prayer – Page 26 – katyandtheword

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 of Prayer: Liturgy Resource 4/28 Narrative Lectionary

www.gbcdecatur.org/files/GoTime.jpg

Prayer Pups

Source

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

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

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

Seeds of #prayer: Liturgy for #Easter Abundant Discipleship

Matthew 28:1-10 and Psalm 118: 19-24

Image

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)

#Abundance of Presence: Seeds of Prayer #Lent Narrative Lectionary

Last Supper: Abundance of Presence

Matthew 26: 17-30 and Psalm 116: 12-15

Call to Worship

I love the Lord my God, who has heard my voice and supplications

Because God has inclined an ear to me, I will call out for God as long as I live.

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous, our God is merciful

Come, let us walk before the Lord.

Call to Worship

Come let us break bread together today

Come Let us drink the fruit of the vine together, on our knees.

Let us do this remembrance of Christ

Come, let us proclaim his death until he comes again.

Confession: Lord I confess sometimes I am Judas ready to betray, sometimes I’m Peter quick to deny what I’m going to do, sometimes I’m the disciples oblivious to the truth though I’ve been told over and over again. Forgive me, help my faith, save me Jesus I pray.

Confession: Lord I confess I feel the snares of death, O Lord, I pray, save my life. Help me, your servant, loose my bounds to sin I pray. Free me to love you.

Confession: Lord I confess that I have forgotten that you are present. I have forgotten the miracle of your bread and your cup. Forgive me and breathe life back into me I pray.

Assurance of Pardon: (Psalm 116: 8-9) Know this: Your soul has been delivered from death, and now you walk in the land of the living, In Jesus Christ you are forgiven.

Assurance of Pardon: The Lord has dealt bountifully with you, returning your soul to your rest, so know that you are deeply and fully forgiven in Christ.

Prayer of Dedication/Prayer of the Day: Lord, you poured out your blood for the forgiveness of sins, you have already sealed the new covenant with us. Hold that in our hearts so that we can dedicate all that we do to you.

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

#Lent Seeds of #Prayer: #Liturgy Resource Abundance of Justice April 7th

Last Judgement: Abundance of Justice

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Sacred Quilt Exhibit:“Let Justice Roll Down Like Water” Kit Tossmann; Louisville, KY

Matthew 25:31-46

Psalm 98:7-9

Amos 5: 21-24

Call to the Worship:

Make a joyful to the Lord, all the earth.

Break forth into joyous son and sing praises.

Sing with the lyre and the sound of the melody

Let us make a joyful noise before the Kind, the Lord.

Call to Worship: Can you hear the good news? It’s contained within the roar of the ocean, its contained within the songs of the hills, it fills the earth and and those who live in it.

Now is the time to share the good news of Jesus Christ, passing it out as bread for the hungry, now is the time to show the love of God sharing it as free medicine for the sick. Now is the time to show the warmth of the Holy Spirit, wrapping the naked up with sturdy clothing. Now is the time to be the people of Matthew 25.

Prayer of Confession: Lord, how can we not feed the hungry, or visit the sick or clothe the naked. And yet, there are those who go without, and we fail to help them. Lord Jesus, help us to examine why we fail to live up to your standards of caring for each other and you. Help us to confess where the gaps are, and then help us to build the bridge of kindom care that is needed, we pray.

Prayer of Confession: God almighty, we do not treat our neighbors as we wish to be treat. Instead we differentiate between us and them, we look for reasons behind these differences, and we conclude that the others must be lacking. Forgive us, we pray, correct our mouths and our arms and our legs so that what we do and say represents your love. We pray this in your son’s most holy name.

Prayer of Confession: Lord we forget that every time we help someone, it is as if the waves clap their hands in praise of you. We ignore those in need, forgetting to make a joyful noise, forgetting to tell the good news of your open table, setting a feast before all those in need. Teach us to see your face, in whomever we encounter, we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: God has made known, already, God’s victory of salvation, with steadfast love and faithfulness, so know you are forgiven and be at peace.

