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Call to Worship (based on Psalm 48)

L: Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God.
P: His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth.
L: We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.
P: Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory.
L: Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice; tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.

 

Call to Worship
LEADER: The earth shakes and the water quivers.
PEOPLE: The wind whistles and the sun listens.
LEADER: The beauty of creation mingles with the power of creation.
PEOPLE: Awed in wonder and trembling with fear, we seek a safe place,
LEADER: A place to voice our awe in song
PEOPLE: And welcome God's love that conquers our fear.

 

Prayer of Confession :

L : Let us seek the forgiveness of God and of each other for the divisions that have hindered Christian witness: Lord we have sinned against you and each other.
C: Lord, have mercy.

L: O Christ, our divisions are contrary to your will, and have impeded our common witness to you.
C: Christ, have mercy.

L: Lord, we have not loved you enough in our sisters and brothers, created in your image, but different from us.
C: Lord, have mercy.

L: Creator God, let us no longer live beside each other as strangers. Satisfy the longings of our hearts, grant our rightful requests, and unite us soon in one holy church through your Son Jesus Christ who with you in the communion of the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally.

 

Prayer for Faithfulness Amid Challenges in Ministry
by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

For Grace to Labor

Lord of the harvest, send us into your vineyard as faithful workers;
free us from all idleness and envy;
let your grace be sufficient for all who are weak.
The things, good Lord, that we pray for,
give us the grace to labor for;
The things that human labor cannot achieve
we ask you to provide by your grace alone,
until your kingdom is fully established on earth
as it is in heaven..
Amen.

 

Prayer for Faith in Christ (epistle lesson)

Almighty God, who gave your Son Jesus Christ a realm,
where all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;
make us loyal followers of our living Lord,
that we may always hear his word
follow his teachings, and live in his Spirit.

Almighty and everlasting God,
it is your will to restore all things to Christ,
whom you have anointed priest for ever and ruler of creation.

Lord, hasten the day when every knee shall bow
and every tongue confess that he is Lord
to your eternal glory.

Grant that all the people of the earth,
now divided by the power of sin,
may be united under the glorious and gentle rule of Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns forever.  Amen.

 

David's Kingdom Prayer

Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. Amen.

 

Sending Forth (responsively)

We proclaim not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord.
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

For the God who said 'Let light shine out of darkness.'
Has caused his light to shine within us.

To give the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God.
In the face of Jesus Christ.

As we go forth, let us be your representatives, o God.
May we be heralds of your good news to the world.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.