Reestablishing the covenant
Worship
LECTIONARY WORSHIP AIDS
Series II
Thanksgiving Day
First Lesson: 1 Kings 8:55-61
Theme:
Reestablishing the covenant
Exegetical note: This selection is from the closing benediction of Solomon's prayer at the dedication of his temple. In it he prays, on the one hand, that God continue to be present and to enable the people to keep the covenant, and, on the other hand, that the people be completely faithful to God. The passage reminds us that days of national celebration and thanksgiving are great opportunities to reestablish a people's covenant with God.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 138)
Leader:
Let us give thanks to God with all our hearts!
People:
LET US SING GOD'S PRAISES FOR ALL TO HEAR!
Leader:
Let us give gratitude for God's steadfast love and faithfulness!
People:
LET US EXALT GOD'S NAME AND WORD!
Collect
Most generous God, you have provided us so much for which to be thankful. Let us now use this day of thanksgiving as an opportunity for renewal: that, our covenant with you reestablished, we may become your people as never before, determined to multiply your mercies and gifts for all humankind. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of all blessings, we confess with tremendous shame that we have used our Thanksgiving celebrations as opportunities to be self-satisfied and self-congratulating, rather than as occasions to rededicate ourselves to you and our work on behalf of those who do not enjoy our advantages. Forgive us, we pray, and encourage us to live as your children of light in a world of darkness, and as your agents of grace among people who are hopeless now, but who by your grace may yet have reason to give thanks. In the name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen
Thanksgiving Day
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Theme:
Gifts that tide Christians over
Exegetical note: In this opening to his epistle, Paul gives thanks for the spiritual gifts that the Corinthians have been given, and even singles out the very two (speech and knowledge) about which he will later express misgivings, at least with respect to their application among these people. The reference to the parousia, however, makes it clear that these are gifts to "tide them over" until "the end."
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 145)
Leader:
Great is God and greatly to be praised!
People:
THE GREATNESS OF GOD IS UNSEARCHABLE!
Leader:
Let us meditate on God's magnificent majesty and wondrous works!
People:
LET US PRAISE GOD'S MIGHTY ACTS FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION!
Collect
Most giving God, you have provided well for human needs in every generation. Make us to see the blessings we have now as provisional: that, sensing the greater things that your coming Reign has in store, we may shed our contentedness and strive the harder to spread your word and do your work until the Christ comes. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Blessed God, we confess with enormous shame that, when we think of those things for which we should be thankful, it is not your spiritual gifts that prefigure your coming Reign that come to mind, but the material possessions that merely dress our everyday lives. Forgive us our short-sightedness, O God, and help us to use this Thanksgiving Day as an opportunity to reflect upon the benefits from you that really matter, and to respond in thanks to you for the many blessings that you have provided for our souls until your Reign comes in all its glory. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Thanksgiving Day
Gospel:
Matthew 6:25-33
Theme: God's providence and priorities
Exegetical note: This passage probably was not originally a part of the Sermon on the Mount, since Luke locates it elsewhere. The exhortat ion against anxiety here has two bases, the first of which is the more developed: (1) God's providence and (2) God's priorities, namely, God's Reign and righteousness. The assurance throughout is that because of these things, everything else will "fall into place."
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 65)
Leader:
Give thanks to the God who nourishes the earth!
People:
GIVE THANKS TO THE GOD WHO WATERS IT!
Leader:
The pastures and hills drip with joy!
People:
THE MEADOWS AND VALLEYS SHOUT AND SING!