Hymns:

Joy to the world

They Will Know We are Christians By Our Love

The Lord’s Prayer Hymn

Live Into Hope

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

#Seeds: #Prayer and #Liturgy #Lent Abundance of Preparation March 31

Screen Shot 2019-02-26 at 3.24.17 PM

Matthew 25:1-13 and/or Matt 25:14-30, and Psalm 43:3-4

Suggested Resource: Nicene Creed

Call to Worship

Lord, you teach us how to prepare,

Every valley shall be exalted

You remind us to gather the supplies we need light the fires & to risk and spend money for the kingdom

And every mountain and hill made low

You remind us to clothe the naked and care for the sick

And the crooked shall be made straight

You remind us to feed the hungry and give the thirst something to drink.

And the rough places plain,

Help us to make a preparation for you today we pray.

Call to Worship

Lord you tell us to prepare for you

Help us to plant the seeds, to do the work

We would rather be safe, but you teach us to trust and grow

Let us praise the Creator, the Gardener, the Tender of all Good today.

Call to Worship:

God you are my help and my hope.

Light us with your light.

Your truth shines on.

I shall again praise my creator today.

Confession: God, are wicks are not lit, we have no spare oil, sometimes we are not able to do the tasks you set before us. Send the Holy Spirit to us, so our fire will not go out we pray.

Confession: Lord, we confess we suck at waiting, its hard work, and it speaks to a maturity that we don’t often have. Teach us how to wait, lord give us patience, we pray.

Confession: Gardening God, sometimes we are afraid to invest, so we don’t plant the seeds that need to be planted. God of Growth Sometimes we don’t want risk, so we bury money instead of planting seeds; we don’t give the time, money or effort needed. Generous God, sometimes we just throw the extra your way, forgetting to make a real commitment Help to do the work and to make the right commitments in the right way we pray. (Silent Prayer)…Amen

Prayer of Dedication/Prayer of the Day: Lord, we are asking for your light and truth today. Send it out, we pray. Let it lead us to your holy hill, bring us to your dwelling place, loving God.

Prayer of Dedication/Prayer of the Day: God of God, Light of Light, Very God from Very God, encourage use to seek your light and truth, and help us to prepare for you we pray. Amen

Prayer of Dedication: God of God, Light of Light, Very God from Very God, help us to prepare for you by investing in your work, and help whatever seeds we plant, whatever money we invest, whatever faith we practice, to grow and flourish we pray in your most Holy Name. Amen.

Full List of Lent Abundance Resources some prayers may work for more than one text this season

Hymns

We Give Thee But Thine Own

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord, almost any version/hymn 😉

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuUl522_8jQ

#Abundance of Invitation Seeds: #Lent #Liturgy & #Prayer Resource March 24

Scripture

Matthew 22:1-14 and Psalm 45:6-7 (or all of it, or Psalm 45:6-17)

Also Isaiah 61, particularly v. 10

Call to Worship:

Know this, God has anointed you, baptized you in the Holy Spirit.

We are called to love righteousness, and hate wickedness with God.

Let us cause God’s name to be celebrated for generations

Let the peoples praise God, our mother and father, forever and ever.

Call to Worship

God, you call us, the good and the bad forever

Clothe us in your love, so we might be worthy of your banquet

Let us remember to invite one another to partake in the feast

Come, let us accept our invitation to spend time with God together.

Call to Worship:

The Lord says: I love justice

My whole being shall exult my God,

God promised to make a covenant with us, and the covenant will be fulfilled.

God has clothed me, like a mother clothes her children, in the garments of salvation, protecting us from the elements, dressing us in love.

Remember that what is sown in the garden will spring up. The promise of resurrection comes with the winter of Lent.

God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations, come let us plant the seeds of praise today.

Confession: Lord, we confess that sometimes we come into your presence, thinking we are dressed in love, but then realize that we are wearing judgement or shame instead. It is so easy to forget the worst of ourselves or other. It is so easy to disclude people from your invitation. We can feel unworthy, or be convinced of others’ unworthiness. Forgive our prejudice, and teach us to extend the invitation again and again, we pray.

