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Call to Worship

L: O come, let us sing to the LORD
P: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
L: Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
P: Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs
of praise!
L: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
All: O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

 

Invocation / Opening Prayer (Lent continued)
Gracious and all mighty God,
Let this holy season continue to be a time of grace
for us and all the world.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Turn to us, Lord God,
and we shall turn to you. Amen.

 

Canticle of Praise over God's Faithful Provisions
(from the Jewish tradition)

We will be one with the praise songs of all peoples.
Praise God, for he restores the earth to its goodness.
Praise God for he restores humanity to themselves.
Praise God all ye nations! Sing praises unto Him all ye peoples.
For the faithfulness of the Lord has been mighty with us.
And the truth of the Lord is forever. Hallelujah. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
(from the Roman tradition)

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth,
present everywhere and filling all things,
the treasury of good and giver of life,
come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every impurity,
and save our souls, Gracious One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit;
Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy upon us.
Lord, be merciful to our sins.
Master, forgive our transgressions.
Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities, for Your name's sake.
Lord, have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit;
Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

A spring of water welling up to eternal life
(what John 4:5-45 says about prayer)

Prayer is like drawing water from a well. The water is already there, we just need to draw it. In prayer we should not ask to be given things, rather we should ask to receive things already offered.

In prayer, we need to be able to do four things:

• Recognize what gifts are offered and who is offering
• Recognize what has prevented us from accepting the gifts
• Recognize what we have already received
• Recognize and accept the gifts that God offers us

Traditionally, these four things have been called Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication, but are really all part of the same process of prayer - recognizing the gifts and accepting them humbly and joyfully.

Living Water Prayer
O Jesus,
Image of the invisible God,
Word made flesh, tired stranger,
Waiting in the noonday lull at Jacob's well.

Are we all the woman with her waterjar,
Bent on the chore of the moment,
Angry memories in our bones,
Our thirst for God hidden in the business of the day?

Is the woman, sure and strong,
Our reflection: sure but unsure,
Strong but so weak, seeking but afraid to find
Our Savior so close by?

O Jesus, only faith can help us see.
Earthy, cautious eyes miss treasure in the field
In water and the bread, in faces known too well.
Only faith can help us see!

Make us thirst again, and ask, and seek, till we find.
How can we know whose flesh and blood we are?
Or what it means to be born again?
Unless you help our unbelief!

O Jesus,
Who led the woman to believe,
Lead us.

 

Prayer of the Day (reflecting on all lessons)
by Rev. Thomas Hall

Almighty God, on this day we come before you with joyful praise and exuberance for we acknowledge you as our Source. From you comes everything we need for living, dying, rising, and growing. You rule the whole earth from deepest caves to highest hills. You manage all your creation well—from shining seas to the lands in a thousand places.

So we are humbled and yet gratified that you would pick us out of your universe and call us into your loving presence. We are your flock and people who are grateful for what you provide us with. You give us the power to make wealth and money; to buy things and to accumulate and consume. Yet our very accumulations have caused us to become dull of hearing; and we regret have caused you pain.

You speak to us; your voice comes to us always, but we have become complacent. You call to us but we have become too comfortable to answer the door. You are faithful, but too often we are stubborn. We are not so unlike your people of the past who grew hard of hearing and dull of response.

Yet, in the light of your saving help in Christ Jesus, let our end be different from theirs. Let not our wanderings after more keep us in the Wilderness of less. Remind us ever anew, faithful God, that You alone are our Source; You are the only one who truly satisfies and fulfills.

Renewed by your faithfulness, we can become faithful people. Touched by your supply we can become generous too. Sustained by your love, we can offer ourselves as your servants to the very world for which you died and rose. Amen.

 

Closing Prayer:
Most gracious God,
As we go forth into the world you have chosen in Christ,
we seek to be encouraged by your truth
so that we might restore compassion to the human family,
renew the face of the earth and give expression to your light
in the midst of the world's wilderness; in the name of Christ, our Light.
Amen.