Collect
Great provider God, you have given us your coming Reign and its righteousness as a standard. Help us to adjust our lives accordingly: that, our values realigned to your will, we may live lives that are holy in your sight and worthy of thanksgiving in ours. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of bounty and blessing, it grieves us to confess that we have not always adopted your priority of things spiritual over things material, and that we have thus not treasured your greatest provisions to us, or given thanks for the most important of our blessings. Forgive us, we pray; help us to reorder our lives around the righteousness that you have given us by grace, and the Reign that you yet have in store; and convince us that everything else in our lives will then be properly arranged according to your will in Christ Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen
First Lesson: 1 Kings 8:55-61
Theme:
Reestablishing the covenant
Exegetical note: This selection is from the closing benediction of Solomon's prayer at the dedication of his temple. In it he prays, on the one hand, that God continue to be present and to enable the people to keep the covenant, and, on the other hand, that the people be completely faithful to God. The passage reminds us that days of national celebration and thanksgiving are great opportunities to reestablish a people's covenant with God.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 138)
Leader:
Let us give thanks to God with all our hearts!
People:
LET US SING GOD'S PRAISES FOR ALL TO HEAR!
Leader:
Let us give gratitude for God's steadfast love and faithfulness!
People:
LET US EXALT GOD'S NAME AND WORD!
Collect
Most generous God, you have provided us so much for which to be thankful. Let us now use this day of thanksgiving as an opportunity for renewal: that, our covenant with you reestablished, we may become your people as never before, determined to multiply your mercies and gifts for all humankind. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of all blessings, we confess with tremendous shame that we have used our Thanksgiving celebrations as opportunities to be self-satisfied and self-congratulating, rather than as occasions to rededicate ourselves to you and our work on behalf of those who do not enjoy our advantages. Forgive us, we pray, and encourage us to live as your children of light in a world of darkness, and as your agents of grace among people who are hopeless now, but who by your grace may yet have reason to give thanks. In the name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen
Thanksgiving Day
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Theme:
Gifts that tide Christians over
Exegetical note: In this opening to his epistle, Paul gives thanks for the spiritual gifts that the Corinthians have been given, and even singles out the very two (speech and knowledge) about which he will later express misgivings, at least with respect to their application among these people. The reference to the parousia, however, makes it clear that these are gifts to "tide them over" until "the end."
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 145)
Leader:
Great is God and greatly to be praised!
People:
THE GREATNESS OF GOD IS UNSEARCHABLE!
Leader:
Let us meditate on God's magnificent majesty and wondrous works!
People:
LET US PRAISE GOD'S MIGHTY ACTS FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION!
Collect
Most giving God, you have provided well for human needs in every generation. Make us to see the blessings we have now as provisional: that, sensing the greater things that your coming Reign has in store, we may shed our contentedness and strive the harder to spread your word and do your work until the Christ comes. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Blessed God, we confess with enormous shame that, when we think of those things for which we should be thankful, it is not your spiritual gifts that prefigure your coming Reign that come to mind, but the material possessions that merely dress our everyday lives. Forgive us our short-sightedness, O God, and help us to use this Thanksgiving Day as an opportunity to reflect upon the benefits from you that really matter, and to respond in thanks to you for the many blessings that you have provided for our souls until your Reign comes in all its glory. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Thanksgiving Day
Gospel:
Matthew 6:25-33
Theme: God's providence and priorities
Exegetical note: This passage probably was not originally a part of the Sermon on the Mount, since Luke locates it elsewhere. The exhortat ion against anxiety here has two bases, the first of which is the more developed: (1) God's providence and (2) God's priorities, namely, God's Reign and righteousness. The assurance throughout is that because of these things, everything else will "fall into place."
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 65)
Leader:
Give thanks to the God who nourishes the earth!
People:
GIVE THANKS TO THE GOD WHO WATERS IT!
Leader:
The pastures and hills drip with joy!
People:
THE MEADOWS AND VALLEYS SHOUT AND SING!
Collect
Great provider God, you have given us your coming Reign and its righteousness as a standard. Help us to adjust our lives accordingly: that, our values realigned to your will, we may live lives that are holy in your sight and worthy of thanksgiving in ours. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of bounty and blessing, it grieves us to confess that we have not always adopted your priority of things spiritual over things material, and that we have thus not treasured your greatest provisions to us, or given thanks for the most important of our blessings. Forgive us, we pray; help us to reorder our lives around the righteousness that you have given us by grace, and the Reign that you yet have in store; and convince us that everything else in our lives will then be properly arranged according to your will in Christ Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen
