katyandtheword

Liturgy Seeds for 5/26 Romans 5

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 4^th 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 2^nd 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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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)

Seeds Liturgy Crucifixion: Matthew #GoodFriday Fully Abundantly Human

Good Friday

Matthew 27:27-61

Psalm 22:1-2, 14-18

Tenebrae Order of Worship I (Extinguish Candles after singing)

Were You there when they crucified the Lord or Taize: Stay with Me

Crown of Thorns: Matthew 27:27-31

This is Jesus, King of the Jews Matthew 27:32-37

Crucifixion Matthew 27:38-44

Were You There when they nailed him to a tree

Communion

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:45-51

Were You There when they left him there to die or Taize O Lord Hear My Prayer

Earthquake Matthew 27:52-54

Nail Sins to the Cross

Tomb Matthew 27-55:61

Were You there when they laid him in the Tomb or Taize Kyrie Eleison

Tenebrae Order of Worship II (Extinguish during Silent Meditations or Hymns)

Matthew 27:27-29

Silent Meditation

Psalm 22:1-2

Silent Meditation

Matthew 27: 41-44

Silent Meditation

Psalm 22: 16-17

Silent Meditation

Matthew 27: 45-47

Silent Meditation

Communion

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (abruptly end with “cry” before the Alleluias)

Nail Sins to the Cross

Psalm 22:14-15

Silent Meditation

III. Full Liturgy available here

Communion

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 remember Jesus’ death we do so as a proclamation of deliverance for generation upon generation.

Send your Holy Spirit, here, God, salve our wounds and help us, even today to taste your kingdom today. We pray this using the prayer your son taught us….

Further Hymn Ideas: Let US Break Bread Together v1 &2

Bread of the World in Mercy Broken

All of the suggestions within the Tenebrae

#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)