How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul is longing and fainting for it
Happy are those who live your house, God
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
A day in your courts, is better than a thousand elsewhere, God
God, you give us such good things, let us rejoice in our trust for you!
Invitation: All you have to say is “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! and Jesus will heal and save you! Come let us confess ourselves to God
Confession: God, I confess that I am but a frail human, my body does not always work the way I want it to. Also, I confess that I worry about the future so I am not always generous with my time or my talent or my wealth. I know that you are calling me to greater things. Please heal me like the blind man and show me how to be more generous like Zaccheus, I pray. Amen.
Assurance fo Pardon: Hear the Good News: Your faith has saved you! In Jesus Christ you are forgiven! Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God we are nearing the end of our journey with Christ to Jerusalem, but Jesus does not stop his preaching and healing. Help us to hear and see and feel his grace that imbued him as he journeyed, we pray. Amen.
Communion Prayer: Lord God, we know that your crucifixion is imminent. We can feel the long journey to Jerusalem coming to an end. Please gather our hearts together in this communion so that we can complete the journey to the cross together. Send your Holy Spirit so that we can celebrate Christ’s death with his Holy presence we pray. Amen.
Hymns: Live Into Hope, Called as Partners in Christ’s Service, Guide My Feet, I Love the Lord Who Heard My Cry, Just as I am Without One Plea, There is a Balm in Gilead, O Wondrous Sight, O Vision Fair, We walk By Faith but Not By Sight,
Taize: Seigneur, Tu gardes mon âme
you know my heart, lead me to eternity
For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy
And whenever one of us is missing, you search for us without ceasing
Lord, you are welcoming
When one us is discluded or left out, you immediately welcome us to the table.
Lord, you are the father, running to embrace us and welcome us home!
Come let us celebrate as the children of God today.
Invitation: God is always inviting us to return home. Come let us bring our full selves home to God.
Prayer of Confession: God I confess that when I feel lost, it is hard to return to you. All my imperfections scream at me, telling me that I am not deserving of your love. And sometimes those fears are confirmed by my experience of human judgement or prejudices. Remind me that you are never prejudiced God, you welcome me home and renew me every single time I ask for forgiveness. Forgive me for all that I did that was wrong and all the things I have not done that I ought to have done. Forgive me for forgetting that nothing can separate me from your love, and help me to return to your loving embrace I pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Our God will always leave a light on for us, that light is Jesus Christ. Know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven
Prayer of the day/Dedication: Lord, every single time someone enters into your presence, you welcome them with a party. Help us to party people into your Kingdom we pray!
Communion Prayer: God, you never forget us or leave us behind. When we seemed lost and alone you sent your only son Jesus, love incarnate to find us, call us by name, love us and teach us. Send your Holy Spirit onto these elements, so that when we feel lost or alone, we might be nourished by Jesus Christ. We pray this in God’s most Holy Name. Amen.
Hymns: Seek Ye First, Jesus Priceless Treasure, Lord I Want to Be a Christian, Love Divine All Love Excelling, O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go, O Jesus I Have Promised
Taize: Ubi Caritas: where there is goodness and love there is God
For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy
You call us to our neighbors and our neighborhood. Because you are present here, too.
Let us praise the God who is in our neighborhood.
Invitation: Come let us confess our full selves to the Lord.
Prayer of Confession: God, we confess that although we strive for love, we do not always achieve it. We catch ourselves gossiping or slandering others, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are too worried about who is going to get in first, to help those who are last. Help us to be like the good Samaritan, to take the time and energy to help all those in need without prejudice or malice. Embolden us to do what is right, we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God promises that we can dwell with God’s very self on the holy hill. Through grace, is space in God’s neighborhood. Those we can tell one another the good news: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: Lord, help us to face and see our neighbors: black, brown, white, immigrant, disabled, our LGBTQIA neighbors. Let us embrace those who vote, pray or live differently. For each individual is fully human and beloved by God. Help us to love them we pray. amen.
Communion Prayer; Lord come and bless this food of the people and this cup of the people that we might taste and see the kindom in our neighbor’s eyes and be nourished to start the work of the kindom in our own neighborhood—knowing that we are all seen and loved in the eyes of God let us start to celebrate it here, today, by taking communion together.
Hymns: Kum ba Yah, Jesu Jesu Fill Us with Your Love, Somebody’s Knocking at Your Door
Lord, you are the God of Ashes. So that when food tastes like dust upon the tongue, When we feel grubby and soiled, when we feel defeated—you’ve already been there. taking the long walk to death, walking grubby, dry-mouthed and alone. And you invite us, each and every year, to take the journey with you, so that neither of us are alone. You invite us to walk in our own stumbling way, with our own deaths. And you remind us—that we are but dust and to dust we will return. And it’s good to remember and process that fact. Because though we are dust, we are also the beloved siblings of Christ. And so, we will walk the path to Jerusalem together, because it is a journey worth taking. Be with us and we journey we pray, O God. Amen.
For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 51:15, 10) O Lord, Open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise For you have not delight in sacrifice, it does not please you Create in my a clean heart, O God, that I might worship you today and everyday.
Prayer of Confession: (unison): God, I confess my transgressions. Against you, you alone I have sinned. I confess that I have done what is evil in your sight. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love. Blot out my transgressions according to your abundant mercy. Wash me, and cleanse me from my sin. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
Assurance of Pardon: God restores us, creating clean hearts and new spirits within us, and God’s salvation is restored to us through Jesus Christ. Friends hear the good news; In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
HEARING THE WORD Children’s Time : Telling God’s Story (All children are invited to the front)
Joys & Concerns & The Lord’s Prayer (p. 16 in the blue hymnal)
RESPONDING TO THE WORD Offering *Doxology (#592 in Blue Hymnal) Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God all creatures here below. Praise God above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen.
SENDING THE WORD Prayer of Dedication: God, remind us to share everything: food, blessings, baptisms. Send us forth into the world being the hands and feet of Christ. Help us to be your disciples we pray. Amen.
Hymn #443 “O Christ, the Great Foundation”
*Charge & Benediction
The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you. (Invitation to share Peace)
God, on this the longest night of the year..and the shortest day, and the dance between Jupiter and Saturn dance so close together, they appear to be as one. I’m thinking deep thoughts.
I am praying, as I nestle in the dark, to embrace the long night. To have the stamina and wait for morning.
I am thinking how sometimes my head is pounding with stress and that it is then I retreat into the darkness. Quieting and darkening my thoughts.
It is different to meditate in the dark.
It is different to nestle in the dim light of the moon.
God I thank you for the comfort of the dark, for it is comforting to let the bits of sadness and anxiety and anger come–and to let them dissipate safely into the dark.
I am thankful when the darkness creeps towards bedtime, when the kids are (finally) able to be put to bed. For the minutes or hours I have to stay up afterwards, and for the permission for myself to call it a day a go to bed!
I thank you for the moments without the glow of lights or electronics. The moments I wake up in the middle of the night and take a deep breath and am comforted that it is not yet time to get up, that the children are still asleep, that it is dark outside.
I am thankful for the night and the winter and the changes in sunlight and moonlight. I am thankful for their changing consistency (how many times does the Bible compare you, God to the sun and the moon).
Thank you for the solace of this solstice. And I pray that when the sun rises, I remain grateful.
Please, let the dark continue to be a blessing I pray, in you–the shade in the sun, the shelter in the heat and the night after an endless long day.
All Original Prayers by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl, permission to use with credit
Prelude Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence Fernando Ortega
Opening Prayer (1)
O Holy God,
like Isaiah the prophet, we stand in awe of Your glory,
feeling tremendously small and polluted by our sin,
and the sin of our society.
Even so, You touch us with Your burning presence,
and we are made clean and whole.
O God, our Creator,
continue to build this household of faith into what You want us to be.
O Christ, our Savior,
lead us to do as You will.
O Spirit, our Power,
strengthen us for the work of the Kingdom.
Amen.
Call to Worship (Response is Isaiah 6:3) (2)
Glory in God’s holy name. Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
99:9Exalt the Lord our God. Worship at his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
145:17The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
145:21My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord.
Let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Call to Confession
John Calvin, whose work and theology are the basis for the Reformed tradition, including our Presbyterian faith, notes that when we compare ourselves to others, we may think highly of ourselves. But when we compare ourselves to God’s absolute holiness and goodness, we see how far we fall short of who God created us to be. Let us be reminded of God’s holiness and our need for forgiveness.
Prayer of Confession (from Isaiah 6:1-7)
O Holy Lord, when we see that just the hem of your robe fills the whole temple, we know we are a people of unclean lips.
When the six-winged seraphim attend you, we know we are a people of unclean lips.
