Scripture
Matthew 22:1-14 and Psalm 45:6-7 (or all of it, or Psalm 45:6-17)
Also Isaiah 61, particularly v. 10
Call to Worship:
Know this, God has anointed you, baptized you in the Holy Spirit.
We are called to love righteousness, and hate wickedness with God.
Let us cause God’s name to be celebrated for generations
Let the peoples praise God, our mother and father, forever and ever.
Call to Worship
God, you call us, the good and the bad forever
Clothe us in your love, so we might be worthy of your banquet
Let us remember to invite one another to partake in the feast
Come, let us accept our invitation to spend time with God together.
Call to Worship:
The Lord says: I love justice
My whole being shall exult my God,
God promised to make a covenant with us, and the covenant will be fulfilled.
God has clothed me, like a mother clothes her children, in the garments of salvation, protecting us from the elements, dressing us in love.
Remember that what is sown in the garden will spring up. The promise of resurrection comes with the winter of Lent.
God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations, come let us plant the seeds of praise today.
Confession: Lord, we confess that sometimes we come into your presence, thinking we are dressed in love, but then realize that we are wearing judgement or shame instead. It is so easy to forget the worst of ourselves or other. It is so easy to disclude people from your invitation. We can feel unworthy, or be convinced of others’ unworthiness. Forgive our prejudice, and teach us to extend the invitation again and again, we pray.
Confession: Lord, sometimes I love wickedness. Sometimes I like to gossip about or ignore those who are need . Sometimes I spend all my day complaining and forget to practice gratitude for the invitations you put forth. Forgive me, and teach me to pray and confess in such a way that my words are a love song, and my tongue becomes like the pen of a writer. Teach me I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Confession: Lord, we confess here together, because we are each and every one of us invited to your party. Though we are each uniquely made, and though our circumstances are different, you call us each here to experience your love, hope and grace. We are invited here to confess our true selves, and to honor one another’s stories, help us when we forget to do justice in either the confession or the honoring, we pray.
Prayer of Dedication/of the Day: Lord we enter back into the world where people look and sound different from us. We enter a world where we are afraid to invite people, for whatever reason, to join us in your banquet. Encourage us to go into the world and to make that invitation we pray.
Prayer of Dedication/of the Day: Let us begin again to prepare for the feast together, with invitations and appropriate garments, with words of prayer and praise, we pray.
Prayer of Dedication/of the Day: Lord, remind me that I am here for you. You are the host of the feast, and you have anointed me as a beloved child of God. Please don’t let me forget that today or any day, I pray.
Hymns: I’ve Got Peace Like a River
God be the Glory
Christ is made the sure Foundation
Crown him with Many Crowns
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
He is King of Kings
(Look in your Christ the King/Ascension hymns)
Food for Thought:
- Those who think they should be invited to God will take that gift for granted.
2. We think we need to clothe ourselves in the appropriate garments, but really we have to depend on God for the right clothing.
3. Justice is God’s and is not in being productive (or too busy or too important) for God.
4. Human’s often think looking right is more important than acting right, how might that play in here?
More Thoughts https://wp.me/p2rhxZ-2iI
Full List of Lenten Resources (Of course some prayers may be appropriate for other weeks)
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