forth the theme of the gospel for all nations/the Gentiles that the NL has been addressing since Easter. Verses 7-15 address the mutuality to be found among Christians (see Barmen Declaration resources from 5/5). Note Paul starts out as describing himself as leader/giver and then notes that he is also recipient. (This was the theme found on 5/5 in Acts 10:1-17, 34-48 about Peter and Cornelius swapping out their roles as host and guest.) Verses 16-17 refer the Romans back to God—a theme found in the 5/12 passage (Acts 13:1-3, 14:8-18), where the people want to worship Paul and Barnabas instead of God.

 

My congregation has had four hospitalizations in this last week (in a church where Sunday attendance is usually less than 20!); therefore, thanking God for one another, praying for each other & mutual upbuilding of the faith is especially fitting right now. Themes I am thinking about include: (1) the grace and peace Paul directs to them from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ is for “all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people.” (2) the Romans’ faith redounds around the world! (3) this faith is shown by praying for one another, (in our case, especially when the one being prayed for finds him/herself unable to pray); and (4) Paul wants something that has been prevented (coming to the Romans) but still has hope.

 

TRANSLATIONS
For a variety of translations, see: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans1:1-17&version=NRSV;GNT;TLB;NIV;MSG

The Message translation is particularly helpful if you are focusing on the way the Paul explains the gospel here (v.2-7). I have not included the NKJV; you can change which versions are included for your perusal.

 

LITURGICAL PIECES

 

CALL TO WORSHIP (from Romans 1:1-6)

One: Servants of Jesus Christ, called to be apostles,

Many: we are set apart for the gospel of God.

One: God promised this gospel through his prophets in the holy scriptures.

Many: This gospel concerns God’s Son.

One: He was was descended from David according to the flesh

Many: He was declared the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.

One: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we have received grace and apostleship,

Many: and are called t.

One:  This morning God also calls us to believe and obey.

ALL: Thanks, worship and praise be to God!

 

OPENING PRAYER/COLLECT

O God, you love us and call us to be your own holy people.

Reveal to us our need to share one another’s joys and burdens,

to gather together to encourage one another in faith,

and to always pray for one another with thanksgiving,

so that we may know your grace and your peace.

In the name of God, and of the Son of God, and of the Spirit of God, Amen.

 

PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING/EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:

God, we offer you our thanks and praise.

From the beginning of human history,

you have called people to yourself as Creator and Lord,

teaching and leading them in the way of life.

Through the prophets recorded in Scripture,

you promised your Gospel.

Through the lineage of David,

you rooted Christ Jesus in history.

Through his resurrection from the dead,

you identified him as your Son.

Through him we receive

the generous gift of his life

and the joyous task of sharing that life

with one another and with the whole world.

 

By eating this bread and drinking this cup,

we witness to Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension.

Through Jesus’ body and blood,

assure us that we are your people.

Renew us in our commitment

to inviting others to eat and drink

the joyful feast that you set for all.

 

United us in our thankfulness for one another.

Empower us to help one another.

Humble us to accept help from one another.

And always point us to yourself

and the Good News of the Gospel

as the source of all that we have,

all that we are, and all that we do.

 

Through the gracious gift of God

we are enabled to give thanks and pray,

to witness, and to receive.

Thanks be to God, Amen.

HYMNS
https://hymnary.org/search?page=2&qu=scripture%3Aromans%201%3A1-17%20in%3Atext

 

PC(USA) Glory to God

Romans

1.1-6 (Chapter.verse)

364 I Sing a Song of the Saints of God

410 When I Had Not Yet Learned of Jesus

1.1, 5

377 Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore

1.2-3

74.2 (Hymn #.verse) Jesus on the Mountain Peak

75.2+3 O Wondrous Sight, O Vision Fair

327 O Word of God Incarnate

330 Deep in the Shadows of the Past

331 Thanks to God Whose Word Was Written

601.1-3 Song of Zechariah (Benedictus) (Hymns taken most directly from the listed scripture are in bold type)

602 Song of Zechariah (Benedictus)

1.3-4

83 O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High

148 At the Name of Jesus

299 Amen, Amen

302 I Danced in the Morning

569 Christ Has Died (Memorial Acclamation)

598 This Is the Good News

1.3

48 Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

58.3 While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

59.3 While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

69.1 O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright

88.1 All Glory, Laud, and Honor

205 All Hail to God’s Anointed

230.2 This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made

1.4-5

14 Savior of the Nations, Come

106 Alleluia, Alleluia! Give Thanks

107 Celebrate with Joy and Singing

109 Christ Is Risen

112 Christ the Lord Is Risen Again

113 Christ the Lord Is Risen Today!

117 O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing!

118 The Day of Resurrection!

120 Hail Thee, Festival Day!

133.2+3 All Glory Be to God on High

137.2 We All Believe in One True God

142 All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!

143 All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!

302.5 I Danced in the Morning

308.4 O Sing a Song of Bethlehem

309 Of the Father’s Love Begotten

474.4 O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright

1.5-6

1.2 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

133.1 All Glory Be to God on High

202.1+2 Psalm 67

212.5 Within Your Shelter, Loving God

216 O Sing a New Song to the Lord

217 O Sing a New Song

218 New Songs of Celebration Render

219 To God Compose a Song of Joy

300.1 Down to Earth, as a Dove

603.2 Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis)

604 Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis)

605.2 Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis)

1.6-7a

144.1 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!

