Login / Signup

Free Access

Observance Of The Birthday Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Observance
Worship
Worship Service
Jonah 2:2-9
Revelation 21:1-7
Gennifer Benjamin Brooks
Praise the Lord
Litanies, Prayers, And Occasional Services
(This liturgy is written intentionally for use in an interfaith setting.)

HYMN OF CELEBRATION
Lift Every Voice And Sing

GREETING
We have come together on this special day, to witness to the love of God in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a martyr to the faith, in the cause of justice. We come from different cultures, different religions, but all committed to the right for which Dr. King fought, of freedom for all people.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had a dream. It was a dream of unity and peace, justice and equality for all. In our coming together, may we also aspire to that hope. And more than that, may we be moved to go beyond hope and join the fight which can never end until all can say with the boldness of truth, "Free at last, free at last, praise God almighty we're free at last."

LITANY OF PRAISE
Leader: God is our refuge and strength.
People: Praise God who is our very present help in trouble.
Leader: God is our strength and song.
People: Praise God who is the rock of our salvation.
Leader: God is our song of victory over our oppressors, of life over death.
People: Praise God who opens to us the gate of life.
Leader: God is our life, our joy, our crown.
People: Praise God who has crowned us with glory and honor.
Leader: God is our light and God is love, eternal and unchanging.
People: We will praise our God forever and ever.

HYMN
The Battle Hymn Of The Republic

(Verse 4 may be omitted or modified for interfaith worship.)

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of watchful care, we confess our complacency in our own security. We close our eyes to the pain around us by refusing to see the signs of suffering in the eyes of our brothers and sisters. We stride boldly along life's paths, oblivious to bowed heads and stooped shoulders that cry out the misery of life without meaning. We hide behind walls of contentment, rejoicing in the realization of our dreams, while others linger outside, too worn down to dream.

Forgive us our unthinking preoccupation that keeps us from joining the fight for justice and freedom for your whole creation. Open our eyes and hearts and hands to the plight of all your people. Move us beyond self and selfishness to a life of service to your people in your name. Inspire us to action for the good of all. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

(Readings listed are suggestions only. You may choose some other appropriate passages.)

OLD TESTAMENT
Jonah 2:2-9

NEW TESTAMENT
Revelation 21:1-7

SERMON OR MEDITATION

PRAYERS OF REDEDICATION AND RENEWAL
Leader: Let us pause and remember the words of Dr. King, the drum major for peace, who called us to arms in the battle for justice. Let us rededicate ourselves to maintain the fight for justice until all people everywhere cease to be victims of the injustice of others.
People: God of justice, give us courage.
Leader: While war rages on between nations and races and cultures, the cry for peace grows louder and louder. Let us strive for peace and justice in the hearts of all people so that together we will all do justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
People: God of peace and justice, grant us your peace.
Leader: Here in our land and around the world, the shackles from our human bodies have been replaced by the chaining of our minds. And so none of us is free because all of us are not free. Let us redouble our efforts, to seek freedom in the name of our God who makes us all free.
People: Freeing God, strengthen us that together we may break the chains of oppression that bind us all.
Leader: Although we have gathered as a community in this place and time, more often we are separated by a lack of understanding of our neighbors which causes us to fear. May we strive together so that the divisions of race may be removed and with them the fear that paralyzes our efforts so that the radiance of God's love may shine in the hearts of all people.
People: God of love, dispel our fears and awaken in us your love that binds us as one.
Leader: Sadly, we the people of God must admit that we have not been the voice that rings out for truth and justice. Instead we have so often by covert acts and overt silence, supported the status quo. Too often we have remained silent or hesitated to raise our voices in the fear that we may be called to action. May our silence and uncertainty be replaced by the disturbance of our voices raised in protest for all people.
People: Eternal God, move us beyond ourselves that we may work for truth and righteousness in your world. May we strive for justice for all people that we may all know the fullness of joy that is ours as your creation. Amen.

CLOSING HYMN
We Shall Overcome
1. We shall overcome ... someday
2. We'll walk hand in hand ... someday
3. We shall live in peace ... someday
4. God is on our side ... today

BENEDICTION
Go out in the strength of God, having the courage to stand for truth and justice.

Go out in the power of God, heeding the call to work for freedom.

Go out in the love of God, reaching out to the stranger, sharing the joy of unity with God and all people.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Christ the King Sunday
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Thanksgiving
14 – Sermons
80+ – Illustrations / Stories
18 – Children's Sermons / Resources
10 – Worship Resources
18 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Advent 1
30 – Sermons
90+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
There was an incident some years ago, when an elderly lady in some village parish in England was so fed up with the sound of the church bells ringing, that she took an axe and hacked her way through the oak door of the church. Once inside, she sliced through the bell ropes, rendering the bells permanently silent. The media loved it. There were articles in all the papers and the culprit appeared on television. The Church was less enthusiastic - and took her to court.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
(See The Epiphany Of Our Lord, Cycle A, and The Epiphany Of Our Lord, Cycle B, for alternative approaches.)

