Christmas 1
Worship
Lectionary Worship Aids, Cradled in God's Heart
Series VIII, Cycle A
Object:
Call To Worship
One: All God's people -- boys and girls, women and men,
All: come and worship!
One: Shepherds, Magi, saints, and angels,
All: come and worship!
Come and worship!
One: All who need the Savior, all who long for comfort,
All: come and worship!
Come and worship Christ,
the newborn King!
Prayer Of The Day
In your love, which never ends,
Steadfast God,
you hear the cries
of all the two-year-olds
cast aside by the world,
and the weeping of their mothers
who cannot feed them
because there is no hope.
Wrapped in an old blanket
to keep you warm in a cold stable,
and smuggled into Egypt
to keep you safe, Marginalized Messiah,
you know the searching of refugees
for a place they can call home,
for a life they can call free.
Cradling the innocents killed in war,
remembering those driven from their homes
by fear, or greed, or power,
singing laments with all the parents
who cannot give their children the lives
that they should have,
you proclaim God's name to us,
Spirit of Sanctuary.
God in Community, Holy in One,
you fill our hearts with joy,
for you continue to come into this world.
Give us the peace, the joy, the hope to carry
to all who cry out to you this day,
even as we pray as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
Born of Mary, in a child called Jesus, God knew life as we know it: our pains, our doubts, our temptations, our hopes. Without sin, Jesus could choose to judge us; instead, he redeems us and is the midwife of our birth into new life. Let us confess our sins, so we might be filled with God's grace and joy in this season of holiness and hope.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Dweller in Eternity, you became a little baby for us. We chase down the corridors of power, while you enter the hallways where weakness and suffering reside. We grab for more and more, while you let go of glory to become one of us. We reduce our Savior's birth to tinsel, toys, and trash to be placed on the curb, while you widen your embrace to welcome all thrown out by the world.
Forgive us, Joyous Love. Come among us, filling our hearts with your grace and truth. Open our lips, so we might sing with the angels. Send us forth with the shepherds, to tell everyone we meet the good news of the birth of the One who brings us life, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Silence is kept
Assurance Of Pardon
One: The news we have hungered for fills our lives;
the news we have been searching for has found us;
the news that is for all people is proclaimed;
a Savior has been born, for us!
All: The One who is our hope has arrived;
the One who is our life has come to us;
the One who is our joy is in our midst,
Jesus Christ the Lord! Thanks be to God. Amen.
One: All God's people -- boys and girls, women and men,
All: come and worship!
One: Shepherds, Magi, saints, and angels,
All: come and worship!
Come and worship!
One: All who need the Savior, all who long for comfort,
All: come and worship!
Come and worship Christ,
the newborn King!
Prayer Of The Day
In your love, which never ends,
Steadfast God,
you hear the cries
of all the two-year-olds
cast aside by the world,
and the weeping of their mothers
who cannot feed them
because there is no hope.
Wrapped in an old blanket
to keep you warm in a cold stable,
and smuggled into Egypt
to keep you safe, Marginalized Messiah,
you know the searching of refugees
for a place they can call home,
for a life they can call free.
Cradling the innocents killed in war,
remembering those driven from their homes
by fear, or greed, or power,
singing laments with all the parents
who cannot give their children the lives
that they should have,
you proclaim God's name to us,
Spirit of Sanctuary.
God in Community, Holy in One,
you fill our hearts with joy,
for you continue to come into this world.
Give us the peace, the joy, the hope to carry
to all who cry out to you this day,
even as we pray as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
Born of Mary, in a child called Jesus, God knew life as we know it: our pains, our doubts, our temptations, our hopes. Without sin, Jesus could choose to judge us; instead, he redeems us and is the midwife of our birth into new life. Let us confess our sins, so we might be filled with God's grace and joy in this season of holiness and hope.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Dweller in Eternity, you became a little baby for us. We chase down the corridors of power, while you enter the hallways where weakness and suffering reside. We grab for more and more, while you let go of glory to become one of us. We reduce our Savior's birth to tinsel, toys, and trash to be placed on the curb, while you widen your embrace to welcome all thrown out by the world.
Forgive us, Joyous Love. Come among us, filling our hearts with your grace and truth. Open our lips, so we might sing with the angels. Send us forth with the shepherds, to tell everyone we meet the good news of the birth of the One who brings us life, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Silence is kept
Assurance Of Pardon
One: The news we have hungered for fills our lives;
the news we have been searching for has found us;
the news that is for all people is proclaimed;
a Savior has been born, for us!
All: The One who is our hope has arrived;
the One who is our life has come to us;
the One who is our joy is in our midst,
Jesus Christ the Lord! Thanks be to God. Amen.
