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Proper 23 / OT 28 / Pentecost 19

Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
Prayer Of Confession And Absolution
P: We hold back your goodness from one another.
We hold back, pretending it is our own.
C: Break open the tombs of pride and fear that we build,
so that in giving what is yours,
we might find what we truly need.

Silence for reflection and self-examination

P: The Lord is your shepherd: you shall never be in want.
Such goodness and mercy will seek you,
and they will find you;
so that in the banquet of love, you will forever be filled.
Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.

Prayer Of The Day
P: Holy God, you have chosen us as your own. Prepare us for the great banquet to come where your righteousness and justice will satisfy all. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.

Intercessory Prayer/Prayer Of The Church
P: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

After each petition:
L: O Lord, wipe away our tears,
C: that we might rejoice.

P: Now may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
C: Amen.

Offertory Prayer
A: Bring your best to the wedding banquet, lift your hearts in song, rejoice with the king;
C: clothe us with your righteousness, clothe us with your joy, that we might give glory to you with every gift that has been entrusted to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sending
Speak Philippians 4:8-9 using different voices on each phrase for verse 8. (Have your teenagers be the speakers.) Then pastor/leader speaks verse 9, omitting the words "in me" on verse 9c.

Hymns And Songs
Lord Jesus Christ, You Have Prepared -- LBW 208
At The Lamb's High Feast We Sing -- LBW 210; MBW 216; G&P 394
Come, Let Us Eat -- LBW 214; UMH 625; MBW 423
Come With Us, O Blessed Jesus -- LBW 219
Oh, Sing Jubilee To The Lord -- LBW 256
Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life -- LBW 429; UMH 427; PH 408; MBW 581
Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng -- LBW 553; UMH 160/161; PH 145/146; MBW 786
Go, My Children, With My Blessing -- WOV 721
O God Beyond All Praising -- WOV 797
Thine The Amen, Thine The Praise -- WOV 801
I'm a-Goin'a Eat At The Welcome Table -- TFF 263
I've Got Peace Like A River -- TFF 258; PH 368; MBW 592
Come, Sinners, To The Gospel Feast -- UMH 339/616
Rain Down -- G&P 713
In the Day Of The Lord -- G&P 722

Psalm Settings
The Lord Is My Shepherd -- TFF 3
Gentle Shepherd/Jesus, Pastor Tan Dulce -- G&P 512

Choral Music
"In Remembrance" -- Buryl Red (Broadman Press)
"Rejoice In The Lord Always" -- Richard W. Gieske (Morning Star Publishers)
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" -- Malcolm Acher (GIA)
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" -- John Rutter (Oxford University Press)

Liturgical Dance/Service Notes
Begin your service with joyous instrumental music as one voice repeatedly proclaims, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice." Let the dancers dressed in white with flower garlands enter first, strewing flower petals about. Following them, bring in a chuppa, which is an arch made of four poles and a tallis (prayer shawl) or white lace cloth that is used at Jewish weddings. Later in the service you may preach under the chuppa and then have the congregation pass through it on their way to receive Holy Communion.
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