149.3 The Head That Once Was Crowned

153.1 He Is King of Kings

156.2 You, Living Christ, Our Eyes Behold

220.2 All People That on Earth Do Dwell

255.4 Now Praise the Lord

323 Loving Spirit

353 Great God, Your Love Has Called Us Here

392.4 Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord

402.1 Now Praise the Hidden God of Love

442.1+2 The Church’s One Foundation

443.2 O Christ, the Great Foundation

491.1 Stand Up and Bless the Lord

499.1 Wonder of Wonders, Here Revealed

516 Lord, We Have Come at Your Own Invitation

522 Lord, When I Came Into This Life

553.3 For the Fruit of All Creation

1.7-15

435 We All Are One in Mission

438 Blest Be the Tie That Binds

441 I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord

473.5 For the Beauty of the Earth

552 Give Thanks, O Christian People

1.7a

364 I Sing a Song of the Saints of God

1.7b

242.2 Come, All You Servants of the Lord

280 Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound

345.4 Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

356 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

529.4 Lord of the Living

537 Farewell, Good Friends (Shalom, Chaverim!)

538 Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing

596 May the Lord, Mighty God

1.16-17

1.2+4 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

2 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

117.6 O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing!

240 Out of the Depths

250.1 When Morning Lights the Eastern Skies

307 Fight the Good Fight

370.3 Just as I Am, Without One Plea

373.3 Lonely the Boat

379 My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

390.6 O Savior, in This Quiet Place

399 We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight

457.5 I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

462.3 Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

463.3 Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

471 O Praise the Gracious Power

522.3+4 Lord, When I Came Into This Life

1.16a

84 In the Cross of Christ I Glory

86 When We Are Tempted to Deny Your Son

100 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

101 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

149.4+5 The Head That Once Was Crowned

384.4 O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

1.16b

355 Hear the Good News of Salvation

485 To God Be the Glory

569 Christ Has Died (Memorial Acclamation)

598 This Is the Good News

1.16c

1.2 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

2.1 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

1.17a

376.2 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

412.5 Eternal God, Whose Power Upholds

 

 

EXEGETICAL RESOURCES

This full text is not in the RCL.  Romans 1:1-7 is part of the RCL on the 4th Sunday in Advent, so resources related to the RCL are very differently oriented than what we’re likely to be preaching in May between Easter and Pentecost. In addition, the resources available at textweek.com focus more on the other readings.  See http://www.textweek.com/pauline/rom1.htm

 

Romans 1:16-17 is paired with 3:22b-28 (29-31) on Proper 4A and Epiphany 9A.

See http://www.textweek.com/pauline/rom1_3.htm

 

For resources dealing more broadly with Romans 1, try

https://preachingandworship.org/search/romans%201%3A1-17

 

Also see Charles Spurgeon’s sermon on Romans 1 (although he takes the opening verse to counsel against any political involvement by Christians/pastors)

http://www.romans45.org/spurgeon/sermons/2257.htm#expo

 

CHILDREN’S SERMON: Saving starfish one at a time

https://www.sermons4kids.com/one-at-a-time.html

Seeds of Liturgy 5/12

Narrative Lectionary: Acts 13:1-3, 14:8-18

THEMES

This passage has inclusion themes like the passage from last week, although here it is those worshiping Greek gods rather than Gentiles more broadly that are included. There is (again) the theme of people wanted to worship the bearers of the Good News, lending itself to the theme of perception and misperception. We can misperceive—think of the Apostles’ misunderstanding, but God still meets us where we are and takes us to where we need to be. Plus the passage refers to creation as pointing to God and then Paul and Barnabas pointing to God (despite being taken for Zeus and Hermes!)

ILLUSTRATIONS

This last reminds me of our oldest daughter who, when I would point to things on the roadside when we were driving along, would look at my hand instead of what I was pointing to.

Then there’s the old story (apparently originally a Buddhist tale!) of the blind men and the elephant—each feels only one part. Each thinks he understands what an elephant is like, but only has an incomplete picture. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant

It takes a lot of perspective to come close to seeing something clearly—think at least 66 books in the Bible (more if you include the Apocrypha), and then add in the question of how many authors there are of those texts. 

There is the anecdote a man who showed a little girl a lizard caught in a bucket and she said that it was an alligator. Based on what she knew (children’s books showing that A is for Alligator, perhaps), that’s what she thought it was. She interpreted what she saw based on her experience. Don’t we all!  

This illustration is included on the preaching and worship site, the 2nd link at 

https://preachingandworship.org/search/Acts%2014%3A8-18

This site also provides some exegetical resources and also woodcuts illustrating the passage. (Beware lurking anti-Semitism in some of these resources.)

My sister is a missionary in Armenia—how the Gospel is understood among her students, who are actually mainly medical students from India studying in Armenia, is dependent on their various backgrounds. (Wikipedia notes that India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.) At least initially, they understand Jesus as one of their pantheon of gods…

A Korean friend of mine noted that Schussler-Fiorenza’s book Bread Not Stone made her think that, for her context, there needed to be a book Rice Not Bread. Such is the challenge of contextualization—a challenge raising the question of what is core to the gospel and what is its clothes; what is the meat and what is the husk. Which of the Gospel’s characteristics are just how it dresses in a particular culture rather than what it truly is? Early missionaries equated Christianity with becoming Westernized—what have we learned? What can other cultures and people who are, for us, “Other” teach us about how to understand what God is saying to us in Christ and Creation?

HYMNS

For hymns see: https://hymnary.org/texts?qu=Acts+14%3A8-18&media=text&page=0

(also listed on the preaching and worship site).  One could also tap other creation/thanksgiving hymns if emphasizing that creation points to God. Other hymns could reflect on Easter, such as Thine is the Glory, Come Ye Faithful Raise the Strain, or on God meeting us where we are such as God of Compassion, in Mercy Befriend Us. 

