Let us make a joyful noise before the Kind, the Lord.
Call to Worship: Can you hear the good news? It’s contained within the roar of the ocean, its contained within the songs of the hills, it fills the earth and and those who live in it.
Now is the time to share the good news of Jesus Christ, passing it out as bread for the hungry, now is the time to show the love of God sharing it as free medicine for the sick. Now is the time to show the warmth of the Holy Spirit, wrapping the naked up with sturdy clothing. Now is the time to be the people of Matthew 25.
Prayer of Confession: Lord, how can we not feed the hungry, or visit the sick or clothe the naked. And yet, there are those who go without, and we fail to help them. Lord Jesus, help us to examine why we fail to live up to your standards of caring for each other and you. Help us to confess where the gaps are, and then help us to build the bridge of kindom care that is needed, we pray.
Prayer of Confession: God almighty, we do not treat our neighbors as we wish to be treat. Instead we differentiate between us and them, we look for reasons behind these differences, and we conclude that the others must be lacking. Forgive us, we pray, correct our mouths and our arms and our legs so that what we do and say represents your love. We pray this in your son’s most holy name.
Prayer of Confession: Lord we forget that every time we help someone, it is as if the waves clap their hands in praise of you. We ignore those in need, forgetting to make a joyful noise, forgetting to tell the good news of your open table, setting a feast before all those in need. Teach us to see your face, in whomever we encounter, we pray.
Assurance of Pardon: God has made known, already, God’s victory of salvation, with steadfast love and faithfulness, so know you are forgiven and be at peace.
You remind us to gather the supplies we need light the fires & to risk and spend money for the kingdom
And every mountain and hill made low
You remind us to clothe the naked and care for the sick
And the crooked shall be made straight
You remind us to feed the hungry and give the thirst something to drink.
And the rough places plain,
Help us to make a preparation for you today we pray.
Call to Worship
Lord you tell us to prepare for you
Help us to plant the seeds, to do the work
We would rather be safe, but you teach us to trust and grow
Let us praise the Creator, the Gardener, the Tender of all Good today.
Call to Worship:
God you are my help and my hope.
Light us with your light.
Your truth shines on.
I shall again praise my creator today.
Confession: God, are wicks are not lit, we have no spare oil, sometimes we are not able to do the tasks you set before us. Send the Holy Spirit to us, so our fire will not go out we pray.
Confession: Lord, we confess we suck at waiting, its hard work, and it speaks to a maturity that we don’t often have. Teach us how to wait, lord give us patience, we pray.
Confession: Gardening God, sometimes we are afraid to invest, so we don’t plant the seeds that need to be planted. God of Growth Sometimes we don’t want risk, so we bury money instead of planting seeds; we don’t give the time, money or effort needed. Generous God, sometimes we just throw the extra your way, forgetting to make a real commitment Help to do the work and to make the right commitments in the right way we pray. (Silent Prayer)…Amen
Prayer of Dedication/Prayer of the Day: Lord, we are asking for your light and truth today. Send it out, we pray. Let it lead us to your holy hill, bring us to your dwelling place, loving God.
Prayer of Dedication/Prayer of the Day: God of God, Light of Light, Very God from Very God, encourage use to seek your light and truth, and help us to prepare for you we pray. Amen
Prayer of Dedication: God of God, Light of Light, Very God from Very God, help us to prepare for you by investing in your work, and help whatever seeds we plant, whatever money we invest, whatever faith we practice, to grow and flourish we pray in your most Holy Name. Amen.
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?
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
Meditative Thought: Does infinity look like justice, mercy and kindness?
Call to worship:
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak
For he will speak peace to his people
Surely his salvation is at hand for all God’s people, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Let us worship the God of Righteousness.
How shall we approach the Lord, with great sacrifice?
The Lord has told you what is good
What does the Lord require?
Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God
Prayer of Confession:Lord we admit that we have trouble with the words justice, mercy and kindness. We confess that it would be easier to just give over some goods or money than to do things. Guide us on the path of righteousness, show us justice, mercy and kindness so that we can do that same, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness: Fear Not, God promises that Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss. So we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Eucharist Prayer: Lord we give thanks that you have given us many ways to experience your love. And when you sent your only son to die on the cross, we were able to witness your mercy. Whenever we taste your bread and cup we can experience your kindness and abundance. When we gather into communion with one another and you we can practice your justice. Creator of all good things, add your spirit to this meal, make it a meal of righteous and holiness, so that we might be nourished to continue your kingdom work today and everyday we pray.
Prayer of Dedication/Closing Prayer: God, you are love, you are mercy, you are justice. Send us into the world with hope for all these things. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen
When I worked at the psych hospital and asked the patients (for their spiritual assessment) if they had hope, some would say, no but I’m hoping for it–hoping for hope.
Hymns:
Live into Hope
I’ve Got Peace Like a River
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Amazing Grace
Sunday School Ideas: Footprints to follow & talk about walking humbly, trace shadows and talk about being made in God’s image, Take pictures of everyone and fill them in as the body of Christ to do God’s work
Naaman’s personal leprous disaster drives him to plan a trip to Israel, but this time not as conqueror but as sickened supplicant. But first he must go through the hoops of ancient channels of diplomacy. He asks his king to write a letter of introduction to the king of Samaria, the northern kingdom of Israel, to smooth his way into the presence of the mighty prophet, Elisha, fabled for his miraculous abilities to effect cures. The king of Aram agrees to write the letter, while Naaman prepares to depart, assembling a vast caravan of silver and gold and festal garments, stacked on numerous carts, guarded by a phalanx of his finest soldiers. No general would or could do less!
Unfortunately, the king’s letter, though intended to assuage any fears the Israelite monarch may have as he watches the general and his enormous train approach, instead terrifies the king due to its straightforward, though perhaps ambiguous prose. “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:6). What, shouts the king, tearing his royal robes in horror. “Am I God to give death or life, that this man sends me word to cure someone of leprosy” (2 Kings 5:7)? This letter, reasons the king, is nothing more than a ruse to start another war. Once I fail to effect the cure, which I surely will, the Arameans will think I do not care about their general, and will come at me again with force of arms.
[Another rendering of this part of the story from http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1747%5D The message to the king is a bit like a medical referral getting lost en route, Naaman’s case is held up by bureaucratic twists and turns. Israel’s king panics when he receives the letter — how in the world is he supposed to cure leprosy? And if he doesn’t, will Aram attack again? Is this some kind of trick? Interestingly, the King of Aram could have asked for almost anything else, and the King of Israel would have figured out some way to handle it. But curing leprosy was not an option for him. Elisha, upon hearing of the King’s anxiety, tells the King to send Naaman to him.
Fortunately, the prophet hears that the king has torn his clothes in terror, and himself sends a letter, calming the king and suggesting that he send Naaman to him; that way all will know “that there is a prophet in Israel” (2 Kings 5:8). So, after receiving Elisha’s address from the king, and coordinating his GPS, Naaman heads toward the house of the prophet. He brings all of his entourage with him and draws up to the entrance to Elisha’s house, horses stamping and wheezing, chariots squeaking and creaking in the dust. And then another improbable emissary appears.
Instead of Elisha, an unnamed messenger steps from the house and announces to the great throng, and especially to the general, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored and you will be clean” (2 Kings 5:10). And with that he turns and heads back through the door. And Naaman is enraged, commanding that all the chariots and horses turn around and head for Aram. “Does this so-called prophet not know who I am,” he fumes? I thought he would come out with magic robes whipping in the wind, wave his arms about, calling on the name of his God, YHWH, point at my skin and cure the leprosy. And the Jordan River? I know the Jordan River; we have just passed through that muddy creek. There are fabulous, rushing clear streams in our own land that make the Jordan look pathetic! I will not stand here and be treated like this. We are not amused! We are going home!
