____________________________________________________

 

Call to Worship

Leader: Rejoice  people of God! In Christ there is Hope &Peace!
People: But how can we rejoice? Is not the world full of hunger, agony, conflict , and pain?
Leader: Rejoice people of God! The victory is won in Christ!
People: But how? Do not our brothers and sisters cry out for justice, for love and for food?
Leader: Rejoice people of God! For in God there is justice, love and peace, God is the source of everything!
People: But how? Are not the problems big and the injustice overwhelming?
Leader: Rejoice people of God! For in you Christ lives and all things are possible!
Unison: REJOICE! ;WE ARE GOD’S TOOLS OF JUSTICE AND LOVE. THROUGH GOD WE CAN WORK FOR PEACE AND FEED EACH OTHER!
           

 

Call to Worship for Stewardship Sunday: (Read Responsively) --pulpitt in nd

We've come here to make a payment on our account.
We know where we'd like to live tomorrow and we don't want to take any chances.
So, we've come to see what we owe in order to cover our backs for what tomorrow might bring.
Help us to become good stewards of our time and talents so that we can enjoy a restful sleep tonight and a better day tomorrow.

  
 

Call to Worship --pulpitt in nd

P: Grant to all who are lonely, anxious, or despondent, the awareness of your presence
C: hear us, O Lord of life.
P: Mend broken relationships, and restore those in emotional distress to soundness of mind and serenity of spirit;
C: hear us, O Lord of life.
P: We pray that they may be made whole;
C: hear us, O Lord of life.

 

Invocation

The rich presence of God, the beginning and end of all that is good, be with you now and always.

And also with you.

Let us pray. Lord God, you call us to work in your vineyard and leave no one standing idle. Set us to our tasks in the work of your kingdom, and help us to order our lives by your wisdom; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Prayer of Confession (based on Psalm 79:1-9)

     How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
     Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
     Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name's sake. We come before you humbly and ask you, dear LORD, to accept our sacrifice of praise and worship. Amen.

              
                                           
Prayer for Peace

All Sing:
Someone’s crying Lord, Kumba Yah, someone’s crying Lord, kumba ya. Someone’s crying Lord kumba yah, O Lord Kumba Yah!

Leader:    Someone’s crying Lord, somewhere. Someone is really millions; Somewhere really  many places here and abroad. They are crying tears of suffering and pain, of empty stomachs and loss of loved ones, tears of weakness and disappointment, tears of strength and resistance, many tears ... of the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak.

People:  
Someone’s crying Lord. Redeem the times, and bring us to a New Beginning.

All Sing:
Someone’s dying Lord, Kumba Yah, Someone’s dying Lord, kumba yah. Someone’s dying Lord , kumba yah, O Lord, Kumba Yah!

Leader:
Some are dying of hunger and thrist. Some are dying because others are enjoying too many unnecessary silly things. Some are dying because people go on exploiting the earth and each other. Some are dying because political structures and systems crush the poor and alienate the rich. Someone’s dying Lord, because we are still not willing to make a choice, to be a witness, to act .

People:
Someone’s dying Lord, Redeem the times , and bring us to a New Beginning.
All Sing:
Someone’s shouting Lord, Kumba Yah. Somone’s shouting Lord, kumba yah. Someone’s shouting Lord, kumba yah, O Lord, Kumba Yah.

Leader:
Someone’s shouting loud and clear, some have made a choice. Some are taking a stand , offering their very existance in love, to fight the death and evil that is surrounding us, to wrestle with the evils which we use to crucify each other.

People:
Someone’s shouting Lord. Redeem the times, and bring us to a New Beginning.

All Sing:
Someone’s praying Lord, Kumba Yah. Someone’s praying Lord, kumba yah. Someone’s praying Lord, kumba yah. O Lord, Kumba Yah.

Leader:
Someone’s praying Lord. We are praying, in tears and anguish. In frustration and weakness, in confusion and longing.  We are praying in strength and endurance. We are shouting and wrestling with our grief and pain, as Jacob wrestled with the angel, he was touched, was marked as your own , and became a blessing .... so too we ask your blessing now O Lord.