BULLETIN COVERS

For a bulletin cover, one could try some version of “God isn’t finished with me yet” as referring to both the Greeks and to the Christians trying to talk to Greeks then and now

https://www.google.com/search?q=please+be+patient+god+isn%27t+finished+with+me+yet&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwij36CeiPThAhUJ0FkKHXVLB_EQsAR6BAgGEAE&biw=1366&bih=657

LITURGICAL RESOURCES

Call to Worship (from Acts 14:16-17, Good News translation)            

[Used/adapted by permission of Barbara Hedges-Goettl]

One: We turn from away from the things that would claim our loyalty and gratitude.

Many: We turn instead to God and announce the Good News:

One: It is God who made heaven, earth, sea, and all that is in them.

Many: God has always given evidence of his existence 

             by the good things he does.

One: God gives rain from heaven and crops at the right times.

Many: God gives us food and fills our hearts with happiness.

ALL: And so we gather to praise and thank our God.

Opening Prayer  (from the PCUSA Book of Common Worship-revised, 2018)

Living God, with joy we celebrate the presence of your risen Word.

Enliven our hearts your Holy Spirit so that we may live and proclaim the Good News

of eternal and abundant life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.          

Rite of Confession  [Used/adapted by permission of Barbara Hedges-Goettl]

Call to Confession

As Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the Gospel, they sometimes met people who, wanted to honor them instead of the God who sent them and who praised the Creation instead of the Creator. Although we sometimes make these same mistakes, we can go to God for redirection and grace.

Prayer of Confession

O God, too often we go our own way. 

We get confused about who does what.

We look for you in the all the wrong places.

We rely on things instead of the One who made them.

We rely on your messengers, instead of on you.

[Silent confession]

God, forgive us. Redirect us to your way.

Open our eyes to you as Creator of all,

that we may know, honor and proclaim you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Assurance of Pardon:

Stand up and walk in the power of Christ Jesus, who declares the Good News to us:

We are healed. We are forgiven. Thanks be to God!. 

PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING/EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

[from PCUSA Book of Common Worship-Revised, 2018]

You are holy, O God of majesty,

and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,

whom you sent to save us.

He came with healing in his touch, 

and was wounded for our sins.

He came with mercy in his voice, 

And was mocked as one despised.

He came with peace in his heart, 

and met with violence and death.

By our power he broke free from the prison of the tomb,

and at his command the gates of hell were opened.

The one who was dead now lives.

The one who humbled himself is raised to rule over all creation,

the Lamb upon the throne.

The One who ascended on high is with us always, as he promised.

Remembering all your [good]* and merciful acts, 

we take this bread and this wine

from the gifts you have given us,

and celebrate with joy

the redemption won for us in Jesus Christ.

Accept hits our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving 

as a living and holy offering of creation,

that our lives may proclaim the One crucified and risen.

*Originally “might and merciful acts”

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION (PCUSA Book of Common Worship Revised, 2018)

Gracious God, we give you thanks

that by the witness of your word

and the sharing of this meal

you [open]* our hearts and eyes 

to the presence of Christ among us.

Now send us forth from this place

by the power of your Spirit

to tell this good news to the world:

The Lord has risen indeed! Amen.

*Originally “have opened”

A Complicated Mother’s Day Prayer

Teach us to pray a more complicated Mother’s Day prayer we pray. 

Lord, we pray to you today because there’s no such thing as perfect motherhood. The role that has traditionally been given to every woman ever–is a hard one to fill. I pray for all those for whom motherhood is a box that is hard to fill.

I have friends who deal with infertility, single parenthood, the need to find a partner to do the work. I have friends who have adopted and fostered with all the magnification of joy and sorrow that creates. I have friends who have two moms, I have friends who have no moms.

I have friends who have somehow or another lost their children. I have friends who have lost their mothers. I know too much about those whose moms were abusive or neglectful.

I have even more friends whose relationship with motherhood might not be just good or bad but is super-complicated. I have many friends who are special needs mothers, like me, which means childhood may, on some level, last forever. I have friends who don’t want children, and have to deal with that reality in a society that expects differently.

But I know that you, God are not only a father, but also a mother to us. I know that this holiday was brought into church as one of the few moments when women were honored for their sphere.

Lord, God who inspired my friend to give her single father a mother’s day card every year, God who gave my single Aunt her first Women’s Day (as opposed to mother’s day) in Armenia, God who let me peer over a colleague’s shoulder who is brilliantly mothering her foster-to-adopt child.

God who gave my mother not one, nor two, but in fact three daughters (though it took us in the cis-world too long to figure it out), God who gave us the special older ladies at every church I’ve ever attended to mother and grandmother me and my children. I give you thanks and praise.

And I look forward, God, for us to find a way to celebrate womanhood and femininity in a way that honors the complexity that is the human experience of being a female, and one who lives relationships. Teach us to pray a more complicated Mother’s Day prayer we pray.

Amen

Seeds Liturgy Resource: Narrative Lectionary Acts 10 for May 5th

Acts 10:1-17, 34-48

This pericope invites thinking about who is “in” and who is “out” and who decides.

