A Call to Worship for World Communion Sunday Leader:
Today we gather around God's table from near and far People:
We are the People of God!
Leader:
Though we differ in language, custom, and tradition People:
We are brothers and sisters in Christ!
Leader:
For there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism People:
We are One in God's Spirit!
Leader:
We are one and together we remember our Lord Jesus People:
For we are the people of Redemption!
Leader:
He gave himself up for us, so we could be
reconciled to God. People:
Come, let us worship the God of our Salvation!
Hymns:
Lift Every Voice and
Sing
The Church's One foundation
Christian People Raise Your Song
O God of Every Nation
This is the Feast of Victory
Children's Messages: A Place
At God's Table,
based on World Communion Sunday by Rev. Frank Schaefer
World Communion Sunday
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One God, One People
Galatians 3:23-29
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
________________________________________________
So in Christ
Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26-29
When I think of World Communion Sunday, I get excited about the fact
that tens of thousands of Christian brothers and sisters around the
world are coming to the Lord's Table to remember our Lord and to
proclaim his final victory to the world.
It doesn't matter what part of the world we're hailing from, because
from God's perspective there are no political, ethnic, cultural or
national boundaries. From God's perspective we are One people, the
People of God!
One of the things
that excites my about church history is that the first-century church
believed that Christ’s church stands for a radical inclusion of all of
God's children. They believed that all those barriers we as humans work
so hard to build, God in Christ broke through. In an anonymous letter
that survived from the early 2nd century addressed to Diognetus, a Roman
official, the author actually speaks about Christianity as a "new race:"
The Mystery of the New People
To His Excellency, Diognetus: I understand, sir, that you are really
interested in learning about the religion of the Christians, and that
you are making an accurate and careful investigation of the subject....
... You would
also like to know the source of the loving affection that they have for
each other. You wonder, too, why this new race or way of life has
appeared on earth now and not earlier. These three questions are dealt
with in the text, more or less in order, but with some overlapping. The
reference to the "New [third] Race" calls attention to an issue of great
importance for the life of the Early Church, which concerned such varied
questions as the Church's understanding of its vocation in history and
the Roman world's attitude toward the Church.
And that should be
the message of the church worldwide “You are welcome here—every single
one of you! For God's grace is enough for all! God's love is poured out
to all, and whosoever believes shall be saved” (John 3.16). Whosoever!
With the arrival of the church of Jesus Christ a new age has dawned.
Nobody ever needs to feel excluded again; for, as St. Paul says it: “all
of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor
is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Brothers and sisters, Paul clearly declares to us that there are no
second-class Christians; if you are a baptized believer you’re all the
way in the inner sanctum; you are in the holy of holies; the veil has
been torn. Everyone is welcome and everyone is equal in God’s eyes. We
are all children of God. We are to be one in Christ; we are to be the
new race made up of a multitude of diverse people.
We are one and in our oneness lies our strength; in our oneness will the
world see the difference in us—through our love with the world see the
love and grace of Jesus Christ. Happy World Communion Sunday!
World Communion Prayer of Confession
Lord, on this world communion
Sunday, help us examine our hearts so that we may pay proper respect
to Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Thank you for offering
reconciliation to all of humankind, the forgiveness of sins through
Christ, our high priest.
Almighty and ever-present
God, we confess our sins to you. We are truly sorry for our
wrongdoings and shortcomings, for sins of commission and sins of
omission. Forgive us, we pray, in Christ's
name.
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. Help us
to be good stewards over the earth you have placed in our care; help
us to unite in love and concern for one another, not just in our local
community, but with brothers and sisters in all the
world.
As we draw near to your holy
table we thank you, Lord, for providing the Bread of Life for us.
As we partake, impart on us your grace and mercy, unite us with
Christ, our Lord, and with one another. May your kingdom be
established in all the earth. Amen.
"Your
Sacred Table" adapted from a prayer by St. Francis de Sales
Divine Savior,
we come to Your sacred table to nourish ourselves,
not with bread but with Yourself, true Bread
of eternal life.
Help us daily to make a good
and perfect meal of your divine nourishment. Let us be continually
refreshed by the perfume of Your kindness and goodness.
May the Holy Spirit fill us
with His Love. Meanwhile, let us prepare a place for this holy food by
emptying our hearts. Amen.
Communion
Closing Hymn: The Bread of Life For
All is Broken
Draw Us in the Spirit's Tether
Become to Us the Living Bread
Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive
Help Us Accept Each Other
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees
You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
Closing Prayer:
Blessings Upon You adapted from a prayer by Margaret A. Davidson
Blessings upon you, upon
those you love
and those you shall never know.
Blessings upon your steps
and upon the vision of your eyes.
Blessings upon you in all
circumstances;
joy and sorrow, for wisdom rests in them,
twin experiences with different faces.
Blessings be upon what lies
before you,
the challenges and decisions,
the pain and the relief.
