prayer – Page 28 – katyandtheword

When in Doubt: #GoodFriday, Tenebrae Nail #liturgy based on the book of John

Good Friday
New Covenant Presbyterian Church Won’t You Be Our Neighbor?
INTRODUCTION TO THE SERVICE
The service tonight is known as the “Service of The Nails”. It is a series of readings, responses, and silent reflection and prayer designed to help us enter more deeply into the meaning of Good Friday. Everyone is requested to take a nail to keep it with them for use during the service. For the service, you are asked to remain seated

Call to Worship
L The Lord be with you.
P And also with you

THE NAIL OF BROKENNESS*
“We are a resurrection people” we like to say
And we say it often
“But resurrection doesn’t erase or replace the real life that happens before, during and after, the real life that we all know.
The places where we are broken.
Where we are grieving
where we are sad
where we are angry
where we are hurting
where we are anxious
Where we are lonely
where we are human—fully
And we each carry around the expreicnes of trauma, and loss and hurt, that are a real part of our life.
Those experiences live within us, and they exist before, during and after resurrction. Yes, we are a resurrection people
But we are also human—fully.
and that means that we know death, just as surely as we know life.
Death is real, it is excruciating, and painful, and it is a part of life.
But God is not afraid of death. God is big enough hold us in our hurt, in our brokenness, in those places of death where we cannot hold ourselves. When we find ourselves in those places, when we cannot imagine ever feeling joy again, may we remember, that although God will not erase the pain. God will hold us, God will stand with us.

John 18:2-5
Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ 5They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’* Jesus replied, ‘I am he.’

Sung Response: Extinguishing the Light
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
O Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? (silence)

Prayer*
O God, will your stars never shine again?
Will they never again sing their songs to my soul?

THE NAIL OF HATRED
JOHN 19:1-6a Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face. 4Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.’ 5So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ 6When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’

Sung Response: Extinguishing the Light
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?
O Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross? (silence)

Prayer*
O God, will your stars never shine again?
Will they never again sing their songs to my soul?

THE RESPONSE
ACT OF CONFESSION
You are invited to have your sins nailed to the cross

Meditation and Prayer
Prayer*
O God, will your stars never shine again?
Will they never again sing their songs to my soul?

THE NAIL OF STUMBLING JOHN 18:15-17, 25-27
15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17The woman said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ 18Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, ‘You are not also one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’ 26One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

Sung Response Extinguishing the Light
Were you there when left him on the cross?
Were you there when they left him on the cross?
O, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;
Were you there when they left him on the cross? (silence)

Prayer*
O God, will your stars never shine again?
Will they never again sing their songs to my soul?

THE NAIL OF DEATH JOHN 18:28-30
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ 29A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Sung Response Extinguishing the Light
Were you there when the sun refused shine?
Were you there when the sun refused shine?
O, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;
Were you there when the sun refused to shine? (silence)

Prayer *
O God, will your stars never shine again?
Will they never again sing their songs to my soul?

RESPONSIVE READING: THE PROMISE OF MERCY*
O God of my heart, peel back the night and let the straight pour out upon my upturned face, Let my eyes drink a day of stars. Let my heart bathe in the stunning light, until my soul sings again with the conviction of the faithful. In your mercy and justice, O God of my heart call me by name, and the stars will shine once more, as they did on that morning when they first began to sing.

Communion
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Lift up your hearts
We life them up to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give our thanks and praise….(Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer)
Jesus came into the world, not to judge it, but to save it.
We are so grateful for God’s infinite love, and we celebrate with all of creation, the saving work, of our Suffering Saviour. On the night before he was nailed to the merciless cross,
Jesus shared His last meal with His friends. He took the bread, He broke it, and He gave thanks, and then He passed it among them saying,
This is my body which is broken for you. Eat it and remember Me.
He took the wine, and He gave thanks, and then He passed it among them saying,
This is my blood which is shed for you. Drink it and remember Me.
And so, we take, we eat and drink, and we remember:
There is no greater love, than this sacrifice which You, Jesus, made for us
God is with us, even when we fear
Come, let us taste and see the Lord

Sung Response: Extinguishing the Light
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
O Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? (silence)

*These Prayers are from Dying Liturgy of NextChurch national gathering 2018

Prayers and Liturgy by Pastor Katy Stenta who is the solo pastor at a bigger on the inside church in Albany, NY and enjoys reading fantasy, soaking up sunshine, playing with her three sons and visiting her husband at his work, the library.

When in Doubt: #PalmSunday #PassionSunday

John 19:16b-22 Opt: John 12:12- 27 and Psalm 24

Call to Worship: Hosanna, Save us! All Creatures up Our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us Sing. Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest, blessed is the one who come sin the name of the Lord. Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness, Let us all cry Hosanna together.

Prayer of Confession: Lord we confess that sometimes it is hard to see you as the crucified God, we decorate ourselves and our spaces with crosses, but forget the full meaning of the cross as a symbol of your love. Teach us Lord Jesus. Teach us how to honor your life and your death and resurrection, and teach us the fullness of your restorative work we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: Know this, God loves us and forgives, us go out into the world proclaiming the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of Dedication/Offering Prayer Lord, help us to remember your glory, by serving others as Christ has served us. Willing to do what is needful for justice in the world. Give us the strength to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with Jesus on his path we pray. Amen

#Walkout #Prayer #Neveragain (The this is not enough prayer!)

Walkout Prayer

We come for sanctuary Knowing the world is not safe, so we do not trust in the power of mortals or princes but in the Lord, who executes justice–the one who feeds the hungry, and frees the captives.
Breath departs & plans perish, but our God is the God who promises peace, the God who says #neveragain, the God whose kingdom welcomes both the lion and the lamb.
We pray for that day to come.

And then we move, we ring bells, we sing out, we walkout, we post signs, we weep when 6 year olds play lock out, we listen as closely about the 17year old Trayvon Martin as we do to the 17 Parkland Students. We befriend one another, we call mental health when a friend feels violent, we take time to listen to those who are bullied, we report domestic abuse, we give homes to the homeless. We do the hard work of worrying about each other’s safety. And then we work to MAKE the places where we assemble safe. The movie theaters, the churches, the colleges, the kindergartens the high schools, the middle schools, the elementary schools, the daycares, the malls, the homes, the libraries, the public spaces.

And we make our prayer with the work of our hands, each and every day.

May we all pray this prayer together

#nationalschoolwalkout

Amen

When in Doubt: Prayer Resource #MaundyThursday, #Communion #Liturgy, #LastSupper

John 19:23-30 and Psalm 26:3

Note: The Narrative Lectionary takes up this account of the cross, rather than Footwashing, for Maundy Thursday. Therefore, I have taken these images to describe the Supper in the litany that follows.

John 19:23-30 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

²³When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

“They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”

²⁵And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And because of* that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. ³⁰When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

* Most translations render the phrase, ap’ ekeinës tes öras, as “from that hour” or “after that hour,” but, besides the temporal meaning, the phrase can also mean “because of that hour.” Sophia Park, The Galilean Jesus: Creating A Borderland at the Foot of the Cross (Jn 19:23-30), Theological Studies 70 (2009).

Litany to be used after the Scripture reading/sermon on John

ALL: FROM THAT MOMENT ON, BECAUSE OF THAT HOUR,*

One: one piece of Christ’s body is given,

MANY: and Christ’s whole body is given.