God's Family
Worship
THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE
Liturgical Aids
Call to Worship
In worship this morning we are homing.
We home in the eternal, in the family of God.
Home is where we are accepted, where we are called by name.
So do we feel that acceptance here; so does God know us by name.
Our worship in truth would make us one with God.
We come together to create this one family, a family rooted and grounded in love.
Invocation
We need to belong to a family, O God. Thus how wonderful it is to discover that we belong to yours! We need the support of someone who cares, who would help us relate to others, relate in ways that bind in harmony and build the body. Here, too, to precisely this end, you offer us your love - and would incorporate us into the body of Christ. It is within the body of Christ that we find that surrounding which prompts us to grow in spirit and in our understanding of life's true purpose. It is within the setting of Christ--inspired family that we are led to develop and to use our talents, this while shaping a community in which all are valued and peace is proclaimed. All of this, O God, you make possible, and we rejoice in it. Amen.
Call to Confession
There are, however, so many broken families around us. Ours, at times, becomes a casualty too. This occurs whenever we put self ahead of God's concern for all. We think we know better, and so we attempt to force our will upon another. Thus is the will of God denied; thus are people driven apart; thus are we separated and estranged one from the other and from God. Are we willing to acknowledge this as a grievous and debilitating evil, and so seek God's mercy and forgiveness? Let us pray.
Prayer of Confession
We confess, O God, that we so often fail to keep Christ as center. We compromise; we water down Christ's command to show the same love to family as the holy Christ shows to us. We become more and more concerned with the well--being of self than we do with the sacrificing of self for the health of family and community. Our interests are short--sighted, and dwell more on immediate gain than on the long term building of that body which can faithfully represent Christ in the world. Restore us, O God; restore us to our true calling - that of believer in Christ, member of his family, bearer of good news to all we meet. A contrite heart, O God, you do not despise. As we surrender, so will you forgive and will guide us to depend on you more fully. Thank you, God, for your mercy; lead us forward. Amen.
Words of Assurance
In Christ all things hold together. So it is, that that which is broken is made whole again, this by a love that will not let us go. So does the Christ of God claim us yet as family, as those close to the heart of God. Thus welcome into your life that which Christ freely and gladly offers to you and to me - that in him we all might be one.
Praise be to God for granting us Christ and his healing love.
Psalter Reading (from Psalm 107)
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water; a parched land into springs of water.
And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
They sow fields and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease.
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow ...
He raises up the needy out of distress, and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth ...
Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Offering Sentences
Let us extend the bounds of family by means of the tithes and the offerings that we bring forward today. May what we dedicate here to God cause God's love to become real to yet others, others who yearn for affection and for a caring family to which to belong.
Prayer of Dedication
May these tithes and offerings which we dedicate to your glory, to your service, O God, open avenues of opportunities for others - that the joy we know in Christ may awaken hope in others, and that the welcome we have received into God's family be a blessing that others too may come to know and cherish. May these gifts, a part of your bounty to us, so be put to good use in your name. Amen.
Benediction
Go forth from here knowing that you belong. Cherish your roots in family. Appreciate as the great gift it is your membership in the family of God. Indeed, share this joy with others!
In worship this morning we are homing.
We home in the eternal, in the family of God.
Home is where we are accepted, where we are called by name.
So do we feel that acceptance here; so does God know us by name.
Our worship in truth would make us one with God.
We come together to create this one family, a family rooted and grounded in love.
Invocation
We need to belong to a family, O God. Thus how wonderful it is to discover that we belong to yours! We need the support of someone who cares, who would help us relate to others, relate in ways that bind in harmony and build the body. Here, too, to precisely this end, you offer us your love - and would incorporate us into the body of Christ. It is within the body of Christ that we find that surrounding which prompts us to grow in spirit and in our understanding of life's true purpose. It is within the setting of Christ--inspired family that we are led to develop and to use our talents, this while shaping a community in which all are valued and peace is proclaimed. All of this, O God, you make possible, and we rejoice in it. Amen.
Call to Confession
There are, however, so many broken families around us. Ours, at times, becomes a casualty too. This occurs whenever we put self ahead of God's concern for all. We think we know better, and so we attempt to force our will upon another. Thus is the will of God denied; thus are people driven apart; thus are we separated and estranged one from the other and from God. Are we willing to acknowledge this as a grievous and debilitating evil, and so seek God's mercy and forgiveness? Let us pray.
Prayer of Confession
We confess, O God, that we so often fail to keep Christ as center. We compromise; we water down Christ's command to show the same love to family as the holy Christ shows to us. We become more and more concerned with the well--being of self than we do with the sacrificing of self for the health of family and community. Our interests are short--sighted, and dwell more on immediate gain than on the long term building of that body which can faithfully represent Christ in the world. Restore us, O God; restore us to our true calling - that of believer in Christ, member of his family, bearer of good news to all we meet. A contrite heart, O God, you do not despise. As we surrender, so will you forgive and will guide us to depend on you more fully. Thank you, God, for your mercy; lead us forward. Amen.
Words of Assurance
In Christ all things hold together. So it is, that that which is broken is made whole again, this by a love that will not let us go. So does the Christ of God claim us yet as family, as those close to the heart of God. Thus welcome into your life that which Christ freely and gladly offers to you and to me - that in him we all might be one.
Praise be to God for granting us Christ and his healing love.
Psalter Reading (from Psalm 107)
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water; a parched land into springs of water.
And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
They sow fields and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease.
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow ...
He raises up the needy out of distress, and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth ...
Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Offering Sentences
Let us extend the bounds of family by means of the tithes and the offerings that we bring forward today. May what we dedicate here to God cause God's love to become real to yet others, others who yearn for affection and for a caring family to which to belong.
Prayer of Dedication
May these tithes and offerings which we dedicate to your glory, to your service, O God, open avenues of opportunities for others - that the joy we know in Christ may awaken hope in others, and that the welcome we have received into God's family be a blessing that others too may come to know and cherish. May these gifts, a part of your bounty to us, so be put to good use in your name. Amen.
Benediction
Go forth from here knowing that you belong. Cherish your roots in family. Appreciate as the great gift it is your membership in the family of God. Indeed, share this joy with others!