New Yorker cartoon about hate as a family value/holding hate in common

https://www.facebook.com/NewYorkerCartoons/photos/a.237223479636271/2799594813399112/?type=3&eid=ARAq6I6Srdh5YCGnfg_gPAL4b7KV1PbvWonzJ1ouNHcTaTK4dff6ic9y6MrX-o1gzwVVGNYhtUazKeDR&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARA1NPErUJEjZ5EmnJD6ozFmSm2jLbbFnOR4Wyse7ubonEuXhz9j1VO-N2DT7BThBAbXqtQUwnAjZYQ-RmmdJLN9dX7StuUFEniHyJF0988BCBrT3MNzY9u8m_59FEPWfZQG_z-z12KL58Iqlw6eEcrTvpVzRFdB-aZdxdeKwXcUDMO0_YNeFaAA3QcVwE-kN0d35zcV8jgv6GPy64XzhDZHMZiEOMF7_01kpXr30eGmg4ZUkFMF1o-Sy0DpsLx6rUwuqt1N8tAacL5aLMU2OD2tIKic8VYCzCxPAlvFnD9y4TvqjkI1MQZr5cbhqjPXzt4yz7YxC3tKUErEf-8IzBiTPVP3H3rxX1KvZg3KjQ5o&__tn__=EEHH-R

Fullsome exploration of hospitality, including references to Peter/Cornelius  in six lessons or sections with links to further resources https://www.baylor.edu/ifl/index.php?id=937688                                                                    

Direct links to some of those resources are below.

HYMN Come, Brother, Sit with Me                                                                                     Written music: https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/53388.pdf

Audio on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLE6LuqBKC0 

WORSHIP SERVICE – https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/53397.pdf

Discussion of a painting of the Last Supper with odd revelers and the changing of its title to “Feast in the House of Levi” when artist confronted by the  Inquisition about including strange characters in a painting of this holy, solemn occasion https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/53387.pdf

See also in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feast_in_the_House_of_Levi

This pericope lends itself to resources dealing with issues of inclusion and exclusion, a topic dealt with in the Belhar Confession of Faith. Link to the Confession as accepted in the PC(USA) Book of Confessions at https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/theologyandworship/pdfs/belhar.pdf

See original liturgical resources inspired by Belhar below.

Call to Worship

Developed from the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

Leader: We share one faith. We have one calling. We are of one soul and one mind.

People: We are one people. We have one God and Father.

Leader: We are filled with one Spirit. We are baptized with one baptism. 

People: We eat of one bread and drink of one cup.

Leader:  We are one people. We confess one name. 

People:  We are obedient to one Lord. We work for one cause. 

ALL: Thanks be to God!

Prayers of the People:

Developed from the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

All: We share one hope; together coming to know the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ 

[Prayers of thanksgiving and joy/petitions for love and hope] 

All: Together we know and bear one another’s burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ that we need one another and upbuild one another, admonishing and comforting one another; and that we suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness.

[Prayers for those in need]  

All: Together we are built up to the stature of Christ, to the new humanity. We pray together. Together we serve God in this world. Together fight against all which may threaten or hinder this unity. 

[Prayers for the Christian community to live up to its calling] 

Leader: In the name of Christ Jesus, who unites us in the prayer that he taught us….

[The Lord’s Prayer]

Confession of Sin #1

Developed from the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

 

Call to Confession: God calls the church to follow him, standing by those who suffer and are in need, so that justice may roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Let us confess the ways in which we do not follow God’s call. 

Prayer: 

One: O God, you bring justice to the oppressed and give bread to the hungry. 

All: Forgive us when we do not follow you. 

One: You free the prisoner and restore sight to the blind. 

All: Forgive us when we do not follow you. 

One: You support the downtrodden and protect the stranger. 

All: Forgive us when we do not follow you. 

One: You block evildoers and help orphans and widows. 

All: Forgive us when we do not follow you. 

One: You stand against injustice. You stand with the wronged. 

All: Forgive us when we do not follow you. 

One: You condemn those who seek their own interests, controlling and harming others. 

All: Forgive us when we do not follow you. 

One: You bring about justice and true peace among people. 

All: God, forgive us when we do not follow you. 

Grant us your grace. Embolden us that, as your people, we may stand where you stand. 

Assurance of Forgiveness 

One: God’s life-giving Word and Spirit enable us to live in a new obedience, opening new possibilities of life for society and the world. Thanks be to God for the Good News: 

All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven

Prayer of Confession #2

Developed from the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

Invitation: 

The gift and obligation of unity is given and commanded by God for the Christian church,  

yet the one worldwide community of believers is not visibly and consistently united. Let us confess our need for God’s grace.

Prayer of Confession: God, forgive us. Our communion is not always visible to the world. We allow threats to unity to enter the church, making it hard to see that we are your community. At times we act as though we do not need each other. We do not always love one another. Sometimes we do not know and bear one another’s burdens. At times we fail build each other up. We do not always give ourselves willingly and joyfully to one another.  Forgive and strengthen us so that we may live in the unity that you grant us.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

One: By Christ’s work, we are reconciled and united with God and with one another. Thanks be to God for the Good News:   All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.

Prayer of Confession #3

Developed from the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

Call to Confession: 

One: God has given the church the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ, but we fall short of God’s call to be salt of the earth and the light of the world. 

Prayer of Confession: 

All: God, our fears and prejudices run deep. Sometimes we can only see our own point of view. 

We stick with those who are like us, rarely venturing outside our comfort zones. We do not hear 

those crying for justice and true peace. We blame those who are suffering and in need instead of standing by them. We deny the power of your gospel to unite us with those who are different from us. 

Lord, give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Use us to open new possibilities of life for all of your people.

Assurance of Forgiveness

One: We are reconciled with God and with one another through Christ’s work. Thanks be to God 

for the Good News: All:  In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

Statements/Confessions of Faith

Confession of Faith #1 from article 1 and the beginning of Article 2 of the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

We believe in God–the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 

who gathers, protects and cares for the church. 

We believe the church is one worldwide communion of saints, 

called from the entire human family. 