Confession: Lord, sometimes I love wickedness. Sometimes I like to gossip about or ignore those who are need . Sometimes I spend all my day complaining and forget to practice gratitude for the invitations you put forth. Forgive me, and teach me to pray and confess in such a way that my words are a love song, and my tongue becomes like the pen of a writer. Teach me I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Confession: Lord, we confess here together, because we are each and every one of us invited to your party. Though we are each uniquely made, and though our circumstances are different, you call us each here to experience your love, hope and grace. We are invited here to confess our true selves, and to honor one another’s stories, help us when we forget to do justice in either the confession or the honoring, we pray.

Prayer of Dedication/of the Day: Lord we enter back into the world where people look and sound different from us. We enter a world where we are afraid to invite people, for whatever reason, to join us in your banquet. Encourage us to go into the world and to make that invitation we pray.

Prayer of Dedication/of the Day: Let us begin again to prepare for the feast together, with invitations and appropriate garments, with words of prayer and praise, we pray.

Prayer of Dedication/of the Day: Lord, remind me that I am here for you. You are the host of the feast, and you have anointed me as a beloved child of God. Please don’t let me forget that today or any day, I pray.

Hymns: I’ve Got Peace Like a River

God be the Glory

Christ is made the sure Foundation

Crown him with Many Crowns

Praise My Soul the King of Heaven

He is King of Kings

(Look in your Christ the King/Ascension hymns)

Food for Thought:

Those who think they should be invited to God will take that gift for granted.

2. We think we need to clothe ourselves in the appropriate garments, but really we have to depend on God for the right clothing.

3. Justice is God’s and is not in being productive (or too busy or too important) for God.

4. Human’s often think looking right is more important than acting right, how might that play in here?

More Thoughts https://wp.me/p2rhxZ-2iI

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

RCL bulletin for Dec. 16th

December 16th, 2018 Third Sunday of Advent 10:30 a.m.

Welcome and Announcements
Prelude
Lighting of the Advent Candle: We begin this third week of Advent with a sense of
liberating joy. Let us pause and breathe deeply as we hear these words spoken by Mary:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Call to Worship (from Isaiah 12)
One: Surely God is my salvation.
Many: With joy we will draw water from the wells of salvation.
And we will say in that day:
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in our midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Sing praises to the Lord,
make known God’s deeds in all the earth.

Opening Prayer
O God, Source of all that is true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, and gracious, unite us to you in joy. Fill our minds with good and praiseworthy things so that we will put into practice what we have learned and received, heard and seen in Christ Jesus. In his name, and by the power of the Spirit, we pray. Amen.
*Opening Hymn (blue hymnal) #145 Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

*Call to Confession: God calls us to fill our minds, hearts and lives with all that creates joy, but we are not always ready to go there. Let us confess our need for God’s forgiveness and grace.

*Confession of Sin (followed by silent confession)
God, in this busy season, we are discovering the ways in which we are not fully ready.
We are not ready to give up our shame.
We are not ready to abandon our fears.
We are not ready to rejoice.
We are not ready to turn to you instead of to worrying.
We are not ready to tell the truth. We are not ready to be just.
We are not ready to be real. We are not ready to be gracious.
We are not ready to show that we belong to you in all that we think, and say, and do.
Forgive us and change us. (Silent Confession)

* Assurance of Pardon (from Zephaniah 3, New International Version)
The Lord has taken away your punishment.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.
Thanks be to God for the Good News:
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

* Gloria Patri: Hymn 579 (blue hymnal) “Glory Be to the Father”

Passing of the Peace
The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.

Offering Hymn #13 (blue hymnal) Prepare the Way

* Doxology (Hymn 592, blue hymnal) “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

* Prayer of Dedication

Prayer for Illumination
Open our eyes, Lord we want to see Jesus
to reach out and touch him, and say that we love him.
Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen.
Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus.

First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-9

Message: Getting Ready for Christ to Come
Affirmation of Faith (from the PC-USA Brief Confession of Faith)
In life and in death we belong to God.  Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,  and the communion of the Holy Spirit,  we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,  whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God.  Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:  preaching good news to the poor  and release to the captives,  teaching by word and deed  and blessing the children, healing the sick  and binding up the brokenhearted,  eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners,  and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.

