Jesus, the Bread of Life
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Planning Ideas And Resources For The Entire Church Year
Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration
One pastor began this way:
Welcome, in the Name of God the Parent, God the Child, God the Spirit. As we begin, I invite you to respond silently, "to whom does the earth belong; to whom do we belong?"
(one minute pause)
Continue with this litany:
Pastor:
The earth belongs to God.
Ministers: And, we belong to God.
Pastor:
Once again, welcome, I'm glad to see you!
Ministers: Thanks. It's _________ to be here.
Pastor:
I invite us to fulfill the purpose for which God has called us to come.
Ministers: We do. We shall. We celebrate the Presence of the Creator who makes life possible; the Reconciler who makes life purposeful. We celebrate Christ, the Bread of the world.
Pastor:
I'm for that!
All: So are we! Amen!
The Act of Recognizing our Humanness and The Act of Receiving New Life
Suggestion:
Begin, How would you respond if someone asked you about your greatest need? Probably, we would respond as did the people around Jesus, who had extreme difficulty getting beyond their own physical and material needs to their spiritual needs. Notice, also, how much more easily we respond to each other's physical and material needs than we do spiritual needs. We visit people in the hospital, send cards and flowers to sick people, bring food to incapacitated persons. Yet, the greatest problem in the church is spiritual, not physical. Consider, silently, how we/you will respond to the spiritual needs of this congregation and community.
(Give five minutes of silence; ask the people to write their responses on a card, which later, they will put in the offering plate.)
Introduce the assurance with this statement:
God, in Christ, has set us free to be real with each other. I invite us to pray this prayer together:
Giver of life, heal us, spiritually, and free us to be persons, persons who have received the Bread of Life. Holy Spirit, speak to us. Help us to listen. Come, fill us with your bread and your drink, now, here.
Message with the Children of All Ages
Suggestion:
Bring some freshly baked bread and some cool water. Invite the children to eat and drink, as you talk about how important bread and water are to us humans. You may want to show some pictures of what happens to people when they don't have enough to eat or pure water to drink. Think about how much we take these for granted, and how much we complain if we have to go without either for a few hours. Talk about the importance of these; and tie this into Jesus' remark about his being the Bread of Life. Ask if they know what Jesus meant. Give them opportunity to respond. Pick up on their responses. Make certain that they understand the importance of Jesus feeding us on his love and truth and joy and peace.
Proclamation of the Word
Consider this:
Topic:
Our Greatest Need - the Bread of Life.
We may say that our greatest need is spiritual, yet, think about how much of our time, energy, and money refutes that statement. We spend most of our life making a living, so we can retire early and start enjoying ourselves. I can remember thinking that I'll get involved with the church when I'm older and have nothing better to do. We forget that "it's the set of the sail and not the gale that determines the way we go." Life is accumulative; not many deathbed con-versions take place. Where did we learn that life without the Bread of Christ is boring, dull, somber?
Stewardship Challenge
Suggestion:
The stewardship of need. Someone has said that more and more of our wants have become needs. Some of us believe that the advertisers are right. There isn't enough to go around in this world, so we'd better get ours before someone else gets ours. Thus, we work on a doctrine of scarcity rather than a doctrine of plenty for all. We are here to share. How are we willing to do that? I invite those who choose to do so to place your cards from the confession of sin into the offering plate. To sign them is optional.
Charge to the Congregation
Consider this:
Ask, did we get our needs met in worship today? If we did not, were we seeking response to the wrong needs? If we did, we can give God the praise, for God, and God alone, through God's Spirit, helps us to put our priorities in proper perspective.
Planning for Your Congregation
Suggestions
Your Situation
I. Other Scriptures
Liturgist:
Psalm 34:11-22
Psalm 78:3-4, 23-29, 54
2 Samuel 12:15b-24
Exodus 16:2-15
Ephesians 4:1-6, 17-24
II. Suggested Hymns
Coordinator:
"We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator"
Julia Cady Cory, 1902, 1956; alt., 1972
"Bread of Heaven, On Thee We Feed"
Josiah Conder, 1824; alt.
"Break Thou the Bread of Life"
Mary Ann Lathbury, 1877
III. Other Music Possibilities
Organist/Choir director:
Music for Preparation and Dismissal
Medley of the second and third hymn listed above
Response to the Confession
"You Are the Lord, Giver of Mercy" Based on Appalachian folk melody
Response to the Proclamation
"Fill My Cup Lord"
Words and Music
by Richard Blanchard Arr. by Eugene Clark Word Publishing Company
Response to the Stewardship Challenge
"For Your Gracious Blessings" Source Unknown
Music For Young Voices, 1972 Hope Publishing Company 380 South Main Place Carol Stream, Illinois 60187
IV. Bulletin Cover
Church secretary:
V. Bulletin Symbols
VI. Miscellaneous Details (Assignments:)
Ushers
Candlelighters
Hosts/Hostesses
Banners
Flowers
Greeters
Posters
Name-tags
Others
One pastor began this way:
Welcome, in the Name of God the Parent, God the Child, God the Spirit. As we begin, I invite you to respond silently, "to whom does the earth belong; to whom do we belong?"