We believe the church is the single community of believers, 

reconciled with God and with one another. 

We believe that through the working of God’s Spirit, 

unity is a binding force and also that we must seek this unity, 

which must become visible to the world. We believe that the sin of division, separation and hatred between people and groups has been conquered by Christ. 

We commit ourselves to protecting the unity of the church universal. 

We pledge to make this unity active in all of our words, thoughts and deeds.

Confession of Faith #2 

Developed from the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

It is through Christ’s reconciling work that we are the church united to God and to other believes.

As the church, we are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world.

   We are entrusted with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ.

As the church, we are witnesses by both word and deed.

    We proclaim the new heaven and the new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

As the church, we proclaim that God’s life-giving Word and Spirit has conquered sin and death.

     God conquers irreconcilation, hatred and bitterness.

As the church, God’s life-giving Word and Spirit enable us to live in a new obedience,

    God opens new possibilities of life for society and the world. 

We declared ourselves ready to venture out on the road of obedience and reconciliation,

     servants of God, who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people.

  

Confession of Faith #3/Litany

Developed from the Belhar Confession  Please include these words if using/adapting:

“By Barbara Hedges-Goettl. 

Permission given to use or adapt for use in faith communities”

The three parts of this litany may be used separately or in flexible combinations.

a.

One: We believe that unity is both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ.

Many: Through the work of God’s Spirit, unity is a binding force.

One: At the same time, unity must also be earnestly pursued and sought.

Many: We must be continually built up to attain this unity.

One: Our unity must become visible to the world.

Many: Separation and hatred between people and groups is sin, already conquered by Christ. 

One: Anything threatening our unity has no place in the church.

Many: We commit ourselves to resisting anything that threatens our unity.

One: The unity of the people of God is active and made manifest. 

All: Thanks be to God.

b. (Here it works well for the two groups to make the proclamations below to each other.)

Group One: The communion of saints called from the entire human family is united by God.

Group Two: As the people of God, we love one another.

Group One: We experience, practice, and pursue community with one another.

Group Two: We give ourselves willingly and joyfully to one another.

Group One: We are a benefit and blessing to one another. 

Group Two: We share one faith and have one calling.

Group One: We are one body, and are of one soul and mind.

Group Two: We have one God and Father. 

Group One: We are filled with one Spirit.

Group Two: We are baptized with one baptism.

Group One: We eat of one bread and drink of one cup.

Group Two: We confess one name and are obedient to one Lord.

Group One: We work for one cause and share one hope.

All: Thanks be to God.

c.

All: Together we confess that God unites us in faith.

Together we come to know the height, and the breadth, and the depth of the love of Christ.

Together we are built up to the full stature of Christ.

Together we know and bear one another’s burdens.

We admonish one another. We comfort one another. We suffer with one another.

We need one another and we build up one another.

Together we pray. Together we serve God in this world.

Together we fight against all which may threaten or hinder this unity.

Thanks be to God for drawing and keeping us together. 

Eucharistic Resources from The Confession of Belhar                                                                           by Catherine J. Purves

Invitation to the Lord’s Table (See Luke 13: 29) 

Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God! They will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God.                                                  All will be together there at the table; all will be reconciled.                                                       God’s justice will be established, and we will be at peace in Christ. 

This is the Lord’s table.                                                                                                                        Our Savior invites all those who trust in him to share the feast which he has prepared. 

Invitation to the Lord’s Table (See Ephesians 4: 4-5) 

This is the table of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here the community of faith gathers.                           United in baptism, we eat of one bread and drink of one cup, we confess one name,                    are obedient to one Lord, and share one hope. Come to the table where our unity in Christ becomes visible, and where the triune God gathers, protects, and cares for the church. 

Great Thanksgiving 

The Lord be with you. And also with you.                                                                                       Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.                                                                              Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.                                    We praise you O Living God, by whose purpose and will all things came into being.                            In a gracious act of love you formed a people, gathering, protecting and caring for them through Word and Spirit. You called us to be the light of the world, a reflection                                      of your glory and compassion, your justice and your love. When we allowed prejudice, fear, selfishness, and unbelief to lead us from the path of obedient faithfulness, again and again you sent prophets who called for justice and reconciliation. When our need was greatest, you did not abandon us, but sent us your Son,  our Lord and Savior, so that we might be reconciled with you and with one another, one church, united in worship with all the faithful of every time and place singing forever to the glory of your name: 

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.                          Hosanna in the highest. 

We praise you, O God, for your grace embodied in Jesus Christ. In him,                                    humanity has been restored and we are a new community. In him,                                                 the powers of separation and division and hatred have been defeated. In him,                                            the reign of righteousness and truth, freedom and justice has drawn near.                                 

Through his life and ministry, his death and resurrection, his ascension and his lordship, we are now certain of our hope and live in anticipation of his kingdom of peace and justice. Remembering all that you have done for us, and knowing that you are still at work in the world, we take this bread and we share this cup, giving thanks                                       for our redemption and reconciliation now complete in Jesus Christ.                                                And we offer up our lives as a proclamation of his lordship, celebrating his promises                            of unity, reconciliation, justice and peace. Praise to you, Lord Jesus: 

Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life.                                                        Lord Jesus, come in glory. Come, Holy Spirit. 

Let these gifts of bread and wine be for us the body and blood of Christ.                                         In this sharing may we be united with him and with one another.                                         Reconciled, forgiven, united, and fed, send us out to live in obedience and sacrifice,                       until that day when all will gather at your table in glory, proclaiming: Jesus is Lord! Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, in the holy church, all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen. 