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.
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.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life.  The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,  sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,  and binds us together with all believers  in the one body of Christ, the Church.
In a broken and fearful world  the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing,  to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,  to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,  to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,  and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.  In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks  and to live holy and joyful lives,  even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,  praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
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
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

*Closing Hymn (blue hymnal) #2 Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

*Charge & Blessing

*Denotes please stand if able.

Advent Narrative Lectionary: Dec 9th Esther

Advent Candles Liturgy with Taize & O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Scripture

Call to Worship

Lord give us peace

Draw us to you God

Our hope is in the Lord

From this time on and forevermore

Light us with your love God

Come let us worship the king of Peace

What do we hope for?

We hope for peace at such a time as this.

Who is our God?

Our God is the God of Peace, let us worship his holy name

How do we know this is God’ time?

There is a time for everything

Even in such a time as this?

Whatever God does endures forever, Come let us watch for God together

Prayer of Confession: Dear God, we confess that we get so busy that we forget. We forget to look for God and we forget to take time to practice peace. Forgive God, we pray. Amean

God of Peace, we have to admit are not a people of peace. We are more into plucking up than planting. We see more times to tear than times to sew. We pray that you teach us more about the time for peace.

Lord God, some days we have nothing but bad timing. Whatever we do is wrong and whatever we say is wrong, and we can’t find the right timing. Help us, we pray. Help us when we are fumbling for the right time. Help us when we feel so full of wrong that peace seems impossible. Gift us with your presence and fill us with your love and peace we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: Our God will give us peace beyond understanding, thus in that promise we can know the truth. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of Dedication/Closing Prayer: Send us into your world as a people of Peace we pray. Amen

God, grant us enough hope that we can continue to pursue peace, we pray. Amen.

Food for Thought

Hymns

Advent Hymn to Silent Night: Good of Peace and Away in the Manger: God the Weaver

Sunday School Ideas: Draw times of Day, Create an Advent Calendar and talk about Time, Brainstorm acts of Peace

Seeds: Narrative Lectionary Liturgy 11/11

Scripture

Micah [1:3-5]; 5:2-5a; 6:6-8 and Matthew 9:13

Additional Scripture

Hebrews 12:14-15

Psalm 119

Psalm 85

Meditative Thought: Does infinity look like justice, mercy and kindness?

Call to worship:

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak

For he will speak peace to his people

Surely his salvation is at hand for all God’s people, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

Let us worship the God of Righteousness.

How shall we approach the Lord, with great sacrifice?

The Lord has told you what is good

What does the Lord require?

Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God

Prayer of Confession: Lord we admit that we have trouble with the words justice, mercy and kindness. We confess that it would be easier to just give over some goods or money than to do things. Guide us on the path of righteousness, show us justice, mercy and kindness so that we can do that same, we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness: Fear Not, God promises that Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss. So we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Eucharist Prayer: Lord we give thanks that you have given us many ways to experience your love. And when you sent your only son to die on the cross, we were able to witness your mercy. Whenever we taste your bread and cup we can experience your kindness and abundance. When we gather into communion with one another and you we can practice your justice. Creator of all good things, add your spirit to this meal, make it a meal of righteous and holiness, so that we might be nourished to continue your kingdom work today and everyday we pray.

Prayer of Dedication/Closing Prayer: God, you are love, you are mercy, you are justice. Send us into the world with hope for all these things. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen

Food for Thought

url

http://www.mydailycupofjoe.com/free-thought/wisdom-from-calvin-and-hobbes-look-up-to-the-stars/

When I worked at the psych hospital and asked the patients (for their spiritual assessment) if they had hope, some would say, no but I’m hoping for it–hoping for hope.

Hymns:

Live into Hope

I’ve Got Peace Like a River

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Amazing Grace

Sunday School Ideas: Footprints to follow & talk about walking humbly, trace shadows and talk about being made in God’s image, Take pictures of everyone and fill them in as the body of Christ to do God’s work