(one minute pause)
Continue with this litany:
Pastor:
The earth belongs to God.
Ministers: And, we belong to God.
Pastor:
Once again, welcome, I'm glad to see you!
Ministers: Thanks. It's _________ to be here.
Pastor:
I invite us to fulfill the purpose for which God has called us to come.
Ministers: We do. We shall. We celebrate the Presence of the Creator who makes life possible; the Reconciler who makes life purposeful. We celebrate Christ, the Bread of the world.
Pastor:
I'm for that!
All: So are we! Amen!
The Act of Recognizing our Humanness and The Act of Receiving New Life
Suggestion:
Begin, How would you respond if someone asked you about your greatest need? Probably, we would respond as did the people around Jesus, who had extreme difficulty getting beyond their own physical and material needs to their spiritual needs. Notice, also, how much more easily we respond to each other's physical and material needs than we do spiritual needs. We visit people in the hospital, send cards and flowers to sick people, bring food to incapacitated persons. Yet, the greatest problem in the church is spiritual, not physical. Consider, silently, how we/you will respond to the spiritual needs of this congregation and community.
(Give five minutes of silence; ask the people to write their responses on a card, which later, they will put in the offering plate.)
Introduce the assurance with this statement:
God, in Christ, has set us free to be real with each other. I invite us to pray this prayer together:
Giver of life, heal us, spiritually, and free us to be persons, persons who have received the Bread of Life. Holy Spirit, speak to us. Help us to listen. Come, fill us with your bread and your drink, now, here.
Message with the Children of All Ages
Suggestion:
Bring some freshly baked bread and some cool water. Invite the children to eat and drink, as you talk about how important bread and water are to us humans. You may want to show some pictures of what happens to people when they don't have enough to eat or pure water to drink. Think about how much we take these for granted, and how much we complain if we have to go without either for a few hours. Talk about the importance of these; and tie this into Jesus' remark about his being the Bread of Life. Ask if they know what Jesus meant. Give them opportunity to respond. Pick up on their responses. Make certain that they understand the importance of Jesus feeding us on his love and truth and joy and peace.
Proclamation of the Word
Consider this:
Topic:
Our Greatest Need - the Bread of Life.
We may say that our greatest need is spiritual, yet, think about how much of our time, energy, and money refutes that statement. We spend most of our life making a living, so we can retire early and start enjoying ourselves. I can remember thinking that I'll get involved with the church when I'm older and have nothing better to do. We forget that "it's the set of the sail and not the gale that determines the way we go." Life is accumulative; not many deathbed con-versions take place. Where did we learn that life without the Bread of Christ is boring, dull, somber?
Stewardship Challenge
Suggestion:
The stewardship of need. Someone has said that more and more of our wants have become needs. Some of us believe that the advertisers are right. There isn't enough to go around in this world, so we'd better get ours before someone else gets ours. Thus, we work on a doctrine of scarcity rather than a doctrine of plenty for all. We are here to share. How are we willing to do that? I invite those who choose to do so to place your cards from the confession of sin into the offering plate. To sign them is optional.
Charge to the Congregation
Consider this:
Ask, did we get our needs met in worship today? If we did not, were we seeking response to the wrong needs? If we did, we can give God the praise, for God, and God alone, through God's Spirit, helps us to put our priorities in proper perspective.
Planning for Your Congregation
Suggestions
Your Situation
I. Other Scriptures
Liturgist:
Psalm 34:11-22
Psalm 78:3-4, 23-29, 54
2 Samuel 12:15b-24
Exodus 16:2-15
Ephesians 4:1-6, 17-24
II. Suggested Hymns
Coordinator:
"We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator"
Julia Cady Cory, 1902, 1956; alt., 1972
"Bread of Heaven, On Thee We Feed"
Josiah Conder, 1824; alt.
"Break Thou the Bread of Life"
Mary Ann Lathbury, 1877
III. Other Music Possibilities
Organist/Choir director:
Music for Preparation and Dismissal
Medley of the second and third hymn listed above
Response to the Confession
"You Are the Lord, Giver of Mercy" Based on Appalachian folk melody
Response to the Proclamation
"Fill My Cup Lord"
Words and Music
by Richard Blanchard Arr. by Eugene Clark Word Publishing Company
Response to the Stewardship Challenge
"For Your Gracious Blessings" Source Unknown
Music For Young Voices, 1972 Hope Publishing Company 380 South Main Place Carol Stream, Illinois 60187
IV. Bulletin Cover
Church secretary:
V. Bulletin Symbols
VI. Miscellaneous Details (Assignments:)
Ushers
Candlelighters
Hosts/Hostesses
Banners
Flowers
Greeters
Posters
Name-tags
Others
