Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series IV, Cycle B
Call To Worship
Psalm 146
Leader:
Praise the Lord.
People:
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Leader:
I will praise the Lord all my life;
People:
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
Leader:
Do not put your trust in princes who cannot save.
People:
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
Leader:
On that very day their plans come to nothing.
People:
Let us put our hope instead in God,
Leader:
Those whose hope is in the Lord are blessed.
People:
For God upholds the cause of the oppressed,
Leader:
Gives food to the hungry,
People:
Sets prisoners free,
Leader:
Gives sight to the blind,
People:
Watches over the stranger,
Leader:
Sustains the fatherless and the widow,
People:
And frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Leader:
The Lord reigns forever,
People:
Praise the Lord.
To receive what the Lord wishes to give us in worship we need to lay our burdens down.
Leader:
Jesus says, "Come to me all ye who are heavy laden
People:
And I will give you rest."
Leader:
Come now, let us enter into the rest of worship,
People:
Soaking up the presence of God,
Leader:
Enjoying his touch,
People:
Tasting again his love,
Leader:
Allowing him to speak his lovely truth,
People:
And make us whole again.
Leader:
Yahweh -- God -- we come to rest,
People:
To worship.
Leader:
Amen!
Prayer Of Confession
In the Mark reading, Jesus tells us to love our neighbors. If we are to become true lovers, we must allow God to make us.
Leader:
You are the potter,
People:
We are the clay,
Leader:
Mold us, make us
People:
Into a vessel of use to you.
Leader:
You are the painter,
People:
We are the canvas.
Leader:
Paint onto us
People:
Colors and forms
Leader:
That would radiate your glory.
People:
Abba,
Leader:
Papa,
People:
We come before you to worship
Leader:
And to surrender,
People:
That we might be made
Leader:
Or remade into the people,
People:
The church,
Leader:
You mean us to be.
People:
Amen.
The world looks and doesn't often see us doing a very good job of loving our neighbors. Based on the Mark passage.
Leader:
Nietzsche once said, "If you want me to believe in your God, you will have to look a lot more saved."
People:
But he was a lunatic,
Leader:
A pagan;
People:
Who is he to say such a thing?
Leader:
Yeah -- but,
People:
But what?
Leader:
But isn't it the truth? We don't look, live, or act much different than the people of this world.
People:
Father, forgive us for allowing the world to get such a hold on us,
Leader:
For succumbing to the pressures of materialism,
People:
For falling for the lies of the evil one,
Leader:
For seeking pleasure rather than piety.
People:
Help us to look more saved,
Leader:
So others will know your power,
People:
Your peace,
Leader:
And the joy of your love.
People:
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Leader:
Amen.
One more on our lack of love.
Leader:
Let's think for a moment about the selfishnesses that resides in each one of us.
People:
Don't want to!
Leader:
Me either. But it is that hidden selfishness that silently suffocates the Spirit of God within us. So let's think. Let's unearth the place where we are currently being self-centered.
(Time of silent prayer)
Leader:
Now that you have found that place, that sin, pray this prayer with me as a way of giving it up to God.
All:
Father, I have this sin, this selfishness that I can't seem to overcome.
Leader:
I judge people constantly,
People:
I talk about others all the time,
Leader:
I am so undisciplined that I neglect you,
People:
I can't stop being busy and neglecting my family,
Leader:
I focus way too much on money and material things,
People:
I am too easily angered,
Leader:
I am given in to the sins of the flesh,
People:
I hate,
Leader:
I deceive,
People:
I disrespect,
Leader:
I come before you now, Lord,
People:
Begging you to take this sin from us. We are weak. You are strong.
Leader:
Here is our sin,
People:
Take it. Take the need to do it,
Leader:
Take the desire that leads to it,
People:
Take it all from us; we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Assurance Of Pardon
Hebrew 9:14 makes a good Assurance.
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Another option.
"All we, like sheep, have gone astray," say the scriptures. But the Word also tells us that, like a papa whose children have gone astray, our Father in heaven stands at the ready to forgive. All he desires is that we turn back to him and he will embrace us.
Turn back and receive his gracious, forgiving love.
Invitation To The Offering
Congratulations! You have won! Really! All who are in Christ are winners. You are made new. New life is yours, eternal, abundant, marvelous life. New hearts have been implanted in you. Your minds are being renewed. The great adventure has begun! Let us -- in Christ -- respond accordingly.
Prayer Of Dedication
Lord, as Ruth said to Naomi, "Your God will be my God, and your people will be my people," so we say to you, "You will be our God, and your people will be our people." Help us to live this prayer, Lord.
Prayer For Illumination
The chorus of the hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" makes a great Prayer For Illumination. Sing it or use it as a challenge to the people.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face;
And the things of this earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.
Pastoral Prayer
Holy One in heaven, hear us now, be present with us now, when foundations are crumbling around us, when temptation comes strong against, when options become limited and hope seems far away, open our eyes to see that heaven's glory is undiminished. Open our ears to hear the victorious song of all the saints gone before us. Open our hearts to the undeniable, absolutely reliable truth that you remain, now and always, ruler of the universe. Consider the lilies, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet they are beautiful. Consider the birds of the air, they neither reap nor gather into barns, yet they are provided for.
Let us hear these words this morning as your voice whispers them to us, "Are you not a thousand times more important to me than they?" And may those we lift up to you this morning know this in the depths of their beings ...
We pray for ...
Benediction
"Hear, O people of God," this is the first and greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."
Hymns
A Little Bit Of Love
Beloved, Let Us Love
Father Makes Us Loving
Gift Of Love, The
Greater Is He That Is In Me
I Must Tell Jesus
I Need Thee Every Hour
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Nearer The Cross
People Need The Lord
Somebody Else Needs A Blessing
Take The Name Of Jesus With You
Teach Us, O Lord, True Brotherhood
Who Is My Neighbor?
Who Is On The Lord's Side?
Contemporary Choruses
Every Move I Make, David Ruis
In The Secret, Andy Park
Holy And Anointed One, John Barnett
No Longer Strangers
Other Music
Brother's Keeper, Rich Mullins
Reminds us that we are our brothers' keepers.
Measure Of A Man, The, 4Him
The real measure of a man is ... faithfulness.
Nature Of Love, The, 4Him
Points out the true nature of love.
Psalm 146
Leader:
Praise the Lord.
People:
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Leader:
I will praise the Lord all my life;
People:
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
Leader:
Do not put your trust in princes who cannot save.
People:
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
Leader:
On that very day their plans come to nothing.
People:
Let us put our hope instead in God,
Leader:
Those whose hope is in the Lord are blessed.
People:
For God upholds the cause of the oppressed,
Leader:
Gives food to the hungry,
People:
Sets prisoners free,
Leader:
Gives sight to the blind,
People:
Watches over the stranger,
Leader:
Sustains the fatherless and the widow,
People:
And frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Leader:
The Lord reigns forever,
People:
Praise the Lord.
To receive what the Lord wishes to give us in worship we need to lay our burdens down.
Leader:
Jesus says, "Come to me all ye who are heavy laden
People:
And I will give you rest."
Leader:
Come now, let us enter into the rest of worship,
People:
Soaking up the presence of God,
Leader:
Enjoying his touch,
People:
Tasting again his love,
Leader:
Allowing him to speak his lovely truth,
People:
And make us whole again.
Leader:
Yahweh -- God -- we come to rest,
People:
To worship.
Leader:
Amen!
Prayer Of Confession
In the Mark reading, Jesus tells us to love our neighbors. If we are to become true lovers, we must allow God to make us.
Leader:
You are the potter,
People:
We are the clay,
Leader:
Mold us, make us
People:
Into a vessel of use to you.
Leader:
You are the painter,
People:
We are the canvas.
Leader:
Paint onto us
People:
Colors and forms
Leader:
That would radiate your glory.
People:
Abba,
Leader:
Papa,
People:
We come before you to worship
Leader:
And to surrender,
People:
That we might be made
Leader:
Or remade into the people,
People:
The church,
Leader:
You mean us to be.
People:
Amen.
The world looks and doesn't often see us doing a very good job of loving our neighbors. Based on the Mark passage.
Leader:
Nietzsche once said, "If you want me to believe in your God, you will have to look a lot more saved."
People:
But he was a lunatic,
Leader:
A pagan;
People:
Who is he to say such a thing?
Leader:
Yeah -- but,
People:
But what?
Leader:
But isn't it the truth? We don't look, live, or act much different than the people of this world.
People:
Father, forgive us for allowing the world to get such a hold on us,
Leader:
For succumbing to the pressures of materialism,
People:
For falling for the lies of the evil one,
Leader:
For seeking pleasure rather than piety.
People:
Help us to look more saved,
Leader:
So others will know your power,
People:
Your peace,
Leader:
And the joy of your love.
People:
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Leader:
Amen.
One more on our lack of love.
Leader:
Let's think for a moment about the selfishnesses that resides in each one of us.
People:
Don't want to!
Leader:
Me either. But it is that hidden selfishness that silently suffocates the Spirit of God within us. So let's think. Let's unearth the place where we are currently being self-centered.
(Time of silent prayer)
Leader:
Now that you have found that place, that sin, pray this prayer with me as a way of giving it up to God.
All:
Father, I have this sin, this selfishness that I can't seem to overcome.
Leader:
I judge people constantly,
People:
I talk about others all the time,
Leader:
I am so undisciplined that I neglect you,
People:
I can't stop being busy and neglecting my family,
Leader:
I focus way too much on money and material things,
People:
I am too easily angered,
Leader:
I am given in to the sins of the flesh,
People:
I hate,
Leader:
I deceive,
People:
I disrespect,
Leader:
I come before you now, Lord,
People:
Begging you to take this sin from us. We are weak. You are strong.
Leader:
Here is our sin,
People:
Take it. Take the need to do it,
Leader:
Take the desire that leads to it,
People:
Take it all from us; we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Assurance Of Pardon
Hebrew 9:14 makes a good Assurance.
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Another option.
"All we, like sheep, have gone astray," say the scriptures. But the Word also tells us that, like a papa whose children have gone astray, our Father in heaven stands at the ready to forgive. All he desires is that we turn back to him and he will embrace us.
Turn back and receive his gracious, forgiving love.
Invitation To The Offering
Congratulations! You have won! Really! All who are in Christ are winners. You are made new. New life is yours, eternal, abundant, marvelous life. New hearts have been implanted in you. Your minds are being renewed. The great adventure has begun! Let us -- in Christ -- respond accordingly.
Prayer Of Dedication
Lord, as Ruth said to Naomi, "Your God will be my God, and your people will be my people," so we say to you, "You will be our God, and your people will be our people." Help us to live this prayer, Lord.
Prayer For Illumination
The chorus of the hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" makes a great Prayer For Illumination. Sing it or use it as a challenge to the people.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face;
And the things of this earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.
Pastoral Prayer
Holy One in heaven, hear us now, be present with us now, when foundations are crumbling around us, when temptation comes strong against, when options become limited and hope seems far away, open our eyes to see that heaven's glory is undiminished. Open our ears to hear the victorious song of all the saints gone before us. Open our hearts to the undeniable, absolutely reliable truth that you remain, now and always, ruler of the universe. Consider the lilies, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet they are beautiful. Consider the birds of the air, they neither reap nor gather into barns, yet they are provided for.
Let us hear these words this morning as your voice whispers them to us, "Are you not a thousand times more important to me than they?" And may those we lift up to you this morning know this in the depths of their beings ...
We pray for ...
Benediction
"Hear, O people of God," this is the first and greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."
Hymns
A Little Bit Of Love
Beloved, Let Us Love
Father Makes Us Loving
Gift Of Love, The
Greater Is He That Is In Me
I Must Tell Jesus
I Need Thee Every Hour
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Nearer The Cross
People Need The Lord
Somebody Else Needs A Blessing
Take The Name Of Jesus With You
Teach Us, O Lord, True Brotherhood
Who Is My Neighbor?
Who Is On The Lord's Side?
Contemporary Choruses
Every Move I Make, David Ruis
In The Secret, Andy Park
Holy And Anointed One, John Barnett
No Longer Strangers
Other Music
Brother's Keeper, Rich Mullins
Reminds us that we are our brothers' keepers.
Measure Of A Man, The, 4Him
The real measure of a man is ... faithfulness.
Nature Of Love, The, 4Him
Points out the true nature of love.