People:
We are praying Lord. Stir up our imagination. Sharpen our political will. Through Jesus Christ you have let us know where you want us to be. Help us to be there now. Be with us, touch us, mark us, let us be a blessing of peace. Let your power be present in our weakness and grief. Someone’s praying Lord. Redeem the times, and bring us to a New Beginning.

 

A Stewardship Prayer

Giver of all life, as you sent us into this world,
so will you summon us at the end of our days:
     naked and empty-handed.

What we wear, what we possess, our talents,
     even our thoughts,
are but a gracious loan from you, o Lord.

Teach us on this day to take nothing for granted--
     neither your blessings nor our belongings.

May we be shrewd, faithful and wise stewards
     over what you have entrusted to us.

Above all, we thank you for our salvation,
and for giving us new life in the path of Jesus.

Enable us to find opportunities to serve you
and others.  In Christ's spirit we pray. Amen.

 
 

Prayer of Intercession

Remembering God's marvelous work and living in hope, let us pray for the church, the world, and all people according to their needs.

Let us pray for the church, that its leaders and ministers will be faithful heralds of the one mediator, Jesus Christ, and draw others to the knowledge of the truth. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Let us pray for the leaders of the world, that they will govern wisely and protect those under their care, so that all people may live a quiet and peaceable life. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Let us pray for the poor and for all people oppressed and exploited by dishonest business practices, that they might receive justice. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Let us pray for those who mourn because they are childless, that God will give them comfort, hope, and fulfillment. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all who are sick and dying (especially), that they would be lifted from their pain and despair to healing and hope. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Let us pray for our congregation, that we would be called away from the lure of wealth and everything that might impede our service to God and others. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Let us give thanks for (names, and all) the saints who lived in the knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ and now rest securely with him. Bring us also to that rest. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God of faithfulness, encircled in your lovingkindness, we lift up to you all in need. Hear our prayers on behalf of others and sustain us as we await the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray.

Amen

 

Bread and Justice
(Reubem Albes, Brazil)

    O God, just as the disciples heard Christ's words of promise and began to eat the bread and drink the wine in the suffering of a long remembrance and in the joy of a hope, grant that we may hear your words, spoken in each thing of every day affairs:
coffee on our table in the morning;
the simple gesture of opening a door to go out, free;
the shouts of children in the park; a familiar song, sung by an unfamiliar face;
a friendly tree that has not yet been cut down.
    May simple things speak to us of your mercy, and tell us that life can be good.
And may these sacramental gifts make us remember those who do not receive them:
who have their lives cut every day, in the bread absent from their table;
in the door of the hospital, the prison, the welfare home that does not open;
in sad children, feet without shoes, eyes without hope;
in war hymns that glorify death;
in deserts where once was life.
    Christ was also sacrificed; and may we learn that we participate in the saving sacrifice of Christ when we participate in the suffering of his little ones. Amen.
 

 
 

Dedicating our Gifts: (Read Together) - pulpitt in nd

Money is a gift we sometimes hesitate to give. When we are blessed with extra funds we make a choice of how that money will be spent. Today we give back a small portion of what we could give in response to the abundant grace we've been given. Use our gifts so that others will feel your grace in their lives we ask in Christ's name. Amen.

 

Prayer for a New Heart:

Thou who art over us,
Thou who art one of us,
Thou who art:
Give me a pure heart, that I may see thee;
a humble heart that I may hear thee;
a heart of love, that I may serve thee;
a heart of faith, that I may abide in thee.  Amen.

 

Sending Forth: (Read Together) - pulpitt in nd

Jesus said, "And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?" This is close to loving your neighbor as one loves oneself. We are called to both love others and ourselves. What we owe others is what we owe ourselves, and what we owe ourselves is our love for God each day. We go forth to share that love in everyway. Amen.