Prayer After Communion 

Holy and just God, at this our Lord’s table we have known the power of your promises and the mystery of his presence. We have seen that we are one in him, reconciled with our sisters and brothers, united in praise and in service. Being fed and fortified, lead us now into the world to proclaim your justice and to work for your peace, that all would come to see and know that Jesus is Lord and Savior.                                                  To him be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

Hymns Related to the Themes of the Belhar Confession

Taken from The Presbyterian Hymnal, Glory to God

Unity 

   “In Christ There Is No East or West”  # 317, # 318

   “The Church’s One Foundation”   # 321

   “What Does the Lord Require of You?”   # 70

   “We Are One in the Spirit”   # 300

   “We Are One in Christ Jesus”   # 322  (Latin American tune) *

   “Help Us Accept Each Other”   # 754

   “Come!  Live in the Light!”   # 749  (Micah 6: 8)

   “Called as Partners in Christ’s Service”   # 761

   “Faith Begins by Letting Go”   # 684  (familiar tune)

   “Let Us Build a House:  All Are Welcome”   # 301 *

   “O Christ, the Great Foundation”   # 361

   “O for a World”   # 372

   “O God, We Bear the Imprint”   # 759

   “We Gather Here in Jesus’ Name”   # 501  (Communion) *

   “We Shall Overcome”   # 379

Reconciliation

   “Come Now, O Prince of Peace”   # 103  (Korean)

   “Dream On, Dream On”   # 383  (Korean – difficult tune, good words)

   “Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive”   # 444 *

   “I Come with Joy”   # 515  (Communion)

   “O Day of Peace”   # 373  (tune:  Jerusalem)

   “When God Restored Our Common Life”   # 74  (not completely sure about this one)   

Justice 

   “For the Healing of the Nations”   # 346

   “Lord, You Give the Great Commission”   # 298

   “My Song Forever Shall Record”   # 67  (Psalm 89, familiar tune)

   “My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout:  Canticle of the Turning”   # 100  

              (Magnificat, Irish Ballad tune)

   “My Soul Gives Glory to My God”   # 99  (Magnificat)

   “Show Us, O Lord, Your Steadfast Love”   # 449  (Psalm 85)

   “Sing Praise to God, Whose Mighty Acts”   # 356  (Psalm 9)

   “The Days Are Surely Coming”   # 357

   “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”   # 435

The above liturgical resources related to the Belhar, plus others from the PC(USA), may be found at http://oga.pcusa.org/section/mid-council-ministries/constitutional-services/belhar/

Other Belhar resources may be found at https://www.rca.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=4059

Exegetical resources 

https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2421

This story is more about the conversion of Peter than about that of Cornelius

https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3219                                         Gives historic background regarding Cornelius as a centurion, and then addresses possible themes of where the spirit is leading us today and how to have genuine dialogue across differences. 

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom36.pdf Calvin’s Commentary on Acts

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/robertson_at/wp_acts.xi.html#xi-p0.1 Detailed analysis of the Greek (1930)

https://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/easter-6b-2/?type=old_testament_lectionary Acts challenges the assumptions of the early Christians regarding who the gospel is for, shocking those who are already in the church 

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1294                           Examines the story in the context of the larger narrative of Acts and Peter’s ministry overall. 

http://www.rickmorley.com/archives/1585                                                                                                                                    Christians of Jewish descent are “astounded” that the Holy Spirit of God is being given to “even” the Gentiles.

https://politicaltheology.com/the-politics-of-acts-1044-48/                                                        In usual circumstances Peter, as a Jew, would never have gone into Cornelius’ home.

https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/53391.pdf

The practice of welcoming travelers was a tactic to neutralize potential threats; 

here hospitality changes how Jewish Christians see Gentile converts.

How is Christian community blocked today?

Seeds of Prayer: Liturgy Resource 4/28 Narrative Lectionary

image.png

 

 

www.gbcdecatur.org/files/GoTime.jpg

 

Prayer Pups

image.png

Source

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Go

For more bulletin-type art, go to https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=iba&hsimp=yhs-1&type=c2pr_8002_CHW_US_tid132w&p=great%20commission%20clipart

Original liturgical resources (please state © Barbara Hedges-Goettl or, if adapting: adapted from resource © Barbara Hedges-Goettl)

Call to Worship (from Psalm 40 Good News version)

One: In the assembly of all your people, Lord,

Many: We tell the good news that you save us.

            You know that we will never stop telling it.

One: We have not kept the news of salvation to ourselves.

Many: We have always spoken of your faithfulness and help

             We have not been silent about your loyalty and constant love

One: In the assembly of all your people., Lord. 

Psalm 4 in multiple versions (you can pick which versions you want to see)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm40&version=NRSV;GNT;TLB;NIV;MSG

Opening prayer 

Almighty and eternal God,                                                                                                                            you have called us together in this time and place.                                                                                     Call us again to disciple all peoples, baptizing them in your Triune name:

Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

Call us again to teach all [peoples/communities/neighbors/neighborhoods/tribes/races/multitudes*] 

to follow everything that Jesus has commanded us.   

Call us again to follow Jesus, who holds all authority in heaven and earth.

In the name of the One who is always with us we pray, Amen.

*These choices are from possible translations of ethnos, Matthew 28:19;

 see exegetical resources below.

Prayer of Confession 

O God, although you call us to witness to all peoples,

we interact mostly with those who are like us.

Broaden our understanding of who our neighbor is.

Enlarge our community. Empower us to see and hear the “Other.”

Make us ready to teach and also humble—ready to be taught.

Remind us that all authority is not ours, but yours.  

In the name of Jesus, who served all peoples, Amen.