[Also from http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1747%5D Being treated as a nonentity by rude or busy practitioners and then being subjected to strange and distasteful procedures — this is very much the stuff of life on the other side of health and wholeness. Losing his identity, becoming a number, and feeling foolish and desperate at the same time proved overwhelming to Naaman. How could he possibly trust the prophet’s strange prescription relayed through a lowly underling?
And still one more improbable emissary shows up in the story. Again, some servants (the third time servants have delivered the powerful truths of the tale) admonish their leader, saying that if the messenger had asked Naaman to do something really hard, he would have done it, thinking that a cure can only come through arduous trial. How much more should he do this simple thing, dipping his body into the Jordan? The general again listens to a servant, takes his Jordan bath, and comes out clean as a baby (2 Kings 5:13-14). This grand story is driven by improbable emissaries at every crucial turn. http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2013/03/tales-from-bible-1955.html
Themes/Titles:
Not specifically mentioned anywhere I found is baptism/renewal of baptism, which my husband used preaching a first-person sermon on this passage many years ago. He notes that washing 7 times can be seen as reflecting the 7 days of creation ending with the new/re- creation.
My own take is heading toward who Namaan was. He is an example of intersectionality, which notes that we are not monolithic beings. He is admired, famous, accomplished as a military leader and he is despised, rejected, unclean as a leper. And yet neither of these apparent polar opposites ultimately define him—ultimately he is a person in need of God’s mercy and healing, which he receives—as we all are.
Teasers from other sources
Geneva Notes http://www.ccel.org/g/geneva/notes/2Kings/5.html
2Ki 5:11
5:11 But Naaman was {f} wroth, and went away, and said, Behold,
I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and
call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand
over the place, and recover the leper.
(f) Man’s reason murmurs when it considers only the signs
and outward things, and has no regard for the word of
God, which is contained there.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc2.iiKi.vi.html
Note, the methods prescribed for the healing of the leprosy of sin are so plain that we are utterly inexcusable if we do not observe them. It is but, “Believe, and be saved”—”Repent, and be pardoned”—”Wash, and be clean.”
Now the United States of America was commander of the free world. She was a great country, in her own sight and in the sight of others, highly regarded, because through her the Lord had given victory. She was a valiant warrior, but she had leprosy.
Ways of retelling the story: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theperipateticpreacher/2016/06/improbable-emissaries-2-kings-5/
Naaman’s personal leprous disaster drives him to plan a trip to Israel, but this time not as conqueror but as sickened supplicant. But first he must go through the hoops of ancient channels of diplomacy. He asks his king to write a letter of introduction to the king of Samaria, the northern kingdom of Israel, to smooth his way into the presence of the mighty prophet, Elisha, fabled for his miraculous abilities to effect cures. The king of Aram agrees to write the letter, while Naaman prepares to depart, assembling a vast caravan of silver and gold and festal garments, stacked on numerous carts, guarded by a phalanx of his finest soldiers. No general would or could do less!
Unfortunately, the king’s letter, though intended to assuage any fears the Israelite monarch may have as he watches the general and his enormous train approach, instead terrifies the king due to its straightforward, though perhaps ambiguous prose. “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:6). What, shouts the king, tearing his royal robes in horror. “Am I God to give death or life, that this man sends me word to cure someone of leprosy” (2 Kings 5:7)? This letter, reasons the king, is nothing more than a ruse to start another war. Once I fail to effect the cure, which I surely will, the Arameans will think I do not care about their general, and will come at me again with force of arms.
[Another rendering of this part of the story from http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1747%5D The message to the king is a bit like a medical referral getting lost en route, Naaman’s case is held up by bureaucratic twists and turns. Israel’s king panics when he receives the letter — how in the world is he supposed to cure leprosy? And if he doesn’t, will Aram attack again? Is this some kind of trick? Interestingly, the King of Aram could have asked for almost anything else, and the King of Israel would have figured out some way to handle it. But curing leprosy was not an option for him. Elisha, upon hearing of the King’s anxiety, tells the King to send Naaman to him.
Fortunately, the prophet hears that the king has torn his clothes in terror, and himself sends a letter, calming the king and suggesting that he send Naaman to him; that way all will know “that there is a prophet in Israel” (2 Kings 5:8). So, after receiving Elisha’s address from the king, and coordinating his GPS, Naaman heads toward the house of the prophet. He brings all of his entourage with him and draws up to the entrance to Elisha’s house, horses stamping and wheezing, chariots squeaking and creaking in the dust. And then another improbable emissary appears.
Instead of Elisha, an unnamed messenger steps from the house and announces to the great throng, and especially to the general, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored and you will be clean” (2 Kings 5:10). And with that he turns and heads back through the door. And Naaman is enraged, commanding that all the chariots and horses turn around and head for Aram. “Does this so-called prophet not know who I am,” he fumes? I thought he would come out with magic robes whipping in the wind, wave his arms about, calling on the name of his God, YHWH, point at my skin and cure the leprosy. And the Jordan River? I know the Jordan River; we have just passed through that muddy creek. There are fabulous, rushing clear streams in our own land that make the Jordan look pathetic! I will not stand here and be treated like this. We are not amused! We are going home!
[Also from http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1747%5D Being treated as a nonentity by rude or busy practitioners and then being subjected to strange and distasteful procedures — this is very much the stuff of life on the other side of health and wholeness. Losing his identity, becoming a number, and feeling foolish and desperate at the same time proved overwhelming to Naaman. How could he possibly trust the prophet’s strange prescription relayed through a lowly underling?
And still one more improbable emissary shows up in the story. Again, some servants (the third time servants have delivered the powerful truths of the tale) admonish their leader, saying that if the messenger had asked Naaman to do something really hard, he would have done it, thinking that a cure can only come through arduous trial. How much more should he do this simple thing, dipping his body into the Jordan? The general again listens to a servant, takes his Jordan bath, and comes out clean as a baby (2 Kings 5:13-14). This grand story is driven by improbable emissaries at every crucial turn. http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/proper-9c/?type=old_testament_lectionary
Nearly everyone needs some kind of healing. It may be from physical or mental illness. Or perhaps it’s from haunted memories or grief. Yet while God’s people know to look to God for that healing, we don’t always get to choose its method. So we may not always particularly like the way God chooses to heal us. https://www.pulpitfiction.com/archive/2017/02/24/ep-21-seventy-apostles-of-christ-on-the-wall-or-proper-9c-ordinary-14c-pentecost-7?rq=naaman
war vs healthcare
Interfaith relations/dialogue
How might we reclaim evangelism as a way of showing God’s goodness and not about getting more members?
Are we willing to accept the strangeness of the Gospel in order to be healed?
The story of David and Bathsheba is part of the RCL lectionary for 2 consecutive weeks Proper 12/Ordinary 17B and Proper 13/Ordinary 18B; the second half of the story makes 2 appearances, also appearing as Proper 6C/Ordinary 11C.
This passage is, as they say, “a sticky wicket”–from the odd slicing of this pericope to the passage’s relationship to our society’s growing awareness ofthe abuses of men; see Gennifer Brooks’ commentary at https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3813
With regard to the NL pericope, if the congregation knows the story (mine does), one could preach from just the Nathan part of the story and use that to review the larger saga. I plan to use 2 Samuel 12:1-13/14/15; I am not yet sure what to do with the punishment being the death of David & Bathsheba’s child—as if she hasn’t suffered enough already! If the story needs to be told more fully, vv. 26-27 don’t work well in isolation from the rest of the story; one at least needs to include (in the reading or as an explanation) that David arranged Uriah’s death.
With regard to the relationship of the text to today, I am thinking of God requiring repentance before offering forgiveness–a piece that is often forgotten when victims are told to forgive their abusers. I am thinking of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, which saw telling the truth as a road to reconciliation. I am thinking of the controversial political cartoon featuring Judge Kavanaugh’s daughter praying for forgiveness for her father, a backhand recognition that we all need God to be our ultimate arbiter, forgiver, and healer.
PH 1993
Hymns relating to truth, abuse of power
278 Our God, to Whom We Turn
285 God, You Spin the Whirling Planets
289 O God of Every Nation
291 O God of Earth and Altar
386 O for a World Where Everyone
Hymns related to Penitence/God’s Mercy
261 God of Compassion, In Mercy Befriend Us
301 Lord Jesus, Think on Me
303 Jesus, Lover of My Soul
345 Dear Lord and Father of Mankind/Dear Lord. Creator Good and Kind
A friend of mine who is a NT scholar, Rene Schreiner, recently did an extended Sunday School class on Bathsheba, including looking at the history of its interpretation.
If you want to get into the idea that 2 Sam was written by the Deuteronomist, a great podcast on Deuteronomy can be found on The Bible for Normal People with Peter Enns (Episode 39).
Veggie Tales also has Nathan’s song posted on YouTube.”
Meditative Thought: How often is rescue through a restoration?
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 105)
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the people
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
Call to Worship
Rescuer of Israel, You call your people out of Oppression
When Moses was enslaved, when baby Jesus was threatened, you rescued them
Call us out of oppression, again, lead us into light
You are our Lord and Our God, worthy of our Praise. Prayer of Confession
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. We confess that we follow our own ideas instead of you.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts, let your face shine, that we may be saved.
We confess that we are often distracted by shiny things, the popular things, we put our trust in money and power.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts, let your face shine, that we may be saved.
We confess that we have trouble listening to you and to one another, and that our relationships need to be saved.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts, let your face shine, that we may be saved.
We confess that we forget that you are the God of forgiveness, that we would rather hid our faults than name them.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts, let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Remind us of your love, your grace and your forgiveness, so that we can be filled with hope and live the life of the People of the Resurrection
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts, let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Prayer of Confession
God of the rainbows and the stars. We confess that we have trouble trusting. We do not want to make ourselves vulnerable. We have trouble baring ourselves in relationships. Yet, you promise to bring us out of the wilderness we wander in, you give us signs of your love, splitting the oceans and splashing us with baptism. Help us to trust in your steadfast love we pray. Amen.
We confess that we have trouble listening. We do not listen to you, we do not listen to those who are oppressed, we plug our ears and hum as if everything is find
Assurance of Pardon: Our God is the God of the Covenant. Promising us over and and over again to love us no matter what. In the name of this God we can proclaim together: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
God declares, God is our God, and we are God’s people, forever. In this we know that God’s forgiveness never ends.
Eucharist Prayer: Lord, you are a Covenantal God. You created us to be relational, to one another and to you. And when we forgot that relationship you gave us a rainbow and pointed to the multitude of stars, you walked with us along the beach. And when we got tangled in rules and who was in and out, you came to us as a baby. Vulnerable and cute, your grew into the grace of Jesus Christ, showing us just how radical your love could be. And when we met love with hatred, you died on the cross for us, you proved love to be the power of resurrection and you sent your loving advocate in the Holy Spirit to bless us. Bless these elements here, so that they are imbued with your love, and so that we can taste and see the seal of your Covenant we pray. Amen
Prayer of Dedication/Closing Prayer: Let us Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered as we go forth as the children of the promise to Abraham and Sarah. Amen.
When Israel Was in Egypt’s Land (Go Down Moses Tune)
I Love the Lord, Who Heard My Cry (Watts words)
O Jesus, I Have Promised (Nyland or Angel’s Story tune)
Craft/Sunday School Ideas
Create Meditation Mason Jars: Glitter & Water, add fish sequins if you want, Remembrance of baptism prayer & sprinkle water, Make an ocean with glue & glitter draw with crayon in the middle for the split (keeping glue/glitter off) put a Moses in the middle, Make a promise banner: add what promises God makes along the way, Older: Discuss Slavery & What deliverance meant, Action: Have some pleople wave streamers and others walk thru on dry land.
katyandtheword 