Theme: Wisdom. Real.
Worship
Lectionary Worship Aids
Series VII, Cycle B
Call To Worship (Psalm 125:1-5)
One:
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
Two:
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time on and forevermore.
One:
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out their hands to do wrong.
Three:
Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts.
One, Two,
But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
and Three:
the Lord will lead away with evildoers. Peace be upon Israel!
Collect
Lord of justice, we thank you for your wisdom which is both evident and evidence of your good will toward all. Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Gracious God, our proclaimed poverty is nothing to the grueling existence of those who really suffer. Challenge us in our worship of you to share our blessings with your children, poor and suffering, the world over. Open our eyes to mission and ministry. These things we pray as your faithful people. Amen.
Hymns
We Gather Together
Bring Forth The Kingdom
Brothers And Sisters Of Mine Are The Hungry
Proper 18 / Ordinary Time 23
Sunday between September 4 and September 10 inclusive
Second Lesson: James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
Theme: God Chooses The Poor
Call To Worship (Psalm 146:1-8)
One:
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
All:
I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
One:
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
All:
When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
One:
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
All:
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
One:
who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
All:
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
Collect (based on James 2:16)
Lord, grant us your peace as we pledge in this worship to keep those who shiver warm and those who hunger filled. Our faith to be true faith must live! Let your Spirit flow through us, granting us new life and vision. Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Always the outsider, Lord, always the new heart in Christ. Not those of us on the board, those who have sat in these pews for decades. You love these, too, Lord, but you desire us to look outward. Let all our decisions as a church be made so as to serve those most in need of you, those most willing to follow your word. Amen.
Hymns
I Sought The Lord
Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross
Help Us To Help Each Other
Proper 18 / Ordinary Time 23
Sunday between September 4 and September 10 inclusive
Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:24-37
Theme: Jesus, Don't Say That
Call To Worship
What are you thinking, Jesus? First you insult a woman who really needs you just because she was an outsider, and she gave you back as good as she got. Then you went around touching sick people without gloves and gowns. Jesus, you know what you were thinking. What did you want us to think? Help us!
Collect (Psalm 146:9)
(Unison) The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Touching God, we have wrapped ourselves in protective layers to keep the world at bay. We have hidden behind stereotypes to excuse our hardness of heart, and believed the worst of people to escape from ministry. We have allowed anecdotes to replace hard scientific fact, listened to talking heads instead of the word spoken aloud in our worship. Strip away our notions, leave us bare to infection by the needs of this world, drench us in the sorrows of your people that we might be made whole and healthy at last. Amen.
Hymns
Praise To The Lord
Awake, My Soul, And With The Sun ("Doxology" --ÊAlbum Version, see 241)
Go Now In Peace
One:
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
Two:
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time on and forevermore.
One:
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out their hands to do wrong.
Three:
Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts.
One, Two,
But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
and Three:
the Lord will lead away with evildoers. Peace be upon Israel!
Collect
Lord of justice, we thank you for your wisdom which is both evident and evidence of your good will toward all. Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Gracious God, our proclaimed poverty is nothing to the grueling existence of those who really suffer. Challenge us in our worship of you to share our blessings with your children, poor and suffering, the world over. Open our eyes to mission and ministry. These things we pray as your faithful people. Amen.
Hymns
We Gather Together
Bring Forth The Kingdom
Brothers And Sisters Of Mine Are The Hungry
Proper 18 / Ordinary Time 23
Sunday between September 4 and September 10 inclusive
Second Lesson: James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
Theme: God Chooses The Poor
Call To Worship (Psalm 146:1-8)
One:
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
All:
I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
One:
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
All:
When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
One:
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
All:
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
One:
who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
All:
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
Collect (based on James 2:16)
Lord, grant us your peace as we pledge in this worship to keep those who shiver warm and those who hunger filled. Our faith to be true faith must live! Let your Spirit flow through us, granting us new life and vision. Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Always the outsider, Lord, always the new heart in Christ. Not those of us on the board, those who have sat in these pews for decades. You love these, too, Lord, but you desire us to look outward. Let all our decisions as a church be made so as to serve those most in need of you, those most willing to follow your word. Amen.
Hymns
I Sought The Lord
Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross
Help Us To Help Each Other
Proper 18 / Ordinary Time 23
Sunday between September 4 and September 10 inclusive
Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:24-37
Theme: Jesus, Don't Say That
Call To Worship
What are you thinking, Jesus? First you insult a woman who really needs you just because she was an outsider, and she gave you back as good as she got. Then you went around touching sick people without gloves and gowns. Jesus, you know what you were thinking. What did you want us to think? Help us!
Collect (Psalm 146:9)
(Unison) The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. Amen.
Prayer Of Confession
Touching God, we have wrapped ourselves in protective layers to keep the world at bay. We have hidden behind stereotypes to excuse our hardness of heart, and believed the worst of people to escape from ministry. We have allowed anecdotes to replace hard scientific fact, listened to talking heads instead of the word spoken aloud in our worship. Strip away our notions, leave us bare to infection by the needs of this world, drench us in the sorrows of your people that we might be made whole and healthy at last. Amen.
Hymns
Praise To The Lord
Awake, My Soul, And With The Sun ("Doxology" --ÊAlbum Version, see 241)
Go Now In Peace