This psalm is a prayer for the king, and it asks God to extend divine rule over earth through the anointed one who sits on the throne. Although the inscription says the psalm is about Solomon, that is a scribal addition. More likely, this was a general prayer used for more than one of the Davidic kings, and it shows the common belief that the monarch would be the instrument through which God acted.

Mark Wm. Radecke
In her Pulitzer Prize winning book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, author Annie Dillard recalls this chilling remembrance:
Paul E. Robinson
There is so much uncertainty in life that most of us look hard and long for as many "sure things" as we can find. A fisherman goes back again and again to that hole that always produces fish and leaves on his line that special lure that always does the trick. The fishing hole and the lure are sure things.
John N. Brittain
If you don't know that Christmas is a couple of weeks away, you must be living underground. And you must have no contact with any children. And you cannot have been to a mall, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, or any other chain store since three weeks before Halloween. Christmas, probably more than any other day in the contemporary American calendar, is one of those days where impact really stretches the envelope of time not just -- like some great tragedy -- after the fact, but also in anticipation.
Tony S. Everett
One hot summer day, a young pastor decided to change the oil in his automobile for the very first time in his life. He had purchased five quarts of oil, a filter wrench, and a bucket in which to drain the used oil. He carefully and gently drove the car onto the shiny, yellow ramps and eased his way underneath his vehicle.

Charles L. Aaron, Jr.
We've gathered here today on the second Sunday of Advent to continue to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord. This task of preparing for the arrival of the Lord is not as easy as we might think it is. As in other areas of life, we find ourselves having to unlearn some things in order to see what the scriptures teach us about God's act in Jesus. We've let the culture around us snatch away much of the meaning of the birth of the Savior. We have to reclaim that meaning if we really want to be ready for what God is still doing in the miracle of Christmas.
Timothy J. Smith
As we make our way through Advent inching closer to Christmas, our days are consumed with many tasks. Our "to do" list grows each day. At times we are often out of breath and wondering if we will complete everything on our list before Christmas Day. We gather on this Second Sunday in Advent to spiritually prepare for what God has done and continues to do in our lives and in our world. We have been too busy with all our activities and tasks so that we are in danger of missing out on the miracle of Christmas.
Frank Luchsinger
For his sixth grade year his family moved to the new community. They made careful preparations for the husky, freckle-faced redhead to fit in smoothly. They had meetings with teachers and principal, and practiced the route to the very school doors he would enter on the first day. "Right here will be lists of the classes with the teachers' names and students. Come to these doors and find your name on a list and go to that class."
R. Glen Miles
The text we have heard today is pleasant, maybe even reassuring. I wonder, though, how many of us will give it any significance once we leave the sanctuary? Do the words of Isaiah have any real meaning for us, or are they just far away thoughts from a time that no longer has any relevance for us today?
Susan R. Andrews
When our children were small, a nice church lady named Chris made them a child--friendly creche. All the actors in this stable drama are soft and squishy and durable - perfect to touch and rearrange - or toss across the living room in a fit of toddler frenzy. The Joseph character has always been my favorite because he looks a little wild - red yarn spiking out from his head, giving him an odd look of energy. In fact, I have renamed this character John the Baptist and in my mind substituted one of the innocuous shepherds for the more staid and solid Joseph. Why this invention?
Amy C. Schifrin
Martha Shonkwiler
Litany Of Confession
P: Wild animals flourish around us,
C: and prowl within us.
P: Injustice and inequity surround us,
C: and hide within us.
P: Vanity and pride divide us,
C: and fester within us.

A time for silent reflection

P: O God, may your love free us,
C: and may your Spirit live in us. Amen.

Prayer Of The Day

Emphasis Preaching Journal

The world and the church approach the "Mass of Christ" with a different pace, and "atmospheres" that are worlds apart. Out in the "highways and byways" tinsel and "sparkly" are everywhere, in the churches the color of the paraments and stoles is a somber violet, or in some places, blue. Through the stores and on the airwaves carols and pop tunes are up-beat, aimed at getting the spirits festive, and the pocketbooks and wallets are open.
David Kalas
In the United States just now, we're in the period between the election and the inauguration of the president. In our system, by the time they are inaugurated, our leaders are fairly familiar faces. Months of primaries and campaigning, debates and speeches, and conventions and commercials, all contribute to a fairly high degree of familiarity. We may wonder what kind of president someone will be, but we have certainly heard many promises, and we have had plenty of opportunities to get to know the candidate.
(A)
During my growing up years we had no family automobile. My father walked to work and home again. During World War II his routine at the local milk plant was somewhat irregular. As children we tried to guess when he would come. If we were wrong, we didn't worry. He always came.
Wayne Brouwer
Schuyler Rhodes
What difference does my life make for others around me? That question is addressed in three related ways in our texts for today. Isaiah raised the emblem of the Servant of Yahweh as representative for what life is supposed to be, even in the middle of a chaotic and cruel world. Paul mirrors that reflection as he announces the fulfillment of Isaiah's vision in the coming of Jesus and the expansion of its redemptive effects beyond the Jewish community to the Gentile world as well.

CSSPlus

I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (v. 11)

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL