assurance of pardon – katyandtheword

Call to Worship (John 7:37-38)

Jesus says, let anyone who is thirsty come

Here we are, thirsting for the Lord

Scripture says, all who believes can drink

Come, out of our hearts, let the rivers of living water flow!

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we are thirsting for you, so thirsty that we are dry to the bone. We are uncertain that justice will flow. We do not know if there are even drips of justice in the world. We confess, that we don’t know if justice will flow like water–but we also confess that we long for that day. Help us to not give up our justice seeking we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: Jesus promises that Jesus will make all things right, so we can proclaim to one another the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God sometimes we feel like our offerings are not enough, we’d rather give you big festivals or more solemn worship services–but you ask us to simply seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your. Help us to do that today we pray. Amen.

Hymns: Be Thou My Vision, Crown Him with Many Crowns, We are One in the Spirit, Best Be the Tie that Binds, Come Live the Light, For Everyone Born, Live Into Hope

Children: Thirsty, discuss how we are often thirsty before we even know it and that we really need water to drink, that is how we need justice. Talk about how justice is not just equality or sameness, its the nutrients we need, and that every single body needs something different, and that Jesus knows that.

If you find these resources useful please consider contributing to my Doctorate in Ministry in Creative Writing!

Justice Rolls Down: A Prayer

More Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Abundance of #Grace : Seeds of #Prayer for #Lent March 17

Laborers in the Vineyard

Abundance of Grace

Matthew 20:1-16 and Psalm 16:5-8

Call to Worship:

Lord it is good when we come to you at the beginning of the day

Whether we come at the beginning, the middle or the end you will be there.

Lord it is good when we find you at the beginning of the week

But what a blessing when we find God, instead at the end, for still God’s hand will hold us fast.

Help us to find you, Lord!

Help us to find you today, so that we might give you praise.

Call to Worship:

Come let us worship the Lord

God shows us the path of life and invites us to join in the work of the day.

Come let us work together

So we can all share in the fruit of our labors together, with all the saints who participate, come let us do some of that work today!

https://www.strofiliawines.gr/en/wine-in-art/red-vineyard-arles

Prayer of Confession: Lord, I confess that you are my Lord, I have no good apart from you. So I turn to you to confess my failings, so that you can fill me with your grace and love, so that you can be with me and teach me. Show me the path of life I pray.

Prayer of Confession: Lord I confess aha some days I worry if there is not enough grace for me and my sins. I so often feel so full of holes, that I do not count myself as holy enough for you. Yet, you are ever with me, with your presence there is a fullness of joy, there is enough. Remind me that there is enough, I pray.

Assurance of Pardon: Lord you are the path of life, fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore, so we can be confident of the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Assurance of Pardon: Lord, it doesn’t matter if we come to you in the beginning, the middle or the end, we are assured of your grace. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Hymns: Amazing Grace

On Eagles Wings

Jesus, Priceless Treasure

Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me

There is a Wideness in God’s Mercy

Lord I wanna be a Christian in My Heart

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

Abundance of Blessings: Seeds of #Prayer for #Lent March 6th #AshWeds

March 6th: Matthew 18:1-9

Psalm 146:7c-10 or 51:1-3

Abundance of Blessings

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/425027283575522346/Call to Worship

Our God is an awesome God!

He made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in it.

God reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love

For our God is the one who executes justice for the oppressed, the one who gives food to the hungry.

Who cannot praise our God, Our God is an awesome God!

Our God is an awesome God, let us praise God together.

Call to Worship

God, you are the God of the hungry, the blind and the oppressed.

We praise you for opening the eyes of the blind, for lifting up those who are bowed down, for upholding the orphan and the widow

Prayer of Confession: Lord we think that blessings are like pie. We confess we want to be the closest to God, because we think those closer to God will get the most blessings. Remind us that blessings are not pie. Remind us that your blessings are enough. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Prayer of Confession: Lord, we admit that we sometimes cause stumbling blocks. We put things in other’s paths so they cannot succeed. Sometimes we even have to get out of our own way to be able to see you. Forgive us when we build walls, remind us to open any and all paths to Shalom, and help us be creators of those paths we pray.

Prayer of Confession: Lord I now my transgressions, my sin is before me and it is against you alone God, I have sinned. I have done what is evil in your sight. I was born imperfect. Remind me that you desire truth in my

Assurance of Pardon: Jesus promises us, that we are forgiven, loved and enough.

Assurance of Pardon: Our God is the God of healing, wholeness and peace. Our God gives us Shalom! Let us share the good news: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen

Assurance of Pardon: God promises to always execute justice, know that God’s justice includes mercy, hear the good news: In Jesus Christ you are forgiven.

Assurance of Pardon: The Lord will have mercy according to God’s steadfast love, blotting out all trangressions. Know we are loved and forgiven by God.