Assurance (adapted from Zephaniah 3:17)

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who saves; 

he rejoices over you with gladness; he quiets you by his love; 

he exults over you with loud singing.

Thanks be to God for the Good News: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

Confession of Faith:

We have varieties of gifts, 1 Cor. 12/Matthew 28

but it is the same Spirit who gives them.

We have different ways of serving God,

but it is the same Lord who is served.

God works through each of us in a unique way,

but it is God’s purpose that is accomplished.

To each of us is given a gift of the Spirit

to be used for the common good.

The body is one and has many members.

All the members, though many, are one body

So it is with Christ. In the one Spirit,

we are all baptized into one body.

As Christ’s body, we are commissioned

to go and disciple all nations,

teaching what Jesus taught,

and knowing he is with us always, to the end of the age.

Interrogative Apostles’ Creed (Roman Catholic International Commission on English in the Liturgy, 1974)

Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?  “I do.”

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? “I do.”

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? “I do.”

This is our faith, the faith of the Church that we proclaim and share. 

Offering prayer

By the presence of the risen Christ Jesus, empower this church and these gifts in discipleship to share and follow all that Jesus taught and did. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.  

Prayer of Great Thanksgiving B

© 1993 Westminster/John Knox Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without special permission,

except as noted.

Brief portions of this Book of Common Worship may be reproduced without special permission

for one-time use only, for worship and educational purposes, in an order of service

for use by a congregation, or in a special program or lesson resource, provided that no part

of such reproduction is sold, directly or indirectly, and that the following acknowledgment

is included: Reprinted by permission from Book of Common Worship, © 1993

Westminster/John Knox Press.

You are holy, O God of majesty,

and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.

You sent your only-begotten,

in whom your fullness dwells,

to be for us the way, the truth, and the life.

Revealing your love,

Jesus taught those who would hear him,

healed those who believed in him,

received all who sought him

and lifted the burden of their sin.

We glorify you for your great power and love at work in Christ.

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection,

you gave birth to your church,

delivered us from slavery to sin and death,

and made us a new people by water and the Spirit

Gracious God,

pour out your Holy Spirit upon us

and upon these your gifts of bread and wine,

that the bread we break

and the cup we bless

may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ.

By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ

and with all who are baptized in his name,

that we may be one in ministry in every place.

As this bread is Christ’s body for us,

send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.

Intercessions for the church and the world may be included here.

Help us, O God, to love as Christ loved.

Knowing our own weakness,

may we stand with all who stumble.

Sharing in his suffering,

may we remember all who suffer.

Held in his love,

may we embrace all whom the world denies.

Rejoicing in his forgiveness,

may we forgive all who sin against us.

Give us strength to serve you faithfully

until the promised day of resurrection,

when with the redeemed of all the ages

we will feast with you at your table in glory.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all glory and honor are yours, eternal God,

now and forever. Amen. [115]

Exegetical resources:

Matthew 28:16 This commentary contends that all the disciples both worshiped and doubted: http://dancingwiththeword.com/but-some-doubted/

BlueLetterBible interlinear word study; ones I found of interest are 

v. 18: power  https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1849&t=KJV

v. 19: teach; nations;

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/28/18/t_conc_957019 Click on Strong’s number for info on a particular word

v. 20: observe; commanded  https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/28/18/t_conc_957020 Click on Strong’s number for info on a particular word

What is the Great Commission and Why Is It So Controversial?

http://theconversation.com/what-is-the-great-commission-and-why-is-it-so-controversial-111138

Along these lines, see this book, which is all about the Great Commission and colonialism; as summarized here:

That Christian missionary efforts have long gone hand-in-hand with European colonization and American imperialist expansion in the 19th and 20th centuries is well recognized. The linchpin role played in those efforts by the “Great Commission”–the risen Christ’s command to “go into all the world” and “teach all nations”–has more often been observed than analyzed, however. With the rise of European colonialism, the Great Commission was suddenly taken up with an eschatological urgency, often explicit in the founding statements of missionary societies; the differentiation of “teachers” and “nations” waiting to be “taught” proved a ready-made sacred sanction for the racialized and androcentric logics of conquest and “civilization.”

https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-All-Nations-Interrogating-Commission/dp/1451470495  

Preview at https://books.google.com/books?id=XbyZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT2&lpg=PT2&dq=review+book+%22Teaching+all+nations%22&source=bl&ots=TWw-iD006A&sig=ACfU3U1vNE6hsTtJrxcog_APR9MHu5YAxQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiCh5ux3qjhAhUvnuAKHYYLDbIQ6AEwEXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=review%20book%20%22Teaching%20all%20nations%22&f=false

Link from google.com/books to full Ebook for $37.72 

A good foil for this could be various readings of the Ethiopian Eunuch story in which it is observed that the Eunuch’s questions revealed new things to Philip as well as vice-versa, and that their roles cannot be described unilaterally in terms of power/status, but only in terms of intersectionality. See https://wordpress.com/post/bjhlog.wordpress.com/168

Account of the guards blaming Jesus’ disappearance on the disciples (right before our passage) v. our passage as parallel narratives: https://www.onemansweb.org/theology/life-on-the-beach-matthew-24-36-44/trust-matthew-28-16-20-trinity-sunday.html.

