Bread
Worship
THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE
Liturgical Aids
Call to Worship
We come here today to choose.
The choice is between breads: fresh or stale.
It seems that the choice should be an easy one indeed.
We often, however, make it extremely complicated.
The one promotes life; the other gives only an illusion of life.
Though tempting, we must cast aside the illusion, and choose life.
Here is Christ both Strength and Guide.
Let us in word and sacrament rely on him, for his gift is the good bread, indeed the fresh bread, the bread of life.
Invocation
O Christ, Bread of Life, you would break yourself on us, that we be truly fed with that which gives and sustains life. There is no substitute. All else, though promoted with great fanfare and promise, does not endure. Only your mercy, made real by your sacrifice, can cause life to take hold in us - and grow until we too have life, the bread of life, to share with others. So let that happen, right here in our midst, O God, that Christ and Christ's benefits be central to our worship about this table, indeed in all of our living. So be it! Amen!
Call to Confession
Rather than allow ourselves to be fed by Christ, we find ourselves tossed to and fro, blown here and there by many a selfish scheme that strokes our ego, that exalts our way over God's more humble approach to living and giving. Trying to gain center stage, we pursue the illusory rather than the real, and so emerge the loser. Are we willing to confess this, that we might yet find life in Christ?
Prayer of Confession
God, life from your hand is everlastingly fresh and good. It ever has the aroma of newly baked bread. Yet as we look at our lives, we see much that is stale. Our exterior as well as our inner being is too often hard and callous, rather than soft and sensitive and compassionate. Help us to realize the nature of the problem: We fail when we attempt to be the baker, rather than allow you, O God, to be the Author of the bread of life. When we gladly receive from your hand that which truly nourishes, that which you supply in abundance, then will our lives take on a wholesomeness and a texture that will make them a blessing to us and to others. We can then become healthy parts of that one loaf which is the church of Jesus Christ. May that be so in our lives and in the lives of all who look to you for food, for the Bread of Life that fails us not. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Hear these reassuring words of Jesus: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty ... This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son of God and believe in him may have eternal life." Such is God's gift to each of us!
Thanks be to God that we shall never hunger. God's bread of life is indeed sufficient!
Psalter Reading (from Psalm 78)
The Lord commanded the skies above, and opened the doors to heaven;
He rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;
He rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;
He let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were filled, for he gave them what they craved.
With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skillful hand.
Offering Sentences
Discipleship, our following of Jesus the Christ, calls for us to be vitally concerned with how we share ourselves. How might we give of ourselves in ways that will truly help others? All of us, without exception, have important things to offer, parts of our self that will make a difference in the lives of friend and neighbor and stranger. Let us reflect on this, the gifts that we can offer, as we present for God's use the tithes and the offerings of this day and this worship.
Prayer of Dedication
God, holy, full of wisdom, cause us to listen carefully to your Spirit's prompting as we make decisions regarding the use of these gifts. They represent a part of us, and they are presented gladly that others may be served in your name. May your holy work of spreading the good news here be accomplished, and may many benefit through this sharing, through this act of love reaching out to another. So do we pray, looking to Jesus as the model of that loving, a love forever fresh, a love having the aroma of newly baked bread. Amen.
Benediction
Always let your choice be life. And let that life be refreshed daily by him who is the Bread of Life. The invitation is a simple one indeed: Follow Jesus, and you shall know life, life abundant and eternal. Yea, Lord, may it be so for each one of us!
We come here today to choose.
The choice is between breads: fresh or stale.
It seems that the choice should be an easy one indeed.
We often, however, make it extremely complicated.
The one promotes life; the other gives only an illusion of life.
Though tempting, we must cast aside the illusion, and choose life.
Here is Christ both Strength and Guide.
Let us in word and sacrament rely on him, for his gift is the good bread, indeed the fresh bread, the bread of life.
Invocation
O Christ, Bread of Life, you would break yourself on us, that we be truly fed with that which gives and sustains life. There is no substitute. All else, though promoted with great fanfare and promise, does not endure. Only your mercy, made real by your sacrifice, can cause life to take hold in us - and grow until we too have life, the bread of life, to share with others. So let that happen, right here in our midst, O God, that Christ and Christ's benefits be central to our worship about this table, indeed in all of our living. So be it! Amen!
Call to Confession
Rather than allow ourselves to be fed by Christ, we find ourselves tossed to and fro, blown here and there by many a selfish scheme that strokes our ego, that exalts our way over God's more humble approach to living and giving. Trying to gain center stage, we pursue the illusory rather than the real, and so emerge the loser. Are we willing to confess this, that we might yet find life in Christ?
Prayer of Confession
God, life from your hand is everlastingly fresh and good. It ever has the aroma of newly baked bread. Yet as we look at our lives, we see much that is stale. Our exterior as well as our inner being is too often hard and callous, rather than soft and sensitive and compassionate. Help us to realize the nature of the problem: We fail when we attempt to be the baker, rather than allow you, O God, to be the Author of the bread of life. When we gladly receive from your hand that which truly nourishes, that which you supply in abundance, then will our lives take on a wholesomeness and a texture that will make them a blessing to us and to others. We can then become healthy parts of that one loaf which is the church of Jesus Christ. May that be so in our lives and in the lives of all who look to you for food, for the Bread of Life that fails us not. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Hear these reassuring words of Jesus: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty ... This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son of God and believe in him may have eternal life." Such is God's gift to each of us!
Thanks be to God that we shall never hunger. God's bread of life is indeed sufficient!
Psalter Reading (from Psalm 78)
The Lord commanded the skies above, and opened the doors to heaven;
He rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;
He rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;
He let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were filled, for he gave them what they craved.
With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skillful hand.
Offering Sentences
Discipleship, our following of Jesus the Christ, calls for us to be vitally concerned with how we share ourselves. How might we give of ourselves in ways that will truly help others? All of us, without exception, have important things to offer, parts of our self that will make a difference in the lives of friend and neighbor and stranger. Let us reflect on this, the gifts that we can offer, as we present for God's use the tithes and the offerings of this day and this worship.
Prayer of Dedication
God, holy, full of wisdom, cause us to listen carefully to your Spirit's prompting as we make decisions regarding the use of these gifts. They represent a part of us, and they are presented gladly that others may be served in your name. May your holy work of spreading the good news here be accomplished, and may many benefit through this sharing, through this act of love reaching out to another. So do we pray, looking to Jesus as the model of that loving, a love forever fresh, a love having the aroma of newly baked bread. Amen.
Benediction
Always let your choice be life. And let that life be refreshed daily by him who is the Bread of Life. The invitation is a simple one indeed: Follow Jesus, and you shall know life, life abundant and eternal. Yea, Lord, may it be so for each one of us!
