Epiphany 4
Worship
Lectionary Worship Aids, Cradled in God's Heart
Series VIII, Cycle A
Object:
Call To Worship
One: We are blessed when we hunger for justice
and thirst for righteousness.
All: Our souls are filled with God's hope and grace.
One: We are blessed when we grieve over
the brokenness of the world,
All: choosing, as God does, to be with those
who are weak and powerless.
One: We are blessed when we become God's fools,
All: willing to do what is right;
not what is easy to do.
Prayer Of The Day
The hills sing of your hopes,
and the valleys echo your dreams,
Holy God,
of a world
where we catch sight of you
in the innocent hearts of children;
where we listen to the wisdom
of souls willing to be weak;
where we find the home we long for
in your heart's brokenness.
Teacher of our Hearts,
when we are generous to the poor,
your kingdom of justice is built;
when we love kindness
more than we do power,
we are heirs of creation's grace;
when we walk hand-in-hand
with the humble-hearted,
we are in step with you;
when we share a picnic of hope and joy
with the forgotten of the world,
we follow you up the hill of faithfulness.
Wisdom of Weakness,
when our differences with one another
become stumbling blocks to life together,
you come
with your hopeful foolishness
so your children
might be at peace,
and a blessing of life
to a world in need of healing.
God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we pray as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
Called to be weak,
we idolize the powerful;
called to be foolish,
we hunger for the world's wisdom;
called to be poor in spirit,
we thirst for more and more.
Let us confess to God how following
Jesus is often a stumbling block for us.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
How do we approach you, Exalted God, with our confessions? We make you weary with our inability to do justice for the poor and outcast. We gossip about those who are close to us, instead of being their loving friend. We make promises, and then go back on our word.
Forgive us, God of Hope, and bless us with your mercy. By your peace, we can do justice; by your love, we can act kindly; by your grace, we can walk with you as humbly and hopefully as did our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Silence is kept
Assurance Of Pardon
One: It is through foolishness that God makes us wise;
it is through weakness that God strengthens us to serve;
it is through forgiveness that God makes us whole.
All: We cannot boast in what we have done, but only in the grace and joy of our God, who showers us with mercy. Amen.
One: We are blessed when we hunger for justice
and thirst for righteousness.
All: Our souls are filled with God's hope and grace.
One: We are blessed when we grieve over
the brokenness of the world,
All: choosing, as God does, to be with those
who are weak and powerless.
One: We are blessed when we become God's fools,
All: willing to do what is right;
not what is easy to do.
Prayer Of The Day
The hills sing of your hopes,
and the valleys echo your dreams,
Holy God,
of a world
where we catch sight of you
in the innocent hearts of children;
where we listen to the wisdom
of souls willing to be weak;
where we find the home we long for
in your heart's brokenness.
Teacher of our Hearts,
when we are generous to the poor,
your kingdom of justice is built;
when we love kindness
more than we do power,
we are heirs of creation's grace;
when we walk hand-in-hand
with the humble-hearted,
we are in step with you;
when we share a picnic of hope and joy
with the forgotten of the world,
we follow you up the hill of faithfulness.
Wisdom of Weakness,
when our differences with one another
become stumbling blocks to life together,
you come
with your hopeful foolishness
so your children
might be at peace,
and a blessing of life
to a world in need of healing.
God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we pray as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
Called to be weak,
we idolize the powerful;
called to be foolish,
we hunger for the world's wisdom;
called to be poor in spirit,
we thirst for more and more.
Let us confess to God how following
Jesus is often a stumbling block for us.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
How do we approach you, Exalted God, with our confessions? We make you weary with our inability to do justice for the poor and outcast. We gossip about those who are close to us, instead of being their loving friend. We make promises, and then go back on our word.
Forgive us, God of Hope, and bless us with your mercy. By your peace, we can do justice; by your love, we can act kindly; by your grace, we can walk with you as humbly and hopefully as did our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Silence is kept
Assurance Of Pardon
One: It is through foolishness that God makes us wise;
it is through weakness that God strengthens us to serve;
it is through forgiveness that God makes us whole.
All: We cannot boast in what we have done, but only in the grace and joy of our God, who showers us with mercy. Amen.