Make disciples/discipling as the active verb in the passage; others are participles explaining/describing the making of disciples. See http://gluthermonson.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-great-calling-and-assurance.html

Wikipedia: The Great Commission. This description deals mostly with Matthew 28, but also discusses the other gospels (and Acts) versions of the Great Commission as well as other commissions given in Matthew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Commission

The Great Commission: Ecclesiology

 http://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/journal-issues/32.3_Castleman.pdf

This last addresses the role of the Trinity; this reading in the RCL is used on Trinity Sunday. For why, see http://www.textweek.com/mtlk/matt28b.htm

Commissioning v. Commandment; deals with passage from perspective of United Methodist mission statement: – “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” https://www.pulpitfiction.com/notes/trinitya 

Other ideas for themes/quotes

Preach the Gospel—Use Words When Necessary (attributed to St. Francis, but not substantiated)

Commission and Covenant: Go and I am with you always

Discipling v. Making Disciples (Calvinists, like me, would say the first is our job, the second is God’s job)

Music

Matthew 28:16-20
The great commissioning 

http://lectionarysong.blogspot.com/2017/05/songs-hymns-music-for-trinity-sunday-11.html

“Go to the World,” is a new expression of the Great Commission set to a familiar Ralph Vaughn Williams tune (SINE NOMINE) often used in “For All the Saints.” Consider using this for the sending today. See https://hymnary.org/text/go_to_the_world_go_into_all_the_earth#media

Verses Title Presby-terian Hymnal (1990)
v.16-17 That Easter Day with Joy Was Bright

121
v. 18 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!

144
Rejoice, the Lord Is King!

155
v.19-20 Eternal God, Whose Power Upholds

412
The Church of God in Every Age

421
God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending

422
Lord, Speak to Me, That I May Speak

426
Lord, You Give the Great Commission

429
Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples

434
We All Are One in Mission

435
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

466
Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ

514
v.20 Abide with Me

543
Command
How Blest  Are Those (Psalm 32) 184 v.4

Good Friday Full Worship Liturgy, Matthew

Call to Worship  

L  The Lord be with you.

P  And also with you

                                

1. PRAYER                                          MATTHEW 26:36

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread.

Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

2. HE NAIL OF STUMBLING                               MATTHEW 26:37-40

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 

(Silent Meditation & Extinguishing of Candles)

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, And with fear and trembling stand

Ponder nothing earthly minded, For with blessing in His hand,

Christ our God to earth descended, Our full homage to demand

3. THE NAIL OF BETRAYAL                                       MATTHEW 26:48-50

Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.”  At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.  Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.”  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

4.. THE NAIL OF CRUELTY                                 MATTHEW 27:27-31, 39-42

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him.  They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head.  They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.  After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

(Silent Meditation & Extinguishing of Candles)

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, And with fear and trembling stand

Ponder nothing earthly minded, For with blessing in His hand,

Christ our God to earth descended, Our full homage to demand

5. RESPONSIVE READING: THE PROMISE OF MERCY      Psalm 22:1-5a

We know what it is like to cry out, as the psalmist did 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

   Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;

   and by night, but find no rest.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved.

6.   THE NAIL OF HATRED                                        Matthew 27: 41-44 

In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, “I am God’s Son.” ’The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord

7. RESPONSE: ACT OF CONFESSION                                          

     You are invited to nail your sins to the cross

(Silent Meditation & Extinguishing of Candles)

King of kings, yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords in human vesture, In the body and the blood. He will give to all the faithful, His own self for heavenly food. 

8. COMMUNION

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give our thanks and praise…Jesus our teacher, our brother, our friend knowing he was going to be betrayed and die, he took the bread and broke it and said, this is my body broken for you Then Jesus took the cup and said: “I am poured out like water, and my bones are out of joint” And even though Jesus knew that he would feel alone, he knew he would call out “My God, my God, Elohim, Elohim why have you forsaken me?” He poured himself out, sacrificing his very self for our sins. Every time we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the death of Jesus until he comes again.

9.  DARK MATTHEW 27:48-51

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land* until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.* At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. 

(Silent Meditation & Extinguishing of Candles)

Seeds of #prayer: Liturgy for #Easter Abundant Discipleship

Matthew 28:1-10 and Psalm 118: 19-24

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Call to Worship

Jesus, Lord, you have become our salvation.

I shall not die, but I shall live.

I was pushed so hard, that I was falling, the Lord helps me.

The Lord is my strength and my might, he has become my salvation.

 

Call to Worship

Let us proclaim the good news

He is risen

He is risen Indeed.

Come let us celebrate  the resurrection.

Call to Worship

It is a new day, the first day

Come let us see the new creation God has wrought.

See the stone has been rolled away.

Surely, Jesus is here! Come let us worship him. 

 

Prayer of Confession: Lord we confess that we are not always an Easter people. Too often we dwell with our sins, too afraid to confess them, and too stubborn to change our ways. Remind us that you make all things new. Roll the stone in our hearts away, create an earthquake in our souls, so that we too may experience the grace of Jesus Christ we pray.

Prayer of Confession: Lord, we confess that even when the stone has been rolled away and the good news has been proclaimed, we are sometimes afraid to see your glory. We feel inadequate or unprepared. Remind us of God’s favor and grace, and open our eyes so we may see the visions of God’s love.

Assurance of Pardon: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. In these words we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Communion Prayer: Risen Lord, we know that you are an embodied God, promising to be particularly present in the holy bread and cup. Send your promised encourager and advocate here. Bless this bread and bless this cup so we can be filled with your life and light. Renew us with the power of your resurrection we pray. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication: Christ alive, be present with us here today, from this moment on. Walk with us into the world, guide our hearts and minds and steps so that we can bring Easter to all the world we pray. Amen.

Hymns

Amazing Grace

What Wondrous Love is This

Christ is Alive!

Jesus Christ is Risen Today!

The Day of Resurrection!

Thine is the glory!

Full List of Lenten Resources (Of course some prayers may be appropriate for other weeks)