Prayer of Dedication/Prayer of the Day: God, you are the God of Hope precisely because you are the God of justice. When we forget who you are: open our eyes when we are blind, teach us again to feed the hungry, show to us how uphold the orphan so that we can remember who you are, Lord who will reign forever. Amen.

Hymns:

Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Create In Me Clean Heart

Jesus Thy Boundless Love to Me

A Short Order of Worship

Call to Worship: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord their God,

who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith for ever;

who executes justice for the oppressed;

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous. —Psalm 146:5-8

Communion

Oral Story: Matthew 18:1-9 Who is the Greatest?

Burning of Our Sins: The Lord says, if there’s a piece of you that causes you stumble, cut it off. What do you need to cut off or let go of ? Or what do you need to hang onto and grow so that you can be more joyful and curious like a child? (ceremonially burn our sins written on paper)

Imposition of the Ashes

Closing Prayer: Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.—Psalm 51:1-3

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

RCL bulletin for Dec. 16th

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Offering Hymn #13 (blue hymnal) Prepare the Way

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

* Prayer of Dedication

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

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

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

We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father.  In sovereign love God created the world good  and makes everyone equally in God’s image  male and female, of every race and people, to live as one community.
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.  Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,  like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,  God is faithful still.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life.  The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,  sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,  and binds us together with all believers  in the one body of Christ, the Church.
In a broken and fearful world  the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing,  to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,  to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,  to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,  and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.  In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks  and to live holy and joyful lives,  even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,  praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
With believers in every time and place,  we rejoice that nothing in life or in death  can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

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

*Charge & Blessing

*Denotes please stand if able.

When in Doubt: #Prayer Resource #Jesus Condemned

John 19:1-16a and Psalm 146

Call to Worship: Lord we come here for sanctuary Knowing the world is not always safe, we turn to you I will not put my trust in the power of mortals or princes I put my trust in the Lord, who executes justice–the one who gives food to the hungry. Breath departs and plans perish. So My hope is in God who’s promise is peace, that God I will praise all my life long.

Prayer of Confession: Lord almighty, I confess that I feel the powers that be. I am strained by the systems, by the abuse and violence that is in the world. I am overwhelmed. So help me to turn to you Lord Jesus, let me see your love, so I am not only encouraged but also empowered to love in the midst of hardship I pray.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear this, our God is the one who sets prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind. Lifting up those who are bowed down and watching over the stranger. This God is the one who proclaims the truth to us: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen

Offering Prayer/Prayer of Dedication: Lord we are here, hoping to give ourselves, not to the powers and principalities of mortals, but instead to you. So that we might love and serve the Lord, so that God’s love can shine through everything we do, we pray in your most holy name. Amen.

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: Jesus Washes Feet

John 13:1-17 and Psalm 51:7-12

Call To Worship: We come to serve Jesus, who came to serve us. Let us know the Lord. We come to be made clean, by one who will bathe us in love. Let us know the Lord. We come to be made whole, by the Holy Spirit. Let us know and worship the Lord.

Confession: Create in me a Clean heart, O Lord. Create a right spirit within me. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation, sustain my spirit and give me joy and gladness.

Assurance to Pardon: We are already forgiven by the God of unconditional love. Go in peace, and know that you have been made whole.

Offering Prayer/Prayer of Dedication: Let us go forth, no longer doubting that you served us so that we might know how to serve, going into the word ready to put that love to work, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Narrative Lectionary: John 13:1-17

John 13:1-17

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.” After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.

Jesus washes feet. If you have ever washed a baby or an older person–you are aware there is a kind of beautiful intimacy to those washings. There is a trust and a love that makes something that should be gross.

Of course, its embarrassing, so Peter says no, and Jesus says “well if you want to be a part of what I do, you have to let me wash your feet”

So then Peter says “Wash everything then!”

And Jesus says “Nah! feet are enough”

And then Jesus goes on to say that he knows that they aren’t clean ie he knows that Peter is going to deny him, he knows that Judas is going to betray him, he knows they are only human and they will get dirty again. They will all get dirty again.

Its like when you wash a child, and know they are going to get dirty again. Or (even worse) when my husband got out of the shower only to be thrown up upon. Ugh!

But it is still beautiful and intimate to take care of those we love. And Jesus promises to take care of us, even are grossest parts, even knowing that we are broken and that we will get dirty again. Jesus demonstrates that the way to

We like to concentrate on Jesus miracles, but really Jesus superpowers are love and forgiveness….remember before Jesus ONLY God could forgive you (you had to still apologize to the human participate, but ultimately only Jesus forgives). So Jesus, empowers us! Telling us to do to one another what he does. He encourages us to love eachother, to forgive each other and to wash each others’ feet. This is why we confess our sins together and then assure eachother of pardon. We are the body of Christ, we are the ones who are going to be the intimate group, who washes each other feet. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Tag: assurance of pardon

Nov 14 Amos: Justice Rolls Down