As the angels proclaim that the whole earth is full of your glory, we know we are a people of unclean lips.
When the thresholds shake and the place is filled with smoke, we know we are a people of unclean lips.
Woe to us! When we see you, O King and Lord of hosts, we know we are lost because we know we are a people of unclean lips.
(Silent confession)
Assurance of Pardon
God touches us with burning coal,
and our guilt departs, our sin is blotted out.
Thanks be to God for the Good News: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Gloria Patri: (Blue #579) Glory Be to the Father
Prayers of the People/Lord’s Prayer (traditional)
Celebration of Birthdays and Anniversaries
Hymn of Dedication Just As I Am, Without One Plea
Just as I am, without one plea But that Thy blood was shed for me And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee O Lamb of God, I come! I come
Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot O Lamb of God, I come, I come
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind Sight, riches, healing of the mind Yea, all I need, in Thee to find O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve Because Thy promise I believe O Lamb of God, I come, I come
Doxology (Blue, #592) Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow
(1) From prayer based on Isaiah 6 from My Redeemer Lives website.
(2) 1 Chronicles 16:10; Psalm 99:9; Psalm 145:17, 21. King James Version.
Prayer of DedicationBlessed are you, God of all creation;
through your goodness we have these gifts to share.
Accept and use all that we give and all that we are
for your glory and for the service of your kingdom. Amen.
Prayer for Illumination Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord
Take thou our minds, dear Lord, we humbly pray; give us the mind of Christ each passing day; teach us to know the truth that sets us free; grant us in all our thoughts to honor thee.
Old Testament Reading (NRSV) Isaiah 6:1-8
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 33 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
What comes before “Here I Am”? Rev. Barb Hedges-Goettl
Affirmation of Faithfrom the Westminster Confession of Faith
God alone is the Holy One.
There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection.
God alone is the Holy One.
God is a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, and incomprehensible.
God alone is the Holy One.
God is almighty; most wise, most holy, most free, and most absolute,
God alone is the Holy One.
God works all things according to the counsel of his own immutable
and most righteous will for his own glory,
God alone is the Holy One.
God is most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness
and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.
God alone is the Holy One.
God is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom,
are all things.
God alone is the Holy One.
God is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands.
God alone is the Holy One.
To him is due from angels and from human beings, and every other creature, worship, service, and obedience for
Give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and faithfulness
On the day I called, you answered me,
You have increased the strength of my soul; Come let us worship God
Call to Worship:
God only you are holy
When you instill our hearts with fear and wonder, you remind us of your power
Sweep our breaths away, as we worship you today.
Come let us worship God
Invitation to Confession: As you are called to confession, it is because the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. God’s mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning.
Prayer of Confession: Dear God, we confess that we often do not understand your call. Too often we obsess about holiness, and how to be holy with you instead of letting ourselves wonder. We confess that we forget that there is work be done, and have trouble hearing your Call. Forgive us, please, and teach us to be a resurrection people we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession: Lord, we become so frustrated when humans don’t do what we want them to do. We think of Isaiah, who surely had a troubled heart when he went to bed. Yet he awoke to visions of holiness and glory.Help us to be able to see some of your
Assurance of Pardon: God is forever faithful, God who promises Emmanuel God with us, Jesus is coming! God will not turn away from us, but give us forgiveness. Know in your hearts the Good news: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Prayer of Dedication: Holy, Holy, Holy God, Let us go forth saying that All the Works shall praise thy name from earth and sky and sea! You are merciful and mighty! Let us go forth proclaiming the God of three persons, the blessed Trinity, we pray. Amen.
Hymns: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Eagle’s Wings, Here I am Lord, Amazing Grace,
Paralyzed as the election approaches–a million years away, and yet it’s coming any minute.
How are we supposed to plan for post-election, for advent and for Christmas when we don’t know what is going to happen?
How are we supposed to plan?
Don’t you know God, writing our sermons and prayers would be easier if we knew what was going to happen.
I’m not a skip to the end personality; but right now I am.
Anxiety is in the air.
God! I feel so small. So here is small prayer.
To survive until the election, to do the things that need to get done, to feed the kids, take care of the church, to stay safe and connected.
Take this small prayer that is in the hearts of pastors everywhere who are preparing to preach in a divided country, where some congregations are divided, or some congregations completely disagree with their pastor.
Lord, take this small prayer, and grow it into the prayer it needs to be for post-election:
katyandtheword 