Call
to Worship
(Joanne Carlson Brown, The Abingdon Worship Annual 2017)
As
for me, I shall behold your face. . .. When I awake I shall be satisfied,
beholding your likeness.
Why
have you come this morning?
We
have come to encounter the Holy One.
You
know you’ll never be the same if you do.
We
have come to wrestle with our faith, our doubts, and even our convictions.
Then
come; let us venture into this time of worship and prepare to encounter God
face to face.
Hymn TIS
578: “How
firm a foundation, you people of God” God is our rock. Everything else and
everyone else can fail us but God, we can always depend on. Always.
Opening
Prayer:
O
God of night-time visits and daylight assurance, we come to this time of
worship to wrestle with who we are, and who you call us to be. Search our
hearts and know us thoroughly. We long to meet you face to face, even if the
encounter leaves us forever changed. With open ears and ready hearts, touch us
with your words and transform us with your presence. Amen.
A
Prayer of Confession
God
who sees, knows, and touches us, we have many things in our lives that we are
not proud of.
We
are scared to come before you with all that we are. We are frightened that you
will judge us and find us wanting. We are afraid of your rejection or
abandonment.
Forgive
our shortcomings, large and small.
Reassure
us that you are always present with us, that you always love us and want only
the best for us.
Forgive
our fearful reluctance to open ourselves fully to an encounter with your holy
presence.
Wrestle
with us, touch us, and awaken us to your love— a love that never lets us go.
Meet us face to face, that we may be forever changed. Amen.
Declaration
of Forgiveness
Dawn
comes, and we will see God face to face. We will behold the face of
unconditional love. In this meeting, we will understand the depth of God’s
reassuring forgiveness. And in this understanding, we will be changed for good.
Thanks,
be to God! Amen
The
Peace
A
flash of brilliant light, a mushroom cloud rises. Nothing will ever be
the same.
We
dedicate ourselves to work for peace as we boldly proclaim:
“Never
again.”
Forgive
our inhumanity.
May
wars cease as we work to be peacemakers and not merely peace hopers.
Touch
us, O God, and we will never be the same. In life and in death we are not
alone.
Thanks
be to God.
In
gratitude for the gift of eternal life, let us greet one another with signs of
peace. The peace of Christ be with you.
The
peace of Christ be with you always.
Invitation
to the Offering
Loving
God, take our hearts and set them on fire. Take our lives and transform them.
Take our church and resurrect it with your life-giving Spirit. Take our gifts
and use them for the fulfillment of your vision
of
peace and unity. Amen.
Hymn
TIS 138: “Eternal
Father, strong to save” The theme continues. We can rest in God’s eternal arms,
in full security that we will be cared for as none other can care for us.
I
have included the service so far, almost as Rev. John delivered it today,
because everything that was said and sung touched my heart so poignantly and I
thought it would do the same for those who read it. We continued on with the
Service of Communion. This never fails to quieten my soul. Whether it be the
mighty prayers, the historical events remembered or the reverence of the people
celebrating the service, I am stilled. Somehow, there are so many centres to
this service. Jesus Christ and his willingness to turn his face to Jerusalem is
clearly at the centre of our attention. The effect of that sacrifice on our
lives and then as we are offered the bread and the wine, each of us is given
the impression that it is just for us. Hallelujah!
The Service of the Word.
The
Readings: Genesis
32:22-31. Romans 9: 1-8. Matthew 14: 13-21 brought to us by Lyn.
The
first reading about a man wrestling with God no doubt has a traditional meaning
and message. However, as one who has wrestled with God, I can say that it leaves
a mark like the limp of the man in this reading, that never goes away. No
matter how things around me are or how much I would like to sulk in a corner
because things aren't as I would like them, I can't say that I don't know my
maker. I am stuck.
To
take Paul's message and place it in a modern context is difficult because there
are so many possibilities. I think the message that is coming to me is to let
God run his world. Do as we see God guiding us to do and then leave the rest to
God.
And
the third reading for me says that I (and each of us) have been given
resources. Use them to serve others.
Preaching
of the Word - God is Good.
Rev.
John made these points:
* After
a long and exhausting day, Jesus’ disciples come to him and suggest that the crowds
be sent away so that they may go into the villages and buy food.
*Jesus answers, “They need not go away; you give them
something to eat.”
* The
disciples protest. Jesus then tells them to bring him what food they have,
*Jesus
tells them in no uncertain terms that it is their job to help feed those who
are hungry.
*It’s
not someone else’s problem to fix.” The body of Christ is called to help those
who are hungry
*Don’t
send them away
*Jesus
says to us, no matter how meagre our resources “Bring them to me.”
*God
can raise up amongst us what we need.
And
in those words I heard God’s voice.
Hymn
TIS 530: “Now let us from this table rise” The
words that leapt out to me were ‘renewed in body, mind and soul’.
Grahame played to provide background for our thoughts and prayers.
Intercessory
Prayers
Rev.
John prayed to God who is steadfast in love, giving thanks for answered prayer.
He continued, bringing before our God, all those affected by war, terrorism,
disaster and famine. He prayed for the homeless, the addicted and everyone
afflicted in any way, that leaders will see fit to dispense mercy and justice
to right wrongs that create the circumstances in which all these terrible evils
flourish.
He
prayed for those who are close to us and that our gifts will be used for those
in need.
He
prayed that we will welcome anew all those who come to the table with us, that
we will provide the nourishment of fellowship and friendship. We then joined in
The Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn
TIS 201: “King
of glory, King of peace”. To love may never cease. Amen to that.
Benediction
Go
forth, knowing that God has heard our cry and will give us the strength to
follow God’s call. Go forth to touch the lives of others, as our lives have
been touched by God. Go and be the face of God to a world that so desperately
needs the loving, affirming face of God. And may the wrestling God be with you
always. Amen.
Hymn
TIS 778: “Shalom
to you now” May God grant you every good thing. Amen.
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