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Call to Worship

L: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
P: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
L: You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
P: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
L: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

 

Call to Worship

L: We welcome you, LORD, God of Life, in our midst. You are Yawhe Jireh, our provider.
P: We praise the LORD, who provides HIS people with Manna from heaven.
L: We praise the LORD who provided us with the Bread of Life.
P: We praise the LORD who nourishes our faith even on this day through the power of the Holy Spirit.
L: Come, let us worship the LORD!

Prayer (based on the gospel lesson)

The steadfast love of God, the life of Jesus Christ, and the growth of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

Let us pray.

Gracious Father, your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world. Give us this bread, that he may live in us and we in him, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

 

Intercessory Prayer (based on the Gospel Lesson)

Growing in the soil of the Spirit, let us pray for the church, the world, and all who seek the richness of life in God.

Let us pray for the church, that God would lead many to eat the bread of heaven and drink the cup of salvation, never to hunger and thirst again. Gracious God,

Hear our prayer.

Let us pray for the world, that where people know scarcity of food and water they would also know a united effort to help them in their need. Gracious God,

Hear our prayer.

Let us pray for those in our communities who are poor, that they would meet with compassionate assistance and opportunities for rewarding employment. Gracious God,

Hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all who are hospitalized, all who are in chronic pain, and for all whose health is a concern (especially). Gracious God,

Hear our prayer.

Let us pray for the members of this congregation who volunteer with community food shelves, reading programs, and other forms of assistance, that they would be strengthened for service to all they reach. Gracious God,

Hear our prayer.

Let us pray in thanksgiving for all who have died, that their memory may be blessed among us, and that their loved ones would be comforted in the hope of the resurrection. Gracious God,

Hear our prayer.

Hear us as we pray, living God, and in your mercy give us all good things, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Amen

Prayer of Confession

Merciful God, help us examine our hearts so that we may be convicted of our sins and shortcomings through the ministry of your Holy Spirit within us.

We come to you in the name of Jesus, your Son and our High Priest. We confess that there are times when we go against your hopes for us as your people.

We confess that there are times when we go against your Word for us.  In silence, O LORD, hear us as we confess those things we have done, and those things we have neglected to do; times when we have failed you and each other. . .

(Time of silence)

Loving God, we ask you once again to receive us into your compassionate, forgiving arms that we might find favor with you for all the days of our lives. Empower us to serve you fully, to share the resources we have with those who have less, to weep with those who weep, and to laugh with those who laugh.  Amen.

Assurance of Pardon:
L: God loves us and forgives us.  God gives us the chance to begin again.
All: Thanks be to God.  Amen!

 

Litany for Christian Unity

Across all our barriers of language, race, and nationality:
Unite us, Jesus.

Across all our mutual ignorance, prejudice and hostility:
Unite us, Jesus.

Across all our differences of thought, outlook, and religious allegiance:
Unite us, Jesus.

O God, for your greater glory:
Gather together your separated people.

O God, for the triumph of goodness and truth:
Gather together your separated people.

O God, that there may be one flock and one shepherd:
Gather together your separated people.

O God, that peace may reign in the world at last:
Gather together your separated people.

Amen.

 

Closing Prayer (Church of Scotland 20th century):

O God, you are the hope of all the ends of the earth, the God of the spirits of all flesh.  Hear our humble intercession for all races and families on earth, that you will turn all hearts to yourself.
Remove from our minds hatred, prejudice, and contempt for those who are not of our own race or color, class or creed, that, departing from everything that estranges and divides, we may by you be brought into unity of spirit, in the bond of peace. Amen.