Sometimes I wonder if you want to just be friends, When I hear the rather cringy Jesus is my lover Christian rock songs filter over my neighbor’s fence, into my yard and I see the latest news of extremists rallying for or against things in your Holy name–I think of how you used to walk, with Noah in the garden, and just hang out.
I think about Jesus, and how much he loved to go to friend’s house a grab a meal, or wash their feet or chill under a tree. I think about how the relationships Jesus sought the most were friendships, and how Jesus cultivated those Like the gardener he was.
I think about the Holy Spirit, How she is an encourage, inspirer, and comforter and that I love to picture her in a room of artists or an anonymous group or on the grass with students who are doing nothing coaxing the miracles of communication and consensus building community, wherever she goes.
I think about our friendship God, How sometimes I’m mad, sometimes we talk Sometimes we do not
And you get it either way.
And I love that you value friendship, because truly you created us because you value companionship.
It’s so beautiful God.
Thanks buddy.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
Call to Worship
Come let us serve God
We want to serve the one who created us, blessed us and freed us.
Come let us worship the God of Potent Promises
Come let us Praise God’s Holy name
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 27)
The Lord is my Salvation, whom shall I fear
When evildoers assail me, they shall stumble and fall.
One day I ask, to live in the house of the Lord for all the days of my life
I long to behold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in God’s temple.
Come let us seek the Lord,
Come let us worship the God of our Salvation!
Call to Confession: Let us give ourselves to God’s promise that God will listen to anything we have to confess
Confession: God I confess that I do not always believe the promises that are uncovered in rainbows and stars and the grains of sands. Sometimes, I do not feel blessed to be a blessing, and I try to measure things, instead of telling the stories of your promises. Forgive me. Help me to remember that your promises unfold across generations and in unexpected ways. Help me to see your potent promises I pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, Jesus promises forgiveness, every time we confess our sins. Let us proclaim the good news to one another: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of the Day: God help us to find your promises in all the unexpected places, give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear them we pray. Amen.
Hymns: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, Great God We Sing That Mighty Hand, When in Our Music God is Glorified, God Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens (remembering Abrahamic Covenant), Many and Great O God Are Thy Things, O God the Creator, Great is Thy Faithfulness
Children: Talk about Renewal or Drafts and that we have to work on our promises to God and do them many, many times and keep working on ourselves before we get it right. This is why Joshua Renews the Covenant with God—and Jesus does it again. Book Suggestion: “The Book of Mistakes” Corinna Lukyen or “Harold and the Purple Crayon”
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
You who live in the shelter of the Most High, Trust in God
We abide in God’s shadow, for God delivers us
God will us with her pinions—nestling us to her breast
We can always find refuge under her wings
Come let us praise the Holy Spirit, who lifts us and protects us.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
Call to Confession: God calls us, comforts us and forgives us. Come let us confess ourselves to God.
Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we do not know exactly what it means when you say that you have fulfilled the law or even that we are free. We confess that we love to judge one another, and that we humans do not do well with concepts such as grace or freedom. We do better with rules and judgement. Forgive us, love us to a new covenant we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God loved us before anything else, and so we can be certain of the Good News of the Gospel: In Jesus Christ we are Forgiven. Amen
Prayer of Dedication: God, may we come to you to find shelter whenever we are afraid, or stumble or fall. May we remember that no matter what. Amen.
Hymns: Immortal Invisible God Only Wise, Amazing Grace, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Morning Has Broken, If Thou But Trust In God to Guide Thee, O God What You Ordain is Right.
Children: Explain that God gives us rules to keep us safe, but always forgives us. Perhaps talk about the “kitchen light” concept where one family always has the kitchen light on in their house so their kids know no matter what they can always come home. God always has the kitchen light on for us. Book Suggestion: “The Book of Rules” by Brian GehrleinOr perhaps explain how sometimes following the rules or doing something that is asked is very hard and you have to be very brave to do it (that happens a lot in the Bible) Book Suggestion: “The Monster at the End of This Book”
Even when we question or are uncertain, you are there
God you are our deliverer
Come Let us worship God who promises to save us
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 77)
Come let us meditate on the works of the God
When the waters saw you, O God, they were so afraid, they trembled.
The crash of your thunder was in your whirlwind, the clouds poured out water, and your arrows flashed out on every side.
Your way was through the sea—your path was through the mighty water.Yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock, by the hands of Moses, Aaron and Miriam.
Come, Let us praise Almighty God, who fulfilled all the promises that God made to both Miriam and Moses.
Call to Confession: God you promise to listen whatever we have to say, Bend your ear to our troubled hearts today
Confession: God we confess that we are like that Hebrews, even in the midst of our own Deliverance we ask “Why do we have to participate in our own Salvation?” or “Why isn’t this easier?” Or we are so frightened that we are too afraid to try something new. We confess that the journey before us seems too long, dangerous and hard and we sometimes we are not so sure if it is all worth it. Forgive us, comfort us. Remind us that your promises are worth it, justice is worth it, human beings are, in the end, worth it. Teach us how to make the journey together we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Your redemption and forgiveness is already promised. Know the Good News. In Jesus Christ you are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: God who freed us, fed us with manna, and parted the Red Sea for us. Remind us that we are free together, we are fed together, we are safe together, and then teach us how to enact that care for one another we pray. Amen.
Hymns: God of the Ages, The God of Abraham Praise, Deep in the Shadows of The Past, When Israel Was in Egypt’s Land, We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight, Precious Lord Take My Hand
Children: Talk about how we believe both in Personal responsibility and participation in what is going on, and that God helps us along the way and how tricky it is to believe in both things. Reference how confusing this was for the Hebrew people who wanted everything handed to them, even as they were being rescued by God. We have to try and not give up, and be ourselves. Book Suggestion: “Whistle for Willie” by Ezra Jack Keats
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
Call to Worship
God you call to the outsider
You care for those who are imprisoned, different or are alone
You are with the marginal
God you are the God of the least of these
How mighty is our God, who cares for those we forget
Praise be to God, let us bless God
Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 146)
Praise the Lord, O my Soul
God made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, and keeps faith forevers
God executes justice for the oppressed, feeds the hungry, and sets the prisoner free. Thisis our God!
Come let us Praise the Lord!
Call to Confession: Come let us carry any piece of ourselves that is different or imprisoned to God.
Confession: Holy Spirit, I confess that I am not Joseph, but there are times in my life where I have felt like an outsider or trapped by my actions. There are times where I have felt different. God I confess it is easy to become embittered about those harsh times in life, or to hate as a result. I confess that it is easier to believe in a God of winners and powerful ones, than a God who wants to care for those who are vulnerable and powerless. Remind me that you came as a baby to show me that you are not interested in power, but love. Help me to understand a hope that is different and a freedom that is not political I pray. (Silent Confession). Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Jesus comes to free you from all sins, you have already confessed, so you can now rest, safe and secure in the good news, come let us whisper the truth to one another: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God, help us to see and accept and free the Josephs of the world. Remind us that you are always working towards justice and good, and human machinations are nothing towards your mercy. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Hymns: Live Into Hope, We Meet You Christ, There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy, O God of Every Nation, If Thou but Trust in God to Guide Thee
Children: Talk about God being the God of the “Marginal.” Define that word to mean not in charge. Explain that this means that God is not interested in Christianity being in charge or in control, because God is most interested in caring for those left behind and forgotten. Brainstorm who those people might be. Book Suggestion: “Martin Luther King Jr: A Kid’s book about advancing Civil Rights with Nonviolence” by Mary Nhin “The Star Bellied Sneetches” by Dr Suess
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
Call to Worship
God you remind us every night
In the stars we can see, and the stars we cannot see
That you are our God, you have promised, no matter what.
Your love is always expanding, never contracting, like the universe!
Come let us praise the God of expanding love
Come let us praise the God of expanding love!
Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 33)
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, the host by the breath of God’s mouth!
Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all earthlings stand in awe of God, fro God spoke and it all came to be.
God spoke, and it was.
God commanded, and it stood firm.
God looks and sees us. Come let us praise God.
Come, let our hearts be glad, for we trust God’s holy name.
Call to Confession: Let us Confess ourselves to our Parent and Guardian God who kneels to listens to all our fears and troubles and sins.
Confession: We confess that we do not always see one another as children of God. Or maybe the problem is that we do, and spend too much time fighting like siblings for your attention. Either way, it seems like we do not spend enough time looking at the stars remembering your promises to us. Forgive us. Remind us that you love us, each as your children, and when we forget, help us to remind one another we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. (Silent Confession) Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God’s love knows no height nor depth, it goes out beyond the heavens. We cannot even grasp it so we can tell one another we confidence the good news of the results of our confession: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God, help us to focus on loving one another and the universe as we go about our lives we pray. Amen.
Children: Show them this Comic and ask them what they think it means. Talk about how our connectedness to the universe, our wonder at creation, and how God continually connects us to each other and the universe and reminds us that we are blessed to be a blessing.
Story Suggestions: “The Day You Begin” by Jacqueline Woodson
Hymns: God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand, God Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens, God You Spin the Whirling Planets, I Sing the Mighty Power of God, Of the Father’s Love Begotten, Stand Up and Bless the Lord
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
Call to worship: Our God is the God of storms and rainbows.
The God of doves and the God of promises
Our God is the God of mighty waves, and calm peaceful seas.
How mighty is our God
How trustworthy is our God
Come let us worship God.
Call to Worship
God we long for your care
Help us when we need your care
Lead us to the still waters
God renew your covenant with us
God we give thanks to the God of peace
Come let us praise God’s Holy Name
Invitation to Confession: God’s compassion is wider than the sea. Come Let us confess ourselves to God.
Confession: God, I confess that I do not understand that potency of your promise. What does it mean that you made a covenant with Noah and all future generations? What does it mean that you permanently hung your bow, your weapon, in the sky? I confess that my wonder at the rainbow is still just a beginning of the understanding of your promises and covenants. Help me to dig deep into your promises I pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.
Just as the storm will be calmed, as certain as God hangs God’s rainbow in the sky, we can be certain God loves us, God knows us and God forgives us, Let us proclaim the good news to one another In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen
Call of the Day/Dedication: God may we continue to seek your promises, and to know that your joy is in creation and love, and you are with us. Remind us to be a people of your promise as we go, we pray in your most Holy name. Amen.
Children: Talk about the rainbow as God Disarming Godself. God promises never to weaponize anger against us. Book Suggestion “Where the Wild Things Are” “The Napping House” “The Napping House”
Hymns: God of the Sparrow, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need, Wherever I May Wander, I’ve God Peace Like River,
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
“I hope when God brings heaven down, they bring with them the storytelling circles of old-that we would all gather around the fire listening to the ancestors, singing familiar songs. I don’t want to make it to the promised land if it means I forget the wilderness” p. 172
“Memory is frail. It requires a dictate touch, a tenderness…Sometimes it is only in the hands of another a memory of another that a memory can be fully encountered…This is the beauty of collective memory.” p. 174
“I think the whole Bible is predicated on collective remembrance. You have feast and fast days, storytelling’s and most conspicuously, the Eucharist. Z shared table and shared loaf. Take, eat, drink. The Christian story hinges on ceremony of communal remembrance.” p. 174
Road to Emmaus
“The truest memory is rarely the one that survives” p. 175
“Why do we need to remember truthfully? Because every untruthful memory is unjust memory, especially when it concerns relationships, fraught relationships of violence’ Miorslav Volf said, In this way, communal storytelling can be an act of justice.” p. 176
“When a person or group has no artifacts to reconstruct their stories, things slip away across generations. People slip away.” p. 178
“we must learn to create our own artifacts.” p. 178 White people have a lot of these, perhaps over and above storytelling
“Bible says Samuel erected a large stone so everyone would remember God had protected them.” p. 178
Hagar Genesis 16:13 The God who sees
“Traditionally, Western Christianity has replaced Christian habits of storytelling with singular and all-encompassing testimonies of a person’s conversion to faith. This is sad to me. We must recover a habit of very specific story exchange and shared memory if we are to have robust liberation.” p. 181
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my gofundme for my D. Min in Creative Writing or in an exciting new prospect become a Patron for only $3 a month!
and don’t let it tie me up, or become my food, or my companion.
Instead you tame it, and teach me to live with it, and remind me that it is just one piece of life.
And that there are other things like kittens and clouds
and children blowing bubbles.
And sunshine, and raindrops to cool the summer days.
And you teach me to cry tears of relief,
and to call a friend,
and to turn the worry into prayer,
as many times as I need to.
So here’s a worrisome prayer–wrap it up for me Jesus,
and spin it with the Holy Spirit, so it loosens up around my soul I pray.
And be with me while I pray it please, God.
So I might breathe a little easier, I pray.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
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